Startups Stories
Doctors gave DJ Stewart 18 months to live; His response: Build a pro wrestling stable strong enough to celebrate LGBT, BIPOC athletes
A new era has entered the ring as an entrepreneur fights to bring inclusivity to Kansas City’s legacy-rich professional wrestling community — in the midst of an all-out brawl in his own battle against Stage 4 brain cancer. “Everyone is welcome at our shows,” said DJ Stewart, owner of Journey Pro KC, describing the wrestling and…
Putting rival energy drinks to bed: Superfood Shot launches three new flavors after doubling Amazon sales
With sales at an all-time high for Life Equals — the maker of Balance The Superfood Shot — expanding into other areas of wellness was a natural next step, Kyle FitzGerald said, emphasizing a new blend that rivals less healthy energy drinks. “We knew we were ready for product innovation,” said FitzGerald, who co-founded the…
Investors swarm to TripleBlind’s $8.2M rapid seed round as ‘deep tech’ changes face of privacy
An oversubscribed $8.2 million seed round means one thing for Kansas City-based TripleBlind: its data privacy solution is of critical importance, the rapidly scaling startup announced Monday. Its slate of new and returning investors agree. “TripleBlind will enable our joint customers in regulated industries to leverage enterprise data that today goes largely untapped due to…
New CEO deepening PlanIT Impact’s mission to help design a carbon-neutral built environment
A startup veteran and architecture industry expert is now leading day-to-day operations for one of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed firms, shaping the company’s expanded footprint under a new presidential administration as its founder shifts to a more focused role. Brett Krug, who began work today as CEO of the building analytics software platform PlanIT…
Sneak Peek: See how Bar K’s new site builds on its KC pedigree with indoor dog park, doggy daycare
When Bar K’s second location opens in the fall, the popular play place for dogs will be ready if another frigid winter is in the forecast, said co-founder Leib Dodell, teasing details of a new 10,000-square-foot indoor dog park at the St. Louis site. “Dogs love being outdoors, and humans generally like being outdoors —…
