Startups
LEANLAB awards $50K in seed grants to 19 Black and Latinx innovators in education
Entrepreneurs should reflect the communities they serve, said Katie Boody — a charge even more critical when innovative work touches Kansas City’s diverse public school systems, she added. “I know firsthand how challenging launching a startup can be for anyone, and especially for founders of color,” said Boody, co-founder and CEO of LEANLAB Education, announcing the…
Diversity is a ‘culture add’ — not a quota to be ‘fit’ within a startup, Brad Feld tells Techstars KC demo day
Inserting diverse individuals into an existing startup culture might seem like a step toward inclusive team building, but it can actually hurt scalability if that diversity is treated like a bug, not a feature, said Lesa Mitchell, referencing a new book by the co-founder of Techstars. Celebrating the culmination of Techstars Kansas City’s relaunched accelerator…
Bookstore owner saved by USPS during COVID: Cuts to post office are an attack on small business
COVID-19 could’ve closed the book on Danny Caine’s entrepreneurial journey, the literature lover said, but while the pandemic rages, the U.S. Postal Service is keeping him moving to the next chapter. As a small business owner, his story is like many across the country, said Caine, owner and operator of Raven Book Store in Lawrence….
Laid-off tech worker pivots to custom peanut butter, spreading a not-just-nuts venture across social media
Eric Buckley is smoothing out a less-than-ideal 2020 — grinding pandemic-fueled misfortune into flavorful opportunity. “I just kind of started getting creative,” Buckley said of his experimentation with a nutty pantry staple since losing a software sales job at a local tech company in March, a setback that inspired a path forward through entrepreneurship. “I’ve…
No Coast names finalists for KC’s premier tech champions; winners revealed Sept. 16
Inspirational leaders impacting tech aren’t confined to the coasts — nor to a pre- or post-pandemic world, said organizers of the No Coast awards, pushing forward with plans to honor significant contributions to Kansas City’s tech community virtually this fall. “We all know someone who makes waves everywhere they go — someone who, whether they’re…
