Startups Stories
ScaleUP! KC reveals new 15-member cohort of growing businesses; touts alumni successes
Entrepreneurs joining the latest ScaleUP! Kansas City cohort represent ventures from such varied business sectors as photography, construction, design, counseling, film and engineering, said Jill Meyer. An ability to scale knows no single industry, emphasized Meyer, program director of ScaleUP! KC. “This program has shown us, time and time again, that not only can you…
Sweet & Sassy side hustle: Father-son duo behind Brownie’s bottles a venture to savor
Side hustles of any flavor can provide relief from the daily grind of a stressful startup, said Venture Legal’s Chris Brown of his “hobby” — delivering the homemade Sweet & Sassy Brownie’s Barbecue sauce. “Whether you like hiking or making barbecue sauce or riding horses or doing whatever … I think it’s important for people…
Prestio founder dissolves headaches of business closings, pivots with Liquify Group
Closing a brick-and-mortar space is difficult enough, said Glen Dakan. Why should entrepreneurs be forced to endure the pains of offloading expensive equipment too? Such a predicament prompted Dakan and his partners to create a remedy for the common pain point: Liquify Group, a newly launched service that helps businesses liquidate their assets through a simple,…
Once a near-throwaway startup idea, TicketRX sells to Overland Park fintech firm MSTS
From bootstrapped to exit, Kansas City citation solutions platform TicketRX on Monday announced its sale to an Overland Park fintech company with global reach. “I’m excited to bring our mobile, AI-driven technology under the MSTS umbrella,” said Bryan Shannon, TicketRX founder and CEO. “MSTS’s long history and leadership experience in the transportation industry will ensure…
Startup advocates rally, demand KCMO invest more of its $1.73B budget in entrepreneurs
If Kansas City leaders want to build a stronger community, they should start by supporting early stage entrepreneurs, said Lesa Mitchell. “I’m simply here to say — we’re not spending enough money … and we need to look at it,” Mitchell, managing director of Techstars Kansas City, told KCMO city council members Saturday during a public…
