KC sci|tech|startups|entrepreneurial thread

[earthling]

As an offshoot of the Google Fiber thread, this needs its own thread to talk about tech and entrepreneurial stuff going on in KC metro.

There is a KC IT Professionals group that claims to have just hit 10K members, though that's likely just signups. They tend to have a couple hundred attend events. If in IT, get involved and check it out...

http://www.kcitp.com/

KC Next recently formed, which tracks tech and engineering companies. This list 500 employers (though doesn't list many non-tech companies that have IT shops)...
http://www.kcnext.com/index.php/kc-it-a ... eb-hosting


According to this, KC has nearly 3000 tech/IT shops and 65K employees, about same as Austin and more than many markets larger than KC, including STL. Also says KC ranks 8th for telcom. It was 5th before Sprint took a big hit and split off the local division, which essentially left with CenturyLink acquisition.
http://www.techamericafoundation.org/cy ... ansas-city
http://www.techamericafoundation.org/cy ... 010-austin

Another report on IT talent in lower cost cities. KC came out ahead of Dallas, Denver, Atlanta and Houston with percap concentration and growth of IT talent. Check out page 8...
http://www.klgadvisors.com/sites/defaul ... t_View.pdf

Post events, employers hiring, etc...

[earthling]

KC ranks high for Android developers...
http://venturebeat.com/2011/08/19/guess ... roid-apps/

A new Institute formed in KC to help develop mobile apps with intent to make KC a leader in mobile app development. KC metro already ranks high in Android development and has a major distributor (Handmark) - Sprint presence helps too. Can now take a 12 week course to develop mobile apps, with zero programming experience (might check an online aptitude test for programming). I think the Institute is located in Kauffman Labs on UMKC campus but the courses will be held downtown and OP.

First course will be iOS development but they plan on an Android course next...
http://disruptioninstitute.com/

Found an aptitude test...
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tests/computer-test.htm

Hoffman said during a panel on the future of mobile that he's bullish on Kansas City's potential in the mobile space. "Kansas City and Plano, Texas are incredible places to get (mobile) talent," he said. "Always have been.”

http://www.siliconprairienews.com/2012/ ... -on-future

[earthling]

Netsmart behavioral healthcare software looking to hire 130 to 150 this year, mostly pursuing college grads...
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/p ... ecent.html

Cerner still on hiring binge. I hear Perceptive Software is now on hiring freeze for a while after a binge but to pickup next Q. PricewaterhouseCoopers is expanding downtown location with 50+ Health IT positions.

[earthling]

Another AP wire article on KC tech startup momentum due to Google Fiber, many major media carrying it. KC continues to get huge exposure with something popping up every week related to Gfiber...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ ... story.html

"Without this on-ramp here I probably would have found it very difficult to come here," said Payne, who in December moved from Denver to develop CyberJammer.

"The whole startup thing in Kansas City is like this huge growing beast," he said. "It's got this crazy momentum."

[Highlander]

Another AP wire article on KC tech startup momentum due to Google Fiber, many major media carrying it. KC continues to get huge exposure with something popping up every week related to Gfiber...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ ... story.html

"Without this on-ramp here I probably would have found it very difficult to come here," said Payne, who in December moved from Denver to develop CyberJammer.

"The whole startup thing in Kansas City is like this huge growing beast," he said. "It's got this crazy momentum."

Great news. Not often people pick KC over Denver unless they just cannot afford Denver. This article appeared again today as a featured article in Yahoo.

[earthling]

^Hopefully it will draw outside venture capitalists. Most startups/entrepreneurs in KC depend on small business loans.

http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/2013 ... _sightdec/

One of Kansas City's first city-backed ventures to capitalize on the speed of Google Fiber is set to officially launch next week. Fittingly, it's from a company that could help other entrepreneurs speed up how they pitch their own products.

SightDeck, a spinoff of Los Angeles-based tech company iMatte, provides HD telepresence with a lot of extra tricks. Not only does the system have the capacity to broadcast remote meetings, it can fuse them together using a drop screen and infrared technology that allows up to four attendees in different locations to appear in the same room and manipulate background graphics by touch, like a gigantic iPad.

[earthling]

Another article of startup momentum is circling the wire (not APs, originally from a French pub)...

http://www.worldcrunch.com/tech-science ... PWFTJ7A2a5

Some aspects seems overstated but KC is getting all kinds of attention that wouldn't exist w/out Gfiber. Is nice to see the Startup Village momentum but when Xroads get Gfiber, that may be much more appealing to those who want more urban vibe.

[earthling]

Startup Village in KCK goes from 9 to 18 startups in a month or so.
http://www.kcstartupvillage.org/villagers/startups/

Nice video in here about KCSV and the grassroots feel...
http://www.siliconprairienews.com/2012/ ... n-outcomes

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[earthling]

Good idea... done.

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[Zorobabel]

Mr. Kotkin makes some interesting points, but I can't find myself agreeing with everything he says. For instance, he ties the unemployment rates of certain counties to the overall health of the IT sector in cities located within those counties. I would disagree with that assertion. The unemployment rate in Santa Clara County may be 7.7%, but in my field -- software engineering -- at any given time in Silicon Valley there are generally more openings than there are qualified workers to fill them (qualified would be a B.S. in CS with a solid knowledge of programming -- the latter point disqualifies perhaps 70% of CS graduates). He notes that D.C. has had the fastest growth in IT in the country, but then throws out 'that doesn't count' argument. He attempts to do the same with Seattle, which has been a center of the tech industry since the 1980s and is still experiencing some of the fastest job growth. He even groups Austin, a major tech center since the early 90s, together with Houston and Columbus.

His main point mostly still stands, but when you consider all the important factors the implications are not as impressive as the author might let on.

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[earthling]

Even though the location doesn't have Google fiber access yet, this probably wouldn't be happening w/out Gfiber presence.

Kansas City most recently attracted attention from the startup community because of the test of superfast Google Fiber, but the just-announced startup accelerator SparkLabKC could help solidify the Midwestern city as a genuine startup hub.

SparkLabKC will select 10 early-stage Internet-focused startups and provide them with the following benefits:

- Seed capital up to $18,000
- More than 80 mentors
- Free workspace
- Legal, accounting, financial, and human-resources advisory services
- A formal demo day for potential investors at the end of the program

The program is taking applications from Feb. 1 through March 31, and it starts May 29 at the SparkLabKC office, which is across the street from Union Station (pictured) in Kansas City, Mo. Over the course of 90 days, companies learn and develop their products. The demonstration day will be held Aug. 23.

http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/23/spark ... celerator/

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[KCMax]

Digital Sandbox will shape high-tech companies

A public-private effort led by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Innovation Center rolled out Digital Sandbox KC aimed at developing high-technology companies in the region....

Digital Sandbox KC is targeting companies tied to these categories: data center and cloud operations, data analytics, mobile applications, and data security.
Companies can apply through March 1 for the program, which will provide proof-of-concept financing for selected startups.

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[Zorobabel]

Health care startup opens HQ in Leawood, plans 200 new jobs

A new startup named eLuminate Health will open its headquarters at 11111 Nall Ave. in Leawood and is expected to create 201 jobs in Kansas in the next five years.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... hq-in.html