Rethinking healthcare: How a doctor and activist brought more than 5,000 COVID-19 tests to KC’s most vulnerable

A primary care physician with an innovative take on healthcare and a passionate activist with an extensive background in video production might seem like an unlikely duo, said Dr. Allison Edwards. But she and serial creative Jay Austin united their strengths during the pandemic to help underserved communities in Kansas City gain access to critical…

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Cooking class curator wins Google-backed Startup Weekend competition

Nine teams made it through Startup Weekend, but only one team earned the dough: PopChef, which cooked up a platform to sign up for interactive kitchen classes with local chefs. PopChef co-founders Zack Kern and Ruby Montoya were ecstatic to win the competition, Kern said. In addition to receiving an hour of consulting with Lesa…

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KCultivator Q&A: Vivacious Jay Austin talks East KC, failure, Thomas Edison

Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series we’re kicking off to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Check out our features on Victor & Penny’s Erin McGrane, SEED Law’s Adrienne Haynes, Code Koalas’ Robert Manigold,  Prep-KC CEO Susan Wally and community builder Donald Carter. [divide] In 2014, eager college student Jay Austin Googled the words…

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With cocktails in hand, VergeKC kicks off its high-growth tech startup series

An Indianapolis-based event series aimed at cultivating high-growth tech companies outside of Silicon Valley debuted its inaugural event in Kansas City on Tuesday. Verge — which hosts pitch forums in 11 Midwestern and southern metros — has a mission to accelerate community entrepreneurs through a curated approach that targets specific people and companies. Kansas City hub director…

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National tech event series Verge coming to Kansas City

A national tech event firm that aims to cultivate community excitement and awareness around innovation is set to launch in Kansas City on March 14. Verge has selected Kansas City as its next locale for its monthly pitch event series in which the firm will host tech startups that will present their firms to a…

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