Asked by
Lead Bank
Do you think that KC is doing well in the venture capital arena?
32%
Yes
2
68%
No
WINNER
6
32%
Yes
68%
No
No, but there are positive signs, such as active players in each stage that were not there in the past from idea (Digital Sandbox) to seed (Local Angel Groups, The Collective) to Series A (Flyover, OpenAir). We just need to keep moving before coastal funds move in or more quality startups move out.
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Kansas City, as an historically conservative town, needs to decide whether it is ready to support innovation. There are a lot of fantastic ideas out there, but there is a divide between what innovators need and what lenders are willing to give. When that divide is closed, progress will be made.
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In late 2014, The Chronicles of Philanthropy ranked KC 16th in metro areas, with 3.2% giving ratio (based on IRS data). In a WalletHub study though, it ranked 36th in best city to strat a business and 51st in "access to resources". Groups like KCADC are aware of this, but changing is hard.
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Moving towards being a "smart city", tech week and google fiber will help to attract investors in the future but looking at the numbers we're still at the bottom of the chart among comparable cities
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There still seems to be a gap between where we want to be as a city and where the funding currently sits.
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I think Kansas City is doing well in that progress is happening. Entrepreneurs are working. There is still a lot of work to do to reach where the city needs to be to compete with other growing cities.
ReplyKansas City has clearly been growing, with new business on the rise. TechWeek is a great example of the commitment KC has made to business.
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