All Stories

Brooke Mullen, Sapahn

Pipeline pitch winner sells practical business moves (and leather) with socially conscious ethos

By Tommy Felts / January 29, 2021

Brooke Mullen’s ability to pivot with silky smooth ease helped the Lincoln entrepreneur build a bridge to surging revenue in 2020, as well as win best pitch Thursday during a showcase of Pipeline’s latest fellowship class. “With a lot of our business being direct-to-consumer and actual live events, we had to completely change as all…

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ScaleUP! Kansas City Cohort 11

Meet 20 scaling companies making the leap with ScaleUP! KC’s latest small biz cohort

By Tommy Felts / January 28, 2021

Successfully scaling entrepreneurs take the time to work on their businesses — rather than just in them, Jill Hathaway said, emphasizing the transformative power ScaleUP! Kansas City brings to the 20 top-tier business owners newly participating in its 11th cohort. “This intensive program has had a profound impact on the small businesses it serves during the…

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Zach Anderson Pettet, Ben Milne, and Jessie Jacob, V-Sum

‘Nerds’ need value: Midwest trio connects global fintech players through virtual summit

By Tommy Felts / January 27, 2021

Fintech workers and industry innovators are starving for human connection amid a crazy 10 months of COVID and a pandemic’s-worth of dull virtual events, said Zach Anderson Pettet. “All of us nerds in our specific space — being financial services and financial technology — haven’t been able to congregate, so there’s been a lot of…

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U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri

KC Tech Council’s apprenticeship program launches with job growth hopes from Davids, Cleaver

By Tommy Felts / January 27, 2021

A freshly launched partnership between KC Tech Council and Apprenti — designed to cultivate tech skills and offer first-hand experience for apprentices — is a solid fit for Kansas City’s talent needs, two members of the metro’s U.S. congressional delegation agreed. “I truly believe that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA of our region,” U.S.…

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Jasper Mullarney, Epigraph

How Epigraph visualizes AR changing the way you see the world during (and years after) COVID

By Tommy Felts / January 26, 2021

There’s no way around it, Jasper Mullarney said: Augmented reality is the future — and it’s going to impact the way users of everything from iPhones to laptops engage with technology.  “We see a shift from the dominant screen being in your hands to on your face,” Mullarney, co-founder of the visualization technology startup, said of…

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Megan Richards, Kelly Mamie, and Ginger McCune, Midwest Nutrition KC

She put down her soda and started walking 10 years ago — 80 pounds later, Ginger McCune’s wellness center is running on impact

By Tommy Felts / January 26, 2021

Life is best lived loud — not sitting on the sidelines, wishing you could experience it, explained Ginger McCune.  “If you have a car and it takes premium gas — and you fill it full of regular gas, what’s it gonna do? It’s gonna go for a little bit and then it’s gonna spit and spurt and…

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Brandon Calloway, Black Spartans Manga

Fund Me, KC: ‘Black Spartans’ creator changes the tone of fantasy — where Blackness isn’t ‘the exotic other’

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 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 entrepreneurs — like Brandon Calloway’s campaign to fund the first book in his “Black Spartans” graphic novel series — to share crowdfunding stories and gain…

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Chase McAnulty, Charlie Hustle

‘A Super Bowl for small business’: Chiefs’ back-to-back playoff success scores for apparel makers 

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2021

The Chiefs’ Sunday-night victory over the Buffalo Bills not only means Kansas City’s return to the Super Bowl, but a repeat opportunity for local small business owners amid a rush of hometown pride, said Chase McAnulty.  “When the Chiefs won [in 2020], we were fighting as hard as we could to get as many blank…

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Phil "Sike Style" Shafer, Tom's Town mural

Best new spot for your Super Bowl selfie? Sike Style, Tom’s Town run it back for fan-friendly Chiefs mural

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2021

A wall of red painted in the shadow of downtown is expected to serve as more than a backdrop for Kansas City Chiefs-inspired selfies, as the world champion football team heads back to the Super Bowl.  “We hope that rallying around the Chiefs becomes a little point of pride for everybody and motivation to get…

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Arrowhead tee by HyperKC

Tees for touchdowns: 21+ ways to wear your Kansas City Chiefs pride while shopping local

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2021

The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl — seeking to replicate last year’s post-season success at the Feb. 7 big game in Tampa, Florida. And while an ongoing pandemic will limit the number of fans who can travel to the championship matchup, hometown brands and retailers are working to make sure the Chiefs…

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