Joyce Smith

Recent Articles by Joyce Smith

KC Bier Co building new 30,000-square-foot urban beer garden; founder brewing a space for all

February 13, 2025

A Kansas City-built, German-style brewery is expanding to Lenexa — bringing an authentic Bavarian beer garden experience to Johnson County, said founder Steve Holle. Developed in partnership with West Star Development, the new KC Bier Co. venue will feature a large outdoor space, an indoor restaurant, private event areas, and a stage for live music…

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Founder Problems: Podcast captures the ‘messy middle’ you don’t see on entrepreneurs’ highlight reels

February 13, 2025

A new Kansas City-based podcast is skipping over the fairy tale stories of founding a startup; instead diving straight into the messy parts, the hosts shared. Founder Problems — hosted by local entrepreneurs Sarah Schumacher, Zach Oshinbanjo, and Lee Zuvanich — is embracing the aspects of starting and running a business that no one wants…

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‘Invest with women we know’: This $1.4M wellness hub project is redeveloping one neighborhood from within 

February 13, 2025

It’s an old real estate adage: “Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood.” Longtime Kansas City commercial broker Sheryl Vickers said it also applies to business properties, “one thousand percent.”  Like twin mid-century office buildings just over the Missouri/Kansas state line in Prairie Village.  “I drove by it, what a sad state,” said Vickers,…

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Digital health startup aims to save medical providers time while bringing down cost of AI tech

February 11, 2025

CarePilot is on a mission to bring AI and automation to smaller medical clinics that don’t always have access to cutting-edge technology, shared founder and CEO Joseph Tutera. The Overland Park-based startup’s ambient AI technology — designed to help those smaller practices operate more efficiently — captures patient-provider interactions in real time, automating administrative tasks…

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Street art to stage: KC fashion designer styles iconic Jim Crow-era musical comedy without missing a beat

February 11, 2025

Designing for theater gives Whitney Manney the opportunity to be as big and loud as she wants, the street bespoke creator said. A new musical production of “Hairspray” puts Manney’s bold aesthetic through a new lens — and alongside a timely story of acceptance, diversity, and the power of music. “There is no such thing…

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‘People pay for value’: How a young mom’s plan to hold passion tight drives her baby apparel side hustle

February 11, 2025

Coming from a family of business owners, Riley Rhoads knew she wanted to pursue entrepreneurship: starting her own business — but with a goal to help others, the founder of Hold Tight Baby said. “When I hear people talk about, ‘Oh, I want to be an entrepreneur; I want to start and own my own…

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Four ways to help employees build wealth and loyalty

February 10, 2025

Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. The following is a paid thought leadership piece from The Plaza Group at Morgan Stanley. [divide] Your employees want to build their wealth and be better employees. Here’s how your equity program  can help them get there.  Every organization wants to find the…

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New in KC: Ops leader joins KCSourceLink to strengthen network’s collective impact for entrepreneurs

February 10, 2025

A newly created director of operations role at KCSourceLink is expected to boost efforts to connect entrepreneurs and small businesses with hundreds of resources for growing and scaling their ventures in Kansas City, as well as across the state through MOSourceLink. Dena Thomas Aouassou, a veteran of nonprofit entrepreneurship support and workforce training, recently relocated…

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Cultura con carácter: How JEFES inks DINKC’s hometown team with drops of KC Latino hustle

February 7, 2025

Laedan “DINKC” Galicia draws a fine line between his creative mediums: skin, pen, fabric, and paint — now from a artists hub in Kansas City’s Columbus Park neighborhood. From his signature tattoo style to his JEFES clothing line, DINKC’s bold perspective is leaving a mark on Kansas City culture (and the Super Bowl). “With JEFES, I…

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BKS Artisan Ales plans Crossroads nanobrewery, tapping additional location closer to KC’s hub of activity

February 7, 2025

BKS Artisan Ales — dubbed a “little beer heaven” by industry insiders — is bringing its award-winning operation to the Crossroads, adding a second, smaller brewery location near what founders Brian and Mary Rooney see as a downtown tourism market that also is easily accessible to some of their business’ biggest local fans. The space…

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