Tag: The Porter House KC

Charon Thompson and Daniel Smith, the Porter House KC

C2FO donates all marketplace revenue it earned Friday to three KC nonprofits for Juneteenth

By Tommy Felts / June 19, 2021

Editor’s note: C2FO is a financial supporter of Startland News; and Kansas City G.I.F.T. is a non-financial partner of Startland, the parent organization of Startland News. This story was produced independently by Startland News’ non-profit newsroom. One of Kansas City’s biggest tech startups wanted to make Juneteenth a day of “action and awareness,” the company…

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Daniel Smith and Charon Thompson, Black Drip Coffee, The Porter House KC

Coffee for the culture: Porter House KC founders partner with Messenger to craft Black-owned coffee brand

By Tommy Felts / April 30, 2021

Black Drip Coffee brewed from within a desire to bring coffee culture to historically disenfranchised and underserved communities, said Charon Thompson and Daniel Smith.  “It’s more than coffee,” noted Smith, who co-founded the brand, Black Drip Coffee, as well as the Porter House KC with Thompson. “We always talk about breaking down barriers and creating…

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Valentine Osakwe and Zerryn Gines, Peep Connect

How challenging norms could be Black founders’ key to overcoming lingering funding gap

By Tommy Felts / January 5, 2021

When authenticity and startup culture collide, Black founders and entrepreneurs of color often don’t see the same opportunities as their white counterparts, said Daniel Smith, contributing to a gap in funding that splits along racial lines. “I talk a certain way; I have different mannerisms; I like to dress a certain kind of way —…

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Shelley Cooper, co-founder of SureShow; Jannae Gammage, CEO of The Market Base; Tammy Buckner, founder of Techquity Digital; and Carlanda McKinney, founder of Bodify

GEWKC conversation: Black women are building tech — but are we building them?

By Tommy Felts / November 16, 2020

A coalition of organizations working to connect early-stage founders to critical resources — with an emphasis on equitable access — is shining the spotlight on Black women in tech during this week’s premier entrepreneurship event series, Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City. “Black women are launching businesses at the fastest clip of any racial group. Despite…

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Charon Thompson and Daniel Smith, the Porter House KC

‘Someone to lean on’ — Forward KC partners to bring 1-on-1 mentorship to Troost, Prospect

By Tommy Felts / October 2, 2020

It’s obvious where Kansas City’s underserved areas for entrepreneurial and community resources fall — the east side, said Morgan Perry, noting that 22 chambers of commerce serve other portions of Jackson County. “But for Troost, for Prospect — where are the resources on the ground for them? They are no one’s focus,” said Perry, who…

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