Channa Steinmetz
Recent Articles by Channa Steinmetz
Take a peek down Ludo’s lanes before Made in KC’s new shuffleboard bar opens in Midtown
When the team at Made in KC moved the local-first retailer’s flagship shop to Martini Corner in spring 2021, they immediately had a vision for what the multi-concept building could entertain, said Keith Bradley. The vision: a retro shuffleboard bar. “The idea for a shuffleboard bar sparked from two places. One was the desire we…
Small biz could be solution to supply chain woes, says Children’s Mercy CEO; Why shared economic prosperity catalyzes innovation
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity. It’s all about the ripple effect of outcomes, said Paul Kempinski, diagnosing the community health potential (and business case) for supplier diversity efforts. Corporate…
This KC-designed LEGOLAND attraction puts young builders in the driver’s seat of their own Ferrari
Racers, start your (virtual) engines. Dimensional Innovations has partnered with Merlin Entertainments and Ferrari to bring a one-of-a-kind experience to LEGOLAND California Resort in Carlsbad, California, shared Spencer Farley. “We continue to liberate the world from mediocre experiences,” said Farley, an account director for Entertainment and Retail at the Overland Park-based design firm, Dimensional Innovations. …
His portable lab can detect COVID in saliva within minutes; how this former Navy SEAL’s startup is expanding its target
Foothold Labs is on a mission to develop a next-generation, portable diagnostics system that can not only rapidly detect infectious diseases in saliva within five-to-eight minutes, but also indicate deadly contaminants in other common substances, shared Sean McIntosh. “To get equivalent results to our technology, someone would need to submit a sample to a professional…
Made in KC partners with afloat to provide same-day gifting of exclusive care packages
Kansas Citians can now get same-day delivery from the city’s largest local marketplace through afloat — a gifting app by one of the metro’s leading startups that allows community members to pick out and send neatly-packaged goods to their loved ones, said Sarah-Allen Preston. “We have always been huge fans of Made in KC, and…
Real-world working: Relaunched initiative will put 500 paid teen interns into KC workplaces
A coalition of funders and employers are teaming up to provide 500 high school students across the Kansas City metro with paid summer professional experiences. “It’s really important that we come together as a community for these types of initiatives to make sure our young people are really connecting the dots and moving onto the…
Startup embraces ‘digital labor’, creating personalized robots for tedious tasks — beginning with cold calls
Salespeople spend too much time searching for emails, making cold calls and setting up meetings — leaving less energy for comprehensive conversations and closing deals, said Nick Smith. His solution: robots for salespeople or, as he calls them, “Sailebots.” “One day I had a revelation that there could be a tool for these mundane tasks….
‘How a startup becomes a superstar’: Finotta launches real-time podcast as KU freshman gets inside the mind of its founder
Most business podcasts tell the stories of those who have reached massive success, Garrett Amundsen said, but Finotta’s premier podcast is set to flip the switch — sharing the fintech startup’s journey as it unfolds. “When people listen to our podcast, they’re going to be able to track the success and growth of the company…
A gift for KC’s East Side: Business center beats developers to Prospect, offering one-stop shop for entrepreneurs
A new full-service business center and coworking space on Prospect Avenue will do more than just fill the former Blue Hills Community Services building — better fulfilling its goal to create a clear path to economic prosperity and wealth, said Brandon Calloway. “It’s always been the right time for a business center to open on…
Innovative tech honored at SXSW has potential to save lives in KC, govtech founder says
Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. AUSTIN — A tech company from Silicon Valley’s largest city is unleashing a new era of smart infrastructure technology for the world in motion — and Kansas City…