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Since COVID-19 kept members of Techstars Kansas City’s 2020 cohort from visiting the City of Fountains during the three-month accelerator, an Aug. 27 virtual demo day will be as much a meet-and-greet with the startups as a pitch event for potential investors, said Lesa Mitchell. “Our cohort didn’t ever come to KC. That was horrible…
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If pivots pour progress, Luke Einsel’s glass is full, the entrepreneur said, announcing a rebrand for Thirsty Coconut and new partnerships that could drive revenue through the roof for the frozen and chilled beverage distributor. “We’ve really gone through and got our processes right and we have a repeatable, scalable model that works in Kansas…
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First comes a sudden rustling of leaves, followed by soft grunting and the patter of dozens of unseen hoofed feet hitting the Platte County earth. A stampede of 30 pubescent Meishan piglets darts out of a wooded area at the base of a rolling hill covered in native plants, legumes and organic maize. “They look…
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Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial sponsor of Startland News. This report was produced independently by Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom. Opportunity to jump into the tech workforce isn’t capped at age 18, said Jeff Barratt — nor does it require a two- or four-year degree. And the careers are waiting, added…
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Starting a small business can be key to lowering individuals’ risk for involvement in violent activities, as well as increasing household income and financial stability, according to a debut microgrant program that targets new and aspiring entrepreneurs. “We need to find new ways of providing hope and pathways forward in our city where there have…
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Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial sponsor of Startland News. This report was produced independently by Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom. A new $100,000 fund is expected to help minority-owned Kansas City businesses — left out of initial rounds of COVID-19 relief — to build resiliency and come back stronger as the…
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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. Silicon…
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Inspired to deliver peace to trauma-affected children, My Bear Jeff officially launched its teddy bear relief effort in late July after a successful kickstarter campaign, said Rachel Cohen. “The support we’ve had is so insane and absolutely wild — like this community and my friends and family saw this vision and were like, ‘Yes, let’s…
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Merging two venture capital funds focused on one startup-rich portfolio is expected to create a larger platform for founders in up-and-coming markets, said Chris Marks. “While a merger is unique in the venture world, this feels very natural based on our overlap in values, our shared commitment to supporting authentic leaders, and our similar focus…
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Crowds reduced by COVID-19 precautions and confusion over what’s actually open have yielded dramatically reduced revenue for vendors who rely on Kansas City’s farmers markets, craft fairs and other public events. “To go eight years doing something and then suddenly you’re straight-up 50-60 percent of [the revenue], that’s a really tough blow,” said Dave Derr,…
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