All Stories

Michael Thurman, Cutter Fleet

Making home haircuts fresh again: KC barber reimagines barbershops with mobile service, app

By Tommy Felts / July 20, 2021

Michael Thurman had a 1-year-old child at home and another baby on the way when COVID-19’s outset left him without work for eight weeks, he shared. Contemplating how he could have more freedom and stability as a barber, the wheels began turning beneath Thurman’s scalp. His idea: create a traveling barber platform — now known as…

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President Joe Biden; Photo courtesy of the White House

White House vs ‘startup slump’: New executive order puts feds on notice in bid to reverse innovation decline

By Tommy Felts / July 20, 2021

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Victor Hwang is the founder and CEO of the Right to Start movement. Click here to learn more about Right to Start, a campaign to drive economic recovery and advance economic justice. This commentary originally appeared on Inc.com and is republished with permission…

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Sean Null, Erkios Systems, right, with Austin Barnes, Startland News, and Carlanda McKinney, Raaxo; Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City 2018

GEW event series set for 7-day, hybrid return; now accepting presenter submissions 

By Tommy Felts / July 19, 2021

Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City, the metro’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurship, is seeking event submissions from the community to help aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small business owners build their operations and be more resilient for the future. “Even though pandemic restrictions are over, we know the struggle to keep doors open is very real,…

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Jabbok Schlacks and Willy Schlacks, EquipmentShare

$230M funding round fuels EquipmentShare tech launch, national expansion plans

By Tommy Felts / July 17, 2021

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores entrepreneurship taking root 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. A massive funding haul…

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Shakia Webb, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

New voice on capital access: If people aren’t already at the table, move the table to them

By Tommy Felts / July 16, 2021

Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial supporter of Startland News. This story was produced independently by Startland News’s nonprofit newsroom. From teller to business banker, Shakia Webb worked nearly every bank job, she recalled.  “Each role literally prepared me for the next,” Webb told Startland News, detailing her well-rounded resume and…

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Dwayne Johnson Signe Du Ciel aka Santino

In the ring with Santino: How a KC-area French Bulldog became a championship showstopper

By Tommy Felts / July 16, 2021

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores entrepreneurship taking root 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. Dwayne Johnson started as…

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Watch Now: Nothing to Fear a virtual Innovation Exchange conversation

By Tommy Felts / July 15, 2021

Innovation Exchange is produced by Startland, the parent organization of Startland News. Morgan Stanley is the event’s presenting sponsor and C2FO is a financial supporter of Startland News.

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David Biga, Particle Space

Proptech startup closes $636K pre-seed round, building on real estate product collabs

By Tommy Felts / July 13, 2021

More than a half-million dollars in pre-seed funding has a Kansas City-built proptech startup movin’ on up, bringing it a few floors closer to realizing its goal of becoming Stripe for the real estate industry.  “It feels so unreal,” David Biga, founder and CEO, told Startland News Monday in announcement of the startup’s newly-closed $636,000…

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Howard Schultz, Carla Harris, and Sandy Kemper

Former Starbucks CEO, C2FO’s Sandy Kemper join Morgan Stanley exec for ‘Nothing to Fear’ DEI conversation

By Tommy Felts / July 13, 2021

Top business leaders are now embracing diversity and inclusion, Carla Harris said, but even their most sincere initiatives must survive the fear that comes with changing trends and an inevitable economic downturn. “Fear has no place in your success equation,” said Harris, a 33-year Wall Street veteran and Morgan Stanley executive who headlines Thursday’s Innovation…

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Just funded: Meet the six young startups joining Digital Sandbox KC’s summer slate 

By Tommy Felts / July 12, 2021

A round of funding from Digital Sandbox KC comes at a critical time for Bryght Labs — and five other early stage companies — as the AI-enabled gaming startup advances hardware development for its wildly popular, high-tech chess board, said Elliot Wilder. “Hardware is hard enough — but 2021 has added some unique challenges,” said Wilder,…

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