Latest Stories
Sickweather CEO bringing Cold Cough Flu conference to KC
It might be warm and sunny this summer, but a storm is brewing, said Graham Dodge. The Sickweather founder’s Cold Cough Flu conference set for October in Kansas City could help health officials detect what’s to come. Inspired by a similar event organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Oct. 15 event…
Teens’ marketing startup TRNDSTTRS aims to amplify its own business influence
Staying young and hungry is everything, said the teenage entrepreneurs at TRNDSTTRS Media. With a team of ten 18- to 19-year-old go-getters, the tech-based firm focuses on providing affordable, in-depth marketing service to small and mid-sized companies. They use their age as an advantage rather than seeing it as an obstacle, said Jake Bjorseth, founder…
Former high school rivals from MADE, Local Legends ‘Play It Forward’ in bid to revive South KC
Organizers of the Aug. 12 Play It Forward charity basketball game traded playful taunts as they approached the doors of the former Hickman Mills High School gymnasium. “They painted over your cougar,” said AbdulRasheed Yahaya, a Ruskin High School graduate, referencing the giant eagle logo affixed to the former Hickman facility that now is part…
Founder: RFP365’s new Client Discovery launch shows startup-corporate deals build stronger tech products
A new product module from RFP365 defies common perceptions about Kansas City corporations overlooking tech talent in the startup community, said co-founder Stuart Ludlow, announcing the launch of Client Discovery. “Traditionally, we always say that an RFP [request for proposal] involves two people,” he said, describing the product. “Someone writes an RFP and then a…
Homegrown Resonate Pictures cultivates corporate market through creative risks
The same creative energy reverberating through cities like Los Angeles, New York City and Portland can be found in Kansas City, said Marc Havener, the filmmaker behind Lawrence-based Resonate Pictures. His message for fellow creatives: “We can make this back home.” After 10 years on the sets of blockbuster movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean,”…
Happy Food gathers ingredients for nationwide grocery platform, meal-locating app
Happy Food Co. has grown beyond distributing flavorful meal kits through small, standalone coolers at Kansas City-area Price Chopper and Hen House locations, said chef and co-founder Kiersten Firquain. The 2017 Startland Under the Radar startup has now developed a software platform — in partnership with retailers nationwide and 75 local vendors — to enable grocers…
Porch Light Plans hopes to bring durable, affordable home design to the masses
Modern homes should be durable and well-designed enough to last hundreds of years, said Katie Hoke. Lawrence-based Porch Light Plans combines sleek aesthetics with thicker insulation and fewer windows to achieve a contemporary housing option with the potential to slash utility bills in half, said Hoke co-founder of the boutique architectural design firm. “If every…
WYCO sunglasses customizes KC cool for a brightly-colored nationwide vision
Kasey Skala frames WYCO as a Kansas City brand ready to look beyond county or state boundaries, he said. “I think it’s great that we started here in the Midwest. We’re proud of being a Midwest brand, growing it here and taking [advantage of] what Kansas City has to offer,” said Skala, WYCO chief marketing…
Now in new Crossroads space, Rightfully Sewn prepares to welcome male sewists (Photos)
The secret to any startup venture is to move forward one stitch at a time, said Rightfully Sewn founder Jennifer Lapka. “Start small, struggle, have success, then scale,” she said, quoting one of her many mentors. Freshly moved into a 2,200-square-foot atelier, or design studio, at 1800 Wyandotte St. in the Crossroads, Rightfully Sewn is…
CommunityAmerica teen-led innovation effort lauded for developing college cost calculator
College degrees come with two price tags: the sticker price and the net price. A new free tool from the CommunityAmerica teen advisory board is being celebrated for helping students solve the complicated equation that separates the two — as well as determine which college options are financially realistic. “[With] some of the more elite schools,…
