Missouri predicts Knoda success

Missouri University has invested $50,000 in Knoda, which develops an app that lets users make, track and rank predictions and share them with friends on social media. The funding was made through the university’s student-managed Allen Angel Capital Education Programme (AACE).

The investment takes Knoda’s total funding to $400,000, following a seed round of funding from local angel investors. The company was put in touch with AACE when it graduated from the Kansas City-based accelerator SparkLabKC.

The programme is an investment fund, which both undergraduate and graduate students at the Trulaske College of Business can apply to join. It teaches these students venture capital strategies and to identify and invest in startups with a high growth potential. Students manage the entire process from selecting companies to completing due diligence and structuring investment contracts. The programme is funded by the university and a number of outside donors.

Co-founder Kyle Rogers said: “I’m not sure what I expected when I heard we would be pitching to students who could potentially invest in us. Whatever I did expect, they blew us away. They asked, to be honest, more savvy and difficult questions than we got from some other potential investors.”