Woman-led Stories
Avatar for hire (in a few years): Gamified career platform helps kids explore their future in the workforce
It’s a powerful question asked in classrooms every day, Jessica Munoz Valerio said, recalling her own experience with the common prompt and how tapping into and gamifying it could change lives. “When my daughter was young — as early as 5 years old — she got asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’”she…
UMKC’s pitch competition showcases ‘real people’ solving real problems with $88K up for grabs
Seven ventures remain in a popular regional business challenge that culminates this week with $88,000 in prizes on the line. Many of the competitors: no strangers to the pitch stage. Finalist presentations in the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge are planned for in-person Friday afternoon, followed by an awards ceremony at the UMKC Bloch Executive Hall….
Entrepreneurs pack Union Station as Chamber showcases diversity of KC’s small biz scene
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. A diverse cross-section of Kansas City small business owners filled the Grand Hall at Union Station with energy and enthusiasm Thursday, Vicky Kulikov said, noting a significant…
Mary Shannon’s two words to describe the complexity of supplier diversity: Competitive advantage
Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity. Don’t try to fake your way through diversity initiatives for optics, advised Mary Shannon, noting half-hearted commitment to efforts like supplier diversity — which…
Meet 5 new Digital Sandbox-funded startups poised as the next wave of KC innovation
A just-announced first-quarter cohort of startups are set to receive more than just $20,000 each in project funding from Digital Sandbox KC, said Jill Meyer, emphasizing the holistic support headed toward selected founders. “Early-stage funding is just one piece of the puzzle that helps our founders succeed and our startups accelerate toward commercialization and follow-on…
