Funding Stories
How $90K from Fountain Innovation Fund could help Azella reach 10,000 financial advisors
David Roberson grew up watching his mother struggle with financial management, he shared, noting his family’s stresses could have been alleviated with the help of a financial advisor. Combining his passions for digital marketing, web development, SEO, design and financial literacy, Roberson founded the marketing firm Azella — named for his mother. “Azella is a…
These eight KC tech startups are circling Pure Pitch Rally with up to $1M on the line
Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a sponsor of Startland News. As a new cohort of pitchers prepare to toss their nets toward local land sharks at this month’s Pure Pitch Rally, the addition of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as a key financial backer elevates the annual competition for spot-cash funding and…
KC’s PlaBook, Erkios selected for coveted $50K Arch Grants, boosting St. Louis startup scene
Two Kansas City companies are expected to be part of Arch Grants’ largest-ever selection of startups, earning spots in the highly competitive St. Louis grant program’s 35-member, nearly $2 million 2021 cohort. PlaBook, an edtech reading platform, and Erkios Systems, a cybersecurity hardware startup, were announced Oct. 1 as winning candidates for the program, which…
Startup led by serial entrepreneur expands into women’s health ahead of $1.5M seed round
Portable diagnostic imaging for women’s health will help bridge a care gap in Kansas and Missouri, said Jeff Blackwood, as his startup expands the scope of on-site ultrasound capabilities available to patients in Kansas City and beyond. “New Frontier Mobile Diagnostics is directly addressing health equity and access to care with our services, and we’re…
Plug and Play selects KC startup for Topeka accelerator; Top City beginning to believe in itself
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. Plug…
