Profiles
Dead Beet Eats: Life is hard enough — feed your soul with a big, beautiful chili dog
COVID hasn’t handed Katherine Willis many lemons, she said, but the vegan chef behind Dead Beet Eats has been given plenty of tomatoes in 2020 — and an opportunity to turn salsa into ketchup. “It’s been a really hard year and I like to think that what we’re doing is really lighthearted and it’s really…
KC Can Compost: Let’s make a natural process natural again — prioritizing people, the soil
It might be cool now, but Kansas Citians should expect warmer days ahead, said Kristin Chamberlain, highlighting ways the environment is changing rapidly and offering a simple solution that could help curb its effects — while also transforming lives. “There’s ample opportunity to compost,” said Chamberlain, executive director of KC Can Compost — the social enterprise…
Google’s $100K cash prize keeps Healthy Hip Hop dancing toward ‘Tik Tok for kids’ status
With a new cash infusion from the Google Black Founders Fund, Roy Scott said Healthy Hip Hop is ready to perfect the next generation of its youth entertainment and education tech, strengthen the company’s sales and marketing efforts and hire a C-suite level employee. “We found our niche in the tech space, and it’s how…
Big winner at the Pure Pitch Rally: the American dream (and 8 pitchers vying for more than $91K)
Seven months after launching her startup, Nomi Smith’s PMI Rate Pro already is integrated with the nation’s six private mortgage insurance providers — saving more than 2,000 hours for loan officers and more than $1 million for homebuyers, she said. Competing Monday on stage at the Pure Pitch Rally was another critical milestone, Smith told…
Stronger brew: Messenger blends coffee collective into its behind-the-scenes menu
As the smells of Ibis Bakery and roasting beans waft together at Messenger Coffee in the Crossroads, rising between floors of the spacious and vibrant corner cafe, the flavors haven’t changed since COVID-19 began — nor since the popular Kansas City roasterie joined a freshly launched coffee collective, said Isaac Hodges. It’s still steeped in…
