Explore perspectives on the issues impacting business in Kansas City.
Hear from local entrepreneurs, innovators and community leaders as they share insights and commentary on topics impacting business and innovation.
The TAM Scam: Why the next economy won’t need your pitch deck’s market-size slide
For most of modern business history, directly observing economic activity was slow, expensive, or impossible. We developed proxies to compress uncertainty into numbers that executives, lenders, and investors could use. But as technology makes economic activity more observable, the proxies we built for an earlier era become harder to defend.
I was wrong about sports: Why KC’s ‘escape velocity’ keeps pointing back to 18th and Vine
Sports, music, and barbecue are not three separate Kansas City brands, writes urbanist and entrepreneur Kemet Coleman. “They are one story, and it starts at 18th and Vine,” the Vine Street Brewing co-founder explained.
300 pitches later, GIFT founder offers a cheat sheet for selling your vision (hint: it starts with the pitch deck)
“What does your business do? Tell me directly, clearly, and avoid unnecessary fluff,” writes Brandon Calloway in an open letter to entrepreneurs. “As someone making a snap judgment about your business, I need to quickly understand what it offers.”
Smart glasses at work: How employers using (or banning) the tech could face legal challenges
AI-enabled smart glasses take a step further than the traditional “body camera” surveillance footage, given the technology’s ability to retain and assess information, such as biometric information. That creates new concerns for employers who might want to implement the devices — or even keep them out of the workplace altogether, writes a team of attorneys from Polsinelli.
Missouri founders need rules for crypto, digital assets that protect infrastructure and consumers, advocate says
Congress should act quickly, writes Ryan Wright. If the United States waits too long, other countries will continue setting the standards for digital assets, AI provenance, and the next generation of financial infrastructure. Missouri should not be left reacting to that future. We should help build it.
Royals chose Crown Center; KC now must decide how 18th & Vine stays in the game
The Royals ballpark announcement was still eye-opening, because moments like this reveal what a city is actually willing to organize itself around, writes Kemet Coleman.
How can 90 days fix 18 months of revenue? Make trust and consistency your currency
Many leaders start buying marketing the same way they buy any other solution .. one need at a time. It’s not uncommon for one company to have a web vendor, a PR partner, a graphic designer, an email vendor, and so on. The hire is based on need, not strategy; and the real cost shows up in places most leadership teams don’t calculate.
Gooding: Stop drinking the ‘competitive advantage’ kool-aid
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Check out more from Grant Gooding here. Your competitive advantage doesn’t exist anymore. Not only is this true but the whole concept of “competitive advantage” as you understand it likely doesn’t exist either. What’s taken its place is a cool new thing called…
How fatherhood and fear changed my entrepreneurial journey
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. As I near my sixth anniversary of becoming an entrepreneur, I decided to take a moment to look back and reflect on the changes those years brought me. I’ve had many ups — and many more downs — all serving as excellent lessons….
How Pipeline CEO Joni Cobb revitalized her waning democratic optimism
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. E=R. Have you seen this sticker on cars over the years? It’s the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s campaign during the Great Recession, meaning “Entrepreneurship = Recovery.” It was really a time of “push” for our political structure — and our communities in…
The WTF Series: Chatbots to anticipate your needs
On a daily basis, Ben Kittrell translates the jargon-filled world of technology for clients of his tech consultancy. The Words that Frustrate (WTF) series aims to offer readers some clarity in an industry dominated by techies’ confusing argot. At Facebook’s latest developer conference, F8, Mark Zuckerberg announced they are adding Application Programming Interfaces to Facebook…
Entrepreneurial lessons from the girls of Malawi, Africa
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. While the Kansas City entrepreneurial community continued to percolate in April, I spent two and a half weeks in the poorest country in Africa. Malawi is known as “The Warm Heart of Africa,” and with an average annual income of $255 per…
Byrd: What we can learn from 5 corporate innovation blunders
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Most corporations don’t want innovation, they just say they do. Corporate leaders talk about radical and disruptive ideas, but is that truly all that innovation is? In it’s purest form, innovation creates more effective processes, products and ideas that will in turn increase…