Pipeline, NXTUS drive exposure for entrepreneur’s on-demand fuel delivery startup

Jake Calhoun, Soya

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. WICHITA…

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A weakness today can be KC’s superpower tomorrow: Call for corporate engagement begins with CEOs

Neal Sharma, DEG exit

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity.  Successful entrepreneurial ecosystems require a certain level of corporate engagement — and even stewardship — said Neal Sharma, noting the…

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‘Supplier diversity is deceptively difficult’: How to boost diverse small businesses without tokenizing them

Willa Robsinson, Willa’s Books & Vinyl, at H&R Block

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity.  Successful efforts to promote increased, consistent spending with more diverse small businesses must start with C-Suite buy-in, Christine Kelly said,…

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