Questionnaire
Kyle RogeRs and James Flexman F
My sidekick Rogers: My brother, @DrewWRogers. We live
together and go pretty much everywhere together. Luckily, he likes to drive because I like to text/tweet/Knoda. Flexman: My newest sidekick is my 2-monthold daughter, Aria.
My dating triumph/tragedy Rogers: That’s classified. Flexman: My wife, Kallie. And because of
the triumph, we’re lucky enough to have our daughter.
My brush with fame Rogers: Tweeted @Ochocinco in a chain of
Kyle Rogers (left) and James Flexman
Twitter handle Rogers: @KyleR Flexman: @PacmanJames
both Julian and Collection. I’m looking forward to checking out the Belfry. Flexman: Stroud’s
“I always laugh at …” Rogers: The sneezing panda. Flexman: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Hometown Rogers: Kansas City Flexman: Kansas City
What’s on your KC postcard? Rogers: Union Station, the Kauffman Center,
“I’ve been known to binge-watch …” Rogers: House of Cards, Game of Thrones, The
Current neighborhood Rogers: Waldo, walking distance from Lew’s, Remedy and Shot Stop Flexman: Prairie Village
What I do (in 140 characters) Rogers: Dream up ways people can interact
with predictions and spread the word about Knoda to as many as possible. Flexman: I’m an entrepreneur. Every day is different. It’s never boring and always challenging. But I love it.
What’s your addiction? Rogers: Knoda, Twitter and sports Flexman: Oreos. I like them … a lot. What’s your game? Rogers: Soccer Flexman: Golf. I rarely get to play, but I love it. What’s your drink? Rogers: Boulevard Wheat or a smooth gin and
tonic
Flexman: I’m really into wine right now. Where’s dinner? Rogers: Any of Celina Tio’s restaurants. I love
4
the pitch
of Knoda
Flexman: I’m sure I’ve gotten plenty of bad advice in life, but nothing too atrocious comes to mind.
S a b r i n a S ta i r e S
uture NBA players Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden were just freshmen at the University of Kansas. Kyle Rogers knew that Roy Williams had something special in the three men. “When these guys are seniors, KU is going to win a national championship,” Rogers recalls telling his mother. Rogers, 27, was almost right. The Jayhawks made it to the 2003 NCAA championship game but lost to Syracuse. “She had no remembrance of me saying that to her,” says Rogers, who wondered how he could prove it. About a decade later, Rogers believes that he has found it with Knoda, an app in which users give predictions and others vote for or against them. He and partner James Flexman, 31, quit their jobs with Sporting Innovations last year and started working full time on the app, which hit the iPhone App Store November 29. Users can also make their predictions online at knoda.com. (Knoda’s Android release is slated for March.)
CEO and COO, respectively,
18th and Vine, Sporting Park, Oklahoma Joe’s, Knoda Tower (circa 2020) Flexman: Oklahoma Joe’s gas station
Finish this sentence: “Kansas City got it right when …” Rogers: City leadership and private sector got together to revitalize downtown. All of today’s momentum stems from that. Flexman: Downtown got revitalized.
Walking Dead Flexman: Football
“I can’t stop listening to …” Rogers: “Counting Stars” by OneRepublic,
“Pompeii” by Bastille, “Do I Wanna Know?” by Arctic Monkeys Flexman: The 1975
“I just read …” Rogers: What the Dog Saw by Malcolm
vated. Baseball should be downtown. Flexman: Downtown didn’t get a new Royals stadium.
Gladwell, The Everything Store by Brad Stone, Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton Flexman: The Racketeer by John Grisham. Need to take a break from nonfiction business/ startup books from time to time.
“Kansas City needs …” Rogers: To drop the inferiority complex and
The best advice I ever got Rogers: Never underestimate the power of
“Kansas City screwed up when …” Rogers: They let Kauffman Stadium be reno-
start being proud of what we have and who we are. And In-N-Out. Flexman: Flying Burrito. Ten times better than Chipotle but the closest one is in Arkansas.
dry underwear. Thanks, @MossyOakScott (Dad). Flexman: To surround myself with people smarter than me.
“In five years, I’ll be …” Rogers: Sitting in Knoda offices downtown
Worst advice Rogers: You have to go to college to be suc-
debating the costs and benefits of going public. Flexman: Still building cool apps/websites.
january 30 -february 5, 2014
pitch.com
cessful. Not sure anyone explicitly said that to me, but you’re certainly led to believe that. College has value. It can be useful, but it’s not the only way.
events that concluded with him trying out/ training with Sporting KC. Flexman: Met Britney Spears at Disney World when I was in high school.
My 140-character soapbox Rogers: Education is messed up in USA. It’s
too standardized and generic. Should be more analysis, less testing. Maybe someday Flex and I will tackle it. Flexman: Just a quick thanks to the KC community. Too many to name, but everyone has been incredibly supportive throughout the journey so far.
What was the last thing you had to apologize for? Rogers: Cussing in front of my mom and
grandma. Oops. Flexman: Screaming in terror and subsequently waking up my wife after opening my 2-month-old daughter’s diaper this morning.
Who’s sorry now? Rogers: Still me. You should have seen Gram-
mie’s face! Flexman: Still me. But not for waking her up. More for having witnessed it. Comes with the territory, though.
My recent triumph Rogers: Working with Flex to get Knoda off the
ground and raise money to go full time. We still have a long way to go, but just getting started is an accomplishment. Flexman: Getting Knoda to this point. Much, much more to be done, but happy to have the initial product to the market and a supertalented team in place.