Start from the top: How these newsmakers forged companies to watch (Event Photos) 

Maybe it was an open opportunity in a market that couldn’t be ignored. Perhaps a calling to do something bigger than themselves. Or, for some, just a transparent bid to find profit in a world of problems waiting to be solved.

Triumfia Houmbie Fulks, CodeAlgo Academy, speaks during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Each of Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch launched with a motivation as varied as the innovations behind them — and an abundance of challenges often known only to the entrepreneurs at the helm.

“I don’t know how long I have on this earth. So, with the little time that I have, let me use it,” Triumfia Houmbie Fulks, co-founder of CodeAlgo Academy, told a crowd gathered Friday for a Startland News seminar series and reception recognizing the companies on its 2024 Startups to Watch list.

“​​All of those dreams, goals, aspirations that we want to achieve by the time we get to retirement — for me, it was to teach kids,” Houmbie Fulks said of the origins of her startup, which aims to boost the number of software engineers who are Black women or members of other underrepresented groups — starting with K-8 students. “I decided to just make it happen.”

Click here to read more about Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024.

The seminar’s opening panel at UMKC’s Bloch Executive Hall explored the 10 featured Startups to Watch companies — from edtech to artificial intelligence, beer brewing to intermodal trucking — in their own words.

Other panel sessions Friday included discussions about startup marketing, resources, and funding, presented with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and sponsors Morgan Stanley, UMKC’s Bloch School, Messenger Coffee Company, and Spark Kansas City.

RELATED: Meet customers where they are (and they’re on TikTok): Marketing experts urge startups to invest in brand building

Check out notable takeaways from the founder conversation below.

A crowd at UMKC listens to a founder panel during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Founders join in a panel conversation during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

For tomorrow’s newsmakers gathered at the event, 2020 was a pivotal year — even among those who hadn’t yet established their companies.

Jonathan Ruiz, EB Systems, joins in a founder panel conversation during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Established in 2015, EB Systems was the only 2024 Startups to Watch venture launched before the COVID-19 pandemic. The company — specializing in beacon technology — had already seen traction; debuting technology to track crowd size at the Chiefs Super Bowl parade in 2020.

When a global health crisis paused all major events that followed, co-founder Jonathan Ruiz said, the startup pivoted to contact tracing.

“COVID taught us a lot of lessons on how to be resilient; we weren’t allowed to go to events and the industry was gone for about two years,” Ruiz said. “So for us, it was super tough.” 

The team weathered the storm and successfully reentered the market in 2023.

RELATED: EB Systems tracking toward mainstream adoption at major events across KC, US

A time of uncertainty for many, the pandemic proved to be the catalyst for re-examining priorities and pushing would-be founders into action.

Kemet Coleman, Vine Street Brewing, speaks during a founder panel conversation during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“2020 was a challenging year,” said Kemet Coleman, co-founder of Vine Street Brewing Co., Kansas City’s first Black-owned brewery. “It forced me to slow down and understand what legacy I want to leave behind and what we could do to build community here in Kansas City.”

Coleman reassessed his own personal and professional goals, built community connections, and forged deeper bonds with the brewers who ultimately would become his co-founders, he said. The downtime during that period also gave them time to craft a strategy for the brewing company that brought the needed players on board, Coleman detailed.

“I had the ears of other folks that maybe were more receptive to ideas,” he said.

Vine Street Brewing officially launched its brick-and-mortar brewing operation in 2023.

Raven Space Systems also made use of the slowdown, said co-founder Blake Herren, noting the startup seized an opportunity to use its 3D-printing technology to enter the spacetech industry.

RELATED: Raven Space Systems accelerates its stratospheric rise with 3D printing for space exploration

“COVID really taught us that when one door closes, another one opens,” added Ruiz.

Ruth Shrauner, Poshed on the Go, speaks with an event attendee during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 reception; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Your brand needs to fit you (and your customer)

Magic happens when a company’s brand is true to itself — and it actually resonates within the market, said Ruth Shrauner.

The founder of Poshed on the Go, an on-demand stylist app, recognized the importance of transparency and storytelling when authentically communicating her brand to consumers — especially among members of Gen Z, who prioritize understanding the values of the companies they support. 

“I was almost scared to get too deep into the story and the mission of why we are here as a tech company in the beauty service world,” Shrauner said. “But at the end of 2023, we really leaned into our story and saw amazing things come to fruition from it.”

RELATED: Poshed On The Go dives deeper than skin level with on-demand tool for a better life

Having a team invested in that core story also is critical at the foundational level, said Mark Lukenbill.

“Think about trying to scale a company nationwide. That’s not just one person, right?” said the co-founder of Mpruv Sports, a platform focused on making sports more accessible. “Part of it is finding individuals that have shared the same vision and goals that we have.”

RELATED: Mpruv Sports swings for greater inclusion in traditional athletics

Holly Andra Small, Lotus TMS, speaks from the panel stage during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Neelima Parasker, Lotus TMS, videos her co-founder, Holly Andra Small, during Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Holly Andra Small, co-founder of Lotus TMS, a company driving solutions for the intermodal trucking industry, emphasized that knowing a specific target audience and focusing on the ideal customer rather than a general audience is a startup’s superpower. When crafting a compelling and unique branding story, she said, finding ways to get noticed within the market is key, but you first have to know what defines your company.

“It really is what makes us different, what makes us unique, what makes us special,” she said. “We don’t look anything like the other options that are out there. So that’s really important when knowing who you’re selling to and exactly who you’re targeting.”

Check out a photo gallery below from Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2024 seminar and reception.