Big winner at GEWKC: AltCap Your Biz turns The Next Paige with $42K+ in prizes

Editor’s note: Startland News’ coverage of Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City is made possible by the support of Husch Blackwell. [divide] The value of local support should not be underestimated or taken for granted, said Elaina Thomas, winner of the $25,000 grand prize at Thursday’s AltCap Your Biz pitch competition. “I feel blessed, I feel like…

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Godfrey Riddle wants to build you a home; How Civic Saint’s eco-friendly bricks could reshape the foundation of affordable housing

Winning $55,000 in a recent national LGBT pitch competition provides Godfrey Riddle the building blocks for a hard pivot — shifting the focus of his lifestyle company Civic Saint from handmade retail goods to earthen bricks used to sustainably create artful, affordable homes. “Affordable housing is a problem I’ve been pondering since my family lost…

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Empowered belonging: KC Chamber celebrates inclusive workforce efforts with diversity honors

Diversity is a strength; equity is the objective; and inclusion is the path that unites individuals together, said Amy Lee Sewell. The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce awarded Lockton Companies its 2023 Champion of Diversity award at the annual POWER of Diversity Breakfast. The event brings together the region’s diverse business community to celebrate…

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In the Black: Why Venture Noire is bringing capital resources from Arkansas to KC’s founders of color

It’s time Black-led companies went from over-mentored and under-resourced to well-connected and infused with capital, Keenan Beasley said, announcing plans for establishing more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems that begin, in part, with a presence in Kansas City.  “Kansas City is a very mature market,” Beasley, founder of Venture Noire, said of what he’s observed among the…

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