All Stories

Photo courtesy of Hyperloop One

Bringing high-speed travel ‘to the people’: Hyperloop One sets Kansas City arrival date

By Tommy Felts / July 31, 2019

Long Awaited, Virgin Hyperloop One will finally cruise into Kansas City … just not permanently — at least not yet, the company announced Tuesday.  “When government and investor delegations come to our test site, seeing the technology makes it real for them,” Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One, said in a release.  “Not everyone can…

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Leslie Walton, Determination Incorporated

Inclusion Open funding helps Determination Incorporated reunite KCSourceLink alums

By Tommy Felts / July 31, 2019

Within days of securing funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Inclusion Open, Determination Incorporated is expanding its team, the nonprofit announced Wednesday.  “We are so thankful to the Kauffman Foundation and excited to announce that Leslie Walton, an experienced entrepreneurial ecosystem builder in KC, is joining the team in support of our mission,” Johnny…

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Earn-out exit: Beware a startup sale price hinging on future performance, attorney cautions

By Tommy Felts / July 31, 2019

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Todd McGuire is a partner at Stueve Siegel Hanson law firm in Kansas City. He focuses on cases involving business torts, contract disputes, employment matters and other civil claims. As an entrepreneur, you likely envision one day moving beyond your current business. But…

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Karen_Fenaroli, photo by Mikaela Wendell

KCultivator Q&A: Karen Fenaroli orchestrates investment game from behind home plate

By Tommy Felts / July 27, 2019

Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by Plexpod, a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes. Long hours, frequent travel and tough decisions can mold who you are…

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The Porter House, Kauffman Inclusion Open

Kauffman Inclusion Open: Six KC grant winners ‘building an inclusive pathway to entrepreneurship’

By Tommy Felts / July 27, 2019

Plans to educate, inspire, and assist entrepreneurs traditionally left out of small business conversations will ramp up for the Porter House KC — thanks to new support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s inaugural Inclusion Open.  “We are so excited to be selected as one of this year’s grant recipients,” said Dan Smith, co-founder of the…

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Photo courtesy of PokéBar

Catch the PokéBar: Pokémon-themed pop-up bar and burgers experience coming to KC

By Tommy Felts / July 25, 2019

A newly crafted, immersive pop-up experience is set to present fans of Pokémon with the ultimate challenge — making its way to Kansas City in 2020.  Launched in September in Los Angeles, PokéBar is set to evolve in the metro Feb. 8-9, offering fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove whether they really can “catch em’…

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Ruby Jean's Whole Foods

Natural fit: Ruby Jean’s opening new juicery inside busy Whole Foods

By Tommy Felts / July 25, 2019

The fresh-pressed, multi-year deal to open a brick-and-mortar Ruby Jean’s Juicery inside a high-traffic Whole Foods location puts Chris Goode in a position to scale his clean concept even further beyond Kansas City, he said. “We’re in the healthy food space and Whole Foods has cornered that market pretty broadly. With its parent company now…

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Austin Wilcox and Wondabeka Ashenafi, SERV Nutrition

Major Kansas City grocery chains stock SERV Nutrition less than a year into business

By Tommy Felts / July 25, 2019

Doing good is more than just a motto for SERV Nutrition — it’s the state of the startup’s operation seven months into business, Isaac Collins said as the company’s patented protein pods hit shelves at Price Chopper and Hen House stores across the metro.  “Online sales have been going well, but we saw a great…

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2018 LaunchKC winners

KCMO turns to entrepreneurs for new ideas on budget support; Advocates to rally at work sessions

By Tommy Felts / July 25, 2019

Raised voices and a commitment to civic engagement earned entrepreneurs an additional $350,000 in city support for the 2019 budget year and a second attempt is about to begin, explained Rick Usher.  “It really goes back to when the resident work sessions started in 2018,” Usher, KCMO assistant city manager for entrepreneurship and small business,…

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Tammie Wahaus, ELIAS Animal Health

Biotech firms: Health innovation can’t grow in KC with wet lab space in such short supply

By Tommy Felts / July 25, 2019

ELIAS Animal Health is advancing a technology that can fundamentally change how cancer is treated in both humans and animals, said CEO Tammie Wahaus, yet finding lab space in the metro has been one of the biotech startup’s biggest tests.   “We’re doing a lot of cell culture work, which requires wet lab space, but there…

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