Keystone Innovation District

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Keystone Innovation District

The Keystone Innovation District is Kansas City’s front door for innovation.

It will be a welcoming environment for all to participate in and generate forward-thinking ideas.

08/26/2026

Our social founders are hard at work practicing for Demo Day! Come check it out tomorrow at 5:00 PM.

RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gQ4gXMVj

08/17/2026

Keystone Session Spotlight

This Wednesday, Digital Health KC comes to Keystone Sessions — and we're kicking off the night with this one.

Why the Next Wave of Digital Health Innovation is Coming from the Midwest

The future of digital health isn't being built on the coasts. This panel digs into the current state of digital health investing, what investors are actually looking for right now, and the real lessons from founders who've navigated the road from early-stage startup to category-defining company. Candid stories on fundraising, customer acquisition, market validation, and scaling — plus a conversation on how founders are building solutions that expand access to care and address gaps in healthcare delivery across underserved populations.

More sessions to be announced. Full night drops soon.

August 19 | Doors at 4:00 PM | Keystone CoLAB
RSVP at the link in bio.

08/10/2026

From documentary storytelling to AI-powered operations to what's actually on your ballot — this Wednesday at Keystone Sessions, three conversations on what it means to move with intention in a fast-moving world.

→ 5 PM | Filming Slow & Restoring Things: Making Documentaries on a Path of Meaningful Resistance
Moving slowly and restoratively is not the standard in the documentary industry. The more-rewarded approach is usually fast and extractive. KC documentarian buhito shares his nature-based, restorative approach to documentary storytelling — tracing his journey from commercial marketer to documentarian to dedicated practitioner of a Restorative Storytelling Methodology. Time permitting, he'll share an advanced screening of his newest short film premiering later this month: How Severed Are We?

→ 6 PM | Your AI General Manager: How Small Businesses Can Run Like Big Ones
Two operators and investors spent years building, scaling, and funding companies — and kept seeing the same thing: great small businesses struggling not because of their product, but because they were flying blind on cash, pricing, and operations. Bryant Johnson and Nassir Criss share their story and introduce Helm by Atlas — an AI general manager giving small businesses the financial and operational backbone once reserved for big companies.

→ 7 PM | OK, We Voted. So What's Next?
We voted — and now comes the harder question: what does it actually mean? Myke Shaw joins Keystone for an hour on what Missouri and Kansas City decided in August, how those results show up in everyday life, and what's still unsettled heading into November 3. Plain language, live polling, and open Q&A — nonpartisan throughout.

August 12 | Doors at 4:30 PM | Keystone CoLAB
RSVP at the link in bio.

08/07/2026

Kansas City’s connection to the future of football extends far beyond the field. It can be seen in the stadiums, public spaces, technology, fan experiences and design systems that shape how people engage with the sport.

Join us for the closing ceremony of Shaping the Future of Football, a KU Sports Exhibition exploring football and soccer as a complete ecosystem-from stadium infrastructure and urban planning to wearables, interactive fan interfaces and visual identity.

The evening will feature a keynote from Cliff Illig, cofounder of Cerner Corporation and a principal owner of Sporting Kansas City. Illig will share his perspective on Kansas City’s evolution as a leading soccer city, followed by a fireside chat with Kevin McGinnis and audience Q&A.

The exhibition brings together approximately 30 physical stadium models, 3D urban data visualizations, 17 Sports & Leisure capstone projects and interdisciplinary student work from the KU School of Architecture & Design.

This is your final opportunity to experience the exhibition and the ideas shaping the future of the global game.

Friday, August 21 4:30-7:30 PM
Keystone CoLAB
800 E. 18th St.
Kansas City, MO

Presented by the KU School of Architecture & Design in partnership with Keystone Innovation District.

08/06/2026

Where impact meets innovation—and founders build what matters.

The 2026 Social Venture Studio cohort has spent the past several months strengthening their business models, expanding their impact, and preparing to take their ventures to the next stage.

On Thursday, August 27, they will take the stage at Keystone CoLAB for Social Venture Studio Demo Day 2026.

This year’s cohort includes AMP Beauty, Be Aligned by The Layne Project, Beyond This, Biospoke + Lumo, Micro Living Midwest, Magis, and Amina Design & Build —seven ventures using business to address challenges across beauty and retail, family conflict, life after stroke or disability, sustainable textiles, attainable housing, court outcomes, and workforce development.

Demo Day is an opportunity to recognize everything these founders have accomplished, hear what they are building, and discover what it takes to create a durable business grounded in impact.

We invite Kansas City’s funders, partners, customers, mentors, community leaders, and supporters to join us for an evening of founder pitches, meaningful connections, and celebration.

Come meet the cohort and help us build momentum around the people creating businesses that matter.

Thursday, August 27
5:00–7:30 p.m.
Keystone CoLAB
800 E. 18th St., Kansas City, MO

08/03/2026

Keystone Sessions — Wednesday, August 5 | Doors at 4:30 PM

Two conversations pulling back the curtain on the systems most people never see — and one more to be announced.

5:00 PM | What $500 Million in Real Estate Teaches You About Venture Capital
Featuring Worcester Investments & Worcester Ventures

“Backed by a real operating platform” isn’t marketing language — it’s a structural claim. Worcester Investments operates $500M+ in multifamily real estate with in-house construction, property management, lending, and acquisitions teams. A proptech startup in the Worcester Ventures portfolio doesn’t just get a $250K–$750K check — it gets access to a vertically integrated real estate operation that can serve as a customer, a testing ground, a data source, and a validator. This session digs into why that’s a fundamentally different value proposition than money from a generalist VC who’s never managed a building.

6:00 PM | Beneath the Surface: Understanding Kansas Groundwater
Featuring Brownie Wilson, Manager of Geohydrology Support Services, Kansas Geological Survey

Join Brownie Wilson for an engaging look at the hidden world beneath our feet. With over 25 years of experience in GIS and hydrology, Brownie walks us through how water is used in Kansas — with a special emphasis on the High Plains aquifer, the state’s largest groundwater source. Whether you’re curious about where your water comes from or the science behind sustaining it, this is a can’t-miss session.

7:00 PM | Coming Soon
Session details to be announced — stay tuned.

Register using the link in bio!

07/27/2026

Three conversations on what it actually takes to build — a circular fashion industry, a more equitable capital system, and a business rooted in one of KC’s most creative neighborhoods.

This Wednesday at Keystone Sessions, doors open at 4:30 PM.

→ 5 PM: Fashion’s sustainability challenge goes far beyond fast fashion. Nadia Boone of BIOSPOKE and Keli Campbell of Magpie Creative Reuse Collective talk through the full lifecycle of clothing — from community-driven reuse and secondhand retail to biodegradable materials and next-generation innovation — and what it will actually take to build a fashion system designed for a circular future.

→ 6 PM: Small business owners turned down by traditional banks are too often judged on backward-looking credit scores. Noa Simons, Davin Gordon, and Rebecca Gubbels look at how that’s changing — underwriting that reads cash flow and behavior, readiness tools that get owners loan-ready, and technology moving capital to the entrepreneurs the mainstream system overlooks.

→ 7 PM: Kansas City’s Crossroads district isn’t just a backdrop for cool businesses — it’s part of the DNA. Kara Anderson, John Pryor, and Lara Gray get candid about what it actually takes to build a brand in one of KC’s most creative, fast-changing neighborhoods — late nights, tight margins, and the moments that make it worth it.

July 29 | Doors at 4:30 PM | Keystone CoLAB
RSVP at the link in bio.

07/24/2026

Kansas City’s biomanufacturing ecosystem just received a major national vote of confidence.

KC BioHub has been awarded $38.1 million through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Tech Hubs program to advance biomanufacturing innovation, workforce development, supply-chain resilience and industry growth across the region.

Supported by more than 115 partners across Missouri and Kansas, this investment demonstrates what becomes possible when universities, industry, government, nonprofits and entrepreneurs align around a shared opportunity. The work is projected to support 11,000 jobs and generate $9.2 billion in regional economic impact over the next decade.

Congratulations to:
Melissa Roberts Chapman, President, KC BioHub Dennis Ridenour, CEO of BioNexus KC Ian M. Colrain, PhD, President and CEO of MRIGlobal

Congratulations as well to the teams and regional partners whose years of collaboration made this milestone possible. This is a major win for Kansas City—and an important step toward establishing the region as a national leader in biomanufacturing.

07/20/2026

Keystone Sessions — Wednesday, July 22 | Doors at 4:30 PM

From the lab to the cap table to the controller — this week at Keystone Sessions, three conversations on the ecosystems, investors, and platforms reshaping how innovation gets built, funded, and experienced.

5:00 PM | From Lab to Market: How University Research Becomes Real-World Innovation
Moderated by Kevin McGinnis, President & CEO, Keystone Innovation District

How does a scientific breakthrough become a company? Dr. Casey Williams, Industry Liaison Officer, and Tony von Sadovszky, Innovation Officer, at EARTH — the Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center led by the University of Kansas — join Kevin McGinnis to explore how university research gets translated into commercial technology, what it takes to align academic and industry priorities, and where founders fit into the lab-to-market pipeline.

6:00 PM | Behind the Check: Rethinking Early-Stage Investing

Great early-stage investors aren't born — they're built through curiosity, mentorship, and community. This panel brings together two angel investors and an early-stage fund manager to explore how they each developed their investment philosophy and honed their craft — how personal backgrounds shaped their thesis, what they learned through formal angel accelerator programs, and how education and collaboration strengthen the early-stage investing ecosystem.

7:00 PM | Press Start: How Gaming Became the New Front Row for Brands
Featuring Sam Kulikov, Co-Founder & CMO, Kansas City Pioneers

Gaming has quietly become one of the most effective ways for a brand to reach and activate an audience. Fresh off producing the gaming experience for Sporting KC's Soccer Capital Summer during the 2026 World Cup and a large-scale activation for the Kansas City Chiefs, Sam breaks down how experiential marketing through gaming actually works, why it beats the interruption model, and what any founder or marketer can borrow from it.

July 22 | Doors at 4:30 PM | Keystone CoLAB

Register using the link in bio!

07/15/2026

Kansas City was just picked to solve a national problem.

Here’s the problem:

Almost everything we use - phones, cars, planes, MRI machines - depends on special metals and materials.

And America barely makes them anymore. Most are processed overseas, largely in China.

If that supply gets cut off, everyday life stops.
No nickel, no flights. No rare earths, no MRIs.

Here’s the news:

The National Science Foundation just chose Kansas City to fix that.

The UMKC-led Critical Materials Crossroads Engine will receive up to $160 million over the next decade - one of only 12 teams selected in the entire country.

It’s potentially the largest research award in Missouri higher education history.

Why KC? Because we already have what it takes:

→ 7 battery manufacturers nearby
→ The nation’s busiest rail yard
→ River access for shipping
→ Deep manufacturing roots

What it means:

About 10,000 new jobs by 2036. Up to $40 billion for the regional economy. 260+ partners across Missouri and Kansas making it happen.

The team behind it joined us on the Keystone Sessions stage days before the announcement.

They told us: “No one wants to put the first dollar in. Once that first dollar is in, a lot of people become very interested.”

The first dollar is in.

Hear the full conversation on The Disruption Lab link is in bio

Address

Kansas City, MO
64108

Website

http://www.keystonedistrict.org/

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