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.
Tommy Felts, Startland News
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
How this KC trucking platform is helping drivers achieve the ‘American Dream’ amid high industry demands, burnout
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of truck drivers in the American economy, said Jeff Dema; and Foxpoint is targeting its efforts to ensure that drivers succeed and stay in the demanding industry. “Being a truck driver is a hard job. They’re gone 250 plus nights a year from their home. It requires lots of…
Google’s $100K ‘stamp of approval’ for PlaBook reads like validation for KC-built edtech startup
Kansas City expatriate PlaBook is set to receive $100,000 from Google’s initiative to provide funding to Black-led startups. But for Philip Hickman, it’s not just about the funding, he said. It’s also a credibility boost. “We were happy to receive an investment from Google,” the edtech startup founder said. “It’s a stamp of approval to…
KC’s first Hispanic beer company craft-brews conversations beyond stereotypes
Defining his own cultural identity has been a lifelong struggle for Damon Arredondo, the longtime brewer said. Coming from a mixed-cultural background, Arredondo often felt as if there was “a checklist” that decided whether or not he was able to identify with his heritage, he shared. “Only recently in the last five year have I…
Veteran entrepreneur finds security in pizza, opening new Rosati’s in south Overland Park
Bob Ring sold his homegrown company of 25 years — then got a job delivering pizzas. All part of the recipe for the longtime Kansas City businessman who — despite his decades of experience — initially found banks hesitant to lend to him during the pandemic as he worked to open his own pizzeria in…