Tag: 1 Million Cups

Frustrated by the fit, this traveler-turned-swimwear founder crafted 10 pairs himself; now his trunk show is going global

By Tommy Felts / December 3, 2025

Opening a popup swimwear store in one of Atlanta’s most upscale malls represented a surge of momentum for Tristan Davis’ high-end brand that began not on a beach or a runway, but in Kansas City’s tight-knit startup community. “We’ve gone from an idea in a handmade bathing suit to a high fashion mall in less…

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How KC transformed entrepreneurship from counterculture into a model for the mainstream

By Tommy Felts / July 25, 2025

Veteran ecosystem builders returned to the Heartland this week, urging a new generation of entrepreneur advocates to embrace Kansas City’s style of experimentation and its uniquely collaborative startup culture. “Entrepreneurship is not spreadsheets and business plans,” said Jonathan Ortmans, who founded the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) — the nonprofit parent of Global Entrepreneurship Week —…

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On the map and in the mirror: 1 Million Cups contrasts international eship visitors with KC startup scene

By Tommy Felts / July 16, 2025

The fail-fast mindset and high risk tolerance many American entrepreneurs employ in their quests to build unicorn startups are arguably foreign concepts to business builders on the other side of the globe, said Lucy-Llonna Larbi. Her experiences in Germany reflect a slower, security-first focus, she said, expressing admiration for the American approach. “We think that…

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1 Million Cups relocating back to Kauffman Foundation, renewing weekly meetup’s energy, sense of purpose

By Tommy Felts / April 3, 2025

After more than six years connecting entrepreneurs in Midtown, 1 Million Cups Kansas City is returning to its roots — relocating the weekly event series April 9 to the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center where the now-coast-to-coast morning meetup series first percolated.  Changing the brew for the Wednesday entrepreneur pitch showcase came from the same voices…

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Grantmaking reboot ‘just one piece of the larger puzzle’ in Kauffman Foundation reset, CEO says

By Tommy Felts / September 5, 2024

Overhauling the Kauffman Foundation’s grantmaking strategy aligns with a broader, holistic reset for the influential Kansas City organization, said Dr. DeAngela Burns Wallace, emphasizing org-wide moves to deepen the impact and dialogue sparked by its giving. “We’re still engaged in the work happening locally, regionally, and nationally,” said Burns-Wallace, president and CEO of the Ewing…

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