News

Daddy-daughter candy business drops tongue-in-cheek lessons flavored with entrepreneurship

By Tommy Felts / December 6, 2024

What started out as a joke about an inflatable unicorn sprinkler “tooting” out candy has turned into a meaningful daddy-daughter candy business, Lee Urban shared. The Shawnee father launched Fantastical Droppings “for the little squirts that make your life complete,” he notes on the colorful packaging. “I’m like, ‘I’m gonna create a company that I…

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She came to Kansas seeing a land of opportunity; now her just-launched bookstore opens doors for Black creatives

By Tommy Felts / December 6, 2024

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.  WICHITA — Latasha N. Eley Kelly’s new storefront not only combines her love of books, education, and supporting local creatives, she said; Left on Read also serves as a unique community…

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Quincy Lee’s imagination never stops working; thanks to a life-saving camera, neither does he

By Tommy Felts / December 6, 2024

An introverted “creativepreneur,” Quincy Lee juggles video content creation, co-owning a digital marketing agency, designing his own apparel, and fatherhood — all while bringing bold ideas into focus. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur all my life,” Lee said, reflecting on the early days of his journey. “It started small, but it planted the seed for…

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New Westport coffee shop hopes to crown a fresh local favorite in the spot that launched Ruby Jean’s

By Tommy Felts / December 6, 2024

Move over, office coffee pot; Tamara Grubb’s workspace brews its own premium drinks Tamara Grubb was just looking for a nice office space when she walked into a Westport building — a long-ago gas station with a distinctive double-A frame roof that once launched the popular Ruby Jean’s Juicery brand. Her first thought: This space…

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Blue collar Friday: Why a KC streetwear project in the works for a decade could sell out in one night

By Tommy Felts / December 5, 2024

A just-dropped collaboration between two Crossroads makers stitch together neighborhood history and vintage streetwear, according to the creatives behind the SewKC and MADE MOBB brands. “We’re paying homage to the craftsmanship of the past but bringing it into this new age,” explained Jesse Phouanphet, co-owner of the popular Kansas City streetwear apparel company MADE MOBB. …

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