All Stories

TripleBlind team 2021

‘Everybody at TripleBlind is better than me,’ founder says as top startup’s global team firewalls groupthink

By Tommy Felts / February 8, 2022

Startup companies are on a continual mission to create, define and own the category in which they operate within, Riddhiman Das noted, and to do so — startup founders must build a proficient team.  “If you’re not the category-defining company, then it’s not as big a win. Categories are typically defined at the global level,…

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Tyler Shane's artisanal chocolate collaboration for Café Corazón

First bite of Tyler Shane: This spicy new pairing with Westport favorite Café Corazón has cacao lovers going nuts

By Tommy Felts / February 5, 2022

‘I want people to sit down and really have a moment with their chocolate’ When Tyler Shane bites into a piece of chocolate, all of her senses come alive to fully indulge in the experience. “Food, for me, is almost like a religious experience,” she said. After spending seven years at Christopher Elbow Chocolates, the…

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Stephen Hardy, mySidewalk

mySidewalk CEO: Partnership with National League of Cities will ‘unlock’ hidden data for thousands of communities

By Tommy Felts / February 4, 2022

A veteran Kansas City tech startup has partnered with the National League of Cities to help its members “bring actionable data to every community,” mySidewalk’s CEO announced this week. “Together, we will provide data to unlock funding, guide investments, and improve neighborhoods,” said Stephen Hardy, leader of the KC-based govtech company, describing NLC as “the…

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AbdulRasheed Yahaya, LEVELUP, GameTime District

How one of KC’s earliest Esports leaders is leveling up inclusive gaming (and why it’s C-suite or bust for his next plays)

By Tommy Felts / February 4, 2022

Change comes through leadership, said AbdulRasheed Yahaya, announcing he’s acquired co-ownership of one of the largest Esports facilities in the nation — positioning him to take the controller and level up on his long-standing commitment to make the industry a fair game for all.  “To do this, I’ve always known I have to be at the…

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DJ Stewart in a still from "Rare Enough"; image courtesy of director Ryan Lovell

Premiere: In the span of 11 minutes, you’ll watch one entrepreneur fight for his life (and win)

By Tommy Felts / February 4, 2022

DJ Stewart beat the odds — and his prognosis — in a health battle chronicled by friend and Kansas City filmmaker Ryan Lovell. The intimate documentary they created together premieres today. “Rare Enough” captures Stewart at his most raw during the Journey Pro Wrestling founder’s fight against Grade 4 glioblastoma — a rare malignant brain tumor…

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Wichita support org for startups lands nearly $1M in funding — including $300K in Kauffman backing

By Tommy Felts / February 3, 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. New…

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Joni Cobb, Center for American Entrepreneurship

DC-based lobbying group for entrepreneurs names former Pipeline leader as new leader

By Tommy Felts / February 3, 2022

A fresh face joining the helm of a leading lobbying organization for entrepreneurs is expected to bring Midwest perspective and representation to the fight to create more jobs through the innovation economy. Joni Cobb, the founding president and CEO of Pipeline Entrepreneurs — a Kansas City, Kansas-based network of startup founders now led by executive…

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Sarah Hill, Healium, StoryUp, a portfolio company of Missouri Technology Corporation

Missouri wants to match investors’ funds for promising young startups; founders have until Monday to apply

By Tommy Felts / February 3, 2022

A pair of competitive startup funding programs backed by the State of Missouri are poised to boost companies with Show Me potential, said Jack Scatizzi as the deadline rapidly nears for this year’s IDEA Funds. “We invest both state and federal funding into the most promising high growth-potential startups,” said Scatizzi, executive director of the…

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Andy, Arlo, and Molly Heise, GoGoBloom

Retro-inspired activewear brought this stay-at-home mom out of isolation; why it’s go-go time for Molly Heise’s budding business

By Tommy Felts / February 2, 2022

Molly Heise’s earliest memories go back to playing marbles on her great-grandma’s avocado-colored shag carpet, captivated by the various floral patterns that surrounded her, she recalled. Today, those memories inspire her personal style and activewear line, GoGoBloom. “I’ve loved the retro style for as long as I can remember,” she shared. “But in the past…

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Ben Wine and Dave Eames, Fossil Forge

They fought to end Lee’s Summit’s neon ban; now they’re relighting a grinning, spinning Katz face in KC

By Tommy Felts / February 1, 2022

How a Lee’s Summit duo is reviving eye-catching signs of KC’s past The iconic face of Katz Drug Store — the famed retail operation that grew from the streets of Kansas City to eventually become CVS — is set to return to its hometown thanks, in part, to a pair of unlikely neon sign restorationists. …

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