Latest Stories
Startup Crawl KC returning as planned in October, despite First Fridays vendor changes
Changes to First Fridays in the Crossroads Arts District won’t impact plans for October’s annual Startup Crawl KC, but other entrepreneurs who frequent the community event as street vendors could use support, Adam Arredondo said. “It’s business as usual for us and we’re excited to host the community and showcase more than 50 startups at…
Bunker Labs KC returns to deploy connections to veterans transitioning to entrepreneurship
Military members typically make incredible connections with comrades abroad, but when they return to the U.S. as veterans they often struggle to establish a worthwhile network, said Joe Crane. That sense of isolation can inhibit would-be entrepreneurs from breaking into the startup world. “It’s tough for veterans to connect,” said Crane, Bunker Labs’ city leader…
Chicken N Pickle heading south: Prairiefire location to offer seasonal ice skating, curling
A new entertainment destination is slated for the final phase of Overland Park’s Prairiefire development with North Kansas City-based Chicken N Pickle targeting a fall 2020 opening. “Opening a second location in the area will allow us to share the love of pickleball with customers who have been requesting a location on the Kansas side…
3 ways Kansas City’s corporate leaders can support local startups
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Martha Salinas is an executive with Overland Park-based MSTS. The world’s largest companies are often associated with high-rise offices and massive workforces. But behind most success stories are humble beginnings. Amazon, for example, was started in Jeff Bezos’ garage before becoming the most…
Adobe for adventure: KC’s VanDoIt offers affordable travel, housing solution nationwide
VanDoIt is no sideshow venture for Brent Kline and his son-in-law, Jared McCauslin. The duo’s custom van and restoration business has a partnership with Ford and customers motoring coast to coast. “We have a couple out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and they are actually a traveling circus act — like, they are actually a circus act…
C2FO’s advice: Seek global capital, local startup partners (Top VC-Backed event photos)
Leawood-based fintech powerhouse C2FO didn’t raise nearly $300 million in capital by accident, nor without a strategy for selecting the right investors, Kerri Thurston told a crowd of founders, executives and investors gathered to celebrate the startups on Startland’s list of Kansas City’s Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies in 2019. “Focus on folks who can really…
KCultivator Q&A: Kathryn Golden risks it all to laugh at life (but roommates are no joke)
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by Plexpod, a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes. A spoonful of sugar couldn’t help Kathryn Golden stomach the oddities she…
DC-based digital SWAT team descends on KC as Social Driver for mission-based clients
From being included in selfies to getting tagged on social media posts, carving a digital footprint is the best way for social movements to gain traction, said Thomas Sanchez, CEO and co-founder of Social Driver. “We are the digital heavy hitters. I always kind of talk about us as almost being like the SWAT team…
Ego gets you in trouble — open ears get you business, UMKC E-Scholars mentor says
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Regnier Institute, but was independently produced by Startland News. If ego runs the show, a founder won’t succeed, Jene’ Hong said as she cracked jokes laced with straightforward advice. “If we have a big ego, we can’t listen to other people and that’s…
Report: Kansas, Missouri economies hinge on homegrown startups, not border war wins
Kansas and Missouri must “grow from within” if the neighboring states aim to successfully confront structural challenges that face their economies, said Amy Liu, a contributor at national think tank the Brookings Institution. The “historic handshake” between Govs. Laura Kelly, D-Kansas, and Mike Parson, R-Missouri, earlier this month marked the symbolic end to an ongoing…
