Profiles

Shawna Peña-Downing

Actress-entrepreneur finds sweet inspiration, resiliency in life’s unexpected ingredients

From the stage to the studio to a sweets shop on Main Street, the creative talents of Shawna Peña-Downing have never let her down, she said, crediting her resiliency to a STEAM-focused education. “I finally got a job after being laid off in June,” Peña-Downing, multiplatform artist, teacher, and entrepreneur, said of her reality amid…

Andrew Dowis, Pro Athlete

Pickleball pickup: Why KC’s top small business is launching JustPaddles amid sports slowdown

Pro Athlete’s secret to success: going against the grain, Andrew Dowis said.  “We’re known to do things that aren’t the norm,” said Dowis, who serves as the CEO of Pro Athlete. “I think that’s why we pursued JustPaddles [during the COVID-19 pandemic]. We said, ‘Let’s look at this [pandemic] from another angle. This may be…

Hunter Browning and Ben Schultz, LaborChart

2021 Startups to Watch: LaborChart constructs high-growth mindset built on value, resiliency

Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City firms to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. The following is one of 2021’s companies. Click here to view the full, ranked list of Startups to Watch — presented by sponsors Husch Blackwell and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. LaborChart wants to be among Kansas City’s top-tier tech…

Riddhiman Das, TripleBlind

2021 Startups to Watch: TripleBlind opens historically inaccessible data without violating privacy

Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City firms to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. The following is one of 2021’s companies. Click here to view the full, ranked list of Startups to Watch — presented by sponsors Husch Blackwell and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Because of stringent regulatory, competitive and consumer privacy restrictions,…

John Bertrand, Daupler

2021 Startups to Watch: Daupler brings ‘profound change,’ equity to citizen-government interplay

Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City firms to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. The following is one of 2021’s companies. Click here to view the full, ranked list of Startups to Watch — presented by sponsors Husch Blackwell and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. When a homeowner or renter discovers a sewage backup,…