Startups Stories

CuRVE Shield, Micro Mini Metal

How a no-touch copper tool built in Lenexa could be a tipping point for safe contact amid COVID

Editor’s note: The following is part of a three-part series spotlighting U.S. military veterans who also are Kansas City entrepreneurs. Innovation is at an all-time high as COVID-19 continues to create new market categories, said Shawn Tipping, noting the pandemic has raised new awareness about the thin barriers between health and sickness.  “We’ve never had…

Luke Wade, KC Crew

KC Crew founder set to open ‘first-of-many’ game-centered bar, restaurant in STL metro

Editor’s note: The following is part of a three-part series spotlighting U.S. military veterans who also are Kansas City entrepreneurs. This report features Luke Wade, a member of the Army National Guard who previously was deployed to Iraq. Luke Wade spent the past nine years connecting 70,000 Kansas Citians through KC Crew — a downtown-area…

Tate Hayes, Mowd

Mowd founder pivots beyond mowing lawns to tech startup; offering landscapers an online payment platform

The grass isn’t necessarily greener on the tech side of entrepreneurship, mused Tate Hayes, but revenue and market opportunity grow wild.  “[Small businesses and startups] come with their own difficulties and maybe even simplicities,” said Hayes, founder of Mowd, comparing his newly launched startup to his previous venture — Kansas City-based Hayes Lawncare.  “[As a…

Colton Ropson and Alec Grawe, Luxee

Confidence for dudes, wrapped in a robe: Luxee launches subscription box for mens wellness 

Look good, feel good, and crush it, said Colton Ropson, unboxing the purpose behind his newly launched men’s subscription startup — Luxee.  “We pretty much learn to shave and that’s it,” said Ropson, who co-founded the subscription box startup with his best friend, Alec Grawe. They duo described their perception of Midwest-raised men and those…

Jannae Gammage, The Market Base

Former Army intelligence analyst deploys expertise, entrepreneurship to the Market Base

Editor’s note: The following is part of a three-part series spotlighting U.S. military veterans who also are Kansas City entrepreneurs. Hustle runs deep for Jannae Gammage, she said, looking back on the one thing that’s been uniquely hers since childhood: entrepreneurship.  “My first business was at 14,” said Gammage, founder and CEO of The Market…