All Stories

C2FO: $10M investment from Starbucks CEO will unlock $100M in loans to small, diverse businesses

By Tommy Felts / March 7, 2023

One of Kansas City’s most successful scaling startups announced Tuesday a new initiative — funded by Sheri Schultz and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz — to provide access to $100 million in working capital for small and diverse businesses. The partnership — designed to use Leawood-based C2FO’s innovative lending approach to deliver flexible, equitable access to…

Read More >

Spring cleaning won’t clear away the old you, but it can juice up your next season (Holistic Hustle)

By Tommy Felts / March 6, 2023

Kharissa Parker is a news producer, writer, certified health coach, and columnist for Startland News. For more of her self-care tips on how to keep your cup full, visit kparker.co. The first couple months of the year were nothing that I expected them to be. In 2022, I manifested many of my dreams and goals…

Read More >

Small town KS just blocked its new crypto mining neighbor: Why this could be just the start of a rural-tech clash

By Tommy Felts / March 6, 2023

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Kansas City PBS/Flatland, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, The Kansas City Beacon, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. MCLOUTH, Kansas — Parked cars lined Lucy Street in the center of a normally quiet…

Read More >

Massive new cancer center planned for KCK heralds region’s emergence as a life sciences powerhouse

By Tommy Felts / March 6, 2023

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Kansas City PBS/Flatland, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, The Kansas City Beacon, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. ‘Transformational event of unparalleled impact’ The Children’s Mercy Research Institute stands like a lighthouse…

Read More >

Consumers expect your startup to keep their data safe; be prepared to use cybersecurity as a differentiator

By Tommy Felts / March 6, 2023

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Brad Thies is a principal at BARR Advisory, which has offices in Kansas City. BARR Advisory, a cloud-based security and compliance solutions provider, specializing in cybersecurity, is a financial partner of Startland News. Click here to check out more of this three-part cybersecurity…

Read More >

Designed by women, for athletes: How the woman-led team behind KC Current’s new stadium is ‘equalizing the playing field’ for women’s sports 

By Tommy Felts / March 3, 2023

It’s uncommon to design a first-of-its-kind structure in the world of architecture, said Jill Monaghan, but the new KC Current soccer stadium — the first such facility being built specifically for a professional women’s team — scored her just the opportunity. In her nearly 11 years with Kansas City-based Generator Studio, Monaghan — who serves as senior…

Read More >

Kauffman awards $5.3M to DreamSpring to expand microlending to underserved entrepreneurs in KC

By Tommy Felts / March 3, 2023

A newly announced $5.3 million grant is expected to vastly expand access to small business credit among historically underserved entrepreneurs in Kansas City, said Philip Gaskin, detailing the latest in a series of funding awards this week from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. DreamSpring, a nationally recognized nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), is set…

Read More >

WATCH: KCK-raised R&B artist emerges from the ruins of vulnerability to ‘touch people’s souls’

By Tommy Felts / March 3, 2023

For Alanzo McIntosh Jr., exploring his voice means journeying through the KCK native’s roots, along with themes of self-doubt and self-discovery, and a deep connection to the struggles faced by Black and brown people across the globe — and here at home, he shared. “I wanted to make music that spoke to the soul and spoke…

Read More >

Loud is in season: How one designer plans to yell their angrily sewn message during KC Fashion Week

By Tommy Felts / March 2, 2023

Dustin Loveland channeled love — and anger — into a debut spring and summer collection that premieres soon at Kansas City Fashion Week 2023. “I’ve had to deal with a lot of anger from the past couple of years for a variety of reasons,” said Loveland, a non-binary freelance designer and sewer in Kansas City.…

Read More >

They started their own businesses; now these young founders are widening the pipeline to entrepreneurship for their peers

By Tommy Felts / March 2, 2023

Aidan Hall felt the support of Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem when he launched what would become KC Handmade Goods as an eighth grader, he said; years later, the young business owner is working to pay that feeling forward. An Iowa State freshman and Shawnee Mission West graduate, Hall got his start selling duct tape wallets…

Read More >
1MC-Digital-Attend-2460x318px-v1
Founders-Club-Banner-Ad-2

Join Founder's Club – Support Our Mission

Enjoy access to our email newsletter, members only Slack community, exclusive events and other member perks.