Letter from the editor: Help us Give A Start to KC innovators
October 6, 2020 | Tommy Felts
Editor’s note: The following kicks off Startland News’ Give A Start — an eight-week donor campaign seeking reader support for the nonprofit newsroom. Click here to donate.
It’s a big day. Startland News is launching its first-ever donor campaign — asking our readers to join in financially supporting a nonprofit newsroom that’s helped elevate Kansas City entrepreneurs for more than five years.
We’re calling it Give A Start.
The eight-week campaign runs today — National News Engagement Day — through Giving Tuesday on Dec. 1.
Independent newsrooms are more important than ever. Startland News now is a team of three full-time journalists, posting about 40 articles a month — nearly half of them about underserved or underrepresented entrepreneurs.
We’re shining a spotlight on Kansas City innovation with solutions-based, human-focused storytelling — as well as showcasing resiliency in a pandemic-struck world.
Click here to donate to keep Startland News scaling its storytelling.
Kansas City starts companies.
We start covering them.
Startland News is proud to be a discovery platform for a broad range of startups, disruptors, creatives, makers and risk-takers. Our readers value being among the first to learn about the bold new ideas fueling Kansas City businesses.
For the entrepreneurs and innovators themselves, an article in Startland News often helps lay the media groundwork for credibility and exposure to an audience of peers and potential customers and investors. We’re frequently the first step in getting covered by a national publication, gaining industry attention or landing a game-changing investment.
It’s about giving a start — but also context.
We must explore critically the challenges and even failures that go hand-in-hand with creativity and innovation. Learning from those setbacks — and inspiring others to keep pushing forward or make their own start — is key to strengthening Kansas City for generations to come.
In short: Your support will help us dig deeper.
Give what you can. Give A Start.
A monthly or one-time gift to Startland News (in whatever amount feels right) can help us keep our momentum moving alongside the people we cover — from solopreneurs and artists to startup founders with hundreds of workers — amplifying the stories of Kansas City innovation.
Today is Tuesday. Just another day, but for many entrepreneurs, it’s the start of a journey they’re counting on Startland News to share.
Give A Start and be part of their story.
— Tommy Felts,
editor, Startland News

2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Concert: Black rockstars don’t just exist — they innovated the genre; how KC artists are still (song)writing history
A rock concert Friday at the newly opened Zhou B Art Center in Kansas City does more than place Black artists center stage for one night, said Malek Azrael; it spotlights that Black creatives belong in every musical space. “There is such a beautiful, Black presence in Kansas City and rock,” said Azrael, who is…
Blackhole Bakery plans bodega-style expansion for second location: a West Plaza ‘blank canvas’
During his five years operating on Troost, Jason Provo said real estate agents often approached him, asking, “When are you going to leave and get a big boy spot in Leawood?” Now the owner of beloved Blackhole Bakery is planning his second location. But not in Johnson County. Provo is taking over a space at…
Dublin down on shenanigans: Smoke Brewing goes green with St. Patrick’s season pop-up
St. Patrick’s Day-themed Shenanigans is now open in downtown Lee’s Summit. But just until March 23. The owners of Smoke Brewing Company at 209 S.E. Main St. decked out the barbecue restaurant and brewery in floor-to-ceiling St. Paddy’s decor, and have food and drink specials to match. It’s a way to make St. Patrick’s Day…


