Startups

Isaac Thibault, PushIT Fitness

Look to your father, not the coach: Why one fit entrepreneur hopes to redefine ‘dad bod’

By Tommy Felts / January 7, 2021

Fatherhood — like athletics — is a physical and mental challenge with lifelong impacts, said Isaac Thibault, detailing the parallels at the core of his pandemic-pivoted career turn as a personal trainer. Launched this summer, Thibault’s PushIT Fitness targets married men with children — a demographic that allows the 25-year-old Overland Park entrepreneur an opportunity to…

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Jeremy Elias, TrackMy Solutions

TrackMy Vaccines allows patients to record COVID-19 vaccine reactions; use real-time data to ID trends

By Tommy Felts / January 7, 2021

With millions of Americans set to be inoculated with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine this year, Kansas City startup TrackMy Solutions transformed its technology into a web app with which patients can track their vaccine reactions, Jeremy Elias said. “There’s a system known as VAERS, or Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, that exists today for any…

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Valentine Osakwe and Zerryn Gines, Peep Connect

How challenging norms could be Black founders’ key to overcoming lingering funding gap

By Tommy Felts / January 5, 2021

When authenticity and startup culture collide, Black founders and entrepreneurs of color often don’t see the same opportunities as their white counterparts, said Daniel Smith, contributing to a gap in funding that splits along racial lines. “I talk a certain way; I have different mannerisms; I like to dress a certain kind of way —…

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Joshua Lewis, UpDown Nightlife

UpDown Nightlife set to relaunch app; secures lead investor for $500K seed round 

By Tommy Felts / January 5, 2021

When COVID-19 turned out the lights on nightlife in 2020, Joshua Lewis didn’t go into panic mode, he said. The persistent founder used the time to flesh out his app’s tech platform — and in the process found a key funder for UpDown Nightlife. “This is our first real round of funding where we’re able to…

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Rob Magee, Q39; Photo courtesy of Q39

Q39 savors doubled sales as barbecue-craving Kansas City drives pandemic survival to-go

By Tommy Felts / December 28, 2020

Kansas City’s restaurant scene will come roaring back in 2021, predicted Rob Magee, serving up a look back at Q39’s wildest year in business and offering his take on what’s made the fast-casual barbecue joint so popular with customers.  “We’re going to get through this pandemic. Kansas City will rise right back up to the…

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