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As locally owned bars and restaurants start to reopen, a new threat to their success is emerging — city regulations designed in a pre-pandemic world. “There’s a lot of unintended consequences from these mandated shutdowns that need to be addressed from a legal standpoint,” explained Beau Williams, owner of Julep Cocktail Club in Westport. While…
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Isaac Collins is exhausted, but he can’t sleep. His wife and mother are both worried about the 31-year-old community entrepreneur whose business is just blocks away from the scene of late-night mayhem and unrest following peaceful protests on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza. But it isn’t rioters and looters that have Collins on edge, he…
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Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Rodney Sampson is founder of Atlanta-based Opportunity Hub, as well as OHUB’s Kansas City minority accelerator, OHUB.KC, which operates through a partnership with the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri. Opportunity Hub is a non-financial partner of Startland News. Hello tech, startup…
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The hotly anticipated Techstars Kansas City 2020 accelerator class features startups enabling greater transparency and access in healthcare, the food supply, and justice for all, said Lesa Mitchell. Two of the ventures are based in St. Louis. “We’re also welcoming companies with new platforms and new business models that will attract and facilitate broader talent…
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If Missouri and Kansas City leaders want to help small businesses recoup lost cash after weeks of shutdown, they’d be wise to take a cue from the Big Easy, said owners of KC Daiquiri Shop. “The restaurant industry I’m seeing right now is kind of suffering,” explained Calvin Vick, who co-owns the New Orleans-inspired KC…
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Talent doesn’t always equal success in the art world — but that doesn’t mean creatives should lose hope, said Aaron Norris. “You have to be willing to grind. Day in and day out. Keep creating, keep sculpting, keep painting, keep sketching — and don’t stop until you accomplish the things you want to accomplish,” Norris, hobby artist…
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Free bus rides aren’t the only solution to a lack of equity in Kansas City’s transportation options, explained Thomas Murphy. “Only 18 percent of jobs here in the metro are available via 90-minute commute via public transit,” Murphy, co-founder and CEO of Dart, explained of the startup’s commitment to outfitting under-resourced pockets of the metro…
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Editor’s note: STARTLAND is the parent organization of Startland News, though this report was produced independently by Startland News’ non-profit newsroom. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial supporter of Startland News A month ago, few students could’ve imagined pitching real-world solutions to COVID-19 challenges in front of a panel of Kansas City celebrity judges,…
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Kansas City-wired clip-on robots could make social distancing a second thought, as Tesseract Ventures shares its first mainstream product with the world. “This product exemplifies our mantra that there is nothing more human than technology and is a great example of what you can expect to see from Tesseract Ventures in the future,” said John…
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Editor’s note: The following is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop. It’s a tough time to be in the business of food — but…
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