Woman-led

Small Business Superstars reception

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

By Tommy Felts / March 10, 2022

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…

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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

By Tommy Felts / March 4, 2022

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…

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KC Can Compost

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

By Tommy Felts / March 2, 2022

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…

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Kenyata Gant, Pink Lipps Cosmetics

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

By Tommy Felts / March 2, 2022

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…

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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

By Tommy Felts / February 24, 2022

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…

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