All Stories

Photo illustration by Joy Broils

Give yourself permission to pause the hustle; injury prompts serial entrepreneur to get grounded 

By Tommy Felts / July 9, 2022

Trauma from a brain injury after an auto accident last fall left Joy Broils downshifting her Type A personality and ambitious drive to a few hours of work each day, the entrepreneur said. The incident, however, prompted her to slow down and focus on a new startup idea: Hustle & Ground, a monthly subscription box…

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Go Topeka's Kansas Innovation Dealroom announcement; photo courtesy of Go Topeka

Go Topeka launches ‘Kansas Innovation Dealroom’ to track startup ecosystem growth

By Tommy Felts / July 8, 2022

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. WICHITA…

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Kauffman CEO retiring this fall: New leader must support ‘entrepreneur-focused economic development’

By Tommy Felts / July 7, 2022

President and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation ​​Wendy Guillies announced that she will be retiring this fall after 22 years with the nonprofit.  “Like many people over the past extraordinary few years, I’ve reflected on my professional and personal priorities. What won’t change is my drive to engage in work that makes our…

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Its menu simmers with just five dishes; How Thaiger’s bowl’d flavors roll in complex family recipes

By Tommy Felts / July 5, 2022

When someone orders the spicy pho or crispy pork belly bowl at Thaiger, they soon receive it just as Adison Sichampanakhone and his family make it at home, he shared.  “If you were to come to one of our barbecues or cookouts, you would see it’s the same preparation, same sauce as we do here…

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He wants to create 100 millionaires before he dies (but first Nassir Criss says he’ll have to leave KC)

By Tommy Felts / July 5, 2022

Nassir Criss has been a risk-taker for as long as he can remember, he shared.  “When you start at the bottom, the only place you can go is up — so I’ve never been afraid to speak my mind or walk up to someone who I think may be interesting and say hello. I haven’t…

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Kharissa Parker-Forte; photo by Lexi Holifield

Sometimes self-care is more about shutting down than showing out (Holistic Hustle)

By Tommy Felts / July 5, 2022

Kharissa Parker-Forte is a news producer, writer, certified health coach, and columnist for Startland News.  Read her “Holistic Hustle” columns for Startland News here. When I recently made the decision to dissolve my self care brand, Grace & Grind, it was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever had to make. From the outside looking…

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Nicky Lopez for Sandlot Goods

Sandlot scores endorsement by one of KC’s favorite players; how the deal puts this brand on a base path to the big leagues

By Tommy Felts / July 1, 2022

Kansas City’s only local hat maker, Sandlot Goods, announced Thursday its first professional athlete endorsement — from Royals infielder Nicky Lopez — in a hit aimed as a major play in the brand’s home run strategy. “We are incredibly excited about our first major league endorsement,” said Chad Hickman, founder of Sandlot Goods. “The first…

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Despise doggie duty? It’s only No. 10 on startup’s list of pet peeve tasks people don’t want to do themselves

By Tommy Felts / July 1, 2022

One in four Kansas City residents say they’ve become worse at handling awkward tasks since the pandemic began, according to a new survey by local services marketplace Airtasker. Among the most biting tasks KC wants to avoid: picking up dog poop from someone else’s lawn. Airtasker, which acquired Kansas City-based startup Zaarly in May 2021,…

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Rebecca MacKinnon, SoulFIRE Health, at the NXTSTAGE Community Health and Vibrancy Pilot Competition

Overland Park startup wins four pilot projects through NXTUS health competition

By Tommy Felts / July 1, 2022

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. WICHITA…

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Connectivities by Dementia Engagement Solutions

Inside-the-box thinking: Veteran entrepreneurs craft memory care tools to engage dementia patients

By Tommy Felts / July 1, 2022

The founders of one of Kansas City’s celebrated small businesses are launching a new solution for dementia care: a curated, monthly subscription box full of themed engagement activities and tools designed to improve patients’ quality of life. Prairie Elder Care’s Michala Gibson and Mandy Shoemaker originated the idea for the Connectivities subscription tool during the…

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