Posts by Tommy Felts
Tenacious Scollar CEO to international investors: Look me in the eyes and try to tell me ‘no’
With a year of hustle well under way, you can’t break Scollar’s stride, Lisa Tamayo said as she prepares to take the stage in front of a 25,000-plus person crowd May 20 at the Collision tech conference in Toronto. “[I believe] 15,000 people applied to present a pitch and they whittle that down to 60…
Read MoreZego exit, investment wins reflect critical need for startups to look outside KC, co-founder says
Homegrown is great, Adam Blake said, but at some point scaling companies must explore the world of resources and dollars available outside the metro. “Kansas City has a lot to offer — plenty of talent, great place to live and quality of life, helpful mentors, etc. — but I would say it’s a requirement for startups…
Read MoreUMKC’s Mendes: Avoiding ‘The C Word’? Your startup’s vision could pay the price
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Regnier Institute. The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Dr. Tony Mendes is a teaching professor with UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management, and a managing director for UMKC’s Regnier Institute. You’ve probably met at least one person in…
Read MoreThe Distrikc founders: We’re not waiting on outsiders to save our brothers and sisters
It’s time for members of Kansas City’s largely unseen and forgotten communities of color to take control, said Wesley Hamilton, one of the organizers behind The Distrikc. “We speak so much about KC, but people forget whole groups of people — I’m talking Troost to Main, East Kansas City, South Kansas City,” he said. “We want…
Read More‘Legendary’ UMKC Enactus team earns spot in national entrepreneurship finals
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Enactus team is the fourth most impactful in the country, declared Ben Williams. “At UMKC Enactus, we take the world’s greatest challenges into our own hands, channeling our power as students, advocates, and entrepreneurs,” the team told a crowd gathered Tuesday at the Kansas City Convention Center, as they took…
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