Minority-Led Stories

Chris Goode, Ruby Jean's Juicery

Junior Achievement honoring Ruby Jean’s founder with its 2022 KC Innovator Award

A group hoping to inspire the next generation of leaders, thinkers and doers has tapped a young entrepreneur with a healthy appetite for expansion as its next KC Innovator Award winner. Chris Goode, founder of Ruby Jean’s Juicery, is set to be honored with the award Nov. 1 during the Junior Achievement of Kansas City’s…

Chef Zaid Renato Consuegra Sauza of Pirate’s Bone Burgers pivoted in the face of the pandemic, turning his original dine-in concept into a carryout-only model; photo courtesy of Pirate's Bone Burgers

Survival rates for new biz in MO, KS lag national average; What’s getting in their way?

Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by Flatland, the digital magazine of Kansas City PBS and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly Flatland email newsletter. Colorful balloons, ribbons, unlimited drinks, food and of course music. There was everything at the ribbon cutting…

Santosh George, Grace George, Meredith George, and Mary Ann George at the dedication of Studio 3030 at Operation Breakthrough's Ignition Lab

Donations honoring late podcast host, comedian fund ‘place of peace’ for young creators; recording studio dedicated to Mathew George

Friends and family of the late podcast host Mathew George gathered to celebrate the dedication of Operations Breakthrough’s newly-debuted recording studio on what would have been Mathew’s 27th birthday. “What could have been a really depressing day was more celebratory, like it would have been if he were still here,” shared Mary Ann George, mother…

Melissa Vincent, Pipeline Entrepreneurs, and Donald Hawkins, Kinly, at the 2022 Pipeline Innovators gala

Pipeline Innovators gala adds glamour, top honors back into the mix for celebration of fellows 

A remixed Pipeline Innovators gala honored veteran and emerging fellows from within the elite startup founder network Friday — returning the full live celebration to a stage in Kansas City for the first time since 2018 and crowning two new Innovator of the Year recipients. Marking the first Innovators gala for Pipeline executive director Melissa…

Saroj Gupta, MyDigiRecords, pitching at the Futures Group during the Comeback KC Ventures Innovation Showcase

When a global health crisis exposed ‘broken’ systems, these KC startups jabbed back

Patients need easier access to their medical records, said Saroj Gupta, stressing the life-threatening outcomes for individuals who might miss important vaccinations — or erroneously obtain multiple doses — because of poor or hard-to-find documentation. “We call ourselves a developed country, but our healthcare system is so broken,” said Saroj Gupta, the founder and CEO…