Kansas City In March, we wrote about nonprofit Connecting for Good's mission to bridge the digital divide in Kansas City. It was in the process of fundraising to secure a grant from One Economy Corporation and to bring free WiFi to the Juniper Gardens low-income housing … read more
May 13, 2013 by Fred Bauters
Kansas City On the eve of its first Finovate appearance, Kansas City startup EyeVerify today announced it closed a $2.3 million Series A round and will begin offering its mobile authentication software to banks, investment firms, payment systems and others in the banking and financial services sectors. Investors in this round include Think Big Ventures and Nebraska Angels—both participants in the startup's $1.4 million seed round last year—along with Mid-America Angels and undisclosed individuals ... read more
Kansas City Kansas City Startup Village has been covered by media far and wide, but it has yet to land on a magazine cover. Ben Barreth, creator of the Homes for Hackers program, did just that this week, making it onto the front of Government Technology magazine, a publication focused on information … read more
May 1, 2013 by Fred Bauters
Kansas City Handprint, a 3D printing software startup, recently put down roots in Brad Feld's Fiberhouse in Kansas City Startup Village, but how did the four-person team land here and why did the Boulder, Colo.-based investor choose them? The team—Mike Demarais, Alexa Nguyen, Jack Franzen and Derek Caneja—initially met in Boston. Its presence in Kansas City began last October when co-founder Demarais became the first resident of Ben Barreth's Home for Hackers, a program giving three months of free rent to … read more
April 30, 2013 by Fred Bauters
Kansas City True to form, individuals volunteering their time and talent made the first video to highlight the Kansas City Startup Village. Matthew Marcus, co-founder of the Startup Village, thanked the "give first, get later" actions of those involved in creating "the first KCSV video helping outsiders (and insiders) better understand just what is happening in this part … read more
April 30, 2013 by Fred Bauters
Kansas City In its quest to reinvent the mobile search experience, Kansas City, Mo., startup Leap2 today announced it closed a $1.6 million round of funding and launched the latest version of its iOS and Android apps. Since its start more than two years ago, Leap2's interface and functionality has evolved as the team tries "to reimagine what search is," director of product Tyler VanWinkle recently told Silicon Prairie News. In the new version … read more
April 29, 2013 by Fred Bauters
Kansas City The Kansas City Startup Village and one of its newest villagers will host separate open houses in May. Pipeline, an invitation-only group of entrepreneurs focused on business leadership development, will host those interested to "see our new space, meet some of our members and advisors and connect with others in the Startup Village" from 4–6 p.m. on May 3, according to its Eventbrite page. The group moved from a 250-square-foot office at the Heartland House near the University of Kansas Medical Center ... read more
April 17, 2013 by Fred Bauters
Kansas City EyeVerify CEO Toby Rush is "excited to lead the charge" in mobile identity protection, and he just got reinforcements via a third patent and third-party accuracy validation. The Kansas City area startup today announced that it has received a patent for spoof detection, which ensures the company's biometric authentication—using smartphone cameras to image and match blood vessels in the eyes in place … read more
April 17, 2013 by Fred Bauters
Kansas City Brad Feld's Fiberhouse is ready to make its mark in the Kansas City Startup Village, the neighborhood where Google Fiber was first installed. The Boulder, Colo., investor, entrepreneur and author announced today on his blog that 3D modeling startup Handprint has won his KC Fiberhouse competition. "Handprint is working on some amazing 3D printing and editing technology," Feld said on his blog. "We had plenty of applications for the competition—many of them very interesting—but Handprint really captured our imagination." Feld opened applications in February in conjunction with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for the opportunity … read more
Kansas City Entrepreneurs have less than a week to apply for free rent and work space in a Kansas City, Kan. house purchased by Boulder, Colo. investor and author Brad Feld. Those with an idea that maximizes the value of Google Fiber have until Monday to vie for a spot … read more
Through August 22, help us decide the winners of our inaugural Silicon Prairie Awards, which will recognize 12
companies and individuals. You can vote once per day per category.
Winners will be announced live on stage at
our August 30 event.