Austin Barnes
Executive Editor, Startland News
Austin is a growth-focused business strategist with deep roots in media and storytelling. As executive editor, he leads Startland’s revenue generation, partnership strategy, and market expansion— aligning mission-driven journalism with scalable business models.
With over a decade of experience spanning media, brand development, and strategic communications, Austin has helped grow Startland’s reach beyond Kansas City, launching new monetization efforts and driving engagement with more than 700,000 readers each year. His work bridges entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable growth —positioning Startland as a national model for community-centered media.
Recent Articles by Austin Barnes
New in KC: FinTech founder finds more than flyover fountains amid high-profile KC accelerator
Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what’ they’ve found so far in KC. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Tim Yu hadn’t given Kansas City much thought — then…
New in KC: Austin transplant sees wide-open spaces for growth, startup potential
Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what’ they’ve found so far in KC. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Hiring a team in Austin, Texas, was “literally impossible,” Vinay…
New in KC: GovTech startup leader goes remote, relocating for KC costs with West Coast pay
Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what’ they’ve found so far in KC. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Kansas City’s got two things going for it: a growing…
Advice for women founders: Be ‘tough as balls’ but don’t fear asking for help, panelists say
Want to rise to the top? Stop limiting yourself to gender roles in the workplace, declared Jene’ Hong. “I didn’t see people as male or female,” Hong, told a crowd gathered for Startland’s Innovation Exchange: Investing in the Power of Women. “I started off in accounting — everyone was male. I was taught to curse…
Downtown innovation district: Developers envision 30-story Lightwell project as its own startup hub
It’s possible the Lightwell building’s exterior hasn’t been cleaned since 1977, joked Tim Schaffer as he walked a vine-wrapped rooftop terrace that overlooks downtown Kansas City. “It was totally unintentional, the way it came together,” Schaffer, president of AREA Real Estate Advisors, said of the multi-million-dollar office redevelopment project that’s quickly evolved into what Schaffer…
Hilly KU campus inspires ‘back sweat’ innovation for Startup Weekend KC team
If more entrepreneurs were willing to invest a little sweat alongside virtual strangers, they’d carry an even larger number of cutting-edge startups to success, Tyler Sherman said. “In two days, we have a product that I feel comfortable enough to say we’ll roll with,” Sherman, a participant in the recent Techstars Startup Weekend, said of…
Social Side Effect: Don’t call Kasim Hardaway an influencer (but do ask him about poké)
Editor’s note: Social Side Effect is an ongoing profile series that identifies the intersection between social influencing and entrepreneurship Instagram stories are more than temporary snapshots. They’re a growing vehicle for influencer marketing in Kansas City, Kasim Hardaway explained. “It was never something I set out to do. It kind of just happened,” Hardaway, a…
Fishtech Group scales CYDERES, leaping into deep end of global cybersecurity market
National accolades and an expansion into Northwest Arkansas are feeding the latest round of rapid scaling at the Gary Fish-led Fishtech Group. “Hitting the MSSP list for the first time at No. 25 is a huge honor and an endorsement of CYDERES’ position in the managed service market,” Eric Foster, CYDERES Chief Operating Officer, said…
KCultivator Q&A: Tina Peterson turned a career stop into a platform to accelerate dozens of startups
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by Plexpod, a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes. Living in Kansas City couldn’t have been further from Tina Peterson’s mind…
Renewed Kauffman support expected to fuel ECJC’s ‘Pitch Perfect’ through 2021
Hungry entrepreneurs could be the leading reason behind the return of Pitch Perfect bootcamp at the Enterprise Center in Johnson County. “[We heard from the community that] it was one of the best programs in the city for [early-stage founders],” Kathryn Golden, ECJC programs manager, said of a growing appetite for resources provided by the…