News

Zach Anderson Pettet, Ben Milne, and Jessie Jacob, V-Sum

‘Nerds’ need value: Midwest trio connects global fintech players through virtual summit

By Tommy Felts / January 27, 2021

Fintech workers and industry innovators are starving for human connection amid a crazy 10 months of COVID and a pandemic’s-worth of dull virtual events, said Zach Anderson Pettet. “All of us nerds in our specific space — being financial services and financial technology — haven’t been able to congregate, so there’s been a lot of…

Read More >
U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri

KC Tech Council’s apprenticeship program launches with job growth hopes from Davids, Cleaver

By Tommy Felts / January 27, 2021

A freshly launched partnership between KC Tech Council and Apprenti — designed to cultivate tech skills and offer first-hand experience for apprentices — is a solid fit for Kansas City’s talent needs, two members of the metro’s U.S. congressional delegation agreed. “I truly believe that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA of our region,” U.S.…

Read More >
Megan Richards, Kelly Mamie, and Ginger McCune, Midwest Nutrition KC

She put down her soda and started walking 10 years ago — 80 pounds later, Ginger McCune’s wellness center is running on impact

By Tommy Felts / January 26, 2021

Life is best lived loud — not sitting on the sidelines, wishing you could experience it, explained Ginger McCune.  “If you have a car and it takes premium gas — and you fill it full of regular gas, what’s it gonna do? It’s gonna go for a little bit and then it’s gonna spit and spurt and…

Read More >
Brandon Calloway, Black Spartans Manga

Fund Me, KC: ‘Black Spartans’ creator changes the tone of fantasy — where Blackness isn’t ‘the exotic other’

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2021

Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like Brandon Calloway’s campaign to fund the first book in his “Black Spartans” graphic novel series — to share crowdfunding stories and gain…

Read More >
Chase McAnulty, Charlie Hustle

‘A Super Bowl for small business’: Chiefs’ back-to-back playoff success scores for apparel makers 

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2021

The Chiefs’ Sunday-night victory over the Buffalo Bills not only means Kansas City’s return to the Super Bowl, but a repeat opportunity for local small business owners amid a rush of hometown pride, said Chase McAnulty.  “When the Chiefs won [in 2020], we were fighting as hard as we could to get as many blank…

Read More >