News

Now renting nostalgia: Hands-on classic car startup drives ‘look but don’t touch’ into the past

By Tommy Felts / March 31, 2023

Ryan Wager isn’t just renting out classic cars with his new startup, he shared, he’s loaning out memories. North Kansas City-based RND — launched earlier this year — allows community members and visitors to take classic, RND-restored cars — like his own 1958 Chevy Corvette — for a spin with daily rentals. Want to take…

KC record label disrupts music industry with incubator studio concept that gives artists more freedom, ownership 

By Tommy Felts / March 31, 2023

Casio McCombs’ most creative ideas come to him during “dream hours” — late at night and early in the morning when a majority of people are asleep, he shared.  “That’s when all these new ideas for music and how to structure the label would really hit us,” said McCombs, who co-founded the Kansas City-based record…

Their joyful art began with pom poms, but Bubble Gum Kurt’s upcycled expression won’t be boxed in

By Tommy Felts / March 31, 2023

Infusing their work with plenty of color and a DIY approach, Kansas City artist Kurt Ryan weaves their identity into each craft, article of clothing, and piece of jewelry they sell. Ryan’s creates their work as Bubble Gum Kurt, and through their business venture FunStarShine, both of which evoke the colorful wares Ryan creates. “I…

Startup’s swift action against siloed systems: Finding that ‘single version of truth’ hidden in the data 

By Tommy Felts / March 30, 2023

This story is possible thanks to Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. Celerity Enterprises is aiming no lower than industry modernization with its plug-and-play SaaS financial platform — designed to bring clarity to a world of industrial wholesale distribution that often is rooted…

It’s the ultimate stash: How an exclusive cannabis collaboration is bringing smokeware out of hiding

By Tommy Felts / March 30, 2023

Working with acclaimed fashion designer Whitney Manney is a bucket list collaboration, shared Wandering Bud founder Riley Brain. The handmade ceramic smokeware maker has teamed up with the KC-based fashion label WHITNEYMANNEY to create a limited edition collection of cannabis accessories and stash bags. “I’ve always just really admired Whitney’s work and aesthetic,” Brain said.…