All Stories

Edcoda

April Boyd-Noronha: ‘Gamified’ startup Edcoda among coolest in minority-owned KC STEM

By Tommy Felts / February 15, 2018

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. My columns this month feature four minority-owned STEM businesses in the Kansas City metro. The cool thing about each of these businesses? They include at least one (if not more) aspect of the STEM concept — science, technology, engineering, and math. For the…

Read More >
Operation Breakthrough expansion, 31st and Troost

$17M Operation Breakthrough expansion to bridge Troost, boost STEM and maker skills

By Tommy Felts / February 14, 2018

An Operation Breakthrough expansion from the east side of Troost Avenue to the west is about more than jumping across the street, said Mary Esselman. The move will literally bridge a racial and economic dividing line that has persisted for decades. “Bridging Troost is not only a legacy to our founders, but is huge symbolically,…

Read More >
Ginsburg’s Podcast Preview

Ginsburg’s Podcast Preview: ‘Driving Participation’ markets nonprofit influence

By Tommy Felts / February 14, 2018

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. If you’re new to either podcasts or this occasional column, click here for background information. We preview specific podcasts to reveal their topics, formats and lessons from listening. Featured Podcast The Driving Participation podcast, hosted by the president of a Philadelphia-area creative agency,…

Read More >
Christian Moscoso, ClusterTruck

ClusterTruck sizzles on KC food delivery scene with ‘ghost kitchen’ concept

By Tommy Felts / February 13, 2018

The innovation cooking within ClusterTruck’s technology makes the rapidly expanding Indianapolis company a fresh take on the restaurant-quality food delivery scene, Christian Moscoso said. “We are a software company with our own ghost kitchens, if you will,” said Moscoso, general manager for ClusterTruck’s new River Market kitchen, which opened in mid-December without a public entrance…

Read More >

Innovation Exchange returns in 2018 with new partners, topics

By Tommy Felts / February 13, 2018

One of my favorite parts of journalism is the “Hm!” moment. They are the occasions when reading, watching or listening to a story whose details yield an inborn reaction of fascination or intrigue. They can’t be stopped. When your curiosity piqued, “Hmm!” is an impulse. “The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket produced 5 million pounds of…

Read More >
Sickweather

Sickweather storms market with overfunded $1M crowdfunding campaign amid flu season

By Tommy Felts / February 12, 2018

An illness forecaster is never more valuable than when the threat of a widespread virus is high. This year’s severe flu season, however, is only one of the leading contributors to Sickweather’s uptick in interest — and its recent oversubscribed $1 million crowdfunding campaign, said founder Graham Dodge. “We learn a lot every cold and…

Read More >
Operation Breakthrough

Fund Me, KC: Operation Breakthrough hopes to burn into STEM gap with laser cutter

By Tommy Felts / February 12, 2018

Editor’s note: Startland News is continuing its ‘Fund Me, KC’ feature to highlight area entrepreneurial efforts to accelerate businesses or projects. If you or your startup is running a crowdfunding campaign, let us know by contacting news@startlandnews.com. Today’s featured campaign from Operation Breakthrough spotlights a campaign by the nonprofit childhood development center to boost its…

Read More >
Pam Newton, Uncommon Relics, and Bob Martin, iWerx and designWerx

designWerx makes room for growing makers in North Kansas City

By Tommy Felts / February 10, 2018

A home garage workspace can be a lonely, stifling place for a maker trying to grow his or her business, said Pam Newton, who is leading the artistic vision for designWerx, a new coworking space and incubator specifically for makers in North Kansas City. “You’re alone constantly. Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated,” she said.…

Read More >
Tyler Enders, Made in KC

KCultivator Q&A: Tyler Enders talks his biggest failure, the ‘Made In’ concept and Obama

By Tommy Felts / February 9, 2018

Seated amid vintage mosaic tile and striking black-and-white portraits by Kansas City photographer Cameron Gee, founder Tyler Enders seems at home within the walls of the Made in KC Cafe. He’s an art lover with a finance degree — not to mention one of the minds behind Made in KC, a retail showcase for local…

Read More >
Kimberly Gandy

Kimberly Gandy: Proof a startup can emerge stronger from its founder’s cancer diagnosis

By Tommy Felts / February 8, 2018

Cancer needn’t mean can’t, Kimberly Gandy said. When the Play-It Health founder and CEO was diagnosed with an aggressive, mid-stage cancer in May 2016, her startup found itself at a crossroads. Gandy had just joined the Kansas City-based Pipeline fellowship and her company was poised for growth through its web- and mobile-based health regimen tracking…

Read More >
1MC-Digital-Attend-2460x318px-v1
Founders-Club-Banner-Ad-2

Join Founder's Club – Support Our Mission

Enjoy access to our email newsletter, members only Slack community, exclusive events and other member perks.