News

Early buy-in from Latinx shoppers pushes paraMi toward surprise storefront; here’s where you’ll find them soon

By Tommy Felts / June 7, 2023

A physical storefront wasn’t originally part of the plan for paraMi, co-founder Veronica Alvidrez shared, until the women behind the brand listened to the needs of their community. “We knew we wanted to offer our customers a shopping experience,” Alvidrez explained. “When we did pop-up events, we realized our shoppers are tactile shoppers and they…

Is there a doctor on board? Dragon boat race puts KC professionals in the rower’s seat

By Tommy Felts / June 7, 2023

Brush Creek will put teams of professionals and other competitors to the test this weekend as Kansas City’s annual Dragon Boat Festival returns to the Country Club Plaza. For at least one crew, the waterway will become a lab of sorts — with leaders evaluating their teamwork and collaboration skills. Chris Jurief, a fourth-year resident…

Scaling his superpower: How BXKC’s new app amplifies Black professionals’ connections

By Tommy Felts / June 7, 2023

A new tech platform recently unveiled by Black Excellence KC is expected to provide Black entrepreneurs with resources to elevate their careers and journeys, said Craig Moore II — a move that aims to boost the group’s human capital beyond one-on-one interactions. “We’re trying to create a tool where we can create better engagement among…

New in KC: West Coast transplant impressed by local startup, tech scene; says KC should embrace more flops

By Tommy Felts / June 7, 2023

Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Kansas City is a…

LendingStandard closes $6.7M round with Flyover Capital among key longterm investors

By Tommy Felts / June 6, 2023

A Kansas City startup’s efforts to streamline the commercial real estate industry are not only reducing wasted time and frustration for lenders and borrowers, said Keith Molzer, it’s making good on investors’ expectations of the tech-driven Saas marketplace. “LendingStandard has listened and responded to what the market needs,” said Molzer, founding managing partner at Flyover…