Woman-led

Lyndsey Gruber, PEPPR

Woman-led PEPPR sets table for simplified event planning with platform cooked in KC kitchens

A veteran of the restaurant industry thanks to her family’s long-simmering connections to Kansas City kitchens, Lyndsey Gruber stood as a woman on her own Wednesday at 1 Million Cups. “It’s just me,” Gruber, CEO and founder of PEPPR, told Startland News before the event, which served as a mid-point of Women’s Empowerment Week and…

Stephen Hardy, MySidewalk

InnovateKC: City pivots to startup-in-residence program to leverage local tech ingenuity

A new administration equals a new spin on established ideas, Nia Richardson explained, previewing the launch of Kansas City’s InnovateKC program.  “I literally had a 45-minute conversation with [former city innovation officer] Bob Bennett before he walked out the door. He sent me an email with some notes and I had to pick it up…

Photo by Hitesh Choudhary

KC-tested GoGetter uses AI to bring back human interaction in hiring talent (minus the middleman)

As a software contractor at Cerner for two years, Naga Rayapati saw more than 40 percent of his paycheck go into the pockets of middlemen, he said. “While the contractor puts in their heart and soul working for the company, these ‘preferred vendors’ reap the benefits,” said Rayapati, referring to third parties in the hiring…

Union Hill, PorchFestKC 2019

Photos: PorchFestKC activates Midtown neighborhoods with stoop-to-street music 

More than 100 onlookers — some neighbors, others just passing through — gathered in the street, along the sidewalk, and on lawns Saturday afternoon outside Ruben Alonso’s Union Hill home. “It was the perfect spot,” said Alonso, president at AltCap and one of dozens of homeowners who offered up their porches, stoops and front yards…

Andrea Savage, FeedKC, Pure Pitch Rally

UMKC student-led FeedKC will pitch for donations, connections at Pure Pitch Rally

Continuing a tradition of showcasing student entrepreneurs, Tuesday’s Pure Pitch Rally is expected to feature a pitch from FeedKC, a group run by students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. And thanks to a private donor to the UMKC Bloch School of Management, all funds designated for FeedKC will be matched up to $10,000. Click…