Startups Stories
Ship with a smile: How SendBack is giving life in the face of a graveyard for returns
Click “start return.” That’s where SendBack steps in. The new-to-Kansas City startup built technology that catches a return the moment a shopper initiates it, explained founder Shaniqua Jones-Williams. Instead of automatically shipping it back to a warehouse, SendBack pauses the process and asks what actually makes sense — a refund, a discount to keep the…
&tag you’re it: Digital ID aims to give back people’s control over their data, attention
A Kansas City-built digital identity platform is launching streamlining technology to tackle what its founders see as a fundamental flaw of the world wide web: it was optimized for clicks, but never designed for the humans who use it. “Identity was left out of the Internet,” said Aaron Sloup, co-founder of The & Company, alongside…
It’s ‘the place that everyone wants to be’: Why Techstars could be back in KC for more than just hugs
Five years after Techstars left Kansas City, the global startup accelerator’s co-founder and CEO teased a comeback for the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. “We’re going to try to figure out how to continue to be a part of the Kansas City startup community,” David Cohen told a crowd of founders, investors, advocates, and Techstars alumni Thursday…
Hack in traction: Startups learn hustle shortcode for winning customers, narrow focus
Drilling into the customer profile for his startup — an AI-powered, curated swag marketplace aimed at early stage tech companies — Ivan Hadzhiev used tailored resources from Wichita-based NXTUS to validate a complaint keeping prospective partners from buying in. In short, a lot of options — even for custom, branded merchandise — isn’t necessarily a…
Kansas’ bracket-style pitch competition just revealed 32 startups vying for its $25K prize
An innovation-led startup tournament taking Kansas by storm is just built different, said Conor Adler, announcing the nearly three-dozen contenders featured in this spring’s competition. “One of the most inspiring facets of Gamechangers and Champions is seeing founders from rural Kansas standing alongside entrepreneurs from our largest cities,” said Adler, investment manager for Wichita-based NXTUS,…
