Joyce Smith

Recent Articles by Joyce Smith

City Market eats: Master roaster hopes hungry Kansas Citians will flock to Murmuration 

April 8, 2025

A new eatery and cocktail bar that now shares a space with the popular City Market Coffee Roasters is designed to reflect a vision of bringing people together, fostering connection, and embracing the diversity that makes the City Market so special, said master roaster Nikole Ammer. Plus, the people are hungry — from day to…

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Getting Kansas City to the last mile of tech workforce development requires a bridge (and together we’re building it)

April 7, 2025

Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Kara Lowe is president and CEO of KC Tech Council. [divide] The greater Kansas City region faces a sizable workforce challenge; there currently are more tech-focused jobs in the region than local job candidates to fill the openings. At present, employers are seeking…

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Chamber showcase fills Union Station with real-life social networking for small biz owners

April 4, 2025

Entrepreneur Dane Moss likes to do things a little over the top, he shared Wednesday from inside the Grand Hall at Union Station, noting that simply handing out T-shirts and koozies to event attendees simply doesn’t fit his style. So for his first KC Chamber Small Business Celebration Candidates’ Showcase, Moss and his team from…

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1 Million Cups relocating back to Kauffman Foundation, renewing weekly meetup’s energy, sense of purpose

April 3, 2025

After more than six years connecting entrepreneurs in Midtown, 1 Million Cups Kansas City is returning to its roots — relocating the weekly event series April 9 to the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center where the now-coast-to-coast morning meetup series first percolated.  Changing the brew for the Wednesday entrepreneur pitch showcase came from the same voices…

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Why the Savannah Bananas founder is coming back to KC (with a tip of his hat to winning leadership styles)

April 3, 2025

Jesse Cole isn’t afraid to reimagine the way things are done in business, he shared, and his brand of Banana Ball is paying off. In the past nine years, the ringleader of the Savannah Bananas — baseball’s answer to the trick ball-handling and exhibition athleticism of the Harlem Globetrotters — has gone from selling his…

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‘Never settle’: He started small, now Drue Stewart is bringing TikTok-famous food to former Westport Ale House

April 3, 2025

‘Bigger, better, crazier; Never settle; The building had a dark cloud but we are going to bring new life to it’ Less than a year after opening Holy Brunch KC in Westport — and one small expansion — Drue Stewart is making an enormous leap. He’ll go from 2,000-square-feet on one floor, to a 16,000-square-foot…

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Great Jobs KC leaps closer to its $100M goal with massive grant to support adult financial stability

April 3, 2025

A just-announced $60 million investment by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation marks a significant step in a Kansas City-based nonprofit’s plans to support 50,000 adults on their journeys toward financial stability, said Earl Martin Phalen. The grant to Great Jobs KC serves three priorities outlined within the Kauffman Foundation’s new grantmaking strategy: college access and…

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Teens tackle universal pain points: Junior Achievement competition pushes students to pitch biz ideas

April 2, 2025

A new student innovation competition linked to Junior Achievement not only challenges Kansas City teens to develop business solutions for immediate real-world problems, said Will Bowler; fostering entrepreneurial thinking develops longer-term impacts. “This program empowers them,” said Bowler, a teacher at Olathe East High School, as students wrapped up Tuesday’s 3DE Innovators Showcase at the…

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Trio of early stage Kansas City startups tapped to join K-State Accelerator focused on boosting Kansas economy

April 2, 2025

MANHATTAN, Kansas — Seven startups are expected to begin work this month within the K-State Accelerator, earning funds, training and resources to turn their concepts into successful Sunflower State ventures. Three of the selected companies hail from the Kansas City area, including dScribe AI; 4D Leaders; and Rebound Jerseys. The eight-week, virtual Center for Entrepreneurship…

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KC’s FairWave coffee pours into the Carolinas with latest small-batch roaster acquisition

April 2, 2025

Joining Midwest-based coffee collective FairWave gives Black & White Coffee Roasters access to the enhanced equipment, resources and network needed to scale the North Carolina business to its potential — while staying true to its values, said Kyle Ramage. “It’s a natural progression that will allow us to build upon our existing foundation and reach…

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