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
Make KC Gift Again 2018: 10 homegrown shopping ideas for him, her or them
Startland News presents its annual gift guide of Kansas City-made products to celebrate dozens of KC makers and give readers curated shopping hints. Check out selections below for him, her or them — heck, these are suggestions anyone would love. (Have more ideas? Leave them for readers in the comments below. We know this is…
Make KC Gift Again 2018: Five Kansas City-born shopping ideas for kids
Startland News presents its annual gift guide of Kansas City-made products to celebrate dozens of KC makers and give readers curated shopping hints. Check out selections from the kids category below. (Have more ideas? Leave them for readers in the comments below. We know this is just a glimpse of what Kansas City has to…
‘Don’t shut yourself off’: Seniorpreneurs reveal power in age, experience, savings
Figure out what you love to do and monetize it, Ann O’Meara told a room of entrepreneurs looking for advice on starting their second act after retirement. Seniorpreneurs — entrepreneurs over the age of 50 — are working to turn their lifelong hobbies into cash flow, O’Meara, CEO of Fantastic 55, revealed during a Global…
KCultivator Q&A: Mother inspires Davin Gordon to remove ‘can’t’ from the conversation
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 WeWork Corrigan Station, a modern twist on Kansas City office space. Kansas City’s future depends on whether the business community invests in homegrown talent, Davin Gordon said. “It doesn’t have…
Innovation district will look to black community for insight, McGinnis tells GEW crowd
Developing an innovation district takes a village, Kevin McGinnis told a packed room of Global Entrepreneurship Week attendees — a cross-section of Kansas Citians eager to learn more about how his proposed Keystone innovation district could re-shape diversity and inclusion efforts in the startup space. “I’m not going to suggest that I’m bringing a bunch…
VIDEO: Education startups earn $60K in LEANLAB grants at revamped Launch[ED] Day
The work doesn’t end with LEANLAB Education’s Launch[ED] Day celebration, said Katie Boody. Four of the accelerator’s fellows will continue their startups’ research thanks to $60,000 in grant investments. The entrepreneur-led education ventures took the stage Thursday to pitch their companies to the Launch[ED] crowd at Plexpod Westport Commons, as well as to describe the…
VIDEO: Kritiq designs more emotional KC runway show with Goodwill crossover
When the Kritiq fashion show returns to the runway later this month, it will be an event styled with creativity and an intimate feel, said Mark Launiu, noting a new partnership with Goodwill stores across Kansas and Missouri. “For me, I grew up shopping at Goodwill, my family still shops at Goodwill, so it kind…
VIDEO: KC startup BAM supplies soundtrack to LEANLAB’s education mission
The mission of Base Academy of Music (BAM) is clear –– help kids in Kansas City’s urban core reach their God-given potential, one note at a time, said Clint Velazquez. “Music is what got me through school,” Velazquez, founder of the academy said. “I became a music teacher later in life. Working in the suburbs,…
Target Hill Capital defusing risk on startups between friends and family, seed funding stages
An opportunity to deliver exponential impact in a community committed to entrepreneurship has resulted in the launch of Target Hill Capital –– an outside-the-box venture capital fund, Marshall Dougherty said. “When we were involved [with previous startups], we compared notes and surveyed the startup ecosystem in Kansas City,” Dougherty said of the events that led…
LendingStandard plans innovation upgrade with $2.5M investment from Flyover Capital
An investment in innovation has landed Kansas City-based LendingStandard $2.5 million in investment funds following the close of a Series A funding round led by Flyover Capital, CEO Andy Kallenbach said. “These are folks that are well-known in Kansas City and have had software businesses in the past, and that’s a really rare combination,” Kallenbach…