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Feeling invincible is a thing of the past, Heather Hamilton said, revealing a diagnosis that stopped her in her tracks and poured a change of perspective for the West Bottoms bar owner. “Knowing that I’m gene-positive for Huntington’s disease has made me even more motivated to make a difference,” Hamilton said, noting the disease has…
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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. COLUMBIA,…
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Ian Whitehill went from military deployment to software bootcamp, waging a new career as a software engineering technologist at Lenexa-based Genuen thanks to KC Tech Council’s emerging apprenticeship program. “I always wanted to do something where I felt like I was contributing to society and the world around me. When I heard about the opportunity…
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Cafe Cà Phê can now afford to build bathrooms in its anticipated brick-and-mortar coffee location, Jackie Nguyen teased on Instagram after being awarded the grand prize at the 2021 AltCap Your Biz: Pitch Competition. “The $20,000 will go toward helping build that out — getting new appliances, [hiring] new employees because we’ve outgrown our cart.…
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Fresh off news of its $2 million investment by a local businesswoman and prominent animal advocate, Kansas City-based startup BestyBnB this week announced a new pet reservation tech platform — built by a company in neighboring Leawood. Available on mobile and desktop, the BestyBnB web-based platform enables DV shelters to search and secure long- and short-term…
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An entrepreneur-backed support organization for early stage founders and business leaders across Kansas City went live this week — the culmination of an intensive rebranding campaign for an accelerator previously geared specifically to Lee’s Summit. “KC Velocity is focused on matching growing businesses with experienced, invested experts in a variety of essential capacities including finance, accounting,…
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Editor’s note: The following story is sponsored by Academy Bank, a Kansas City based community bank, and is part of a series of features spotlighting some of the bank’s startup and small business partners. When Dr. Aaron Stohs left Kansas State University in 2004, ready to practice veterinary medicine, his sights were set on a…
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Join Startland News for a celebratory broadcast that showcases the work of six local leaders with exceptional stories of community impact. This mid-day broadcast — streaming at 11:30 a.m. as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) — features a musical performance by Golden Groves. This edition of Startland News Reports is presented in partnership with Fishtech Group.…
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The first crop of Comeback KC Ventures fellows — entrepreneurs offering solutions from healthtech and edtech products to sports evaluations and an animation academy emerging in response to COVID-19 — is expected to highlight more than a dozen companies Thursday during a GEW KC innovation showcase. “The demo day will allow early participants in the…
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The through line of Parker Graham’s startup journey so far: resiliency. “People like to joke that cockroaches just don’t die,” laughed Graham, reflecting after his fintech company, Finotta — more pheonix rising than cockroach surviving — recently closed a $3 million seed funding round and completely changed the makeup of its team. “I feel like…
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