We’re well into our Startup Tour, visiting young companies so far in New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri.  Today we head to Kansas City and the Kauffman Foundation, one of our sponsors. That I’ve been slow to post the promised tour videos or write about these companies comes down to air conditioning failure, driving 4,000 miles, air conditioning failure (again), swiping a tree and tearing-off our retractable steps, air conditioning failure (yet again), and hitting a pothole so deep that our exhaust system literally fell off in the road.

Ah, the RV lifestyle!

We also learned a great truth about Travelocity when booking hotel rooms for the camera crew: did you know that when they take your money and promise you three rooms for two nights in St. Louis that promise means nothing? Sometimes those rooms turn out not to exist and the only recourse to being homeless in the rain at 11:30 PM is getting your money back in 12 business days.

But the startup companies we’ve visited so far has each been a joy and a surprise in a different way. I’ll start writing about those tonight as we finally get to rest for a couple days in Kansas City.

Or if you can’t wait for that and happen to be from Kansas City, drop by the Kauffman Foundation this afternoon at 3PM and meet us all for ice cream in the parking lot. And if you think to, please bring an unwrapped toy that my kids can take to local hospitals and homeless shelters. That’s their startup venture this summer.

See you at 3PM.

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation‎
4801 Rockhill Road Kansas City, MO 64110
(816) 932-1000
kauffman.org‎