Profiles

Brendan Reilly, Dan Scott and Richard Neal, Lelex Prime

Lelex Prime: ‘Decoding human thought’ could give ultimate competitive edge

By Tommy Felts / March 12, 2019

You won’t find tumbleweeds blowing down Main Street, but if you look hard enough you’ll start to see Kansas City taking the shape of a new Wild West; one where tech startups like Lelex Prime have staked their claim, Brendan Reilly said. “Have you seen ‘Westworld?’” Reilly, the company’s CRO, asked as he sat at a…

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Neal Sharma, DEG exit

DEG execs reflect on $100M+ exit: Join an armada before success puts a target on your back

By Tommy Felts / March 7, 2019

Riding into battle solo won’t help a company win the war that is business, Neal Sharma told a crowd of ACG Kansas City members gathered to hear details behind the exit of homegrown marketing giant DEG. “One of the things we realized three years ago — about DEG — is it was a completely successful, self…

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Luke Einsel and Garth Einsel, Thirsty Coconut

Thirsty Coconut buys country’s worth of smoothie machines, hops state line

By Tommy Felts / March 7, 2019

When opportunity knocks, entrepreneurs must throw risk out the window and do whatever it takes to open the door, said Luke Einsel. “[This was] really the deal of a lifetime,” said Einsel, founder and CEO of Thirsty Coconut, detailing a business deal he struck with 7-Eleven stores across Mexico late last year. The transaction saw…

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WIRED women Kansas City

WIRED together: How mentorship led 22 women to a million-dollar investment

By Tommy Felts / March 6, 2019

Collaboration among like-minded women forms a dangerous advantage, said Sheryl Vickers and Audrey Navarro. The duo helped found WIRED — Women in Real Estate Development — to foster mentorship and investment among women in the male-dominated and individualistic commercial real estate world. “We believe we have a leg up in the industry because that siloed,…

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Chris Brown and Steve Brown, Brownie's Barbecue

Sweet & Sassy side hustle: Father-son duo behind Brownie’s bottles a venture to savor

By Tommy Felts / March 5, 2019

Side hustles of any flavor can provide relief from the daily grind of a stressful startup, said Venture Legal’s Chris Brown of his “hobby” — delivering the homemade Sweet & Sassy Brownie’s Barbecue sauce. “Whether you like hiking or making barbecue sauce or riding horses or doing whatever … I think it’s important for people…

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