Latest Stories

2023 Startups to Watch: Generation Esports schools players with pro gamer experience that breaks barriers

Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City scaling businesses to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. Now in its eighth year, this feature recognizes founders and startups that editors believe will make some of the biggest news in the coming 12 months. The following is one of 2023’s companies. Click here to…

Go Topeka

Returning the flavor: Fast food startup flexes plan to bring Korean-American tastes to rural Missouri

As an occupational therapy practitioner, Joohae “Chewy” Yoon’s home visits to care for patients isolated in rural Missouri inspired her to develop the Korean-American fast food concept GOCHEW Burger & Sandwich.  Her full-time job involves traveling to meet patients in Kansas City and Independence, as well as such cities as Odessa, Higginsville, and Warrensburg. Curious…

Pawsitive impacts: Social venture aims to break generational poverty through pet grooming

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. In 2018, Ashley Stillings was living in Hope House, a homeless shelter in Lee’s…

These iconic hearts are blank now, but a parade of artists is set to bring the KC landmarks back in 2023

Molly Burd acknowledges she applied for the KC Parade of Hearts on a whim. A week before the deadline, the Kansas City artist and Hewn sewing shop production manager saw applications were being accepted for artists to design the big hearts art pieces for 2023. “Once I got an email saying that there were over…

Why a KC athletic apparel founder is rebranding his business after amassing 125K+ social following

Building a clothing brand over the past decade has been like watching an art piece come to life, said Ryan Tanner Mueller, the man behind one of Kansas City’s most quietly successful apparel ventures. “I’ve always been influenced by a brutalist, minimalist-blend of streetwear and sportswear. Around the time we launched, the fashion trends were…

Her book helps kids understand football; how this 9-year-old scored her first literary field goal

Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. For more stories like this one, subscribe to Up To Date on Spotify. Burkley Hoover has published her first book at the…

11 airport questions land answers: What to expect from the new KCI terminal

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. KC’s new terminal promises a completely different user experience Construction of a gleaming new…

At 13, he begged his mother to let him cook; now this Blue Valley teen runs a creperie on wheels

Last Christmas, Karizma Nola and his family took a trip to Colorado where they came across the most unforgettable crepes, he recalled. This holiday season, Nola has a spatula in hand as he shares his own culinary passion with Kansas City.  “I’ve always thought about being an entrepreneur; I just didn’t expect it to happen…

Scott Ford, Pepper

KC startup Pepper secures deal to create new IoT platform with investment from Comcast

The merging of a homegrown IoT startup’s tech and a corporate innovator’s existing smart property management system is expected to accelerate growth for Kansas City-built Pepper, said Scott Ford. The companies on Wednesday announced Pepper and Notion — Comcast’s insurtech business unit — had joined to create a new IoT and smart home platform that…