No promo codes needed: How two Brits and their KC startup are adding instant discounts to your shopping cart

Jordan Williams and Julian Taylor, Veeper

When restaurants and retailers shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many of their customer loyalty programs did too, leaving frequent shoppers empty handed, explained Jordan Williams.  “I had a $200 Southwest Airlines voucher and 6000-plus Chipotle restaurant points expire,” Williams said, detailing a pandemic-presented problem that finds its solution in his newly-launched startup: Veeper.  The platform…

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Boutique startup specializing in breast prosthesis for cancer survivors catches attention of KC healthcare investor

Jasmine Jones, Cherry Blossom Intimates

As the new year rang in 2020, Jasmine Jones envisioned pop-up shops for Cherry Blossom Intimates — an accredited medical facility housed within a lingerie boutique that provides breast cancer survivors with customizable prosthesis.  Eleven months into the unpredictable year, however, Jones innovated the startup into a virtual brand. “I had to ask myself, ‘What would…

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Diversity is a ‘culture add’ — not a quota to be ‘fit’ within a startup, Brad Feld tells Techstars KC demo day 

Brad Feld, co-founder of Techstars, author, serial entrepreneur; Techstars Kansas City virtual demo day 2020

Inserting diverse individuals into an existing startup culture might seem like a step toward inclusive team building, but it can actually hurt scalability if that diversity is treated like a bug, not a feature, said Lesa Mitchell, referencing a new book by the co-founder of Techstars. Celebrating the culmination of Techstars Kansas City’s relaunched accelerator…

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