Profiles

Craig and Eruviel Montes-Boyle, What Duh Fog

What Duh Fog: Couple offers dual take on inclusivity with COVID-prompted venture

By Tommy Felts / September 12, 2020

The threat of COVID-19 exposed gaps in access to effective and proactive cleaning services for small businesses hoping to reopen amid the pandemic, said Eruvial Montes-Boyle. “We wanted to help people and businesses feel safe in their homes or shops, so making [fogging] available to all has been a huge driver for us,” said Montes-Boyle,…

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To be blunt: Meowijuana sees record sales as COVID sparks deeper bonds for pets, owners

By Tommy Felts / September 12, 2020

Consumer sensibilities are much higher in the 2020s than they were in 2005, Chris Glissman laughed, recalling his garage-baked idea for a stoner-inspired line of catnip. “You can guess what I was doing at the time,” he chuckled, looking back on his 15-year journey with Meowijuana — the Lenexa-based catnip giant that promises pets an…

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Justin Davis, BacklotCars; Back2KC 2018

Destination exit: Less talk, more acceleration drove quiet BacklotCars to $425M deal

By Tommy Felts / September 11, 2020

In the half-decade run-up to BacklotCars’ historic $425 million exit, the Kansas City startup remained largely under the radar, Justin Davis acknowledged, noting the intentional move became less about strategy and more focused on team values. “Like many people in Kansas City and the Midwest, we all prefer getting to work rather than talking about…

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Toby Rush and Carl Wasinger, Smart Warehousing

Veteran founder unboxes startup smarts as new CEO, eyeing logistics company as KC’s next billion-dollar biz

By Tommy Felts / September 10, 2020

Toby Rush enjoys disrupting the status quo, he said, questioning market strategies with the startup sensibilities that made him one of the region’s most successful entrepreneurs. As the new CEO of Smart Warehousing — an established, Kansas City-based logistics and supply chain company — the veteran startup founder plans to apply the same innovation-focused lens to…

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Tealbottom shoes by Tealhouse

Tealbottom heels might just save the planet, says tech founder-turned-luxury shoemaker

By Tommy Felts / September 10, 2020

Globetrotter Jaqui McCarthy always travels in style, the serial entrepreneur-influencer said, detailing a journey that led her to develop a distinctive, fashion-forward shoe line made from eco-friendly bio materials. It begins with an unwanted fellow passenger: metal in the heels of her high-heeled pumps. “As an avid traveler with TSA precheck, I should be able…

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