Posts by Tommy Felts
Walkin and Rollin, KC maker community treat kids with limited mobility to custom Halloween costumes
The children in Reese Davis’ preschool class were often standoffish around him. “He was the only kid they knew in a wheelchair,” recalled his father, Lon Davis, founder of Walkin and Rollin Costumes — a Kansas City-based non-profit that builds costumes for kids in walkers and wheelchairs, free of charge. “They didn’t really know how…
Read MoreDigital Sandbox KC selects diverse health, AI and filmmaking startups for latest funding
The latest trio of Digital Sandbox KC companies pushes the proof-of-concept program deeper into Johnson County with a new Overland Park partnership. “This group showcases the wide spectrum of businesses assisted by the Sandbox, from a data platform for creative filmmakers and studios, to improved patient care in asthma, to biologics in regenerative medicine,” said…
Read MoreWoman-led PEPPR sets table for simplified event planning with platform cooked in KC kitchens
A veteran of the restaurant industry thanks to her family’s long-simmering connections to Kansas City kitchens, Lyndsey Gruber stood as a woman on her own Wednesday at 1 Million Cups. “It’s just me,” Gruber, CEO and founder of PEPPR, told Startland News before the event, which served as a mid-point of Women’s Empowerment Week and…
Read MoreInnovateKC: City pivots to startup-in-residence program to leverage local tech ingenuity
A new administration equals a new spin on established ideas, Nia Richardson explained, previewing the launch of Kansas City’s InnovateKC program. “I literally had a 45-minute conversation with [former city innovation officer] Bob Bennett before he walked out the door. He sent me an email with some notes and I had to pick it up…
Read MoreKC-tested GoGetter uses AI to bring back human interaction in hiring talent (minus the middleman)
As a software contractor at Cerner for two years, Naga Rayapati saw more than 40 percent of his paycheck go into the pockets of middlemen, he said. “While the contractor puts in their heart and soul working for the company, these ‘preferred vendors’ reap the benefits,” said Rayapati, referring to third parties in the hiring…
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