Startups

Andrew Glantz, GiftAMeal

$500K investment round feeds GiftAMeal’s hunger for expansion deeper into KC market

By Tommy Felts / June 24, 2021

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. A…

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Chase McAnulty, Charlie Hustle; Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Small Business Celebration

Mr. K winner: Charlie Hustle wears heart on its sleeve as it accepts Small Biz of the Year honor

By Tommy Felts / June 24, 2021

Civic pride continues to pay off for Kansas City-stitched Charlie Hustle, winner of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Mr. K Small Business of the Year Award.  Chase McAnulty, founder and CEO, accepted the coveted award Thursday afternoon during a KC Chamber-hosted luncheon — a successful end to the vintage-inspired apparel company’s third run at…

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Carlanda McKinney, Bodify

Right fit, refined: Carlanda McKinney’s third venture in apparel measures up to its digital design

By Tommy Felts / June 22, 2021

Online shopping is a staple for Carlanda McKinney, she noted, but the inaccuracy and variety of size guides leave both shoppers and retailers with major pain points.  “On the shopper side, it is frustrating to order multiple sizes and not have anything fit your body the right way. … On the seller side, retailers are…

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OpenCities team

OpenCities sells: Denver govtech company acquires Australian startup with Kansas City HQ

By Tommy Felts / June 22, 2021

An Australia-based govtech startup with a sizable Kansas City operation has sold.  OpenCities — a hub-like platform that digitizes city forms and requests — was acquired by Denver-based Granicus, the companies announced Thursday, solidifying a deal that’s expected to better define what the future of civic engagement might looks like. Financial terms of the acquisition were not…

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Christopher and Ajia Morris, The Greenline Initiative

60 percent of Black residents on KC’s east side are renters: How one small biz hopes to reverse redlining’s hit to homeownership

By Tommy Felts / June 19, 2021

An investment in The Greenline Initiative is, on its face, an investment in the future of Kansas City’s historic and re-emerging east side, said Ajia Morris.  But there’s more to the effort than meets the eye, the effort’s co-founder explained, detailing ways she and her husband, Christopher, hope to uplift the metro’s Black community; a…

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