News Stories

War-torn Myanmar to North KC: Documentary gives taste of immigrant entrepreneur’s refugee journey

Kansas City’s culture is increasingly shifting to include and highlight immigrant entrepreneurship, said Danielle Lehman, though the true impact is still largely unappreciated. “I think there’s a disconnect between people who are enjoying the food [from immigrant-owned restaurants] and you’ll see a picture on instagram, but they never get to know the people that make…

Pure Pitch Rally 2019; photo by Mikaela Wendel

Baiting the sharks: How much on-the-spot funding did founders catch at Pure Pitch Rally?

A diverse group of entrepreneurs took home $43,000 in cash prizes from Tuesday’s Pure Pitch Rally at The American restaurant. Emulating the popular TV show “Shark Tank,” about 45 investors — or “land sharks” — evaluated presentations from eight Kansas City tech startups and donated $1,000 to one of the companies at the conclusion of…

Nick Wehrle and Greg Blome, Omega Power Creamer

KC-frothed Omega Power Creamer wins supermarket sweep with Walmart distribution deal

Welcome the unexpected, Greg Blome said in reflection of the pitch that landed Omega Power Creamer a supermarket sweep: a 224-store distribution deal with Walmart.  “[Walmart] reached out to us and they were interested in carrying our products — or at least in us pitching them — and we were already selling on Walmart.com ……

Union Hill, PorchFestKC 2019

Photos: PorchFestKC activates Midtown neighborhoods with stoop-to-street music 

More than 100 onlookers — some neighbors, others just passing through — gathered in the street, along the sidewalk, and on lawns Saturday afternoon outside Ruben Alonso’s Union Hill home. “It was the perfect spot,” said Alonso, president at AltCap and one of dozens of homeowners who offered up their porches, stoops and front yards…

Evan Brown, Doodle Dood

Doodle Dood paints between lines of business and art with Iron District mural, apparel

Evan Brown refuses to draw out his accomplishments — or even the failures behind them — as he paints the career of a budding illustrator and muralist, he said. “I don’t really dwell. … That might be the reason I’ve been getting more and more projects within the past year,” said Brown, KC-based maker and…