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U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaking at SXSW; photo by Channa Steinmetz/Startland News

Climate change innovation, leadership must be built at the local level, Buttigieg tells SXSW

By Tommy Felts / March 19, 2022

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. AUSTIN — The keys to solving climate change could already be in the ignition, Pete Buttigieg said, empowering a crowd of innovation leaders to sit in the passenger…

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Alex Krause Matlack, Sit Foundry

Sit Foundry takes a stand for ‘lost art’ of upholstery amid fast furniture’s climate threat

By Tommy Felts / March 17, 2022

Alex Krause Matlack is bringing what she teaches in the classroom to Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as she pursues Sit Foundry — an all-inclusive reupholstery design studio.  “In the first week of my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, I tell my students to go out into the world and take notice of the problems they face.…

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Letter to KCMO City Council from the entrepreneur, small biz community (via Eze Redwood)

By Tommy Felts / March 15, 2022

Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to Kansas City, Missouri, city council members March 11 by serial entrepreneur Eze Redwood, advocating for $11 million in funding for entrepreneur support from KCMO in its 2022-2023 budget. The city council is set to vote on the budget by March 24. The opinions expressed in this commentary…

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De-risking a dangerous job: How a window washing startup is raising the bar (and hose) with drones

By Tommy Felts / March 15, 2022

It’s a nightmare to clean the windows of multi-story buildings, said Andrew Brain. “It’s incredibly unsafe for folks to be hanging on the side of buildings — and it’s incredibly expensive for them to be there. Insurance liability has gone up 300 to 400 percent. … I was thinking that there’s got to be a…

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Callie England

Callie England’s latest venture has no name or website; When odds are you’ll die next week, you learn to prioritize, she says

By Tommy Felts / March 15, 2022

Sometimes hypothetical questions become all too real, said Callie England, a serial entrepreneur who frequently posed a speculative query to herself and clients: “If you were going to die next week, what decisions would you make?”  It was a question she was forced to answer honestly in July 2021, when the veteran Kansas City startup…

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Wingman Kitchen

Wingman’s twice-fried chicken flies south, finding its sweet spot in Johnson County

By Tommy Felts / March 15, 2022

A pandemic-battered, Westport fried chicken restaurant is on the move, chasing new opportunities in Overland Park and frying up a second chance that could be the secret ingredient to franchise expansion, its owner said.  “Wingman is the food provider for the entire district,” said Duane Jordan, owner of a Wingman Kitchen franchise, detailing the restaurant’s…

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Students hope to make KU the ‘premier blockchain university’; Here’s how startups can help

By Tommy Felts / March 15, 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. LAWRENCE…

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2534 Prospect Avenue, a city-owned space housing WeCode KC

She’s bringing tech to urban core teens; why KCMO says Tammy Buckner needs to pay ‘fair market value’ or get out

By Tommy Felts / March 12, 2022

One of KC’s leading Black women in tech leased a vacant city building for $1 and made $20K+ in improvements for her workforce development program — now the city wants to sell it, kicking WeCode KC to the curb A local nonprofit is asking for community support as the KCMO city council makes a move…

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Panelists Kavya Shankar, Sam De Jong, and Jacob Wagner at the C3KC "Future of Neighborhoods" session

One-size-fits-all neighborhoods are a blueprint for development failure, C3KC panel says

By Tommy Felts / March 11, 2022

Editor’s note: Startland News is a non-financial media sponsor of the 3CKC conference organized by the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri. The formula for creating a vibrant neighborhood might seem simple, but replicating it between variable demographics, geographies and economies is more challenging than many planners think, said Kavya Shankar. “The strength of the…

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Donald Hawkins, kinly, at the C3KC “Fintech is Revolutionizing Banking” session

Fintech revolution follows historical abuse of Black wealth: ‘We’re already late, but we’ve got to do something’

By Tommy Felts / March 11, 2022

Editor’s note: Startland News is a media sponsor for the C3KC session “Fintech is Revolutionizing Banking.” With nearly 30 percent of Americans reported as under-banked or unbanked, leaders in the financial space need to ask themselves what steps must be taken to create a more inclusive system, said Cordell Carter II. “We often ask leaders the…

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