News

Tomorrow is today: Internship intros students to a world where they’re already the social changemakers

By Tommy Felts / March 7, 2024

Editor’s note: Startland Education is a sister program of Startland News within the broader nonprofit organization Startland. Angela Gonzalez-Casas emphasized the value of exposure and network building as the Van Horn High School freshman reflected Tuesday on the impact of her just-wrapped Social Change Internship and the opportunity to engage with audiences she’d never before…

These brothers SMOAK’d gameday concepts at Kauffman, Arrowhead; now their craft BBQ, burritos are delivering downtown

By Tommy Felts / March 7, 2024

A popup business that launched stadium-based concepts alongside two of Kansas City’s biggest sports teams will now be serving its popular handcrafted barbecue and burritos from an East Crossroads-based hub for ghost kitchens. SMOAK Burritos and SMOAK To-Go — the latest ventures from brothers Cade and Seth Colson’s SMOAK Craft Barbecue+ — open today at…

Report: Missouri startups continue hiring surge, creating 40K+ jobs in every corner of the state

By Tommy Felts / March 6, 2024

Editor’s note: KCSourceLink and MOSourceLink are non-financial, community partners of Startland News. Missouri startups across the state created 40,169 jobs in 2022, according to the latest data, nearly matching the surge in the number of jobs they generated in 2021. Taking into consideration the number of employees these same firms hired in 2018 and in…

Vytelle expands hoofprint for its cattle IVF tech ‘closer to home,’ opening lab in Kearney, Nebraska

By Tommy Felts / March 5, 2024

A new lab space for Kansas City-based Vytelle is expected to help the precision livestock startup increase regional accessibility to modern reproduction technology and enable the possibility of fresh embryo transfers for producers across the Midwest, said Kerryann Kocher. Vytelle — the fastest-growing in vitro fertilization (IVF) company — on Monday announced the opening of…

Now serving foodpreneurs: KC conference dishes out 30+ sessions for new, growing food businesses

By Tommy Felts / March 5, 2024

Launching a food business comes with unique challenges, Xander Winkel shared, and the Mid-Continent Public Library has partnered with several local organizations to help those specialized entrepreneurs find their recipe to success. The Food Business Conference — free workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities for “foodpreneurs” that are offered in partnership with the library, Kansas…