Tag: KC Black Owned

10 finalists vying for ‘Fan Favorite’ in AltCap Your Biz competition; Here’s how to vote

By Tommy Felts / October 27, 2022

AltCap’s marquee GEWKC competition for emerging entrepreneurs is returning in November, but fans of the businesses can cast votes now to determine a $2,500 “fan favorite” winner at the coming pitch event. Ten finalists for the AltCap Your Biz competition were announced this week. The live pitch day is set for Nov. 17 at iWerx…

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Alchemy Sandbox winners lean into challenge of live pitches as Porter House KC awards third-round checks

By Tommy Felts / September 24, 2022

A third round of Alchemy Sandbox winners each walked away with more than a $5,000 check this week after an intense live pitch experience for the entrepreneurs behind three Kansas City Main Street ventures and two support organizations for Black businesses. “It was interesting to see how I had all this information in my head,…

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Shonta Dabney, CoffeeFreshAF

‘My soul is being fed’: Shonta Dabney sips the small wins in her round-the-clock quest to bring Black-roasted coffee home

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2022

While most kids were drinking milk, juice, or plain old water — Shonta Dabney held a warm mug in her hands, sipping coffee at the kitchen table with her grandparents, she recalled.  “I have to be one of the very few Americans whose grandparents gave her coffee as a toddler,” Dabney laughed, looking back on where…

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Chelsey M., KC Black Owned; photo courtesy of Anna Petrow, Made in KC

The secret to KC Black Owned’s success so far? Businesses worth finding, founder says

By Tommy Felts / April 1, 2021

A business’s digital footprint is the new word of mouth, the founder of KC Black Owned said, emphasizing that getting noticed is just half the fight for many Black-owned businesses. “It is so hard to find Black-owned businesses in certain professions and industries. But there’s a demand for it,” said Chelsey M., the mind behind…

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