Profiles

Lisa Tamayo, Scollar Collision

Tenacious Scollar CEO to international investors: Look me in the eyes and try to tell me ‘no’

By Tommy Felts / May 14, 2019

With a year of hustle well under way, you can’t break Scollar’s stride, Lisa Tamayo said as she prepares to take the stage in front of a 25,000-plus person crowd May 20 at the Collision tech conference in Toronto. “[I believe] 15,000 people applied to present a pitch and they whittle that down to 60…

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Plexpod River Market

Look inside: Plexpod opens coworking oasis amid River Market’s concrete jungle (Photos)

By Tommy Felts / May 9, 2019

Faux grass lining the walls. Neon signs. A mix of vintage and contemporary stylings. Plexpod’s Eric Milner was initially skeptical of plans for a jungle theme in one of the co-working space’s enclaves — quirky seating areas tucked between offices and amenities at the new River Market location. “It really panned out though. Stephanie [Medina]…

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Paul Francis, OYO Fitness space tech

‘Wild idea’ behind OYO Fitness sends KC inventor into Space Tech Hall of Fame

By Tommy Felts / May 8, 2019

Commercial viability for an inventor-entrepreneur comes with only about a “one in 1,000” chance of success, said OYO Fitness founder Paul Francis, who was recently inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame for his patented SpiraFlex technology. “It’s probably much smarter to come up with an app because you don’t have any selling costs…

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Jay Allen, the Scarlet Knight

Fund Me, KC: ‘Scarlet Knight’ returns to inner city streets with a moral dilemma about abuse of power

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like Juaquan Allen with his Scarlet Knight campaign — to share their crowdfunding stories to gain a little help from their supporters. Who are you? My name is Juaquan “Jay” Allen. I’m a…

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3-D printing Notre Dame spire design, Dimensional Innovations

Design by fire: Could a Kansas City company 3-D print the Notre Dame spire?

By Tommy Felts / May 7, 2019

Beyond its status as the biggest in Kansas City, the impact of Dimensional Innovations’ new $2.2 million 3-D printer could reach globally — as the homegrown company considers ways it could help rebuild the historic spire atop the Notre Dame Cathedral, said Nate Borozinski. “This thing gives us an ability — and we think an…

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