Woman-led

Small Business Superstars reception

Small Business Superstars in photos: When people belong, ‘the possibilities are endless’

Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. A celebration Wednesday for the Chamber’s new class of Small Business Superstars came with a message for entrepreneurs of all kinds, said Vicky Kulikov. You belong. “That…

Maggie Kenefake, Royal Street Ventures, Clarence Tan, Boddle, and John Thomson, PayIt, during a previous C3KC conference at Union Station

Innovators can’t do it alone; C3KC conference calls for cross-sector attack on wealth gap, KC’s biggest pain points

Editor’s note: Startland News is a media sponsor for the Junior League of Kansas City’s C3KC conference. Click here for tickets to the event, which features a keynote address by best-selling author Adam Grant. Challenges abound in Kansas City, Kimberlee Ried acknowledged, but opportunities for innovation to push change are even more plentiful. An in-person conference…

KC Can Compost

Spring in the face of ‘doom and gloom’: KC Can Compost grows green infrastructure while expanding its own footprint 

The market for commercial composting services goes well beyond restaurants hoping to dispose of food scraps — a welcome discovery for Kristan Chamberlain, who saw such specialized demand disintegrate in 2020 amid a pile of bad news for struggling eateries. Today, KC Can Compost has helped divert more than 1.4 million pounds of waste from…

Kenyata Gant, Pink Lipps Cosmetics

Pink Lipps hits Target, putting KC cosmetics line in 41 retail markets where Black shoppers bring green

There’s no glossing over it, Kenyata Gant said. Black-owned businesses are thriving in the Midwest — and big box retailers are taking notice.  “I couldn’t believe it,” recalled Gant, owner of Pink Lipps Cosmetics, announcing the Kansas City-based cosmetics startup’s acceptance into 41 nationwide Target stores.  “I would always say how I would love to…

Nia Richardson, KC Bizcare, and Emma Willis, Venture Noire

They want to create a SXSW-style festival in KC, but City of Entrepreneurs’ plans for Black founders dig even deeper

Activation is just the beginning for organizers of a new, high-profile partnership that aims to boost Black business owners — starting in Kansas City — via programming, resources, major events and a soon-to-be announced accelerator. Entrepreneurs, investors and local politicians gathered Wednesday to celebrate the soft launch of City of Entrepreneurs — a new initiative that…