Corporate Stories

Harris Park

Social entrepreneur’s Harris Park brings green and golf to blighted urban neighborhood

A clean green park with an award-winning golf course not only raises the profile of the Ivanhoe neighborhood at 40th and Wayne — it changes the mindset of those who live there, said Chris Harris. The space — completed in August— was chosen by the American Society of Golf Course Architects for its Design Excellence…

Daniel Fogarty, LaunchCode

LaunchCode leader: Your city never stood a chance of landing Amazon’s HQ2

[Editor’s note: This guest column first appeared on the Silicon Prairie News tech and entrepreneurship blog. It is republished here with permission from the author, St. Louis-based Daniel Fogarty, vice president of growth at LaunchCode, which operates its workforce development program in Kansas City.] After months of waiting, it’s finally confirmed Amazon will split its…

Adrienne Haynes, SEED Law

Opening KC to black entrepreneurs begins with teaching startup lingo, tearing down walls

Most entrepreneurs operate within silos, said Adrienne Haynes, noting that black-run startups face particular — though not insurmountable — challenges becoming embedded in the Kansas City startup scene. Seemingly approachable community events and coworking spaces aren’t always as open as organizers think, added Quest Moffat, founder of Project United Knowledge, joining Haynes and Donald Hawkins,…

Kevin Williams and Brittany Williams, WISE Power

Saudi Arabian investment pushing KC’s WISE Power into Nigeria, Japan, Middle East markets

The multimillion-dollar investment from a Saudi Arabian accelerator and capital firm is pushing WISE Power from the West Bottoms to global growth, said Kevin Williams. “The injection will allow us to expand quickly to get this technology out to the world, which was what our original intent was with WISE Power,” said Williams, founder of…

KCSourceLink All-Star Voting Winners

New five-year government grant, matching funds will help KCSourceLink fill gaps, build inclusivity

The payoff from a new five-year grant to KCSourceLink will most immediately be seen in a refreshed website with a more streamlined user experience for doers, makers, creators and entrepreneurs searching for help in taking the next — or first — step in building a business. “Our goal is to strengthen the fundamental building blocks of a…