N-GAGE founder gets a grip on weight-lifting pain points (without giving up his day job)
N-GAGE GRIPS will have found success as a startup when Matt Leadbetter’s oldest son thinks he’s cool. “I remember thinking, ‘I have this thing in my head, I just need to make it,’ and I was kinda thinking at the time, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if whe... Read more
Startup Road Trip: Huck Adventures goes west, using AI to turn outdoors into a social setting
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, w... Read more
Startup Road Trip: Venture, innovation scenes rapidly growing in Kansas City’s ‘backyard’
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, w... Read more
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Victor Hwang is the outgoing vice president of entrepreneurship at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Click here to read more about his planned departure from th... Read more
Missouri is leaving millions of dollars on the table that could fuel early-stage startups, which create nearly 80 percent of net new jobs in the state. A new report from MOSourceLink, a program of the UMKC Innovation Center, reveals Missouri is... Read more
Keto crust on the rise: Fattyhead bakes ingredients for expansion into new distribution deals
Laura Manivong is feeding a hunger for keto diet-friendly pizza crusts that already stretches to freezer aisles across the metro — with stores and distributors salivating for more. “Out of the blue, I just called Sam Paris and Paris Brothers,” ... Read more
Village veteran SquareOffs launches long-awaited social opinion site, tops $2M+ in funding
SquareOffs hopes its new consumer-facing destination website — showcasing interactive “microdebates” aggregated across a growing network of publishers and influencers — moves digital conversations back to civility. A fresh round of funding will... Read more
Startups to Watch, Innovation Exchange returning; Startland News announces 2020 events calendar
Startland News’ most popular annual and monthly events are set to return in 2020, Austin Barnes said Tuesday, releasing a full calendar of events for the new year. “In the last six months of 2019, Innovation Exchange drew its biggest... Read more
LaunchKC, Brush Creek unveil InsureTech accelerator led by longtime startup advocate
The latest LaunchKC-powered industry accelerator aims to bring a new wave of technology Kansas City’s insurance community, said Nathan Kurtz. “There’s a rich heritage of insurance in Kansas City,” said Kurtz, COO of Brush Creek Partners, a... Read more
Top universities, incentives lure online pet supplements startup to brick-and-mortar operation in an unexpected metro
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, w... Read more



























