News

City zoning change melts barriers for artisanal makers building businesses in KCMO

By Tommy Felts / November 16, 2022

Editor’s note: KC BizCare is a financial supporter of Startland News. This story was produced through a paid partnership. Birdie Hansen started making candles as a hobby during the pandemic, and the business quickly grew to a level beyond what she and her husband David’s home in Midtown could accommodate. Scaling operations for Effing Candle…

VC summit: It’s a great place to ‘keep your head down and build’ — but is ‘KC nice’ slowing potential?

By Tommy Felts / November 16, 2022

Building a startup in Kansas City comes with a mix of unique benefits and challenges, said serial entrepreneurs Riddhiman Das and Toby Rush, who both agreed the local ecosystem is enjoying “significant” momentum — while pushing the startup scene to be “more aggressive and more brutally honest.” “When you’re on an exponential growth curve, whenever…

Winners revealed: LaunchKC awards $300K in rebooted grants competition

By Tommy Felts / November 16, 2022

LaunchKC’s cornerstone grants celebration returned Tuesday after a four-year hiatus, awarding six Kansas City startups — from gaming and edtech to IoT and healthcare — with $50,000 each in non-dilutive grants. “A win for these companies is a win for Kansas City,” said Becca Castro, strategic initiatives manager for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas…

‘Perfect is the enemy of progress’: KC founders say the right time for entrepreneurship is now — even if mistakes are inevitable

By Tommy Felts / November 15, 2022

Early in John Thomson’s entrepreneurial journey, the PayIt co-founder realized no one had all the answers, he shared; and anyone who waits until they feel comfortable enough to start a business will be waiting forever.  “We’re all imperfect, certainly fallible. You’ve got to keep going and not worry about perfect. Perfect is the enemy of…

Co-founder of nonprofit that boosts Black businesses among two winners of $100K Pinnacle Prizes

By Tommy Felts / November 15, 2022

Brandon Calloway reflects the best of Kansas City’s young leaders, said Maurice Watson, announcing the G.I.F.T. co-founder as one of two winners of the 2022 Pinnacle Prize — an award that comes with a no-strings-attached $100,000. “Brandon grew up in the urban core and is motivated to make social and economic conditions better than those…