Woman-led Stories

These two Small Biz of the Year finalists are among the half-dozen KC firms honored as Inc.’s ‘Best Workplaces’

A workplace in the era of talent shortages and a hyper-competitive jobs market is only as good as its ability to meet employees’ nuanced needs, said Melea McRae, a top founder whose marketing company was among six Kansas City firms selected for Inc. magazine’s Best Workplaces list. “Through our un-agency business model, we’ve built a…

How Urban TEC used eye-opening VR tech to bring teen mental health into the real world

Students at two Kansas City, Kansas, high schools are tackling teen mental health issues with the help of virtual reality, shared youth and tech advocate Ina P. Montgomery. From February through April, 28 students from Wyandotte and JC Harmon high schools learned Unity programming software, identified and researched a health concern for youth ages 13…

‘Mr. K’ finalists tease what it’s like to work for the next Small Business of the Year

Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. Finalists for the KC Chamber’s Small Business of the Year award highlighted their companies’ commitments to strong workplace culture, DEI initiatives, and community relations during a panel…

Rescue florists give new life to leftover flowers; nonprofit just needs 6-inch stems and someone to surprise

Impact is growing again for an initiative that sends recycled floral arrangements — flowers otherwise headed for the trash after events — to homebound Kansas City seniors. Volunteer-run Unexpected Blooms recently celebrated its sixth birthday, after being forced to take a pause when the pandemic stalled many large gatherings from which they sourced flowers, shared…

KC’s sports business icons joining the roster for Junior Achievement Hall of Fame

A Super Bowl win and the NFL Draft turned Kansas City into a sports haven, said Megan Sturges Stanfield, so it’s only fitting that the latest laureates to join Junior Achievement’s Business Hall of Fame reflect not only a passion for athleticism and their hometown — but translating opportunity into entrepreneurial success. Among the new…