Channa Steinmetz
Recent Articles by Channa Steinmetz
KC tech guru, startup advocate talks cryptocurrency’s value: ‘History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it often rhymes’
Cryptocurrency eventually will cause the most significant exchange of wealth mankind has ever experienced, Matthew Marcus forecast, and the web developer-turned-startup community organizer hopes to help others get involved early. “We are essentially in the early 1990s of the internet. The same way we talked about the internet and email 20-some years ago, will be…
Watch: Meet the band of local contractors behind the development of Troost Village
Editor’s note: The following story includes the second video in a four-part series taking a look under the hard hats at the Troost Village development, a $162 million project on Troost Avenue, the city’s longtime racial dividing line. Videos in this series are expected to debut on Startland News as the project unfolds. Click here…
Why a new founder-first Midwest incubator sees scarcity as a source of strength
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. COLUMBIA,…
Devoured chef designs oven-baked backyard pizza concept for pop-ups and beyond
An unexpected medley of events helped Jhy Coulter realize her career as a designer needed to end for her creativity to truly shine — through food, the emerging Kansas City chef shared. “Designing for others with all these limitations was just not fulfilling for me,” said Coulter, founder of Devoured — a pop-up pizzeria known…
UpDown Nightlife caps $500K seed round with party bus partnership; app to launch this month
Building an app centered on nightlife and in-person entertainment during a pandemic requires intense focus and intentionality every step of the way, Joshua Lewis said. “It’s been a slow and steady walk to the app launch,” said the founder of UpDown Nightlife — an app that connects consumers to local bars, clubs and entertainment. “With…
Let’s Talk Black Business: You don’t need to be ‘the next Lebron’ — just succeed where others fell short
Editor’s note: The following story — spotlighting an Aug. 25 virtual event about challenges facing Black business owners — is sponsored by Let’s Talk Black Business and SCORE Community Strategic Alliance. Black entrepreneurship isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience, said Dom Green. “It is not cookie cutter, and it is so important to showcase the differences of the…
WyCo Vintage — boasting world’s largest collection of vintage tees — opens second sister-shop on Broadway
Patrick Klima likely does more laundry than anyone else in Kansas City, he said, half-joking. “The WyCo Vintage inventory is constantly being updated. We’ve been doing weekly drops of about 75 or so vintage shirts for the past four years — which means a lot of washing, shooting, SEO stuff and social media,” explained Klima,…
More than $10K raised for Operation Breakthrough after podcast host’s sudden death
A recording studio in Operation Breakthrough’s soon-to-debut Ignition Lab on Troost Avenue will pay tribute to Mathew George after fans, friends and family of the late podcast host made more than $10,000 in donations in his name. “I didn’t even realize how many people Mathew affected or was friends with,” said Mary Ann George, mother…
KC inventor, toy maker put classic TV shows, movies at your fingertips
Makers and inventors only have an instant to capture the public’s imagination and pull them into a product, John Boucard said. “I gravitate toward working on things that haven’t been done before,” the founder and CEO of Tesseract Ventures shared. “There’s the ‘moment of astonishment’ for children and consumers who are delighted by our tech….
Initiative to employ at-risk KC youth provides jobs for 427 teens, raises $600K for stipend fund
A community’s most impactful investment is in its youth, Mayor Quinton Lucas said Friday during a media event for the Working for Youth anti-violence and youth employment initiative. In April, the mayor’s office announced a partnership with KC Common Good, Hire KC and Entrepreneurship KC to establish the Working for Youth program that would train…