Wichita and Kansas
Groover Labs Opening in Wichita Groover Labs is a 42,000 square foot coworking center and maker space located in Old Town in Wichita. Old Town is located on the eastern edge of Wichita’s downtown and is known for its eclectic-ness. Many claim that Old Town is the neighborhood that sits as the anchor of the…
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Lawn Buddy is a software company based in Wichita, Kansas. The company provides software and mobile tools to more than 10,000 users in the lawn care business. We sat down with Steven Werner the CEO of Lawn Buddy to ask him about the new round and about the company. When asked why Lawn Buddy exists,…
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Wichita based Knoxx filed paperwork this week with the SEC indicating that it had raised another early stage round. The company which provides the Alyss Analytics engine helps companies deliver HR consulting services around a software product that captures and reviews audio and video submissions of potential employees. The goal is to automate and review…
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2018 was a terrific year for the Silicon Prairie regarding venture dollars deployed. More than $6.1B was deployed in the region. While the number of companies receiving funds was about 8% lower (approximately 1450 companies were venture backed in the region), the amount of funding was up more than 34.5% from 2017 to 2018. Thus,…
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Today, August 28th, the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship is opening its application for 2020 fellows. Pipeline is the premier networking, mentoring, and entrepreneurial encouragement program in the Midwest. It has effectively helped build a network throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. In so doing, Pipeline has helped, inspired, networked, and shaped individual entrepreneurs that have collectively created…
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In talking to Jessica Straus, Dundee Venture Capital’s new Venture Partner, it occurred to me that we should write an update on first fundings in what Straus called the “mighty middle”. This paper describes first fundings. First fundings are a recordation of companies that raise capital for the first time. This paper uses Pitchbook data…
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1 Million Cups was developed in Kansas City, MO in 2012 by Co-Founders Cameron Cushman and Nate Olson who were working at the time on the Entrepreneurship Team at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. What began as an experiment to bring entrepreneurs in one city together over a cup of coffee towards a goal of…
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Wichita-based BuddyBrands started by building better beds to help canines get their sleep. The company has expanded its offerings to include so much more. The BuddyRest story begins seven years ago when company Co-founder, Trevor Crotts’ labradoodle, Buddy, visited the vet. Crotts happened to be a corporate trainer in the mattress industry at the time,…
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Video gaming has always been a fiercely competitive pastime. Those who are old enough surely remember hunkering down into a game after school and bickering with their siblings over the Atari joystick for a crack at Pitfall! or Frogger. (For those who are too young to have relished in the joy of the successful virtual…
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Alyss is innovating in hiring. When Alyss competed for and won the $120K grand prize at the Inside/Outside Innovation Summit in Lincoln, Nebraska last year, company Founder and CEO Mike Mathia was determined to realize his vision of helping job applicants stand out and demonstrate their qualifications beyond a simple resume. Less than one year…
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