Woman-led
KC startup helps Nashville tornado survivors escape into VR ‘mental health armor’
Locally built virtual reality tools are helping victims cope after a suspected EF4 tornado devastated part of Nashville early Tuesday morning. “We grabbed headsets and we went to the shelters to see if individuals wanted to escape and relax,” Sarah Hill, founder of Healium, explained of the startup’s reaction to the storm that killed more…
Plug and Play innovation summit unleashing Topeka’s animal health, agtech potential
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 the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. TOPEKA…
Tohi ventures down a Midwest ‘rabbit hole’ to discover a rare berry good enough to drink
Tohi Ventures is on a quest to save the planet — one rare-berry infused beverage at a time. “I was literally doing Google research on unique ingredients, specialty crops … these one-ingredient wonders,” explained Shari Coulter Ford, CEO and co-founder of Tohi Ventures — maker of Tohi, an antioxidant-rich beverage available in four, all-natural flavors. …
High demand, low profits: Happy Food Co pulls meal kits from stores, pivots to catering
Love wasn’t enough to sustain the original model of Happy Food Co., but the meal kit company’s ability to pivot opens new doors, said Kiersten Firquain. “For a startup in Kansas City … it is difficult,” Firquain, head chef and co-founder of Happy Food Co., said of geographical challenges that contributed to its restructuring, a…
Megh Marks History: Artist crafts Chiefs-inspired painting from on-field Super Bowl confetti
While most Kansas Citians were shouting from the rooftops in the seconds after the Chiefs Super Bowl victory, Megh Knappenberger was quietly writing down on the back of a grocery list an idea to capture the joyous spirit of the big win through artistic expression. “I saw the confetti raining down on the players and…
