May 3, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City Launching a startup is a familiar task for Klink Mobile's Jessie Bishop. Bishop in 2009 co-founded Prepay Nation, a service that allows the transfer of cellular airtime from one customer to another, even across international borders. Prior to that, Bishop worked for Euronet Worldwide, where she was initially exposed to the financial payment sector. Prepay Nation was on track to generate … read more
April 19, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City RareWire is nearly ready to introduce its "secret weapon" to a broader audience. The Kansas City, Mo.-based mobile app creation studio and software provider, founded in March 2010 by former Saepio colleagues Matt Angell (below left) and Kirk Hasenzahl (left), saw the potential with the launch of the iPad for a platform that would make it easier for companies and developers to create their own apps. Since then, RareWire has been building mobile apps for local and international clients like the United States Military Academy at West Point … read more
April 6, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City Two days of talks, discussions and panels on technology's influence are filling an energized corner of Kansas City, Mo. this week. The Forum, a tech and culture conference held in conjunction with the music-focused Middle of the Map Fest, ran all day Thursday and continues today at OfficePort (a coworking facility we covered earlier this year), StagePort (left) and Screenland in the Crossroads District. On Thursday, forum attendees heard … read more
April 5, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City One year after making the leap from part-time to full-time blogger, Shawn Blanc has no regrets. Blanc launched shawnblanc.net, his tech- and design-centric blog, in July of 2007 on the side of his full-time job as director of marketing for the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, Mo. In April 2011 he left IHOP to write and blog full-time. Silicon Prairie News conducted an email interview with Blanc this month, the one-year anniversary of his foray … read more
March 21, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation has a group of programs under its FastTrac initiative that is all … read more
March 16, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City It's been less than two months since Ryan Weber took the helm of KCnext - The Technology Council of Greater Kansas City, and the agenda is full. KCnext aims to promote the area's tech sector by supporting its community and the tech industry as a whole through publicity, education and building employment opportunities. As we reported earlier this year, Weber took over in mid-January as the first president of the newly-formed organization, which is a fusion of the Software and Information Technology Association of Kansas (SITAKS) and a previous iteration of KCnext. Since then, Weber has focused on eliciting feedback from his members and planning events. … read more
February 10, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City There's a little-known secret tucked away on the third floor of the Kansas City Public Library's downtown Central branch. It's quiet, high-tech and full of resources for budding entrepreneurs. It's the H&R Block Business & Career Center. Per the library's website, the Block Center is dedicated to supporting successful entrepreneurs, in addition to helping patrons invest money wisely, find jobs and develop careers, establish and sustain non-profits and improve … read more
January 30, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City More than 120 professionals from around the Kansas City metro gathered Thursday evening at The Well in Waldo for drinks, discussion and networking. But this wasn't exactly your typical happy hour discussion. The topic du jour? Goals. The Kansas City Information Technology Professionals (KCITP) kicked off their event schedule for the new year with a happy hour focused on goal-setting and peer accountability. The event, sponsored by data … read more
January 23, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City Shaul Jolles loves Kansas City. And it shows. Jolles, a University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate who was born and raised in Israel, landed in the Kansas City area over a decade ago after serving in the Israeli army. Initially intending to only stay for a semester during his undergraduate studies, he's still in Kansas City 12 years later. "I fell in love with Kansas City.” Jolles said. “I didn't think in the beginning that this was my place, but I really fell in love … read more
January 13, 2012 by Annie Sorensen
Kansas City Creativity, collaboration and coffee all flow readily at OfficePort, a coworking space in the Crossroads Art District in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Opened in 2008 by business partners Shaul Jolles and Mike Edmondson, OfficePort is a low-cost, collaborative coworking space that caters to Kansas City businesses. Tech startups, small business owners, artists, freelancers and entrepreneurs can all find a space of their own at OfficePort. … read more