Minority-Led

‘9 to 5’ exposed sexism, toxic gender roles at work; 40 years later, has much changed beyond the price of a cup of ambition?

By Tommy Felts / March 26, 2022

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. The minds of women and marginalized employees are still being used without credit more than 40 years after Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda starred in a…

11 emerging KC startups hit the road for Omaha pitch; one winner drives home with $25K

By Tommy Felts / March 25, 2022

Editor’s note: Husch Blackwell is a financial sponsor of Startland News, though this report was produced independently by the nonprofit newsroom. More than a third of competitors at the coming Get Started Omaha premier pitch event are expected to represent Kansas City innovation on stage April 6 — vying for $25,000 in prize money against…

$4M dream childcare center opened on Prospect as planned; why the 24/7 KD Academy is struggling to fill its beds

By Tommy Felts / March 23, 2022

Penny Dale-McCant built a childcare model — and a $4 million expansion of her KD Academy brand with her husband, Myron McCant — unlike anything else in the region, she said. Today, however, the center serves only a third of its intended capacity: a product of pandemic trends that have limited staffing. “I’m just proud…

Invest in small biz infrastructure, group urges city; They want $11M in KCMO budget for entrepreneur funding

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

Three years of working and waiting might be headed to an impasse for entrepreneur support advocates who’ve been lobbying the City of Kansas City, Missouri, for renewed — and dramatically enhanced — funding to boost startups and small businesses battered by the pandemic. “Everywhere we go, we’re asked ‘Kansas City is supposed to be the…

De-risking a dangerous job: How a window washing startup is raising the bar (and hose) with drones

By Tommy Felts / March 15, 2022

It’s a nightmare to clean the windows of multi-story buildings, said Andrew Brain. “It’s incredibly unsafe for folks to be hanging on the side of buildings — and it’s incredibly expensive for them to be there. Insurance liability has gone up 300 to 400 percent. … I was thinking that there’s got to be a…