Startups

Claudia and Carolina Recchi, EdSights

Why are college students dropping out? EdSights targets higher ed retention rates

By Tommy Felts / June 21, 2019

Only 56 percent of students who began college in 2012 actually graduated within the next six years, said startup founders Claudia Recchi and Carolina Recchi. The sisters’ own struggles as first-generation U.S. college students reinforced the challenge posed by such statistics, they said, prompting them to found EdSights, a startup using artificial intelligence to collect…

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Friendmedia moving San Fran HQ to Kansas City; planning $1.5M funding round for hiring

By Tommy Felts / June 20, 2019

San Francisco-based tech firm Friendmedia is expected to relocate its headquarters to Kansas City in 2020 amidst $1.5 million funding round, said Nick Magruder. “Our goal is to take advantage of all the great things that Kansas City brings to the table with all the great people, the low cost of living and everything that…

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Ire Cherry, Very Cherry Bakery

Cherry on top: 9-year-old baking entrepreneur cuts check to pay off KC students’ negative lunch balances

By Tommy Felts / June 19, 2019

Baking is the perfect recipe for spreading joy — owning a small business should be too, said 9-year-old Ire Cherry, recalling the moment she stood before administrators at University Academy in Kansas City, holding a check wider than she is tall. “My mom and her sister were talking about people in Virginia who couldn’t pay their…

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Erin Jenkins, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Kauffman Foundation’s Erin Jenkins bounces between contrasting cultures, startup life

By Tommy Felts / June 19, 2019

Editor’s note: This content was sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation but independently produced by Startland News. Curiosity took Erin Jenkins to Japan. Curiosity brought her home. In between, she embedded herself in the worlds of intercultural entrepreneurism and startup life — her journey aligning itself with an opportunity to serve as a program officer…

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Theresa M. Van Ackeren, Family Bicycles, Business Equality Awards Luncheon organized by the Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in Kansas City

Pride outside: How the outdoor industry is missing out with a $1 trillion LGBTQ+ blind spot

By Tommy Felts / June 18, 2019

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” said adventurer and speaker Mikah Meyer, quoting activist Marian Wright Edelman last week in Kansas City. Representation of LGBTQ+ consumers and entrepreneurs formed a thematic trail throughout the recent Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce awards luncheon where Meyer made keynote remarks. His borrowed quote also reflected…

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