Latest Stories
Bluetooth your burnt ends: BBQ tech startup fires up new way to keep tabs on those slabs
FireBoard is smoking toward its seventh office in seven years as hiring and product development heat up for the ever-expanding Kansas City-based maker of cloud-connected digital thermometers — a staple tool of many BBQ enthusiasts and restauranteurs. It’s latest addition: the FireBoard Spark, an entry-level meat thermometer with a lower price point than previous models,…
Nothing speaks like flavor: How Johnson County’s favorite empanada stand plans to reach more ‘happy tummies’ (and where to find them)
When Sonia Sandoval moved to America from Venezuela, language was a barrier, she recalled. Rather than keep to herself, Sandoval found a more meaningful form of communication: food. “I started [cooking] when I was 11 years old,” said Sandoval, who co-founded the pop-up Venezuelan food concept, Happy Tummy, with her husband, Juan Paredes. “I…
She’s one of the Chamber’s biggest ‘Superstar’ success stories; Why your company could be the next
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. The Small Business Superstar program did more than convert Jannae Gammage into a new Chamber member, she said; it exposed her to the power of opening doors…
How this Waldo burger stand crafts the tastiest patties in the cosmos (and where its ground round galaxy is expanding next)
Keep it simple and smashed, said Jacob Kruger. “I have always been a big fan of restaurants and businesses that have a very simplistic approach,” said Kruger, who serves as the head chef (or “Burger Boy”) at Cosmo Burger, located within Dodson’s Bar and Commons in Waldo — and coming soon to Lenexa Public Market….
Report: Plans for Keystone innovation campus on East 18th collapse as interest, deals expire
Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by CityScene KC, an online news source focused on Greater Downtown Kansas City. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly CityScene KC email review. An ambitious proposal for a Keystone Innovation District campus on East 18th Street has experienced a major setback with…
Hey, where’s that snowplow? Kansas City adopts a new tech for guiding more than 100 trucks
Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a non-profit online news outlet focused on in-depth journalism in the public interest, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the twice-weekly Kansas City Beacon email newsletter. With winter in Kansas…
Celebrity investors, KCRise Fund back $9M strategic seed for Overland Park NFT startup
Banking a $9 million round — including the backing of billionaire Mark Cuban, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, the co-founders of Rotten Tomatoes and regional venture capital firm KCRise Fund — CryptoSlam announced Wednesday a new wave of support for blockchain technology and a Kansas City startup operating within the open metaverse. Overland Park-based CryptoSlam, a leading…
New in KC: How Travis Kelce lured Pennsylvania startup inventXYZ (and its team) to Kansas City
Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Nikil Ragav’s journey to…
T-Mobile sprints ahead: KC tech leader held the line on local jobs (and offers a glimpse at Cerner’s possible future)
Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by Flatland, the digital magazine of Kansas City PBS and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly Flatland email newsletter. T-Mobile in Kansas City has been as quiet as a pin drop since it merged…
The problem with asking customers what they want? They lie (but not to this KC data duo)
For years, Diana Kander has researched how to interview customers — specifically how to get the truth from them, she said. It’s been key to helping her work with companies to innovate and grow. But in early 2021 the consultant and author of “All In Startup” and “The Curiosity Muscle” was perplexed by a problem…
