Minority-Led Stories

Jackie Nguyen, Cafe Cà Phê

Why Jackie Nguyen is planning a permanent stop, safe space for Cafe Cà Phê in Columbus Park

After a year of serving culture in coffee, Jackie Nguyen has found a permanent home for her mobile Vietnamese cafe in the Columbus Park neighborhood, she said, but the actress-turned-activist plans to take an unconventional route to opening the storefront.  “I want to create a different path and show that minority, first-generation women can start…

Sonny Patel, founder and CEO of Insurmi, with Steve Gardner and Charlotte Clark, bcp tech accelerator, and Jim Erickson, EDCKC

Chatbots to wedding insurance: Meet the four premium InsurTech startups selected for KC’s bcp tech accelerator

Four of the industry’s most-promising seed stage startups — an international mix of insurtech solutions — are expected to be the beneficiaries of Kansas City’s extensive insurance expertise, explained Nathan Kurtz, announcing the second cohort of the LaunchKC-backed bcp tech InsurTech accelerator. “We are very insurance focused,” said Kurtz, COO of Brush Creek Partners (bcp). “And there’s…

Edna Martinson, Boddle

Edna Martinson notches another big win for Boddle, earning $100K from Google for Startups fund

The second cohort of a Google for Startups program focused on high potential ventures from Black entrepreneurs features a high-profile founder who built her company in Kansas City before relocating to Tulsa in 2020. The Black Founders Fund announced the selection of Edna Martinson, co-founder of Boddle Learning, Tuesday in a rollout of the 50…

Who’s getting funded in KC? The answer requires a long look in the mirror, analysts say

Editor’s note: Startland News asked industry experts to take an early look at the data behind the 2021 Kansas City Venture Capital-Backed Companies Report — the culmination of a three-month collaboration between UMKC’s Technology Venture Studio and Startland News, and presented by Mylo, a Lockton Company. Below are some of their leading takeaways, along with…

Elvin Liu, Magic Noodle

A dough master brought Chinese hand-pulled noodles (拉面) to South JoCo; a robotic cat delivers them to your table

Hand-pulled noodles were a staple in Elvin Liu’s childhood, he shared, joking that the traditional noodles could be found on any street corner in China — just like Starbucks in the United States. “I moved to Kansas around the end of the year of 2010. I saw a lot of noodle soups, like pho and…