Pete Dulin

Recent Articles by Pete Dulin

StratFit secures patent, flexes plans for explosive growth with platform built in Google Workspace

StratFit founder Daniel McKee powered into 2023 with the launch of StratFit Digital MVP, advanced training design software for personal trainers and coaches.  Built in Google Workspace, StratFit Digital’s Strategy Design Drive integrates McKee’s “super-system” with advanced tools that make it easy to access and use.  “[With StratFit Digital], I have been working on separate…

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Returning the flavor: Fast food startup flexes plan to bring Korean-American tastes to rural Missouri

As an occupational therapy practitioner, Joohae “Chewy” Yoon’s home visits to care for patients isolated in rural Missouri inspired her to develop the Korean-American fast food concept GOCHEW Burger & Sandwich.  Her full-time job involves traveling to meet patients in Kansas City and Independence, as well as such cities as Odessa, Higginsville, and Warrensburg. Curious…

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Hollywood Animation Academy secures home at Centriq; set to begin first classes in January

Hollywood Animation Academy is leaping from the drawing board to live action in January with its first group of enrolled students. Founded by veteran director and animator Gavin Dell, the trade school is set to prepare students for jobs in the film, gaming, and television industry. Dell, an Overland Park native, returned to Kansas City…

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Photo illustration by Joy Broils

Give yourself permission to pause the hustle; injury prompts serial entrepreneur to get grounded 

Trauma from a brain injury after an auto accident last fall left Joy Broils downshifting her Type A personality and ambitious drive to a few hours of work each day, the entrepreneur said. The incident, however, prompted her to slow down and focus on a new startup idea: Hustle & Ground, a monthly subscription box…

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KC Streetcar stop ad for the Giving Machines at Crown Center

A service you never knew you needed: Buying chickens from a vending machine at the Mayor’s Christmas Tree

As children gave life to the ice terrace above Friday, volunteers and shoppers were giving light to local and global charities at a newly placed installation of vending machines — stocked with donation opportunities, not snacks — at Crown Center. The hottest “selling” item so far in Kansas City: a trio of chickens for $18. Three Giving…

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Jessi Levine, Gary floral design studio; photos courtesy of Jessi Levine

Gary floral design blooms along ‘upside-down’ path as founder pivots from camper pop-up

Even when a side hustle grows organically, it still takes a creative mind to arrange a meaningful and worthwhile venture, said Jessi Levine, whose drive to pay homage to her father led to an eye-catching floral design business. The journey to her subscription floral service has been admittedly “upside down,” she said. From the outside,…

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Gavin Dell with the Mystery Machine from "Scooby Doo!"

New in KC: Hollywood veteran designs animation academy to make young artists more hirable

Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. A touch of Hollywood…

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Kansas City-made fitness apps flex tactics to monetize training’s trend toward tech

Jake Heyen’s Fitic exercises its potential at the intersection of pandemic-pumped fitness and influencer marketing industries, the Kansas City founder said, detailing the intertwined world of fitness-minded consumers and content creators. “We love the fact that we sit within two industries that are poised for explosive growth going forward,” said Heyen, who also serves as…

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