News

KC-built Buzz acquired by Vegas tech company hoping to solve AI’s ‘last mile’ challenge in property management

By Tommy Felts / March 18, 2025

A leading property tech company is placing its bet on the Kansas City-built rent collections platform that Buzz brings to the table, announcing the AI-driven startup’s acquisition Tuesday by Las Vegas-based Pay Ready. The potential for artificial intelligence’s use in an industry historically is limited by the way tech collides with humans, said serial entrepreneur…

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Still in the game: 16 startups advance in Kansas pitch tournament; courting a new style of seed funding

By Tommy Felts / March 17, 2025

WICHITA — And then there were 16. Monday’s pitch competition announcement served up sweet news for more than a dozen Kansas startups as local founders learned they’re advancing in the Gamechangers & Champions “Bracket Bash for Innovators and Angels” — a tournament-style event set to end with a $20,000 grand prize. The just-released list of…

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Trio adds Asian fusion to KCK culinary cluster; new BYO ramen, poke spot opens by May

By Tommy Felts / March 17, 2025

This little strip in Kansas City, Kansas, boasts some of the metro’s favorite restaurants: Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, 1889 Pizza Napoletana, and Gus’s World Famous Chicken.  Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop is just down the street in Westwood. Now an Asian fusion restaurant is joining the mix. Sannin — poke, sushi and ramen — plans to…

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Meet the competition: 10 entrepreneurs vying for $60K at KC GIFT ‘Pitch Black’ business summit

By Tommy Felts / March 17, 2025

The return of Kansas City G.I.F.T.’s spring pitch competition not only opens the door to prize money for emerging Black entrepreneurs, said Brandon Calloway, it also allows community members and supporters of his nonprofit to see the impact of its mission firsthand. GIFT’s highly anticipated Pitch Black Business Summit 2025 is set for 10 a.m.…

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How a toy car can recapture a moment (and put a little cash in this student’s pocket)

By Tommy Felts / March 14, 2025

Collecting toys is in Andrew Bates’ blood, the UMKC senior said — and now it’s in his wallet. A supply chain management student at the university, Bates was exposed to the hunt for nostalgia early, he said; his father was snagging Hot Wheels for him before Bates was born. “I was (slow) to embrace it,” the…

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