January 4, 2013 by Michael Stacy
Kansas City Last year was a busy one for Michael Gelphman and Kansas City IT Professionals (KCITP), the grassroots group for Kansas City technology professionals that Gelphman … read more
Posts by Michael Stacy
January 4, 2013 by Michael Stacy
December 31, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Kansas City The Kansas City area in the last half-decade has seen increases in entrepreneurial exits, funding for young companies and collective energy behind entrepreneurship, a paper released earlier this month asserts, but obstacles still stand in the way of Kansas City's entrepreneurial community moving from "fragmented to collaborative." The paper, "Entrepreneurial Community in Kansas City: From Fragmented to Collaborative?" … read more
December 28, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Kansas City As presents and parties pile up at this time of year, the list of thank-you notes that need writing grows and grows, sometimes to unmanageable lengths. It's with times like this in mind that Kansas City entrepreneur Amy Marin Carlson created Growing Gratitude, a mobile application for sending video thank-you notes. A beta version of the app, which is currently available for iOs only, debuted in the App Store earlier this month. Carlson came up with the idea for Growing Gratitude during her son's second birthday party, as she contemplated … read more
December 27, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Iowa City Koala Pay, a mobile application launched last month, is out to help merchants cultivate a more loyal and engaged customer base, starting with users of web-based payments network Dwolla. Released in the App Store on Nov. 26 and officially unveiled at a Dwolla meetup Nov. 30 in Des Moines, Koala Pay was designed to provide merchants a channel for marketing directly to customers and to give customers deals and discounts to their favorite merchants. "It’s a mobile app that allows merchants to create more loyal and engaged customers," said Troy Miller … read more
December 27, 2012 by Michael Stacy
As I embarked on my first road trip to my first meetup on my first day at Silicon Prairie News, I tried to start my car. My car did not comply. The battery was dead, which posed a problem: I was in Omaha. The meetup was in Kansas City. That's a long way to bike in three hours' time. Eventually, I was able to jump-start the car, and what was cause for a minor — OK, verging on major — freak-out that first day has since become a funny footnote in the story … read more
December 24, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Kansas City As Tom McDonnell takes the helm of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as its new president and CEO, he is determined to help the $1.8 billion foundation increase its visibility and build on existing strengths without veering from its focus on entrepreneurship and education. The Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation announced on Dec. 4 that McDonnell would become its next president and CEO, effective … read more
December 21, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Kansas City Tom McDonnell is making a move from one Kansas City institution to another. In September, McDonnell revealed plans to retire at year's end from his role as chief executive of DST Systems, and on Dec. 4 the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced that McDonnell would become its new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. McDonnell helped start DST, a company that provides information processing and software services and products, in 1969. Today the company, which began as a spinoff of Kansas City Southern Railways, employs some 13,000 people worldwide. At the Kauffman Foundation, McDonnell will oversee an organization with an asset base of $1.8 billion and a mission centered around entrepreneurship and education. McDonnell has served … read more
December 20, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Kansas City Mike Farmer has spent time in Silicon Valley and New York, but he says he hasn't seen anything quite like what's springing up along State Line Road in Kansas City. Farmer is the founder and CEO of Kansas City, Kan.-based mobile search startup Leap2, and his company is part of Kansas City Startup Village (KCSV), a grassroots community of startups … read more
December 19, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Kansas City Pipeline, a Kansas City, Kan.-based fellowship for high-growth entrepreneurs in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, will hold its marquee annual gathering, the Innovator of the Year event, on Jan. 24 in Kansas City, Mo. The daylong event includes a pitch session featuring the entrepreneurs of Pipeline's 2012 class and a networking reception. It culminates in the Innovator of the Year dinner, where Pipeline will hand out awards — including the award for which the event is named — and unveil … read more
December 18, 2012 by Michael Stacy
Omaha Angela Lee, the founder of SHOLDIT and past president of Strictly Business Magazine - Omaha, will speak Thursday at Cornstalks, the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce's monthly meeting of people interested in high-growth entrepreneurship. Cornstalks takes places at Silicon Prairie News headquarters (1111 North 13th Street, Suite 208). Networking over complimentary drinks and snacks will begin at 6:30 p.m, and Lee will present at 7:30. The event is free and open to the public. … read more