Woman-led

Rhonda Dolan, on-demand personal assistant Udo honored as Chamber’s Entrepreneur of the Year

By Tommy Felts / May 23, 2019

A lunchtime affair at the 2019 Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Awards quickly turned from celebratory mingling to shock and awe for Rhonda Dolan. “For [the Chamber] to recognize my efforts over the last year, which have been pretty intense, means a lot,” said Dolan, founder and CEO of Udo, reflecting on her…

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Can KC build the next billion-dollar company? ‘We have the internet here too’

By Tommy Felts / May 22, 2019

Ambitious startups need to believe they can become Kansas City’s next billion-dollar company, said John Thomson, urging confidence — and the ability to roll with the punches — in the face of risk. “Accomplished entrepreneurs who I’ve met … they just did it. Of course it was risky, and it might fail, but they went and…

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New home for Back2KC: Kansas City Startup Foundation expands talent pipeline efforts

By Tommy Felts / May 21, 2019

It’s the Kansas City Startup Foundation’s turn to drive the tour bus, said Darcy Howe, announcing Monday the transfer of the Back2KC talent pipeline initiative to KCSF, the nonprofit ecosystem-building organization that also powers Startland News. The move means KCSF will take ownership of the program for its Oct. 3-4 return, adding a full-time team…

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UMKC-powered tech could help visually-impaired Kansas Citians see via artificial intelligence

By Tommy Felts / May 21, 2019

Gharib Gharibi is driven to succeed by a desire to pay it forward, he said, riding a high from his startup’s first-place, $20,000 win at UMKC’s Regnier Institute Venture Creation Challenge. “They helped us transform our technology from the computer lab to the real world,” Gharibi, founder of DeepLens and a UMKC PhD student, said…

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Look inside (and out): Corrigan Station expansion offers startups skyline views from within Crossroads

By Tommy Felts / May 17, 2019

Decades have passed since the last new office building opened in the Crossroads Arts District, said Edna Martinson. In a matter of weeks, startups and small businesses can “create their own vibe” when the 22,910-square-foot Corrigan Station expansion project — led by Copaken-Brooks — unlocks its doors and opens them to Kansas City innovators, added Martinson,…

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