News Stories

Toby Rush and Carl Wasinger, Smart Warehousing

Veteran founder unboxes startup smarts as new CEO, eyeing logistics company as KC’s next billion-dollar biz

Toby Rush enjoys disrupting the status quo, he said, questioning market strategies with the startup sensibilities that made him one of the region’s most successful entrepreneurs. As the new CEO of Smart Warehousing — an established, Kansas City-based logistics and supply chain company — the veteran startup founder plans to apply the same innovation-focused lens to…

Kevin McGinnis, Keystone Community Corporation, and Rodney Sampson, Opportunity Hub

OHUB.KC an investment in equity infrastructure, founder says; minority accelerator deadline Sept. 18

Kansas City’s startup community still has room to improve on racial equity and access issues, said Rodney Sampson, but the ecosystem should safeguard the progress it’s made now — before COVID-era re-settlers arrive, bringing potentially problematic culture with them from larger startup hubs. “When a lot of those folks leave regions like the coasts and come…

Tealbottom shoes by Tealhouse

Tealbottom heels might just save the planet, says tech founder-turned-luxury shoemaker

Globetrotter Jaqui McCarthy always travels in style, the serial entrepreneur-influencer said, detailing a journey that led her to develop a distinctive, fashion-forward shoe line made from eco-friendly bio materials. It begins with an unwanted fellow passenger: metal in the heels of her high-heeled pumps. “As an avid traveler with TSA precheck, I should be able…

Mike Plunkett and John Thomson, PayIt

Kansas City’s PayIt opens new Canadian HQ, taking its GovTech solution global

One of Kansas City’s top scaling tech companies opened its new headquarters in Canada, John Thomson announced Tuesday, marking a significant step in PayIt’s growth and expansion into new markets. “We are absolutely thrilled to be opening our Canadian headquarters here in Toronto. This city is already home to some immense tech talent and we…

Photo by Tiffany Tertipes Curbside Notary

Voting by mail? Curbside Notary bringing ballot service to coffee shops, restaurants

Everyone deserves the right to vote safely, said Danielle Lehman, steering her innovative mind toward Curbside Notary — an effort to connect Missouri mail-in voters with notaries at easy-to-access locations like coffee shops and restaurants. “I started thinking about, ‘Where are people visiting every day?’ A lot of people go get their coffee in the…