Latest Stories

Bo Nelson, Conquer for Good; Photo courtesy of Mahalo Media, https://mahalo.media/

Bo tell it on the mountain: Thou Mayest founder reveals spirit driving his brand of business

Your spirit makes you alive — don’t ignore its voice when it speaks to you, Bo Nelson advised a captive audience gathered to hear how his entrepreneurial experience at Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters has enabled Kansas Citians to reach their highest good. Nelson read Tuesday from a personal journal he kept during a significant time…

Melissa Roberts, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Former ECJC exec Melissa Roberts joins Kauffman Foundation grant making team

Everyone has potential if given the right resources, said Melissa Roberts. “Everybody has great ideas if given the right education. Everybody has the potential to be an economic contributor in our society if given the right motivation and support,” she continued. These aren’t her words and values alone, Roberts said. They’re the legacy of Ewing…

Brandon Love, Crumble

Health scare forced KC’s colorful wax guru to get serious: ‘This is Crumble growing up with me’

Brandon Love is keeping his iconic, brightly-colored hair, but melting away distractions that could be holding back his already wildly successful, but evolving lifestyle brand, Crumble Co., he said. The first to go: Some of the eye-catching candle and wax product names that first caught customers’ attention because of their tongue-in-cheek innuendos and four-letter words,…

Pepper cyber security report

Insecure phones, devices creating largest-ever sensor grid (for China) in US homes, says Pepper cyber security report

As an industry, the state of cyber security is a “hot mess,” Scott Ford said candidly. “Frankly, its at a point where it ought to be concerning to everybody,” Ford, CEO of Pepper IoT, said in response to a new report that examines the state of the IoT space and released as part of a…

Graham Dodge, Sickweather

Sickweather CEO: The end of your children’s privacy, courtesy of ‘free’ tech

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. This piece follows a limited series by Startland exploring parent advocates’ objections to 1:1 technology initiatives. Click here for more on that topic. Inspired by the ongoing conversation here on Startland News about 1:1 technology initiatives in schools, I wanted to share my…

Missouri Hyperloop

Missouri Hyperloop talk turns to motion sickness, comfort at high-speeds

But how will it feel? With the feasibility of a high-speed Missouri Hyperloop route connecting Kansas City to St. Louis in about 30 minutes now established, the conversation has shifted tracks to ergonomics, said Diana Zhou. Curious members of the public want to know more about the safety of the proposed transportation mode’s 600-plus-mph speeds,…

$300K Kauffman grant will keep no-cost LaunchCode coding classes in KC another two years

Sourced in community building through enhanced access to resources, a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will allow LaunchCode Kansas City to continue its training program for at least two additional years, the program announced Thursday. “It’s very exciting. We know that it’s, in part, through the vision of the Kauffman Foundation that LaunchCode…

New Kauffman indicators point to more fertile ground for startups on Missouri side of state line

A new analysis of early-stage entrepreneurship over the past 20 years indicates a more welcoming environment for fostering startups has developed in the Show Me State. In a state-by-state breakdown released Thursday by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Missouri outperformed Kansas across the board. Overall, Missouri’s scores showed climbing measures of entrepreneurship, while Kansas saw…

Brandon O’Dell, Friend That Cooks

Friend That Cooks in-home personal chefs bake healthful cooking into families’ diets

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams be damned, Brandon O’Dell quipped. Personal chefs are no longer a luxurious perk of the nation’s one-percent — all thanks to Kansas City-served startup Friend That Cooks. And as the market grows, so too does the repertoire of chefs at O’Dell’s startup, a weekly in-home meal prep service now operating…

Spicy Broccoli and Chicken Stir-Fry with Jasmine Rice, Happy Food Co.

Happy Food Co. modifies meal kit options to fit paleo, keto, Whole 30, vegan lifestyles

If a company wants to create change, its leaders have to be unafraid of emerging trends, Jen Trompeter said as Happy Food Co. serves up a strategy that could help the company cook up new business with modified meal kits. “People are doing keto or they’re doing Whole 30,” Trompeter, said. “We have some [meal…