Minority-Led Stories

Nicole Paul (aunt), Asia Lockett (sister and co-owner), Ebony Paul (co-owner), and Stephanie Fairweather (aunt); Brown Suga Bakes

‘People eat with their eyes first’: Why pop-ups were just a sample of this new bakery’s appeal

Brown Suga Bakes began modestly — selling cookies out of lunch bags mid-pandemic, said Ebony Paul-Harris, detailing a strategy of starting small to achieve big results. In her case: opening the oven to a brick-and-mortar bakery and storefront in Olathe. “In the beginning, we used to make really small cookies. We also had a sample…

Juan Paredes and Sonia Sandoval, Happy Tummy; Startland News photo by Channa Steinmetz

Nothing speaks like flavor: How Johnson County’s favorite empanada stand plans to reach more ‘happy tummies’ (and where to find them)

 When Sonia Sandoval moved to America from Venezuela, language was a barrier, she recalled. Rather than keep to herself, Sandoval found a more meaningful form of communication: food. “I started [cooking] when I was 11 years old,” said Sandoval, who co-founded the pop-up Venezuelan food concept, Happy Tummy, with her husband, Juan Paredes. “I…

Jannae Gammage, The Market Base

She’s one of the Chamber’s biggest ‘Superstar’ success stories; Why your company could be the next

Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. The Small Business Superstar program did more than convert Jannae Gammage into a new Chamber member, she said; it exposed her to the power of opening doors…

Nikil Ragav, inventXYZ

New in KC: How Travis Kelce lured Pennsylvania startup inventXYZ (and its team) to Kansas City

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. Nikil Ragav’s journey to…

Digital Sandbox KC recipients: Jaqwan Sirls, PageMaster; Aishah Augusta-Parham, SEPOW; Brandon Fuhr and Joel Stephens, XReps; David Roberson, AZELLA; Eliot Arnold, MoodSpark; and Nikil Ragav, InventXYZ

Just funded: Digital Sandbox KC starts new year with six new startups on its roster

Digital Sandbox KC’s latest round of startup funding reflects the emergence of more Kansas City-built, scalable tech in the new year, said Jill Meyer, announcing the fourth-quarter roster of companies bringing innovative ideas to life in the region. “These six companies demonstrate the creativity and diversity of our region’s technology founders and problem solvers,” said…