Woman-led

The Porter House, Kauffman Inclusion Open

Kauffman Inclusion Open: Six KC grant winners ‘building an inclusive pathway to entrepreneurship’

Plans to educate, inspire, and assist entrepreneurs traditionally left out of small business conversations will ramp up for the Porter House KC — thanks to new support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s inaugural Inclusion Open.  “We are so excited to be selected as one of this year’s grant recipients,” said Dan Smith, co-founder of the…

2018 LaunchKC winners

KCMO turns to entrepreneurs for new ideas on budget support; Advocates to rally at work sessions

Raised voices and a commitment to civic engagement earned entrepreneurs an additional $350,000 in city support for the 2019 budget year and a second attempt is about to begin, explained Rick Usher.  “It really goes back to when the resident work sessions started in 2018,” Usher, KCMO assistant city manager for entrepreneurship and small business,…

Tammie Wahaus, ELIAS Animal Health

Biotech firms: Health innovation can’t grow in KC with wet lab space in such short supply

ELIAS Animal Health is advancing a technology that can fundamentally change how cancer is treated in both humans and animals, said CEO Tammie Wahaus, yet finding lab space in the metro has been one of the biotech startup’s biggest tests.   “We’re doing a lot of cell culture work, which requires wet lab space, but there…

Lisa Bledsoe, Tea-Biotics Kombucha

Tea-Biotics bottles $1.2M in quick funding round; taps into thirsty new markets for kombucha

From jar-lined countertops in her kitchen to a 13,000-square-foot facility brimming with brew tanks, Lisa Bledsoe’s mission to pour Kansas City a more refreshing bottle of “booch” is scaling fast, she explained over a freshly tapped glass of her “Beachlife”-flavored kombucha.  “I think it can be an inspiration for younger women or even other women…

Henry Kim, LG Electronics, Innovation Exchange

LG Electronics tech expert: Kansas City a smart home for corporate-startup collaboration (IXKC photos)

Tech industry giants see significant potential in the ideas being created in startup hubs like Kansas City, an LG Electronics leader told a crowd gathered this week at Homebase.  “A lot of startup companies can bring innovation to the front. Big companies like ours, sometimes we’re so busy that we lose track of that activity,”…