Tommy Felts
Editor-In-Chief, Startland News
Tommy is editor-in-chief for Startland News, a Kansas City-based nonprofit newsroom that uses storytelling to elevate the region’s startup community of entrepreneurs, innovators, hustlers, creatives and risk-takers.
Under Tommy’s leadership, Startland News has expanded its coverage from a primarily high-tech, high-growth focus to a more wide-ranging and inclusive look at the faces of entrepreneurism, innovation and business.
Before joining Startland News in 2017, Tommy worked for 12 years as an award-winning newspaper journalist, designer, editor and publisher. He was named one of Editor & Publisher magazine’s top “25 Under 35” in 2014.
Recent Articles by Tommy Felts
$9.4M funding round steers Bungii toward ‘biggest sharing economy footprint in US’
A $9.4 million oversubscribed Series A round isn’t just an investor vote of confidence in Bungii, said Ben Jackson. It’s a funding fuel-up as the tech startup shifts expansion plans into high gear on the road to becoming the final link in the big and bulky supply chain. “By the end of 2021, we’ll still…
Innovation versus inclusive prosperity: Can hub developers create both in Kansas City?
Place and prosperity go hand-in-hand, said William Dowdell. Less clear, however, is how developers and communities will strike a balance in their efforts to generate innovation and wealth in Kansas City. “Geography is a big part of this. When we talk about expanding opportunity and bringing innovation, we also have to look at those spaces…
Rightfully Sewn awarded first government grant to expand workforce development effort
A $25,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration is expected to help push Rightfully Sewn closer to its goal of community impact through seamstress training. The Crossroads-based venture — with its glimmering atelier focused on economic development via the fashion industry — was among 12 winners of the SBA’s Makerspace Training, Collaboration and Hiring…
Ruby Jean’s Whole Foods spot will blend in Troost inclusivity, Chris Goode pledges
As Chris Goode prepares to open a new Ruby Jean’s location Saturday inside a Whole Foods Market south of the Country Club Plaza, the health enthusiast’s hustle hasn’t outpaced his thirst for community, he said. “From Troost to Brookside, Ruby Jean’s will continue to create a truly inclusive space,” Goode said, referencing the popular Ruby…
RFP360 doubles in size since December; team back under one roof with move to new space
RFP360 is coming full circle, said Stuart Ludlow, as the software company he co-founded with David Hulsen in the Kansas City Startup Village once again levels up to accommodate a swelling team and increasing market demand. “We’re moving into a place — scale and scope — that Dave and I envisioned,” said Ludlow, who also…
Natural fit: Ruby Jean’s opening new juicery inside busy Whole Foods
The fresh-pressed, multi-year deal to open a brick-and-mortar Ruby Jean’s Juicery inside a high-traffic Whole Foods location puts Chris Goode in a position to scale his clean concept even further beyond Kansas City, he said. “We’re in the healthy food space and Whole Foods has cornered that market pretty broadly. With its parent company now…
LG Electronics tech expert: Kansas City a smart home for corporate-startup collaboration (IXKC photos)
Tech industry giants see significant potential in the ideas being created in startup hubs like Kansas City, an LG Electronics leader told a crowd gathered this week at Homebase. “A lot of startup companies can bring innovation to the front. Big companies like ours, sometimes we’re so busy that we lose track of that activity,”…
Tech pioneer Don Peterson to guide new LaunchKC-Nueterra health accelerator
Leading the new LaunchKC Health Accelerator is Don Peterson’s way of giving back to a community that opened its arms to his family nearly 30 years ago, he said. “I’m proof that we can accomplish the entrepreneurial dream right here in KC and feel like it’s my duty to pay that forward,” said Peterson, a…
InnovateHER KC founder leaving KCSF as womxn’s community-building startup scales
It’s time to set InnovateHER KC on the path to long-term growth, said Lauren Conaway, announcing her plans to leave the Kansas City Startup Foundation in early July to lead the womxn-focused startup full-time. “InnovateHER KC’s No. 1 priority right now is building out our community with intention,” said Conaway, founder of InnovateHER KC and…
Kauffman Foundation’s Erin Jenkins bounces between contrasting cultures, startup life
Editor’s note: This content was sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation but independently produced by Startland News. Curiosity took Erin Jenkins to Japan. Curiosity brought her home. In between, she embedded herself in the worlds of intercultural entrepreneurism and startup life — her journey aligning itself with an opportunity to serve as a program officer…