Mike Farmer, founder of social search startup Leap.it, took home a $100,000 check on Thursday night as the winner of the Kansas City stop of the Rise of the Rest Tour.

The five-city tour is the brainchild of America Online founder Steve Case. He’s visiting up-and-coming startup communities in the Midwest, where he and several judges size up the pitches and ask follow-up questions of the owners of early-stage small businesses.

Before awarding the investment to Leap.it, Case said that Farmer and his crew have “a chance to go all the way and put Kansas City on the map.”

“I really do think Kansas City is on the rise,” Case said.

In accepting the money, Farmer—whose local spirit extended to wearing a Kansas City Royals cap—thanked the event’s other nine startup competitors and Case for bringing attention to “what we do here in Kansas City.”

“I just want to thank everybody …” Farmer said. “The journey continues.”

The Rise of the Rest competition was held at the Airline History Museum’s Hangar 9 at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport. The other competing startups were:

• Briefcase, an app for college students to find job openings.

• DayReel, an online appointment-booking service aimed at busy women.

• FitBark, a wearable/health-conscious activity monitor for dogs.

• Keyzio, an online real estate service for homeowners and home buyers.

• PayIt, a mobile platform for simplifying government payments.

• ShotTracker, a wearable device that measures a basketball player’s shooting accuracy.

• Sink Cycle, a travel detergent that can wash clothes and other items in dirty water.

• VeriQuik, a person-to-person online background-check service.

• Venture360, a private equity portfolio online management tool.