Woman-led

Cori Smith, BLK + BRWN

BLK + BRWN debuts KC’s first smart bookstore with a twist: ‘I wanted to be as Black as possible’

By Tommy Felts / August 5, 2021

Kansas City’s newest Black woman-owned, brick-and-mortar bookstore in Midtown has opened its doors, but customers shouldn’t judge the operation by its cover, owner Cori Smith said, revealing an additional first for the metro that has heads and pages turning.   “There’s a technological aspect paired with each book,” explained Smith, owner of BLK + BRWN — Kansas…

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eHawk team 2021

Why KCRise Fund chose a Lee’s Summit-built criminal justice smartphone app for its first lead investment

By Tommy Felts / August 5, 2021

A Kansas City startup’s smartphone-enabled alternative to ankle monitors taps into a huge courts and corrections market — with the potential for tremendous cost savings and societal impact, said Darcy Howe. And that docket of benefits presents a unique opportunity for KCRise Fund, which this week announced its lead investment in Lee’s Summit-based eHawk, added…

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Adam Miller, Let's Talk Black Business

Let’s Talk Black Business: You don’t need to be ‘the next Lebron’ — just succeed where others fell short   

By Tommy Felts / August 3, 2021

Editor’s note: The following story — spotlighting an Aug. 25 virtual event about challenges facing Black business owners — is sponsored by Let’s Talk Black Business and SCORE Community Strategic Alliance. Black entrepreneurship isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience, said Dom Green.  “It is not cookie cutter, and it is so important to showcase the differences of the…

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Conner Hazelrigg, 1773 Innovation Co., the Sunshine Box

‘Sunshine Box’ inventor earns $25K prize in pitch competition for women-led social ventures

By Tommy Felts / July 30, 2021

The woman behind a solar-paneled electric charging station built to overcome challenges found in developing nations earned the spotlight herself as Thursday’s big winner in the inaugural HI-HERImpact Kansas City pitch competition. Conner Hazelrigg, founder of 1773 Innovation Co. — the maker of the Sunshine Box — was awarded the contest’s $25,000 prize in the…

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Image illustrates a pre-production Mark II, the Mark II is not yet in production

Fund Me, KC: Invest in Mycroft’s open-sourced, privacy-respecting voice assistant

By Tommy Felts / July 29, 2021

Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for business owners and innovators — like Kansas City artificial intelligence startup Mycroft AI — to share their crowdfunding stories and potentially gain backing from new…

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