Latest Stories
Missouri could put $1M back into startup support after COVID killed most-recent funding
A budget plan released this week by Gov. Mike Parson includes a $1 million allocation for the Missouri Technology Corporation — a popular public-private initiative boosting startups that saw its investment efforts defunded last year because of COVID-19-related shortfalls. “It is important that we continue to follow through on key investments in workforce development and infrastructure,”…
BetaBlox relaunching its popular demo day as part of documentary-style reality TV show
BetaBlox is adding more reality to its demo day — pushing the entrepreneur incubator’s hotly anticipated event to the summer and retooling the format as documentary-style vignettes that feed into casting for a full-season reality TV show. “This opportunity is a win-win-win,” said Weston Bergmann, founder and lead investor at BetaBlox, in a message to entrepreneurs…
Pipeline pitch winner sells practical business moves (and leather) with socially conscious ethos
Brooke Mullen’s ability to pivot with silky smooth ease helped the Lincoln entrepreneur build a bridge to surging revenue in 2020, as well as win best pitch Thursday during a showcase of Pipeline’s latest fellowship class. “With a lot of our business being direct-to-consumer and actual live events, we had to completely change as all…
Meet 20 scaling companies making the leap with ScaleUP! KC’s latest small biz cohort
Successfully scaling entrepreneurs take the time to work on their businesses — rather than just in them, Jill Hathaway said, emphasizing the transformative power ScaleUP! Kansas City brings to the 20 top-tier business owners newly participating in its 11th cohort. “This intensive program has had a profound impact on the small businesses it serves during the…
‘Nerds’ need value: Midwest trio connects global fintech players through virtual summit
Fintech workers and industry innovators are starving for human connection amid a crazy 10 months of COVID and a pandemic’s-worth of dull virtual events, said Zach Anderson Pettet. “All of us nerds in our specific space — being financial services and financial technology — haven’t been able to congregate, so there’s been a lot of…
KC Tech Council’s apprenticeship program launches with job growth hopes from Davids, Cleaver
A freshly launched partnership between KC Tech Council and Apprenti — designed to cultivate tech skills and offer first-hand experience for apprentices — is a solid fit for Kansas City’s talent needs, two members of the metro’s U.S. congressional delegation agreed. “I truly believe that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA of our region,” U.S….
How Epigraph visualizes AR changing the way you see the world during (and years after) COVID
There’s no way around it, Jasper Mullarney said: Augmented reality is the future — and it’s going to impact the way users of everything from iPhones to laptops engage with technology. “We see a shift from the dominant screen being in your hands to on your face,” Mullarney, co-founder of the visualization technology startup, said of…
She put down her soda and started walking 10 years ago — 80 pounds later, Ginger McCune’s wellness center is running on impact
Life is best lived loud — not sitting on the sidelines, wishing you could experience it, explained Ginger McCune. “If you have a car and it takes premium gas — and you fill it full of regular gas, what’s it gonna do? It’s gonna go for a little bit and then it’s gonna spit and spurt and…
Fund Me, KC: ‘Black Spartans’ creator changes the tone of fantasy — where Blackness isn’t ‘the exotic other’
Startland News is continuing its “Fund Me, KC” series to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses or lend a helping hand to others. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like Brandon Calloway’s campaign to fund the first book in his “Black Spartans” graphic novel series — to share crowdfunding stories and gain…
‘A Super Bowl for small business’: Chiefs’ back-to-back playoff success scores for apparel makers
The Chiefs’ Sunday-night victory over the Buffalo Bills not only means Kansas City’s return to the Super Bowl, but a repeat opportunity for local small business owners amid a rush of hometown pride, said Chase McAnulty. “When the Chiefs won [in 2020], we were fighting as hard as we could to get as many blank…
