Latest Stories
Devoured chef designs oven-baked backyard pizza concept for pop-ups and beyond
An unexpected medley of events helped Jhy Coulter realize her career as a designer needed to end for her creativity to truly shine — through food, the emerging Kansas City chef shared. “Designing for others with all these limitations was just not fulfilling for me,” said Coulter, founder of Devoured — a pop-up pizzeria known…
Advocate envisions Plexpod ‘art village’ rebuilding KC culture at the intersection of art, business
An arts advocate in Kansas City hopes to partner with one of the metro’s leading community coworking spaces to create a haven for nearly 1,300 art entrepreneurs. GUILDit announced Thursday plans to develop an art village within Plexpod Westport Commons — featuring coworking, studios, a theater, and gallery — with a goal to rebuild art…
Legacy-filled eclair shop launches with crowds, pastry case lined with custom, unexpected treats
Chef Erin Luttrell recalls tales of lines out the door and around the block at her great-grandparents’ bakery in the 1920s — the inspiration behind her newly opened sweets shop on the historic Independence Square. “During the grain strike, people couldn’t get flour or bread or products to bake at home for their families, so they…
BLK + BRWN debuts KC’s first smart bookstore with a twist: ‘I wanted to be as Black as possible’
Kansas City’s newest Black woman-owned, brick-and-mortar bookstore in Midtown has opened its doors, but customers shouldn’t judge the operation by its cover, owner Cori Smith said, revealing an additional first for the metro that has heads and pages turning. “There’s a technological aspect paired with each book,” explained Smith, owner of BLK + BRWN — Kansas…
Why KCRise Fund chose a Lee’s Summit-built criminal justice smartphone app for its first lead investment
A Kansas City startup’s smartphone-enabled alternative to ankle monitors taps into a huge courts and corrections market — with the potential for tremendous cost savings and societal impact, said Darcy Howe. And that docket of benefits presents a unique opportunity for KCRise Fund, which this week announced its lead investment in Lee’s Summit-based eHawk, added…
ParentSquare notches growth investment, fueled by KC startup acquisition, pandemic trends
A significant growth investment is expected to help push edtech platform ParentSquare’s expansion into new markets and products — nearly 18 months after the Santa Barbara company announced the acquisition of a Kansas City startup’s school communication app. The undisclosed investment by Serent Capital also follows ParentSquare’s successful navigation of pandemic-era communication needs between parents…
UpDown Nightlife caps $500K seed round with party bus partnership; app to launch this month
Building an app centered on nightlife and in-person entertainment during a pandemic requires intense focus and intentionality every step of the way, Joshua Lewis said. “It’s been a slow and steady walk to the app launch,” said the founder of UpDown Nightlife — an app that connects consumers to local bars, clubs and entertainment. “With…
Driver crashes renovation progress at Walt Disney’s former KC studio; effort to save historic building draws on
Editor’s note: The following story 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. The driver of a black Dodge Charger crashed the renovation party underway at the historic Laugh-O-gram…
LaunchKC-backed insurtech accelerator hopes to claim new cohort by Aug. 22
Brush Creek Partners and LaunchKC are again eyeing startups ready to accelerate their go-to-market plans, the partners announced Tuesday. The application period for the LaunchKC-backed bcp tech InsurTech accelerator has officially opened, Nathan Kurtz, COO of Brush Creek Partners (bcp), said in a release, marking the program’s second run. “When you have an insurtech product…
Tech company at the vanguard of KC startup boom exits to West Coast competitor
One of Kansas City’s earliest startups to watch of the past decade has been acquired by an Oregon-based competitor. RFPIO announced the purchase of RFP360, a Leawood-based software-as-a-service startup, Tuesday morning. A dollar amount for the deal was not disclosed. “Through this acquisition, I’m extremely excited about the future as we work together to drive…
