Startups

Leslie Walton, Determination Incorporated

Inclusion Open funding helps Determination Incorporated reunite KCSourceLink alums

Within days of securing funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Inclusion Open, Determination Incorporated is expanding its team, the nonprofit announced Wednesday.  “We are so thankful to the Kauffman Foundation and excited to announce that Leslie Walton, an experienced entrepreneurial ecosystem builder in KC, is joining the team in support of our mission,” Johnny…

The Porter House, Kauffman Inclusion Open

Kauffman Inclusion Open: Six KC grant winners ‘building an inclusive pathway to entrepreneurship’

Plans to educate, inspire, and assist entrepreneurs traditionally left out of small business conversations will ramp up for the Porter House KC — thanks to new support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s inaugural Inclusion Open.  “We are so excited to be selected as one of this year’s grant recipients,” said Dan Smith, co-founder of the…

Ruby Jean's Whole Foods

Natural fit: Ruby Jean’s opening new juicery inside busy Whole Foods

The fresh-pressed, multi-year deal to open a brick-and-mortar Ruby Jean’s Juicery inside a high-traffic Whole Foods location puts Chris Goode in a position to scale his clean concept even further beyond Kansas City, he said. “We’re in the healthy food space and Whole Foods has cornered that market pretty broadly. With its parent company now…

Austin Wilcox and Wondabeka Ashenafi, SERV Nutrition

Major Kansas City grocery chains stock SERV Nutrition less than a year into business

Doing good is more than just a motto for SERV Nutrition — it’s the state of the startup’s operation seven months into business, Isaac Collins said as the company’s patented protein pods hit shelves at Price Chopper and Hen House stores across the metro.  “Online sales have been going well, but we saw a great…

2018 LaunchKC winners

KCMO turns to entrepreneurs for new ideas on budget support; Advocates to rally at work sessions

Raised voices and a commitment to civic engagement earned entrepreneurs an additional $350,000 in city support for the 2019 budget year and a second attempt is about to begin, explained Rick Usher.  “It really goes back to when the resident work sessions started in 2018,” Usher, KCMO assistant city manager for entrepreneurship and small business,…