News

Andy Stoll, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 2020 ESHIP Summit

ESHIP Summit: Data shows urgent question — Who isn’t starting a business?

By Tommy Felts / September 18, 2020

Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial sponsor of Startland News. This report was produced independently by Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom. Inclusion is about fulfilling untapped potential, said Sameeksha Desai, detailing nationwide equity gaps in entrepreneurial ecosystem building. “A lot of the reason that we ended up in this situation is because…

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KC performer appointed UN Young Leader, extending Battery Tour’s energy worldwide, says AY Young

By Tommy Felts / September 18, 2020

Singer-songwriter-street performer AY Young has a new stage for his unique message, announcing Friday the Kansas City artist’s appointment as one of the United Nations’ 17 Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals. “I’ll be honest, I was like, ‘It’s about time,’” Young said, laughing. “I’ve powered over 800 concerts using renewable energy; I’ve been getting…

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Donald Hawkins, KC Collective; STARTLAND's Innovation Exchange

Winning pitch: Leading KC fintech founder deposits trio of new bank partnerships 

By Tommy Felts / September 18, 2020

One of Kansas City’s prominent fintech and nonprofit leaders has secured partnerships with three of the regions leading banks.  Donald Hawkins, founder and CEO of Griffin Technologies and a co-leader in KC Collective, was awarded pilot projects with Emprise Bank, Fidelity Bank, and Intrust Bank, Thursday — part of the Wichita-based NXSTAGE Pilot Competition, hosted…

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Beating the boys club: Mother of three hits the mat with girls wrestling shoes

By Tommy Felts / September 17, 2020

Anything guys can do, girls and women just might be doing better, Deb North said.  “Our whole goal is to support girls in this process and build them up and be their cheerleaders,” North, founder of Yes! Athletics, explained of the social enterprise — which recently launched The Defiant 1 wrestling shoe, a breathable, lightweight, eco-friendly shoe…

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Olathe-built COVID-fighting biotech could be ‘Coolest Thing made in Kansas’ — Voting now open

By Tommy Felts / September 17, 2020

An Olathe startup that began offering its biotech to researchers in April — just as the pandemic hit — already is receiving statewide recognition for a product that ultimately could help take down COVID-19. T-Blocks were announced Wednesday as one of the Top 16 nominees for the Kansas Chamber’s “Coolest Thing Made in Kansas” prize,…

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