Startups Stories

Quest Moffat, Kadogo

Meet the finalists: KC tech startups competing to boost health, vibrancy of diverse communities

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. WICHITA…

Military Gaming League; photo courtesy of Generation Esports

KC esports startup acquires Military Gaming League, pledging support to players facing PTSD, mental health struggles 

Generation Esports has deployed a summer of scale, announcing Monday its acquisition of the Military Gaming League (MGL) — stationing the Kansas City-based startup’s mission to unite gamers in new, high-demand territory.  “We knew there was something special about it that we just had to be a part of,” said Mason Mullenioux, co-founder and CEO of…

Willy Schlacks, Scale, EquipmentShare

‘We have to allow for failure,’ says serial entrepreneur; Scale announces 7 startups in second cohort

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. COLUMBIA,…

Jill Bertelsen, Crib Coaching, pitches in May at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge; photo courtesy of the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Henry W. Bloch School of Management and the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Leanlab launches edtech certification with focus on accountability to classrooms

A new product certification from Leanlab Education means increased transparency for edtech companies — as well as added credibility for their work within schools.  “We want to give teachers and school administrators a quick way to understand if an edtech product reflects the insights of educators, students, and parents — the true end users in education — and…

Eliot Arnold, MoodSpark

MoodSpark buys defunct startup’s IP, minds focused on disrupting elderly veterans’ depression 

A slew of new patents and tools are now in the hands of a KCK-rooted startup that aims to protect aging military veterans that suffer from loneliness, anxiety and depression.  MoodSpark has acquired assets previously held by California-based Dthera Sciences — an early leader of the digital therapeutics space, known for its innovative quality of life…