Startups Stories

Now in new Crossroads space, Rightfully Sewn prepares to welcome male sewists (Photos)

The secret to any startup venture is to move forward one stitch at a time, said Rightfully Sewn founder Jennifer Lapka. “Start small, struggle, have success, then scale,” she said, quoting one of her many mentors. Freshly moved into a 2,200-square-foot atelier, or design studio, at 1800 Wyandotte St. in the Crossroads, Rightfully Sewn is…

Anywhere Cup Holder

Fishing Caddy inventor pours family business into new product: Anywhere Cup Holder

Joe Pippins’ latest invention — the Anywhere Cup Holder — can support as much as 50 pounds in a single cup, he said. It’s a solution that serves the needs of everyone from mechanics and fishing enthusiasts to gardeners and people who entertain in their homes, said Pippins, founder of Live Holdings, which produces the…

Photo by Scott Goodwill

Selling ‘the infinite commodity’: Farmobile leverages blockchain to build secure data store

With more than a million acres of field data amassed by Farmobile, farmers now need an exchange to securely connect them with buyers of the digital machine and agronomic information they’ve harvested, said Jason Tatge. A newly opened Farmobile DataStore, which leverages elements of blockchain technology fueled by Intel Sawtooth and Amazon Web Services to…

Katie Boody, LEANLAB

Two KC EdTech startups earn spots in latest LEANLAB cohort; launch set for August

It’s a highly selective process to join the fifth LEANLAB K-12 fellowship, said Katie Boody, but two Kansas City startups made the cut.   K12 Perform and Base Academy of Music will join four other cohort members — hailing from the Midwest to Washington D.C. — in the August-to-November EdTech accelerator program. LEANLAB is partnering…

Hecho KC, Luis Garcia

HechoKC cast in hand-made image of Chicano artist’s culture, family, community

Witnessing — and participating in — Kansas City’s renaissance has been amazing, said Luis Garcia, the longtime artist behind HechoKC. The Crossroads used to be a ghost town, said Garcia, who has been part of the KC scene since his years at the Kansas City Art Institute. He developed SPYN Studio, a branding and design…