90 on the Clock: Rawxies’ vegan treats
September 23, 2015 | Bobby Burch
90 on the Clock: Rawxies’ vegan treats
By John McGrath, KCPT, and Bobby Burch, Startland News
Ed’s Note: Flatland and Startland News have partnered to highlight Kansas City’s innovators and entrepreneurs, all in 90 seconds. This is the second episode in the five-part series.
Rawxies founder Callie England may best be defined by her tenacity.
England, who serves as CEO of the Kansas City-based vegan snack company, worked tirelessly in recent months to raise local funds — to the tune of $512,000 — that will accelerate her business. She moved her company from Petaluma, Calif. to Kansas City in 2013 and promised herself to build Rawxies with local support.
The company’s recent funding will boost manufacturing of its snacks by roughly 400 percent.
A Jefferson City native, England said when she was 20-years-old she grew tired of taking a cocktail of medications for her health. Even with the medications, she still felt ill and eventually sought out the help of a naturopathic doctor who put her on a plant-based, vegan diet. After noticing an improvement in her health, England’s dietary change eventually gave rise to Rawxies.
Rawxies now offers a variety of different flavors of vegan, soy- and gluten-free snacks that ship around the nation. Shaped as hearts, the low-sugar food bars are not heated above 105 degrees, preserving the ingredients’ natural enzymes to ease digestion.
Here are a few more nuggets from her conversation with Startland News and FlatlandKC.
On the challenges that led her to start Rawxies …
I was on about nine prescription pills when I was 20-years-old. I was fed up living a life based on my medication schedule so I sought out the help of a naturopath (doctor) and she put me on a vegan diet. Within two months I was off every single prescription medication.
On raising capital in Kansas City …
Raising capital in Kansas City is more about connections than it is your brand. It’s still your brand and it’s still your company, but it’s really about building a connection with somebody and the relationship that goes along with that.
On what the funding will go toward …
The funds that we’ve raised are going to be used towards building the back end of business. In order to meet the demands and the growth, we’re really investing in machinery that increases our output.
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Fueled by $15M, MTC releases plan for boosting entrepreneurs: Here’s how KC is already seeing impact
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Increased funding for the Missouri Technology Corporation will keep core support programs healthy through 2024, as well as help expand successful pilot initiatives designed to widen economic opportunity in the Show Me State, MTC officials said Tuesday. Among the new efforts gaining extended life through the announcement of MTC’s FY 2024 strategy…
This Kansas gardener sued to sell fruit and honey; Now her town will allow urban farming
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. Ottawa city officials are trying to strike a balance between people who want to produce food and the interests of their…
New CEO for one of KC’s most-talked-about startups could be the first step toward an IPO
A new CEO for Kansas City-based TripleBlind allows the privacy tech startup to advance into a growth stage company — one potentially headed toward a public offering — taking advantage of recent momentum around enterprise artificial intelligence solutions, said Riddhiman Das. TripleBlind on Monday announced the appointment of Prat Moghe, former executive vice president of…
Godfrey Riddle wants to build you a home; How Civic Saint’s eco-friendly bricks could reshape the foundation of affordable housing
Winning $55,000 in a recent national LGBT pitch competition provides Godfrey Riddle the building blocks for a hard pivot — shifting the focus of his lifestyle company Civic Saint from handmade retail goods to earthen bricks used to sustainably create artful, affordable homes. “Affordable housing is a problem I’ve been pondering since my family lost…