News Stories

Colleen Monroe, Floraloom

Floraloom’s Colleen Monroe put her green thumb on the steering wheel, leaving LA for KC sunshine

Quarantine changed people — including Colleen Monroe, the serial entrepreneur said, looking back on the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles and the day she loaded her car with a few personal belongings and as many vases as it could hold. Uprooting her once-busy life, she hoped growth opportunities might bloom in…

Dr. Shelley Cooper, SureShow; Parker Graham, Finotta; Chris Jones, MatchRite Care; Lauren Lawrence, Stenovate; Nomi Smith, PMI Rate Pro; and Clarence Tan, Boddle

Meet the new class: KC’s top emerging founders power Pipeline’s latest high-profile fellowship

Pipeline’s new class of fellows more accurately reflects the real diversity of the Midwest, said startup veteran Dusty Reynolds, introducing a virtual Pipeline audience to 13 entrepreneurs joining the group’s elite ranks. “This is an absolutely stacked class,” said Reynolds, co-founder of Omaha-based RaceNote, founder of HeavyNote, and Pipeline’s 2015 Innovator of the Year. “I…

Vaccine Pods exterior

Innovation unplugged: KC company’s ultra-cold tech could preserve vaccines, save lives

Despite playing a critical, specific role in the fight against COVID-19, one North Kansas City tech startup could be a shot in the arm of healthcare beyond the ongoing pandemic, said Edward Collins. “When COVID came about and affected so many people around me — I wanted to make a difference or at least do something…

Demand for Wag-N-Bag rolls back, co-founders say; portable game wagon just needs a second push

It’s back to the crowdfunding starting line for Kansas City-tossed Wag-N-Bag, as the yard game startup rolls out an expanded product and launches its second attempt at a critical campaign.  “It’s going to get us to the next level,” Brad Hull, co-founder, said of the company’s recently launched Kickstarter campaign, which aims to secure $10,000…

Kearra Johnson, Revolution Card Deck, Studio Lo

KC designer’s new deck of cards celebrates Black icons who refused to play the hands they were dealt

Learning and celebrating Black history should be in the cards for more than just the month of February, Kearra Johnson said, unveiling a new design project that’s set to hit metro store shelves soon. “I really just want to create fun ways to get serious conversations started for the younger generation,” explained Johnson, founder of…