Prairie Moves is a roundup of career changes, media coverage, product development and other updates from the companies and individuals regularly covered by Silicon Prairie News. To submit an item for consideration, please email editor@siliconprairienews.com or use the form below.
Lead Read
“SXSW Accelerator 2013 Finalists” – Kansas City, Mo. startup Phone2Action learned it would be competing in the South by Southwest Accelerator in March.
Quotable
“I’m like, sh*t, we better go raise some money.” – Klink Mobile founder and CEO Jessie Bishop participates in an in-depth interview about her entrepreneurial career. – The Pitch.
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Mergers and acquisitions
- Innovation Accelerator Foundation acquired the iBridge Network from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation – Press Release, Omaha World-Herald and SPN
Fundings
- Front Flip, the maker of a virtual scratch-off app with the same name, closed a $3.7 million Series B round led by Jon Darbyshire of the Leawood, Kan.-based Archer Foundation – Press Release, TechCrunch and SPN
- Game Consoles Worldwide, creator of the GCW-Zero, ended its Kickstarter campaign successfully raising $238,498 – Kickstarter
Career moves
- Charles Potts, formerly of ProfitStars, joined Banno as president – Press Release, SPN, Des Moines Register and Bank Technology News
- Ashley Z. Hand, formerly of AECOM, joined the City of Kansas City, Mo. as chief innovation officer – Press Release and Kansas City Business Journal
New tech
- clusterFlunk, a student collaboration and study website, launched – clusterflunk.com, SPN and Press Citizen
- Think Big Partners teamed up with Denver-based entrepreneur Adam Griffin to launch Bodeefit, a fitness app that incorporates Crossfit-inspired movements and Paleo nutrition plans – bodeefit.com and Press Release
Product and business updates
- Kansas City startup Phone2Action earned a spot in the South by Southwest Interactive Accelerator – SXSW
- Google Play featuring boosted SkyVu Entertainment’s daily new user count up 1,900 percent – Inside Mobile Apps
- Pikuzone released an iOS app – App Store
- Torsion Mobile integrated with SinglePlatform from Constant Contact – Press Release and Des Moines Register
Mentions
- Trellie – “KC entrepreneurs create tech devices geared towards women” – KMBZ
- Trellie – “3 New Tech Products Designed for Women (and They’re Not Pink!)” – Huffington Post
- Dwolla – “Startup News: Etsy Goes Shopping for a Twee App Maker and Dwolla Goes to the Gov” – BetaBeat
- Lantern – “Tech startup hopes to light up rewards programs” – Kansas City Business Journal
- BetaBlox – “Reporter page: BetaBlox runs lean, roomy incubator in Downtown Underground” – Kansas City Business Journal
- Jessie Bishop of Klink Mobile – “Klink Mobile CEO Jessie Bishop bets that the future of moving money is on your cellphone” – The Pitch
- Pipeline Innovator of the Year – “Pipeline CEO wears innovation on her sleeve” – Kansas City Business Journal
- “Union Station is becoming an innovation hub” – Kansas City Business Journal
- “Former LinkedIn Vice President urges links via social networks” – Omaha World-Herald
Gig bits
Gig Bits is an occasional feature keeping our readers up to speed on Google Fiber. Read Gig Bits.
- “Google Fiber provides faster Internet and, cities hope, business growth” – Washington Post
- “Google’s ‘got to nail Kansas City,’ CFO says” – Kansas City Business Journal
- “Fiber to the Home Council to Hold ‘Community Toolkit’ Conference in Kansas City” – Press Release
Recognition
- SkyVu Entertainment founder and CEO won Pipeline’s “Innovator of the Year” award – SPN, Kansas City Business Journal and Omaha World-Herald
Blogged
- “Why Dwolla Is Special” – Alex Taub
- “IOTY Daytime Presentations” (Photos) – Pipeline
- “IOTY Networking Highlights Album 1” (Photos) – Pipeline
- “Everyone Was Center Stage!” (Photos) – Pipeline
- “Resolving Co-Founder Disputes” – Mike Knoop
- “Solve problems that piss you off” – Ben Milne
- “Social Accountability: Present.io” – Christian Renaud
- “How One Startup Weekend Team Launched Slowly, Grew Customers and Became a Successful Business” – Wade Foster
- “7 Changes For Your ‘Startup Life’ ” – Brent Beshore
- “Innovators take center stage” – Brent Beshore
- “A Prayer to the Gods of TV on the Eve of NAPTE 2013” – Jack Perry
- “Singly, RecBob, & Me Part I: The Journey to Singly” – Christopher Quartier
- “Front Flip Insider of the Week: Iannick Torrez” – Front Flip
- “Caitlin’s perfect date with Winnie the Pooh. Wait, that’s not right.” – Hudl
Misc.
- SparkLabKC startup accelerator emerges in Kansas City – Press Release, SPN, Kansas City Business Journal, PE Hub, Tech Cocktail and VentureBeat
- Pipeline introduced its class of 2013 fellows – SPN
- “MLS, Sporting Innovations in reality TV show” – Sporting Kansas City blog
- “FishNet Security Helps Kansas State University Launch Smart Grid Lab Focused on Software Defined Networking” – Press Release
- “Proxibid Closes 2012 with Increases in Revenue, Buyers and Sales” – Press Release
- “Google to expand free Wi-Fi in Council Bluffs with $50,000 grant” – Des Moines Register
- Kansas City, Mo. mayor Sly James announced the formation of Challenge Cabinet of young professionals – Press Release
- Grinnell College produced a video showcasing a former student intern at Dwolla – “Silicon Prairie: Max Farrell ’12 at Dwolla“
- The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce released its video supporting Omaha startups – “We’re in!“
- CEA posted video interviews with “Silicon Prairie” film producers – “Internet Freedom: Justin McIntosh, Producer of ‘Silicon Prairie’ ” and “Internet Freedom: Nadeem Mazen discusses ‘Silicon Prairie’ “
Credits: Screenshot from sxsw.com.
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