Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Recent Articles by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Chiefs celebration turned much of downtown KC into a parking lot; Startups along the parade route got to work, joined the party
Prime locations along the Chiefs championship parade gave several local startups an opportunity to celebrate with their team members and families Wednesday as traffic and business largely came to a halt across midtown and downtown Kansas City. “It’s not every day Chiefs players are walking the streets out front and waving at our team in…
Children’s book tells KC entrepreneurs’ stories; challenging traditional pathways to success
Christle Reed wants Kansas City’s next wave of potential business builders to know they needn’t be bound to a mainstream plot line for wealth and happiness, the entrepreneur-turned-author shared. Her new children’s book about more than a dozen local entrepreneurs could help rewrite that narrative. “College isn’t the only way to success for kids,” she…
In the field: Industry-specific, hands-free voice tech helps ‘hero up’ data collecting workers
After years of research, Bruce Rasa and his team identified a consistent pain point for field workers: capturing data on-the-go and looping it back to their headquarters. They need a co-pilot, he said, noting the role played by KC-based Dexer (formerly AgVoice), agriculture’s first handsfree data capture service to help cross-industry specialists create records —…
Pushing without force: Founder credits accelerator’s collaborative ‘in the trenches’ guidance for overseas scaling success
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the NMotion startup accelerator, but was independently produced by Startland News. The powerhouse mix of global and localized support David Biga received from the NMotion Growth Accelerator was well worth the program’s required exchange of equity, the proptech startup founder detailed. Particle Space — one of Startland News’…
Coming to the Plaza: Food hall to put ‘chefs out front’ from breakfast to late-night crowd
Just months after expanding to Downtown Kansas City, the Strang Chef Collectives’ next location for a chef-driven food hall will be tailored to fit its new home on the Country Club Plaza, said Shawn Craft. The hall’s four new food and beverage concepts — slated to open in late May or early June — will…
Know where your meat comes from? For KC shoppers, it’s in a vending machine outside this popular coffee spot
If a farm-to-table beef vending machine is going to successfully plug into a hungry market, Tim Haer has just the place to meet the challenge, he said. “Kansas City — at one point in time — had the largest stockyard in the nation and we were known as Cowtown USA,” noted the startup worker-turned-Green Grass…
Forged in fire: KC blacksmith hammers red hot career crafting tools after surviving blaze (and blade)
A hand-forged knife introduced Brandon Dearing to blacksmithing; one also nearly cost him his life. The Hand and Hammer owner now makes tools — such as tongs and a variety of hammers — for other blacksmiths, using forging techniques he learned as a youth growing up in the country near Archie, Missouri. “TV shows and…
Head in the grounds: Why Ben Cloud is the first (and last) hand to touch his evolving coffee brand
Americans drink coffee like water, youth entrepreneur Benjamin Cloud noted, and he’s doing his part to fuel their habit. The recent Shawnee Mission North graduate — inspired by an intro to business class — started Cloud’s Coffee two years ago when he was 15. “I initially thought about coffee because of the size of the…
College entrepreneurs match their student-athlete peers with NIL brand-building business
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 Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. WICHITA — Player Card’s young…
‘Superstars’ opens the door to KC Chamber, making room for small biz, startups: Apply through Feb. 1
Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. Recognized as a Small Business Superstar twice in the program’s first two years, More Than a Meal earned a sense of validation from the Chamber’s initiative for…