Woman-led

ScaleUP! KC touts revenue success stories as latest small biz cohort opens applications

By Tommy Felts / July 19, 2023

Growth outcomes don’t always follow entrepreneurs’ graduation from ScaleUP! KC — sometimes they come before the game-changing, no-cost program is even complete, its leaders said. Rickey Leathers made significant strides in his business, Savvy Salon — co-owned with his wife, Lenora — while enrolled in the cohort, he said. “I successfully opened a second location…

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Give them a drink, get to the real: This craft KC podcast serves entrepreneur vulnerability 

By Tommy Felts / July 18, 2023

Two Kansas City entrepreneurs hope to amplify the voices of local change makers by getting them behind the microphone with a drink in their hand. The Behind the Bar with Ashley and Hailee podcast sees co-hosts and friends Ashley Kendrick and Hailee Bland Walsh welcome their fellow Kansas City entrepreneurs into Kendrick’s basement for a…

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Meet Kauffman’s new CEO: Foundation taps former diplomat, higher ed official to lead

By Tommy Felts / July 18, 2023

Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial sponsor of Startland News. A Kansas City native is poised to take leadership at one of the region’s most prominent nonprofit organizations tackling upward mobility and economic prosperity, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced Tuesday. Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace has been named Kauffman’s next president and…

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It started as a T-shirt company (now it’s a popular cheesecake destination); meet the nonprofit that helped this Kansas biz pivot

By Tommy Felts / July 13, 2023

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 Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. WICHITA — Side hustles don’t…

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Prepped for Phase 2: How a New Orleans-inspired caterer grew organically into a KC kitchen collective

By Tommy Felts / July 11, 2023

Food is a way to bring communities together, share cultural traditions and teach individuals about the importance of a healthy, ethically-sourced meal, said Dr. Karen Patrice Boyd.  “My passion is teaching. Yes, I produce great food. But at the end of the day, I can impact the community more in terms of their knowledge and…

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