Woman-led Stories
Innovators can’t do it alone; C3KC conference calls for cross-sector attack on wealth gap, KC’s biggest pain points
Editor’s note: Startland News is a media sponsor for the Junior League of Kansas City’s C3KC conference. Click here for tickets to the event, which features a keynote address by best-selling author Adam Grant. Challenges abound in Kansas City, Kimberlee Ried acknowledged, but opportunities for innovation to push change are even more plentiful. An in-person conference…
Spring in the face of ‘doom and gloom’: KC Can Compost grows green infrastructure while expanding its own footprint
The market for commercial composting services goes well beyond restaurants hoping to dispose of food scraps — a welcome discovery for Kristan Chamberlain, who saw such specialized demand disintegrate in 2020 amid a pile of bad news for struggling eateries. Today, KC Can Compost has helped divert more than 1.4 million pounds of waste from…
Pink Lipps hits Target, putting KC cosmetics line in 41 retail markets where Black shoppers bring green
There’s no glossing over it, Kenyata Gant said. Black-owned businesses are thriving in the Midwest — and big box retailers are taking notice. “I couldn’t believe it,” recalled Gant, owner of Pink Lipps Cosmetics, announcing the Kansas City-based cosmetics startup’s acceptance into 41 nationwide Target stores. “I would always say how I would love to…
They want to create a SXSW-style festival in KC, but City of Entrepreneurs’ plans for Black founders dig even deeper
Activation is just the beginning for organizers of a new, high-profile partnership that aims to boost Black business owners — starting in Kansas City — via programming, resources, major events and a soon-to-be announced accelerator. Entrepreneurs, investors and local politicians gathered Wednesday to celebrate the soft launch of City of Entrepreneurs — a new initiative that…
Westside tortilleria’s from-scratch corn creations earn prestigious James Beard nod
A husband-and-wife tortilla-making duo in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood are among semifinalists for one of the world’s most-prestigious accolades for restaurants and chefs: a James Beard Award. Marissa and Mark Gencarelli, co-founders of Yoli Tortilleria, were announced Wednesday as semifinalists for the James Beard “Outstanding Baker” honor. Twenty restaurants from across the country are now…
