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
Why this Missouri founder’s auto tech startup accelerated even as the ‘world was ending’
Editor’s note: The following story was produced through a paid partnership with MOSourceLink, which boasts a mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state of Missouri grow and succeed by providing free, easy access to the help they need — when they need it. SPRINGFIELD, Missouri — With two decades of experience in…
Kauffman’s new grants go live this week; here’s what we know about the revised funding priorities
The announcement of five new grants opportunities from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation brings months of anticipation and potential uncertainty to a head, offering a more clear view into the relaunched grantmaking strategy of the influential Kansas City philanthropic organization. New applications for funding through the Kauffman Foundation open Aug. 29 — about four months…
Digital Health KC debuts Lumi Awards with star-powered roster of tech honorees
Healthcare is a team sport and Kansas City has all the players, said Dick Flanigan, heaping praise on the region’s innovators at the intersection of healthcare and technology. “We have key entries in every sector, allowing us to tap into these companies and individuals to truly form a winning team,” said Flanigan, president of Digital…
Shoppers lined the block to visit their vintage clothing store; now they’ve curated a new, larger space in KC’s West Bottoms
As brothers Thomas and Reade Rex open the doors to their relocated and expanded vintage clothing store this weekend in Kansas City’s West Bottoms, the event will be a culmination of years of hard work, passion, and a shared vision — plus significant customer support and loyalty, they said. “We’ve always done things together,” said…


