Opinion Stories

funding models

The red carpet, garageband and laboratory of funding models

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. “Funding! Funding! Funding!” It’s the warrior’s cry of the startup community. In the world of entrepreneurship, there’s an incredible amount of pressure to run a startup that can be described as “disruptive,” “innovative” and “scalable.” Those descriptions come with a hefty price tag,…

startups vs. small business

Kohrs: Genesis matters in the startup vs. small business debate

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone.   What’s the real difference between a startup and a small business? There’s been a lot of people talking about this since the term “startup” first joined our vernacular during the dot-com bubble. I think it’s because our brains are wired to categorize…

Kean Hong Kong

Kean: From Hong Kong to Kansas City, coffee’s the constant in startup life

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone.   My story began in 2012 as the startup scene in Kansas City was just blossoming. An ever-expanding group of motivated individuals from diverse backgrounds were launching awesome companies, and tech events were occurring more often and with bigger turnouts. When Matt Berkland…

Gooding: Narrow your focus to win on an exit

At the time it wasn’t quite so obvious, but now I realize that I was incredibly fortunate to spend the first part of my career in small-market mergers and acquisitions. Turns out it’s an arena where one can acquire an incredible depth and breadth of business knowledge. On an almost daily basis, I was learning…

busted bracket

Thomas: 3 investing lessons from your busted bracket

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. It’s here — the one month of the year where a single college basketball tournament costs employers a collective $1.2 billion for every hour of lost productivity. And it’s fantastic! I’m a big believer that we can find investing lessons in nearly every…