News Stories

Bo Fishback, Zaarly

Zaarly to cease operations Friday ‘after 10 years of grinding’ as a top KC startup

Leaders at a Prairie Village tech startup announced Monday their decade-long mission to fix a broken piece of the economy would come to a close later this week. Zaarly — an online marketplace to hire accountable home service providers — is expected to cease operations Friday, according to a message from Bo Fishback, co-founder and…

Meet the charcuterie board of dairy, agtech startups joining the latest DFA accelerator

A returning, Kansas City-based accelerator program focused on innovative dairy products and emerging agtech will be a living, breathing lab for seven newly selected companies, said Doug Dresslaer. Facial recognition software for cows, nanotechnologies to help treat mastitis and a single-serve, snack-sized cheese bar are among the startups now convening virtually as part of the…

Holograms, nextgen streaming and immersive edtech: Meet T-Mobile’s new accelerator class, the future of 5G 

Innovation around 5G technologies continues at the forefront of the T-Mobile Accelerator, as the longtime Kansas City-based program kicks off its three-month 2021 virtual cohort with an international cast of diverse companies. The eight handpicked startups are expected work directly with technologists and business leaders at T-Mobile to build a new wave of 5G tech…

Godfrey Riddle, Civic Saint; photo by Fawn Lies

Civic Saint: How life-threatening setbacks inspired company built on universal humanity, survival

Loss is stitched throughout much of Godfrey Riddle’s human story, he said. But its threads don’t define him — and they won’t unravel his mission to bring opportunity to Kansas Citians of every shade, size, and sexuality.  “Being a Black, gay man … I’ve lived through countless experiences of marginalization,” Riddle said, looking back on his…

Kinley Strickland and Calvin Vick, KC Daiquiri Shop: Bistreaux

KC Daiquiri Shop: Bistreaux bringing a second line of family-focused Cajun flair to Overland Park

When a second KC Daiquiri Shop goes marching into the Overland Park faubourg (suburb) later this month, family and flavor will round out the goals of its expansion — a passion project of its owners who are committed to meeting a rising local demand for authentic Cajun cuisine, they said.  “When we first started with…