News Stories

Kyra Colbert, TEDxYouth@KC

TEDxYouth@KC invites teens into pressing, real-world conversations, event emcee says

Including teens in conversations about real world issues is the key element that will set Kansas City’s TEDxYouth@KC apart from other TED-branded conferences, said Kyra Colbert. “We’re going to be the future and if we don’t get involved now and we don’t get informed about what’s going on, how are we going to know what…

Hyleme George, IgniteX accelerator

New Black & Veatch accelerator bent on changing the world, powered by LaunchKC

A new accelerator powered by LaunchKC is Black & Veatch’s attempt to “create the world that we want,” said Hyleme George, director of the freshly announced IgniteX CleanTech program. “It’s a world that we want to invest in to accelerate the adoption of sustainable infrastructure,” George continued. “What that means is a world where there’s…

Blockchain KC event aims to put Kansas City on the map for crypto thought leadership

Kansas City is running low on blockchain-fueled innovation, said Shekhar Gupta. “I want to see Kansas City as one of the top places where people think about blockchain,” said Gupta, chief technology officer of Overland Park-based SaaS firm Asuun, and organizer of the inaugural Blockchain KC conference. “I have a big map on my wall…

Nipsey Hussle Kansas City

‘Heartbreaking but empowering’: Nipsey Hussle’s life, death inspire entrepreneurs to action

The Marathon will continue, Wesley Hamilton said, echoing tens of thousands of mourners now pledging to keep alive the transcendent entrepreneurial spirit of rapper-turned-community leader Nipsey Hussle. Hamilton, founder and executive director of the KC-based nonprofit The Disabled But Not Really Foundation, was among a dozen or more Kansas City entrepreneurs in Los Angeles Thursday…

Kyle Smith, Determination, Incorporated

Inmate to business founder: Determination, Incorporated adds partner with lived experience

Determination, Incorporated’s new partner in compassion places a new lens on the impact the prison-to-founder non-profit could have, said Kyle Smith. “I’ve gotten this non-profit this far, but I can’t do it alone,” said Smith, founder of Determination, Incorporated, which uses entrepreneurship to curate new opportunities for formerly incarcerated people, on the addition of his…