All Stories

Nathan Kurtz, Brush Creek Partners

LaunchKC-backed insurtech accelerator hopes to claim new cohort by Aug. 22

By Tommy Felts / August 3, 2021

Brush Creek Partners and LaunchKC are again eyeing startups ready to accelerate their go-to-market plans, the partners announced Tuesday.  The application period for the LaunchKC-backed bcp tech InsurTech accelerator has officially opened, Nathan Kurtz, COO of Brush Creek Partners (bcp), said in a release, marking the program’s second run.  “When you have an insurtech product…

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David Hulsen and Stuart Ludlow, RFP360

Tech company at the vanguard of KC startup boom exits to West Coast competitor

By Tommy Felts / August 3, 2021

One of Kansas City’s earliest startups to watch of the past decade has been acquired by an Oregon-based competitor.  RFPIO announced the purchase of RFP360, a Leawood-based software-as-a-service startup, Tuesday morning. A dollar amount for the deal was not disclosed.  “Through this acquisition, I’m extremely excited about the future as we work together to drive…

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Adam Miller, Let's Talk Black Business

Let’s Talk Black Business: You don’t need to be ‘the next Lebron’ — just succeed where others fell short   

By Tommy Felts / August 3, 2021

Editor’s note: The following story — spotlighting an Aug. 25 virtual event about challenges facing Black business owners — is sponsored by Let’s Talk Black Business and SCORE Community Strategic Alliance. Black entrepreneurship isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience, said Dom Green.  “It is not cookie cutter, and it is so important to showcase the differences of the…

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Patrick Klima, WyCo Vintage

WyCo Vintage — boasting world’s largest collection of vintage tees — opens second sister-shop on Broadway

By Tommy Felts / July 31, 2021

Patrick Klima likely does more laundry than anyone else in Kansas City, he said, half-joking.  “The WyCo Vintage inventory is constantly being updated. We’ve been doing weekly drops of about 75 or so vintage shirts for the past four years — which means a lot of washing, shooting, SEO stuff and social media,” explained Klima,…

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Conner Hazelrigg, 1773 Innovation Co., the Sunshine Box

‘Sunshine Box’ inventor earns $25K prize in pitch competition for women-led social ventures

By Tommy Felts / July 30, 2021

The woman behind a solar-paneled electric charging station built to overcome challenges found in developing nations earned the spotlight herself as Thursday’s big winner in the inaugural HI-HERImpact Kansas City pitch competition. Conner Hazelrigg, founder of 1773 Innovation Co. — the maker of the Sunshine Box — was awarded the contest’s $25,000 prize in the…

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More than $10K raised for Operation Breakthrough after podcast host’s sudden death

By Tommy Felts / July 29, 2021

A recording studio in Operation Breakthrough’s soon-to-debut Ignition Lab on Troost Avenue will pay tribute to Mathew George after fans, friends and family of the late podcast host made more than $10,000 in donations in his name.  “I didn’t even realize how many people Mathew affected or was friends with,” said Mary Ann George, mother…

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Tiny TV Classics by Basic Fun!

KC inventor, toy maker put classic TV shows, movies at your fingertips

By Tommy Felts / July 29, 2021

Makers and inventors only have an instant to capture the public’s imagination and pull them into a product, John Boucard said.  “I gravitate toward working on things that haven’t been done before,” the founder and CEO of Tesseract Ventures shared. “There’s the ‘moment of astonishment’ for children and consumers who are delighted by our tech.…

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Image illustrates a pre-production Mark II, the Mark II is not yet in production

Fund Me, KC: Invest in Mycroft’s open-sourced, privacy-respecting voice assistant

By Tommy Felts / July 29, 2021

Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Kansas City artificial intelligence startup Mycroft AI — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially gain backing from new…

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Tom's Town canned cocktails

Tom’s Town cracks open canned cocktail opportunity: ‘We’re not a bubble factory in a can’

By Tommy Felts / July 29, 2021

People love drinking cocktails, but specialty creations can be intimidating to make, said David Epstein, announcing a new line of canned premium cocktails from the Crossroads-based distiller. “The pandemic ushered in a lot of at-home-drinking, and I think people simply loved the taste,” said Epstein, co-founder of Tom’s Town, describing a renewed thirst for convenience…

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J. Rieger & Co. Electric Park rendering, GastingerWalker&

J. Rieger plans to relight ‘Electric Park’ in the East Bottoms, sling boozy snow-cones, cocktail floats

By Tommy Felts / July 27, 2021

A new 11,000-square-foot outdoor space is set to open this fall at J. Rieger & Co., the historic East Bottoms-based distillery, with an homage to one of Kansas City’s brightest but nearly forgotten eras. The Electric Park Garden Bar — featuring a completely open-air patio bar and an adjoining atrium that will serve as an…

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