News

Whir to find hyper-local deals: Startup launching app to help newcomers, natives connect to small biz exclusives

By Tommy Felts / June 24, 2025

A side quest for $5 burger baskets and cheap beers has matured into a tech platform built to help a wide range of users easily discover local deals, said Blake Coffee, noting his startup deepens small businesses’ engagement with their communities. “We definitely thought it would be more of a college app at first,” said…

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Scoops out for summer: Couple’s rock-themed ice cream brand Alice Scooper’s adds another shop on its Northland tour

By Tommy Felts / June 21, 2025

Mel Engel and Todd Eaton are now taking a second stage, opening their family business — a shop known for made-on-site ice cream and sorbet — in a new Northland city after charting quick success in their hometown. Alice Scooper’s Ice Cream Co. is set to debut next week in The Village at Briarcliff, 4173…

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Why this ‘monstrous Midwesterner’ started the presses for a sacred space in KC’s West Bottoms

By Tommy Felts / June 20, 2025

Editor’s note: The following story was produced through a paid partnership with MOSourceLink, which boasts a mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state of Missouri grow and succeed by providing free, easy access to the help they need — when they need it. Thayer Bray loves printmaking, but he gets just as…

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Kansas City ESO icon Maria Meyers championed for bringing SourceLink to the world stage

By Tommy Felts / June 20, 2025

A decades-long effort to grow inclusive entrepreneurial communities by strengthening access to critical resources began as a grassroots movement in Kansas City, said Maria Meyers, whose work recently earned her global recognition — and a rare honor in recent years for an American recipient. Meyers, the founder of SourceLink — a first-of-its-kind platform boasting more…

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How this startup founder earned $200K in unrestricted, trust-based funding to transform KC’s relationship to food

By Tommy Felts / June 19, 2025

Long-term community change comes one meal at a time, acknowledged one of Attane Health’s biggest supporters, reflecting on the Kansas City startup’s growth from the “spark of an idea to a full-fledged solution” — ultimately earning its founder a game-changing funding boost. The St. Louis-based Missouri Foundation for Health this month announced its inaugural Spark Prize…

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