All Stories

Kansas City startup tapped for $100K investment through Omaha growth accelerator

By Tommy Felts / July 26, 2022

Particle Space isn’t just big in Japan — it’s seeing momentum and scaling opportunities closer to home: earning a spot in the newest NMotion accelerator and another $100,000 investment for the proptech startup, David Biga said. NMotion powered by gener8tor announced Kansas City-based Particle Space’s selection alongside five other companies joining the inaugural NMotion Growth…

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Smart dog crate created in KC could be just months away; Interplay set for August crowdfunding, launch party

By Tommy Felts / July 26, 2022

Dog owners are one step closer to getting their hands on the world’s first interactive dog crate as Kansas City-based Interplay plans the Aug. 12 launch of its hotly anticipated debut product, PlayTach. The milestone has been a long time coming, said Jonaie Johnson, founder and CEO of Interplay, who has been working on it…

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‘If you don’t own yourself, you own nothing’: Why one founder says he’ll relocate his business if Kansas bans abortion

By Tommy Felts / July 26, 2022

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series on the 2022 election produced by the KC Media Collective, an initiative designed to support and enhance local journalism. Members of the KC Media Collective include Startland News, Missouri Business Alert, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, KCUR, The Kansas City Beacon and American Public Square. Andrew Morgans has…

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Shop Local KC gets minimalist makeover as local maker retailer opens Leawood store

By Tommy Felts / July 22, 2022

Katie Mabry van Dieren is no stranger to the Ranch Mart Shopping Center in Leawood, the Shop Local KC owner said, returning to her roots this weekend to open a second location for her Kansas City maker retail store. “One of my greatest childhood memories was riding my bike to Ranch Mart and either getting…

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KC wants to be the nation’s most equitable hub for biologics; prestigious MIT pick could help

By Tommy Felts / July 22, 2022

Biologics is the entryway to personalized medicine, said Sonia Hall, and Kansas City is aiming to create the most inclusive hub for the development, production and distribution of biologics as part of its acceptance to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program.  “When you talk about personalized medicine, you’re talking about greater equity…

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PropTechHD looks beyond the façade of drone use to see sky-high potential for capturing high-quality data

By Tommy Felts / July 22, 2022

A lot can go wrong when flying a drone around a high-rise building, acknowledged Andrew Patch. Think restricted airspace, pigeons, hawks, turbulence, swirling winds, pressure changes, trees, powerlines, and other unexpected obstacles. But behind the sticks of a controller, Patch steers into the challenge. In February 2017, he founded Heartland Drone Company, an Federal Aviation…

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Hack Midwest is back with $20K in prizes, space for tech talent to flex app-building muscles

By Tommy Felts / July 21, 2022

More than prize money is on the line when Hack Midwest returns this weekend to Kansas City, Michael Gelphman said, detailing how the contest could ignite progress in the local tech ecosystem.  “We can get people to think entrepreneurially and create new ideas,” said Gelphman, the competition’s founder, noting the power and potential of the…

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Betty Rae's Ice Cream, River Market, May 2019

GiftAMeal posts food selfie milestone: 1 million meals donated through Missouri-made app

By Tommy Felts / July 21, 2022

Foodie photos shared to social media through a Missouri tech startup’s app have provided more than 1 million meals — representing more than 1.2 million pounds of healthy groceries for families in need — thanks to GiftAMeal’s network of restaurant and food bank partnerships, the company said. St. Louis-based GiftAMeal this week announced the milestone donation…

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Survival gets the wheels turning: Why this founder sold his home and belongings for a new pro journey

By Tommy Felts / July 20, 2022

An entrepreneur who’s gained a following with his homegrown wrestling company and deeply personal cancer survival story is hitting the road — hoping to change perspectives about the disease by engaging and uplifting others who are fighting or affected by the disease.  “It’s so easy to ignore something like brain cancer when it is seen…

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Passion project set in stone: 2000 Vine Street’s ‘cultural inheritance’ is 150 years in the making

By Tommy Felts / July 20, 2022

Editor’s note: This story is the first in a series from Startland News highlighting entrepreneurs, businesses, and creators leading revitalization and redevelopment efforts in and around the historic 18th and Vine Jazz District. Click here to read additional stories from this series. The revitalization of the two oldest public works buildings in Kansas City, abandoned…

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