Latest Stories
Sisters flex startup strength with well-toned, high-performance Angel Competition Bikinis
Bold women are a force to be reckoned with, declared Karah Jones, and they should never feel the need to hide who they are. “Sometimes in this world it’s frowned upon for a female to be confident,” Jones, co-founder and CEO of Angel Competition Bikinis, said of her motivations for launching the Lenexa company —…
Startup Road Trip: Venture, innovation scenes rapidly growing in Kansas City’s ‘backyard’
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. WICHITA…
DivvyHQ proves ‘unmatched in market’ with top award now spanning four consecutive wins
Voted the No. 1 content marketing tool for the fourth straight year, DivvyHQ plans to capitalize on its momentum to deliver new features and functionality in 2020, said co-founders Brock Stechman and Brody Dorland. “When we won [the honor] the first year, obviously it was a huge surprise. We were so pumped. But then we…
Startups to Watch, Innovation Exchange returning; Startland News announces 2020 events calendar
Startland News’ most popular annual and monthly events are set to return in 2020, Austin Barnes said Tuesday, releasing a full calendar of events for the new year. “In the last six months of 2019, Innovation Exchange drew its biggest crowds since its return from hiatus in March 2018,” said Barnes, programming director for Startland…
Village veteran SquareOffs launches long-awaited social opinion site, tops $2M+ in funding
SquareOffs hopes its new consumer-facing destination website — showcasing interactive “microdebates” aggregated across a growing network of publishers and influencers — moves digital conversations back to civility. A fresh round of funding will help, said Jeff Rohr. “We are all tired of the toxicity that fills our social media feeds and dominates comments at the bottom…
Startup Road Trip: Huck Adventures goes west, using AI to turn outdoors into a social setting
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. BOULDER,…
Keto crust on the rise: Fattyhead bakes ingredients for expansion into new distribution deals
Laura Manivong is feeding a hunger for keto diet-friendly pizza crusts that already stretches to freezer aisles across the metro — with stores and distributors salivating for more. “Out of the blue, I just called Sam Paris and Paris Brothers,” Manivong, founder and CEO of Fattyhead Keto Crust, said of how a recent distribution deal…
Victor Hwang’s parting message to Kauffman, KC and beyond: ‘We make a powerful tribe’
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Victor Hwang is the outgoing vice president of entrepreneurship at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Click here to read more about his planned departure from the leading ecosystem building organization. Today is my last day in the office, as I transition out of…
Pivoting back to a full-time franchise hustle: ‘Worst thing you can do is stop,’ Yogurtini owner says
Running a franchise can require as much passion and perseverance as any other entrepreneurial endeavor — including those in the startup space, said Isaac Collins. Would-be business owners shouldn’t get caught up in the jargon of what is and isn’t “real” hustle when trying to craft a livelihood for themselves or their families, he said. A…
Top universities, incentives lure online pet supplements startup to brick-and-mortar operation in an unexpected metro
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. TOPEKA…
