Listen: From Brazil to Kansas City, furniture entrepreneur shares journey
March 28, 2017 | Startland Staff
Editor’s note: In partnership with the KC Greats podcast, hosted by Scott Parman, Startland News hopes to offer its audience more avenues to learn about entrepreneurs in Kansas City. Opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone.
In this episode, host Scott Parman welcomes the founder of Freedom Companies Carol Espinosa.
Carol Espinosa
Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Espinosa attended the University of Kansas for Creative Writing. Her path unexpectedly led her to working at a local office furniture dealership. After seven years on the job, Espinosa eventually opened her own independent office furniture firm Freedom Companies.
Espinosa shares how she managed to break into an established industry as a newcomer as well as her trek to becoming an American citizen.
Learn more with the podcast below.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Startup: Stop wasting brain power on work that doesn’t matter; founders strike their own work-life balance in rural MO
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. MOBERLY,…
Build Trybe outgrows incubator mode, taking over Maker Village KC to train at-risk youth in trades
When Nick Ward-Bopp launched Maker Village KC more than five years ago near Martini Corner, he never dreamed the maker space would incubate a program for at-risk youth that ultimately would build beyond it. Set up in a once-vacant Midtown building he rehabbed with co-founder and longtime friend Sam Green, the space started as a…
Fund Me, KC: Tangible launching ‘magical pillow’ that shares physical touch with far-away loved ones
Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Akshay Dinakar and the launch of his Tangible “magical pillow” — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially gain…
LaunchKC shines spotlight on founders as first social venture studio cohort takes the stage
Tying Jerren Thornhill’s social venture to the footwear industry jogs a logical path, the founder said: re-selling used shoes was a $2 billion industry in 2021, and more importantly: “Kids love shoes.” His startup, One Pair — founded in 2020 to provide teenagers with a pathway to financial security through entrepreneurship while simultaneously minimizing their…