Minority-Led
A new retail operation in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood is a sign of massive growth, hot on the griddle for Yoli Tortilleria. “There’s nothing, for me, better than once you put that warm tortilla in your hands and just experience it,” said Marissa Gencarelli, who co-owns and operates Yoli with her husband, Mark. “There’s a…
Everyone deserves an equal start, said Victor Hwang, launching an initiative to level the playing field for early stage entrepreneurs. “We’re a campaign to rebuild the American economy by fighting for entrepreneurial opportunity for all of us — regardless of background, race, place, genders, disabilities, or circumstances. We call them ‘starters,’” said Hwang, founder and…
Blockchain might be the future, but eliminating exposure to COVID-19 is the now, said serial entrepreneur Shekhar Gupta as he takes an intelligent disinfecting doorway to market. “When you go to the airport you have to go through the X-Ray machines, right? So we developed a similar structure, but to detect COVID-19 and neutralize it…
When it comes to entrepreneurial support in Kansas City, women of color often are left out of conversations that could help them grow their businesses, said Ashley Rudd. “They don’t necessarily feel like their voice is heard,” Rudd, founder of the personal shopping startup She’s Thrifted, said of her experience within the metro’s entrepreneurial community and…
Amari and Sa’mya Lewis’ young entrepreneurial venture — a yard sign featuring a simple black heart — first spread in a predominantly white Johnson County neighborhood, the teenage sisters said. Amid ongoing national discourse over the “Black Lives Matter” movement, in which the meaning of those three words often is debated, the sign makers have…

