Two KC EdTech startups earn spots in latest LEANLAB cohort; launch set for August
It’s a highly selective process to join the fifth LEANLAB K-12 fellowship, said Katie Boody, but two Kansas City startups made the cut. K12 Perform and Base Academy of Music will join four other cohort members — hailing from the Midwest t... Read more
AltCap — a Kansas City-based community development financial institution that focuses on underserved populations — is expanding its footprint. In response to small businesses’ growing demand for capital, AltCap will now serve the entire Kansas C... Read more
Four key moments led to SoftVu’s exit (three missteps kept it from happening sooner)
Deals like the acquisition of KC-based SoftVu by an Alabama private equity firm don’t happen overnight. And founder Tim Donnelly gives near-equal weight to the trials and triumphs that led the marketing platform to its big exit. “We’ve done as m... Read more
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary about workplace culture are the author’s alone. Check out a previous column by Frank Keck here. Only 33 percent of employees are actively engaged in the workplace 51 percent are simply not... Read more
Four early-stage businesses recently entered the Digital Sandbox KC program. The new startups demonstrate the ingenuity Digital Sandbox aims to attract for its grant-funding efforts, said Jeff Shackelford, director of Digital Sandbox KC. “From h... Read more
Juaquan Herron has been to LA and back. The 32-year-old got tired of waiting. “I couch surfed, had a child who was not with me, but a supportive wife, and every day I was like, ‘What in the hell am I doing?’” said Herron, an actor and filmmaker... Read more
When more than 600 attendees gathered this week in Kansas City for the second ESHIP Summit, they each came with their own ecosystems, businesses, local governments and support networks in mind. They also brought questions. “What are they doing i... Read more
“What’s the word?” “Respect!” shouted the teenage farmhands at BoysGrow, a two-year program dedicated to teaching entrepreneurship to urban youth through agriculture and farming. The 10-acre BoysGrow farm outside Grandview plays host to 30 to 40... Read more
Despite a living legacy of ongoing entrepreneurial support, even the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation doesn’t have all the answers, Wendy Guillies told a 600-strong crowd at Wednesday’s ESHIP Summit kickoff in Kansas City. “We approach our work... Read more
Startup newbie: How researching entrepreneurship in Medellin led me to Kansas City
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. When my wife Megan and I visited Kansas City this past January as part of our “city shopping tour,” there was much that impressed us and led to our deci... Read more