Profiles

Carlanda McKinney, Raaxo

Raaxo takes shape after pivot from Aphrodite Bra Co’s body scan concept

By Tommy Felts / December 13, 2017

Despite its use of body-mapping technology, Aphrodite Bra Company wasn’t the right fit for customers’ needs, said Carlanda McKinney, founder of the newly rebooted custom intimates company Raaxo. “Aphrodite had been stuck in the starting-up space,” she said. “We’d never really gotten enough sales or enough traction to say, ‘We’re launched,’ or, ‘We’re in business.’…

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Keliah Smith

KC mom’s humble entrepreneurial journey draws on healing power of creativity

By Tommy Felts / December 11, 2017

Huddled in her parents’ basement, between the cribs of her crying twin babies, Keliah Smith began to draw. She was unemployed and feeling emotionally drained. The relationship with her children’s father had soured. Her escape: the stylus and smartphone in her hands. The Kansas City mother drew what she didn’t see in the mirror, she…

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Bilingual startup Tico Productions brings energy to Chiefs’ Spanish broadcast

By Tommy Felts / December 7, 2017

When the Chiefs and Raiders meet Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, more than the usual KC-versus-Oakland rivalry will be at play. The game also puts Kansas City-based Tico Sports’ two Spanish-language broadcast teams head-to-head for the first time. It’s not a competition, said CiCi Rojas, partner and president of Tico Productions, the company behind Tico Sports…

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Jasur Rakhimov, Sibukop

Storyteller sketches path from former Soviet Union to KC-based Sibukop

By Tommy Felts / December 4, 2017

The teeth marks on Jasur Rakhimov’s Apple Pencil aren’t his own. They belong to his young daughter, Jasmira, who — despite a new protective pencil box — still loves to chew on the tools of his trade, he said. “Everybody and everything has its own story,” reflected Rakhimov, running his fingers across the indentions from…

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Happy Food Co

Happy Food Co. packs outside-the-box flavor into locally sourced meal kits

By Tommy Felts / November 30, 2017

Finding the right mix of flavors for Kansas City’s pallette has been a trial-and-error effort for Happy Food Co., Jeff Glasco said. The Olathe-based direct-to-consumer meal kit company offers about 20 easy-to-prepare dinners infused with bold spices and outside-the-box local ingredients. Customer favorites include a bison cheeseburger quesadilla, butter-basted salmon, and soba noodle bowl with…

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