Kansas City’s second Techweek wrapped up last Friday, concluding a week of panels, speakers, networking, funding and more. In addition to attending several of the week’s events, Twentyseven Global took part in several monumental moments for Kansas City in the tech and health care industry.
Last Wednesday, it was announced that e-commerce giant Alibaba acquired Kansas City based startup EyeVerify for $100 million. EyeVerify uses biometric authentication of an individual’s eye for securing online data and transactions. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, the acquisition falls in line with Techweek’s mission of building “hero companies” which are “sustainable and substantial tech companies that have financially solvent models and are growing and scaling.” Twentyseven Global’s CEO Steve Roatch, also an EyeVerify investor, said “It would be hard to overstate the positive impact that EyeVerify’s acquisition will have on Kansas City. It is energizing for investors, and inspiring for entrepreneurs.”
On Friday, digital health startups gathered for a panel discussion exploring how new technologies continue to disrupt the traditional healthcare model. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, local startups have been working hand-in-hand with Children’s Mercy Hospital to develop better record systems for patients. Although progress is continually made, one of the panelists, CEO of Play-It Health Dr. Kim Gandy, says that the tech health community in Kansas City still has plenty of room to grow. Play-It Health, a client of Twentyseven Global, helps increase individuals’ engagement in their prescribed health regimens through mobile technology. Dr. Gandy hopes to see more health organizations like Children’s Mercy bring health-minded entrepreneurs together since the current healthcare market can make it difficult for startups to survive.
Twentyseven Global CEO Steve Roatch sponsored a roundtable discussion on Thursday that covered how to mitigate risk in a technology venture. Entrepreneurs and investors shared experiences both good and bad. Two themes seemed to dominate. One, validate your business model and use of technology with potential customers before investing heavily in a technology build; and two, having a technology partner you can trust–whether in-house or outsourced–is crucial to success.
