Latest Stories
Bilingual startup Tico Productions brings energy to Chiefs’ Spanish broadcast
When the Chiefs and Raiders meet Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, more than the usual KC-versus-Oakland rivalry will be at play. The game also puts Kansas City-based Tico Sports’ two Spanish-language broadcast teams head-to-head for the first time. It’s not a competition, said CiCi Rojas, partner and president of Tico Productions, the company behind Tico Sports…
California retail tech firm opens Crossroads office, hiring 20
Retail technology firm PriceSpider is citing the area’s vibrant tech community as the reason behind rooting a new office in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District. Headquartered in Irvine, California, PriceSpider said the burgeoning startup community, deep pool of tech talent and Google Fiber’s arrival in 2012 helped push the company to choose the City of Fountains….
Heart and soul: UMKC celebrates Entrepreneur of the Year Awards (photos)
Convening students, entrepreneurs and top civic leaders, the 32nd annual Entrepreneur of the Year Awards on Tuesday recognized some of the area’s top innovators, including the creative mind behind one of Kansas City’s most iconic structures. The University of Missouri Kansas City’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management presented its International Entrepreneur of the Year…
Women investors create intentional connections with female founders
Female entrepreneurs receive only about 2 percent of all venture capital but own 38 percent of businesses in the United States, the Harvard Business Review reports. That’s in part why a group of women investors in Kansas City is planning to meet with women entrepreneurs to foster better relationships. Investors from the KCRise Fund, Royal…
Not just for students: MCPL expands digital tool set for entrepreneurs
Editor’s note: The following content is sponsored by Mid-Continent Public Library but independently produced by Startland News. Dusty books. Tedious silence. Cranky shushers. Many stereotypes come to mind when one thinks of a library. But for those who haven’t recently visited these sanctums of knowledge, you might be surprised to see their transformations from canvas…
Children’s book turns KC’s Mayor Sly into time-traveling history buff
Kansas City’s colorful mayor was made for the pages of a children’s book, Audrey Masoner said. He gets his hand-drawn debut in “Mayor Sly and the Magic Bow Tie,” a project co-authored by Masoner and Mayor Sly James’ daughter, Aja James. The book is featured in Startland News’ 2017 Made in Kansas City Gift Guide….
Storyteller sketches path from former Soviet Union to KC-based Sibukop
The teeth marks on Jasur Rakhimov’s Apple Pencil aren’t his own. They belong to his young daughter, Jasmira, who — despite a new protective pencil box — still loves to chew on the tools of his trade, he said. “Everybody and everything has its own story,” reflected Rakhimov, running his fingers across the indentions from…
Greta Perel: Forget formality (plus four other copywriting secrets for startups)
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Entrepreneurs have to wear all sorts of hats — but what if one of those “hats” doesn’t fit so well? Can you just throw it into the dark depths of your closet? Definitely not that “writing hat.” Writing your own website copy, tweets,…
MTC renews 2018 support for LaunchKC grant contest
Despite the government program’s uncertain financial future, the Missouri Technology Corporation will inject $250,000 into the popular grants contest LaunchKC for 2018. After having its budget slashed from nearly $23 million in 2017 to $3.4 million in 2018, the MTC announced Friday that it will once again support the Kansas City-based grant contest, which has…
CasaiQ announces name change, high-profile investors in $1.5M round
Techstars Kansas City graduate CasaiQ is hoping a new funding round — and new name — will accelerate the development and deployment of its smart home tech. Led by former Brightergy exec Adam Blake, CasaiQ announced Friday that it raised a $1.5 million round, which includes a handful of local investors. The KCRise fund, Techstars…
