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
ClusterTruck sizzles on KC food delivery scene with ‘ghost kitchen’ concept
The innovation cooking within ClusterTruck’s technology makes the rapidly expanding Indianapolis company a fresh take on the restaurant-quality food delivery scene, Christian Moscoso said. “We are a software company with our own ghost kitchens, if you will,” said Moscoso, general manager for ClusterTruck’s new River Market kitchen, which opened in mid-December without a public entrance…
Sickweather storms market with overfunded $1M crowdfunding campaign amid flu season
An illness forecaster is never more valuable than when the threat of a widespread virus is high. This year’s severe flu season, however, is only one of the leading contributors to Sickweather’s uptick in interest — and its recent oversubscribed $1 million crowdfunding campaign, said founder Graham Dodge. “We learn a lot every cold and…
designWerx makes room for growing makers in North Kansas City
A home garage workspace can be a lonely, stifling place for a maker trying to grow his or her business, said Pam Newton, who is leading the artistic vision for designWerx, a new coworking space and incubator specifically for makers in North Kansas City. “You’re alone constantly. Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated,” she said….
KCultivator Q&A: Tyler Enders talks his biggest failure, the ‘Made In’ concept and Obama
Seated amid vintage mosaic tile and striking black-and-white portraits by Kansas City photographer Cameron Gee, founder Tyler Enders seems at home within the walls of the Made in KC Cafe. He’s an art lover with a finance degree — not to mention one of the minds behind Made in KC, a retail showcase for local…
Kimberly Gandy: Proof a startup can emerge stronger from its founder’s cancer diagnosis
Cancer needn’t mean can’t, Kimberly Gandy said. When the Play-It Health founder and CEO was diagnosed with an aggressive, mid-stage cancer in May 2016, her startup found itself at a crossroads. Gandy had just joined the Kansas City-based Pipeline fellowship and her company was poised for growth through its web- and mobile-based health regimen tracking…
Landlocked, Marknology startups ‘killing it on Amazon,’ KC founder says
Landlocked is a brand many Kansas Citians recognize on sight, founder Andrew Morgans said. Marknology is the behind-the-scenes engine that sells it. While his dual companies — an apparel startup known for its popular hybrid pennant tee and a bootstrapped digital marketing firm specializing in Amazon sales — complement one another, the pairing is an…
Level Office puts coworking space on tap in former law building (Photos)
Windows from the community coworking space in Level Office’s seven-floor Kessler Building offer an up-close view of the Jackson County Courthouse, Sprint Center and downtown Kansas City. That proximity to the 16th Circuit Court, the court of appeals and the Jackson County Detention Center makes Chicago-based Level Office a magnet for men and women in…
1 Million Cups celebrating black startups with all black founders, experts in February
A lineup of all black presenters and experts at February’s 1 Million Cups events aims for exposure and awareness about Kansas City’s thriving community of black entrepreneurs, said Adrienne Haynes. “Many of these companies are not necessarily tech-based. They might not be at Plexpod or WeWork. Many of them have their own facilities — maybe…
CEO Raina Knox: Millennials don’t have a monopoly on startup momentum
Experience matters — even in an ecosystem built upon disrupting the status quo, said Raina Knox, CEO and co-founder of Stratex Solutions. “It’s uncomfortable for some in the startup community to embrace the concept of people with portfolio careers still having a meaningful impact,” she said, noting her lengthy career as a “fixer” in the…
Cordish’s Spark KC bringing ‘co-living’ concept to Two Light apartments by late 2018
A new co-living concept planned for the Two Light luxury apartment tower will be a game-changer for an evolving generation of entrepreneurs, said Spark KC’s Shervonne Cherry. “With the ability to literally be four stories, five stories, 20-some stories away from your workplace, you don’t have to worry about that commute, allowing you more time…