Woman-led

Leah Hermida, The Windmill KC

Leah Hermida brought coffee home to KCK; her Windmill KC cafe already needs more space

By Tommy Felts / May 8, 2021

In the shadow of the Kansas City skyline, new entrepreneurial energy is brewing in Wyandotte County, the childhood home of Leah Hermida.  “I knew the community really well,” Hermida said from her pandemic-opened, Turner-based coffee shop, The Windmill KC, noting she grew up in the city before eventually relocating to Overland Park. “I worked locally…

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Karen Fenaroli, Pure Pitch Rally 2020

Newly honored as a ‘world-changing idea,’ Pure Pitch Rally opens 2021 contest applications

By Tommy Felts / May 5, 2021

A premier Kansas City pitch competition that awards emerging tech founders on-the-spot cash funding, along with a series of business bootcamp experiences, was honored this week among Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas. The winners include businesses, policies, projects and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving…

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Kayla McClellan and co-founder Olivia DeRusse Charlesworth Queen, Vibes KC

Overwhelmed, but not alone: How a KC serial entrepreneur helps Black founders move beyond side hustles and daydreaming

By Tommy Felts / May 5, 2021

As Kira Cheree drove down I-70, headed west from Kansas City to Manhattan, Kansas, she recalled the years of work that put her in the driver’s seat and behind the wheel at that particular moment.  “I started to notice this trend,” said Cheree, a serial entrepreneur, looking back on consulting work she’d done with Black…

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Photo courtesy of Healium

US Air Force contracts Healium for ‘drugless’ therapy amid military suicide epidemic

By Tommy Felts / April 27, 2021

As suicide rates among U.S. military service members continue to rise, Columbia-based Healium is doubling down on its mission to make mental fitness tools more accessible.  “It’s an honor to serve these service members and their families who’ve sacrificed in ways we cannot imagine,” Sarah Hill, founder and CEO, told Startland News in announcing a…

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Liliane Lemani, African Designs by Liliane and Amisi

The Toolbox aims to bridge cultural entrepreneur gap in WyCo; opening new resource center Thursday

By Tommy Felts / April 26, 2021

Editor’s note: This story is sponsored and was produced by Forward Cities, a non-financial partner of Startland News and a national nonprofit that is managing the implementation of the ESHIP Communities program as a grantee of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Any opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. Pedro Morales, owner…

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