Guest Authors

The impact and challenges of cultivating champions of your startup

By Tommy Felts / February 22, 2016

I recently wrote about the importance of building a close relationship with a champion of your company. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor, notes that “women have twice as many mentors as men, but half as many sponsors.” A mentor can provide advice and perspective, but a sponsor or champion…

Read More >

Research on your startup’s crazy idea can yield cash

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2016

You know the feeling when you find $20 in your pocket that you forgot was there? Or have you seen the late-night infomercials about all the “found money” just sitting around waiting for you to claim it? It’s exciting stuff — the kind that makes your pulse race and your mind wander to the endless…

Read More >

Blake Miller: Missouri should scrap its ‘Show Me’ slogan

By Tommy Felts / February 18, 2016

Editor’s note: The following piece was inspired by recent news that Acre Designs, a startup that launched in Kansas City, will be relocating to San Francisco after facing a tepid, area investor market.    Cue the somber violin music. Another sad, all-too-familiar Kansas City story recently played out with news that Acre Designs will be leaving the…

Read More >

Byrd: How the Silicon Prairie can avoid Silicon Valley’s diversity issues

By Tommy Felts / February 16, 2016

When Google and Intel first released their employment statistics in 2014, the topic of diversity was nowhere as elevated as it is today in corporate circles. Silicon Valley and its many companies from large tech giants down to startups are under the diversity and inclusion microscope. Why all of the emphasis on diversity? Demographically our…

Read More >

Dickson: Kansas City’s ‘show me’ mentality is stagnating its startups

By Tommy Felts / February 11, 2016

Editor’s note: Net-zero home-building startup Acre Designs, which found its start in Kansas City, recently entered the world’s best business accelerator program: Y Combinator. After facing a tepid investor market in Kansas City, the company will be staying in the San Francisco area after the program’s conclusion. Kansas City fosters an enviable work ethic, steady…

Read More >
[adinserter block="4"]