Posts by Tommy Felts
Toby Rush explores venture studio concept to help startups avoid pre-seed mistakes
Not enough founders in the pre-seed funding stage get the help they need to successfully build their emerging startups, said Toby Rush. “How can you find, focus and accelerate people before they’ve raised money, before they’ve built their team, before they’ve made all of the mistakes that I’ve made plenty of times and that most…
Read More‘Scrappy underdogs’ scale up as PayIt announces move downtown to Lightwell
A move to the Lightwell building signals more than continued growth for Kansas City-based PayIt: it’s the beginning of the company’s transition from startup to scaleup, revealed John Thomson. “We’re scrappy underdogs in this big market of big players and I don’t want us to lose that,” Thomson, co-founder and CEO, told Startland News of…
Read MoreFive-chef food hall concept headed downtown thanks to one of KC’s most successful founders
Serial entrepreneur Tim Barton is bringing his “chef collective” concept from downtown Overland Park to the heart of KCMO, the founder of Edison District announced Thursday, teasing the first details of a new development at the in-progress Lightwell building. “It’ll be a 13,500 square-foot food hall with five chef concepts,” Barton, whose Johnson County Strang…
Read MoreEcosystem builder on Mayor Q’s budget cuts: Startup support helps fill potholes too
Startup support is an investment — not just a cost to the city, a leading ecosystem builder said Thursday following a proposed KCMO budget that would reduce funding for groups aiding KC’s emerging innovators and risk-takers. “Go around to meet the entrepreneurs, understand their stories — see how we max out our credit cards to hire…
Read MoreChit chat on the elevator? RiskGenius targets missing ‘adulting’ soft skills with event series
College curriculum often falls short of the crucial soft skills to get young entrepreneurs from coffee chats to the head of the table, said Kaylee Chappelow. “I don’t want to say college sucks … but I think we all agree that it doesn’t touch on the soft skills,” laughed Chappelow, customer success manager at insurtech…
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