Ready to Move to Kansas City? Think Again

Tech-company founders in Kansas City have some impressive new bragging rights. Unlike their peers in more established entrepreneurial hubs like Boston and Silicon Valley, the entrepreneurs on both sides of the Missouri and Kansas line will be able to test new products on Google Fiber, the ultra-fast Internet and cable service network that can transfer massive data at high speeds. But while the rollout of Google Fiber is expected to give entrepreneurs in the Kansas City region a jolt of creative energy, some remain skeptical that the region has what it takes to be an entrepreneurial haven. That's because the area still is missing a key ingredient in most start-up hotbeds: ample early-stage venture financing. Missouri and Kansas ranked 22 and 27, respectively, by dollars invested, in state rankings of venture-capital investments last year, according to the National Venture Capital Association. Missouri entrepreneurs received about $134 million and Kansas about $61 million that year.