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Main Street isn’t just a bridge connecting the Country Club Plaza to downtown Kansas City, Katie Mabry van Dieren said, detailing how she hopes her new retail gift and flower shop in Midtown will shatter stereotypes — along with showcasing makers. “Midtown has really been divested,” Mabry van Dieren said Wednesday afternoon from the Shop Local…
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A never-give-up attitude and an appreciation for every opportunity that comes their way continues to fuel the founding duo behind Kansas City-built The Market Base. “We’re just glad to be recognized for our relentless pursuit,” Milad Ghasempour, co-founder and COO, said moments after the startup was named Emerging Business Award winner by the Greater Kansas…
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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. A…
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Civic pride continues to pay off for Kansas City-stitched Charlie Hustle, winner of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Mr. K Small Business of the Year Award. Chase McAnulty, founder and CEO, accepted the coveted award Thursday afternoon during a KC Chamber-hosted luncheon — a successful end to the vintage-inspired apparel company’s third run at…
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Athletics has not always been a space where Jared Horman felt comfortable, he shared; but through Stonewall Sports, he discovered a way to genuinely enjoy games while connecting with other queer individuals and allies. “We get to kind of reclaim this thing that was terrifying for us as children,” said Horman, who was first introduced…
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With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting in-person retailers across the globe, Jordan Fox found himself compelled to take a step back and return to the roots of his passion — creating quality products by hand, he shared. “Foxtrot has always been very experience-driven. The feeling you have when you come into the space, coupled with the…
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Kansas City motivational speaker Ryan Harvey thought his dreams had come true when a duo from Los Angeles offered him a job creating videos for their up-and-coming self-help company, he recalled. To the community thought leader’s shock, the two took the revenue from the company and disappeared — leaving Harvey to answer to upset clients…
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Online shopping is a staple for Carlanda McKinney, she noted, but the inaccuracy and variety of size guides leave both shoppers and retailers with major pain points. “On the shopper side, it is frustrating to order multiple sizes and not have anything fit your body the right way. … On the seller side, retailers are…
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An Australia-based govtech startup with a sizable Kansas City operation has sold. OpenCities — a hub-like platform that digitizes city forms and requests — was acquired by Denver-based Granicus, the companies announced Thursday, solidifying a deal that’s expected to better define what the future of civic engagement might looks like. Financial terms of the acquisition were not…
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An investment in The Greenline Initiative is, on its face, an investment in the future of Kansas City’s historic and re-emerging east side, said Ajia Morris. But there’s more to the effort than meets the eye, the effort’s co-founder explained, detailing ways she and her husband, Christopher, hope to uplift the metro’s Black community; a…
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