Status and Health of Local Corporations

[langosta]

The large national banks are expanding in a lot of cities, not just Kansas City.

And for similar reasons, scale up and grab efficiency gains or get out competed/bought up.

[dukuboy1]

This sounds like the founder had an opportunity to take the money and retire. Can't blame folks for wanting to build something off and then enjoying the wealth they built. As for talent, I'm not seeing Champaign, IL being a mecca for better workers than KC. Yes Univ of Il is there but that's it. Looks like this bank saw an easy opportunity to extend their reach West and jumped at the opportunity.

Overall it does stink that once again a company that started up in KC, grew successfully has been decided to be sold off by the founding father(s). Shame we seem to Lack Business leaders that are really committed to building legacy companies in KC. There are still several out there that do for sure, and have done it. But within the last 20-30 yrs it seems to be build it right, build it big, sell it for profit and retire.

Hopefully our fortunes will change where these KC companies will decided to be buyers and still keep their corporate presence in town. Really need to to work to be an Ag Business, Ag Research hub of the US, along with Engineering and Architecture powerhouse. Lots of roots planted in those areas but we need to cultivate it more. Stop chasing the hot companies and look to build your own something

[FangKC]

There is a lot of cash in capital markets because of huge corporate profits and Trump's tax reductions adding more wealth to the rich people, Wall Street, and corporations. It appears some of that cash is being used to buy other companies. Some investors are hard-pressed to find things to do with their cash hoards. One of the historic plays in a situation like this is to buy competitors and expand market share, or venture into related things like buying your suppliers or businesses that might complement your company.

[FangKC]

Ex-Cerner employees' startup helps make hospitals' reimbursement more efficient, effective

Four former Cerner Corp. employees formed a startup in 2019 that is making waves in health care reimbursement.

SparkChange doubled its office footprint at the beginning of the year, and it’s on track to outgrow the space. The startup has grown to 70 local employees, half of whom are software engineers.

The startup aims to change how hospitals navigate the revenue cycle, the backbone for how hospitals get paid through insurance reimbursements.
...
SparkChange’s growth has been organic since it launched. The startup didn’t seek private equity or venture capital investments.

The company achieved profitability in its first year, built its client base through customer referrals and hasn’t lost a single customer in the past five years, LoPorto said. It's on track to hit eight figures in revenue this year, which would double the company’s revenue from the previous year.

Its has more than 30 clients, including North Kansas City Hospital, University Health (formerly Truman Medical Center) and Lawrence Memorial Hospital. SparkChange also has added clients from large hospital systems in New York, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
...
LoPorto launched the startup alongside three co-founders with deep backgrounds in software engineering and revenue cycle management. COO Dung Tran, Principal Engineer Craig Mattson and Principal Engineer Michael Montesano worked alongside LoPorto at Cerner for several years before they teamed up to build SparkChange.

They started out working from Tran’s home and have expanded to a 10,000-square-foot office in the basement of Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City. Office amenities include access to the arena’s pickleball, basketball and volleyball courts, and a track and weight room, LoPorto said.
...

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/ ... 0&empos=p5

[dukuboy1]

hope they keep growing and become even more successful and hallmarks of KC corporations

[langosta]

Mariner Wealth up to $250billion under management and has recently closed on an M&A bank that will help it further expand that business line.

[herrfrank]

^KC in the 1980s did not feel like a "burnt out wreck" -- if anything it felt vibrant and relatively more important nationally than today. It certainly conveyed more importance/ gravitas than Nashville, Austin, and possibly Seattle. I can give a lot of anecdotes, but having lived in KC that decade and also travelling extensively in the US and abroad, KC was a known entity then. Now, not so much.

But the underlying point is valid -- KC did lose its mojo somewhere along the road. This may be for another thread, but having two local-family owned banks dominate the metro, which I used to think would open doors to entrepreneurship, appears to hinder growth rather than encourage it.

[dukuboy1]

KC did have strong presence in the 80's for sure, but always played a bit of 2nd fiddle to STL and some of the Metros throughout the MidWest. I would say we lost our Mojo, or rather we rested on our laurels a little too much through the 80's & 90's, that set us back and did not prepare us well for when there was some sort of seismic change in the business world. IE- TWA being bought out & then Merged with AA. Mr. Kaufmann dying, lost of NCAA HQ, FFA choosing to move convention site, Sprint merger, AT&T leaving the area, etc. Events of this nature and then things like DTS merging and evaporating, AMC being bought out and moving HQ out of downtown, recently, Cerner being bought out. All of these things have lead to major gaps that have yet to be filled. Really would be great to see business leaders looking to be aggressive in going out and bringing in new companies but mostly fostering new one and helping them to grow.

I don't feel KC ever really left just kind of got skipped over as the world shifted to look at new shiny objects and ones that came with sweet incentive deals from both the cities & states. You see that coordinated effort to be a player. KC & MO are on different pages for sure. Until that changes it will be hard to keep moving forward. MO leaders are not interested (at least it seems) to promote KC & STL as valuable assets

[grovester]

The divide of the state line increased exponentially.

The resources needed to grow the city were no longer available.

[Highlander]

^KC in the 1980s did not feel like a "burnt out wreck" -- if anything it felt vibrant and relatively more important nationally than today. It certainly conveyed more importance/ gravitas than Nashville, Austin, and possibly Seattle. I can give a lot of anecdotes, but having lived in KC that decade and also travelling extensively in the US and abroad, KC was a known entity then. Now, not so much.

But the underlying point is valid -- KC did lose its mojo somewhere along the road. This may be for another thread, but having two local-family owned banks dominate the metro, which I used to think would open doors to entrepreneurship, appears to hinder growth rather than encourage it.

True. We were ranked higher on the list of metro area population than today and downtown was undergoing a resurgence with the ATT building, 1 KC Place and a host of other downtown buildings. Barney Allis Plaza was refurbished and the Vista Hotel was built across the street. I believe work started on renovations and new homes in the Union Hill area along with Quality Hill and in the River Market. Probably the first larger scale movement of people back into the city since the exodus of the 60's and 70's.

[herrfrank]

I would define the exodus as 1967-1982. KC in most of the 1960s was similar to how it was in the 1950s. Troost was like Wornall in Waldo -- a busy urban street. The riots drove a lot of the "white flight" of the early part of those years. The buildout of South Overland Park and Leawood in the 1980s was mostly new people to the metro. Not people who had grown up within the city limits. The city expatriates mostly moved earlier into places like Prairie Village and Raytown.

I recall touring a subdivision near 135th and Nall back then -- 1988 or so -- and the agent asking where I worked and I said downtown -- she said "oh we have people here who work all the way downtown, you know, on the Plaza on 47th Street" After a few more questions I realized she didn't know that there was an actual downtown 30 blocks north of the Plaza. Absolutely no idea.

[Anthony_Hugo98]

Marc Maun of BOK Financial is planning to retire in the Spring. He was pretty instrumental in getting the company to the KC area. Unsure what this means about the company moving forward, or whether or not they’ll stay here long term.

[langosta]

Marc Maun of BOK Financial is planning to retire in the Spring. He was pretty instrumental in getting the company to the KC area. Unsure what this means about the company moving forward, or whether or not they’ll stay here long term.

Support local banks!!!

[langosta]

Business Journal reporting creative planning up to $375 billion AUM. PE firm TPG has taken a minority stake