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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…
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…
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…
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…

