News

Quest Moffat, Kadogo

Serial tech entrepreneur, ecosystem builder develops app to help turn everyday purchases into charitable donations

By Tommy Felts / August 26, 2021

Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial supporter of Startland News. This story was produced independently by Startland News’s nonprofit newsroom. Operating a nonprofit taught Quest Moffat that it’s easier to raise programming dollars than it is to raise operating dollars — and a lack of the latter brings unexpected stressors, he…

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Nina Whitmore, Kanvess Clothing

Why Nina Whitmore left Corporate America to fight fast fashion (The answer is pretty black and white)

By Tommy Felts / August 26, 2021

When Nina Whitmore was in elementary school, she always wore culottes — flowy cropped pants that are now back in style. They were easiest for her mother to sew, even though Whitmore would have preferred to wear jeans like the other kids, she said. Her interest in fashion began as a tween, when she paged…

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Leo Morton, DeBruce Companies

Firebrand Ventures closes $40M seed fund for ‘authentic’ founders in emerging communities; adds Leo Morton as advisor

By Tommy Felts / August 26, 2021

A year after two prominent venture capital firms announced their merger, the consolidated Firebrand Ventures II is officially closed — reaching its $40 million target and having already invested in startups from Detroit, Seattle and Toronto. “Several years ago we raised our first funds — Boulder-based Blue Note Ventures and Kansas City-based Firebrand Ventures I —…

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KC council members set to rappel from Canary bar atop 10-story building for Fringe festival fundraiser 

By Tommy Felts / August 24, 2021

Nothing screams KC Fringe Festival quite like rappelling down a 10-story building in the heart of Midtown, said organizers of a weekend fundraiser to help bring professional arts advocates — laid off because of the pandemic — back to the payroll. “To me, this fundraiser really speaks to what the Fringe does — which is…

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Three Dog Bakery grand opening party at Bar K

Three Dog Bakery’s newest location brings doggie cookies, birthday cakes to Bar K 

By Tommy Felts / August 23, 2021

A partnership between a Kansas City-bred, all-natural dog treat brand and one of the metro’s hottest spots for four-legged meetups is a natural pairing, said David Hensley, noting both businesses are centered around the goal of bringing joy to people and their pets.  “We’ve been working with Three Dog Bakery for a while now to…

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