Randy Wasinger wanted the 1952 Topps of NFTs; so the lifelong baseball card collector started coding (and Mark Cuban came calling)

By Tommy Felts | March 11, 2025

Editor’s note: The following includes excerpts from “The Corporate Couch” podcast as part of a collaboration between host Jeff Pelaccio and Startland News to highlight Web3 companies and founders in the space. [divide] The 15-year-old boy within Randy Wasinger — so obsessed with baseball cards that he opened a card shop in downtown Russell, Kansas, to…

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2023 is about ‘going deeper’: Startups to Watch gathers founders from streetwear, tech to NFTs, Esports (Event Photos)

By Tommy Felts | January 25, 2023

Storytelling brings communities together, said Austin Barnes, as nearly 200 of the region’s corporate, small business and startup leaders gathered for Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023 reception and awards presentation.  “Startups to Watch is an opportunity for Startland News to do what it does best — amplify the story of entrepreneurship…

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KC-built NFT startup merges with news outlet to ‘create clarity out of chaos’ in volatile industry

By Tommy Felts | January 17, 2023

It’s time for the NFT industry and digital economy to grow up, said Randy Wasinger, announcing the merger of CryptoSlam and Forkast.News — a move meant to help tame a “Wild West” ecosystem “full of promise, glory and painful outcomes for many” via on-chain data analytics and journalism. “[The NFT industry] shouldn’t lose its fearless…

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10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023

By Tommy Felts | December 14, 2022

A new startup community has emerged in a post-pandemic world — and 10 scaling players are on the front lines, ready to redefine what startup success looks like in the Heartland.  The newsmakers featured in Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023 list are no strangers to our readers or their fellow entrepreneurs.…

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