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“You can’t be what you can’t see,” said adventurer and speaker Mikah Meyer, quoting activist Marian Wright Edelman last week in Kansas City. Representation of LGBTQ+ consumers and entrepreneurs formed a thematic trail throughout the recent Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce awards luncheon where Meyer made keynote remarks. His borrowed quote also reflected…
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Less than a year after its inaugural Fountain City Fintech accelerator debuted, nbkc bank has launched a new incubator program designed to tackle common banking industry problems with start-up-style ideation, problem solving, and tenacity, said Megan Darnell. The goal: building new companies along the way, the nbkc program manager said. “Kansas City has every single…
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Benjie Lewis saw potential in eSports from the beginning — first as a mentor, then an investor, he said. Rapidly evolving from recreational pastime to official leagues and high school sports programs, the competitive multiplayer gaming concept has created a new space for startup opportunity, he said. “When I was growing up … they weren’t…
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Months of candidate forums are complete. The door bells have been rung. Selfies taken. As the Kansas City mayor’s race heads to the polls Tuesday, the candidates are all business when it comes to courting the startup community’s vote. Jolie Justus — who has branded herself as the next “neighborhood mayor” — and Quinton Lucas…
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[Editor’s note: Startland News invited Kansas City mayoral candidates Jolie Justus and Quinton Lucas to compose open letters to address their potential constituents in KC’s entrepreneur community of startups, makers, creatives and risk-takers. Justus’ response is below. Lucas did not participate. The vote is set for Tuesday, June 18.] I trust this community to see…
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Startup energy will soon take hold on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza, as Industrious — the nation’s largest coworking space — prepares to set up shop in a 30,000-square-foot chunk of the historic retail and entertainment district, the company announced Thursday. “Kansas City is a dominant market in the Silicon Prairie. As one of the…
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Readers asked, city answered: No rainbow crosswalks in KC, but earth tone design submissions welcome
Kansas City decision makers are welcoming advocates of a rainbow crosswalk to walk the line and make their passions known — so long as they’re willing to get creative. “Your article sparked some great conversation within our department too,” Maggie Green, KCMO public works information officer, said in reference to active social media conversations ignited by…
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Entrepreneurship is a drug and Callie England couldn’t neglect the euphoric high she felt with each hit. “I wasn’t even thinking and that first year was so painful … yet it was so, just like, glorious … You don’t really remember anything until after the fact, but you’re like, man, that was great,” England, founder…
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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. Kansas City’s female entrepreneurs are begging for the opportunity to champion each…
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Don’t look at marijuana through a societal lens, said Jessica Sanders. Instead view the natural substance as a potential life-saving measure. “My mother had multiple sclerosis and seeing her suffer really changed a lot about me,” explained Sanders, founder of Lisa’s Gifts — a high-quality THC extraction facility named after Sanders’ mom, expected to provide and…
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