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Being named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for sports — alongside athletes like Lamar Jackson, Kyle Kuzma, and Ronald Acuna — adds more fuel to the fire for Austin Barone, the 29-year-old co-founder of Just Play Sports Solutions. “The growth we have experienced over the past few years has been tremendous, so to receive this…
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Kansas City’s LGBTQ+ history is one of its best kept secrets, Joel Barrett said, explaining his journey to share a wealth of local lore with residents and visitors alike. The KC Rainbow Tour — a free, 90-minute self-guided driving tour — uses the VoiceMap app to highlight about 20 destinations with LGBTQ+ significance, including the…
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Mitzi Dulan’s dream of shopping for her SimplyFUEL protein balls at her local Costco has finally come true, she shared: a goal seven years in the rolling. As of Dec. 1, the Midwest region of the wholesale giant — which includes 114 locations in Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky,…
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With the largest live-in startup competition now available on Amazon Prime Video, the stakes have never been higher and the potential never greater for “The Blox” — a show where the reality TV format is mined to turn entrepreneur education into entertainment. “The demand to be on the show has exponentially grown, and with it…
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Chris and Angie Long scored another big win Thursday — joining the roster of Kansas Citians honored as UMKC’s Entrepreneurs of the Year — amid an evening that celebrated the world of athletics and the leaders who make the KC sports scene shine. “We feel very proud that we have set a bar,” said Angie…
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Lesly Romo couldn’t shake an idea bouncing around in her mind for the past few years: a venture she ultimately would call Golazo, a multi-faceted soccer facility that offers the world’s diverse forms of futbol all in one place. Recently named UMKC Student Entrepreneur of the Year, Romo first conceived the concept during her freshman…
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Attending InvestMidwest as an audience member was so impactful for Nick Love that the Love Lifesciences co-founder hopes to pitch his own company when the startup-investor conference and showcase returns this spring to Kansas City — for the first time since 2019. “InvestMidwest allowed us to speak with investors, but was also structured such that…
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A legislative effort to boost support for U.S. military veterans pursuing a new chapter as entrepreneurs now heads to the U.S. Senate — buoyed by broad partisan support and championed by two members of Kansas City’s congressional delegation. The Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans SERV Act successfully passed in the U.S. House of Representatives this…
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Support from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation is expected to help The Porter House KC make good on its founders’ promise to help emerging entrepreneurs in their community get their promising ventures off the ground, said Dan Smith. “Like many of the small business owners that we encounter, we started our organization based on a need…
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A second location for the Black Pantry is about more than adding a “cool little gift shop” to Troost, said Brian Roberts, detailing his plan for a broader mission: a whole block of Black-owned businesses and a hub for Black entrepreneurs and creatives. It begins with Roberts’ in-the-works standalone space at 3108 Troost Ave., he…
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