Youth

Cherry on top: 9-year-old baking entrepreneur cuts check to pay off KC students’ negative lunch balances

By Tommy Felts / June 19, 2019

Baking is the perfect recipe for spreading joy — owning a small business should be too, said 9-year-old Ire Cherry, recalling the moment she stood before administrators at University Academy in Kansas City, holding a check wider than she is tall. “My mom and her sister were talking about people in Virginia who couldn’t pay their…

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Investors, students find potential and power in High School eSports League

By Tommy Felts / June 18, 2019

Benjie Lewis saw potential in eSports from the beginning — first as a mentor, then an investor, he said. Rapidly evolving from recreational pastime to official leagues and high school sports programs, the competitive multiplayer gaming concept has created a new space for startup opportunity, he said. “When I was growing up … they weren’t…

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Venture for America fellows bringing diversity of thought to KC tech, investment firms

By Tommy Felts / June 11, 2019

Venture for America fellows are flocking to Kansas City, said Kate Loar. “Venture For America’s initial Kansas City champions: the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Pepper, KCRise Fund, and Super Dispatch set the groundwork for growth in KC,” noted Loar, VFA director in St. Louis and Kansas City. “We’re excited to expand the local VFA cohort…

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UMKC Enactus team kicks open front door to Kansas City innovation scene with final four win

By Tommy Felts / May 24, 2019

As the number of teams left standing in the Enactus U.S. nationals started to dwindle, members of the competitive entrepreneurial development program’s team at the University of Missouri-Kansas City rode a pulsating wave of excitement and emotion, recalled Ali Brandolino. “I started crying,” added Brandolino, UMKC Enactus vice president of operations. “It was the most…

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‘Legendary’ UMKC Enactus team earns spot in national entrepreneurship finals

By Tommy Felts / May 9, 2019

The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Enactus team is the fourth most impactful in the country, declared Ben Williams. “At UMKC Enactus, we take the world’s greatest challenges into our own hands, channeling our power as students, advocates, and entrepreneurs,” the team told a crowd gathered Tuesday at the Kansas City Convention Center, as they took…

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