‘Sunshine Box’ inventor earns $25K prize in pitch competition for women-led social ventures

The woman behind a solar-paneled electric charging station built to overcome challenges found in developing nations earned the spotlight herself as Thursday’s big winner in the inaugural HI-HERImpact Kansas City pitch competition. Conner Hazelrigg, founder of 1773 Innovation Co. — the maker of the Sunshine Box — was awarded the contest’s $25,000 prize in the…

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$100K in microgrants awarded across 23 struggling, but resilient minority businesses

Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial sponsor of Startland News. This report was produced independently by Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom. [divide] A COVID-era resiliency fund that quickly closed applications after receiving a deluge of response from entrepreneurs in need has awarded microgrants to 23 minority businesses on both sides of the…

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OP-baked Safely Delicious takes big bites of allergy-free snack market amid pandemic

Some of the most unconventional entrepreneur stories offer the sweetest flavors, said Lisa Ragan, detailing how diet restrictions and divorce combined to drive her deliciously disruptive Overland Park-based company forward. “You can’t have one foot in, one foot out,” Ragan, founder of Safely Delicious, said of what it’s taken to scale the allergy-friendly snack line…

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