Tag: Innovation Exchange

Zach Pettet: It’s time to make some noise about KC’s secret bad ass investors

By Tommy Felts / November 30, 2018

Editor’s note: Zach Pettet is the managing director of Fountain City Fintech and a fintech strategist at nbkc bank, with which Startland News has partnered on a Dec. 6 Innovation Exchange event. Opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Quiet wealth in Kansas City is a double-edged sword. The upside? You have to…

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Andy Talbert, Snow Pops

Hustle in the making: Startups scaling ‘maker’ concept with high-growth models (Photos)

By Tommy Felts / November 15, 2018

Andy Talbert is in no way crafty, the Snow Pops co-founder said. “At all,” he emphasized, eliciting laughter from the crowd at Startland’s “Hustle in the Making” Innovation Exchange. The event — sponsored by Plexpod and Polsinelli — explored the evolving spectrum of startup businesses that could be considered “makers” in modern entrepreneurial culture. Kansas…

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Davide Rossi, FitBark, pet innovators

Pet innovators unleash market built on experiences, evolving relationships with dogs (Photos)

By Tommy Felts / October 18, 2018

Meaningful relationships are no longer only between people, said Davide Rossi, discussing the rise of pet innovators and an emerging market built on experiences with four-legged family members. “They key thing is to recognize that the relationship between us and our pets has been changing,” said Rossi, co-founder of FitBark, a Kansas City-based pet tech…

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Royce "Sauce" Handy

The not-so-secret Sauce behind KC hip hop entrepreneur’s success: Authenticity

By Tommy Felts / October 4, 2018

Royce “Sauce” Handy wears his influences and inspiration like pins on the outside of his well-worn jean jacket. The KCK-born hip hop entrepreneur embraces his identity: A collector of Goosebumps books. A student of history. A fan of 1990s family sitcoms. And he’s unapologetically black. His lips twist into a smile and his eyes brighten…

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Sandy Kemper, C2FO, Innovation Exchange

Sandy Kemper at IXKC: Trust is the hack for building FinTech or any startup in KC (Photos)

By Tommy Felts / June 20, 2018

Act like everyone is watching … because they are, Sandy Kemper said. “It’s something I think a lot of folks — maybe not from around here — fail to understand,” the C2FO chairman and CEO told a packed crowd Tuesday at Startland’s Innovation Exchange at nbkc bank. “You cannot get away with anything. And some…

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