Matthew Gwin
Recent Articles by Matthew Gwin
KC-baked snack cracker startup tastes new markets, opportunities fueled by regenerative agriculture
SAN ANTONIO — Five years after the company experienced crunch time in the Kansas City-based Sprint Accelerator, Cheddies Crackers has expanded its line of high-protein, low-carb cheddar crackers into more than 2,500 retailers nationwide, said Francisco Pergola. RELATED: Say ‘cheese,’ KC! Cheddies arrive in Hy-Vee stores after Sprint Accelerator Pergola — who co-founded the San…
Shop Local KC moving its flagship maker store to Brookside, expects flower business to bloom
Shop Local KC is closing its flagship Midtown location as it prepares to open a new storefront in Brookside Sept. 1, according to owner Katie Mabry Van Dieren. The retail gift and flower shop plans to depart its original location at 3630 Main St. as the building developer, Exact Partners, seeks to use the space…
Manufacturing talent: Kansas production mainstay designs its niche, from warfighters to healthcare
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. TOPEKA — The leader of a Kansas company specializing in custom equipment design and manufacturing hailed the work of its nearly 500 employees for allowing the organization to thrive during…
Bottom line, their ‘Grief Forecast’ calculates how much ignoring employees’ loss will cost a company
An Overland Park-based HRtech startup has added new tools to its B2B software platform that equips corporate leaders with the necessary knowledge to support grieving employees. This summer, Workplace Healing launched its Grief Forecast, a free resource that calculates how much a company will lose from its annual bottom line by not properly supporting employees…
Hemp could be the next superfood: How one state-backed company is connecting farmers to retailers now
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. AUGUSTA, Kansas — A Kansas company specializing in agricultural and industrial hemp hopes that a collaborative, educational approach in a burgeoning industry will benefit farmers, the environment, and end users…
17-year-old social entrepreneur among finalists tapped for healthtech pilot competition
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. WICHITA — A Kansas teenager’s telemedicine nonprofit was selected as one of nine finalists for a local health tech startup competition — the only Sunflower State venture chosen for the…
KC ranks No. 11 among Midwest startup cities, holding its spot thanks to funding wins amid VC slowdown
A healthy dose of recent funding events kept Kansas City in the No. 11 spot in the 2023 edition of M25’s annual ranking of Midwest startup cities, said Victor Gutwein, founder and managing partner at M25. The comprehensive report explores how metropolitan areas across the Midwest are performing relative to each other based on startup…
Their designs are so unique they’re one-of-one; ‘slow fashion’ duo turns thrift store finds into runway-worthy fits
A Kansas City couple’s upcycled fashion brand is making waves, as thousands of social media followers — and some high-profile names — have taken note of the company’s repurposed “one-of-one” clothing pieces. The passion project of co-founders Jared Armstrong and Caylin Willis, Yvonne and Mitchel takes clothing materials from thrift stores and reimagines them into…
This one-day competition builds more than apps, organizers say; Hack Midwest aims to reveal what humans are capable of creating
Kansas City’s largest app building competition is set to return in September — with more than 300 software engineers competing in teams for a piece of $22,500 in winnings. Hack Midwest, which began in 2012, brings together developers for a 24-hour “hackathon,” during which the teams race against the clock — and each other — to…
Island vibes getaway: ‘Lei Away’ festival to showcase tropical flavors in landlocked KC
Kansas Citians won’t have to leave the city to enjoy a tropical escape during Labor Day weekend. The freshly announced Lei Away festival is expected to bring the spirit of the islands to the plains. “We are highlighting all the wonderful things that are tropical-centric in Kansas City, which is ironic because it’s so landlocked,”…