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April Boyd-Noronha

April Boyd-Noronha: 9 takeaways from KU’s GenCyber Summer Camp

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. I’m the product of two retired educators in the Kansas City metro area, so I know that learning is a lifelong process. The summertime, for many educators, is the perfect time for professional development. I applaud the efforts of the University of Kansas’…

Startup transforms students into teachers for educators’ diversity training

Conversations about race, power, privilege and oppression are being had across the country every day. And Kiara Butler believes there is no better group to lead these discussions than young people, she said. “Students are already having these conversations every day,” said Butler, co-founder and CEO of Diversity Talks. “It’s the adults that don’t necessarily…

TradeLanes

Sprint Accelerator alum trades Miami HQ for KC

TradeLanes’ move from Miami to the Midwest is about proximity. “In Kansas City, we’re closer to customers and closer to everyone on our list of prospective customers,” TradeLanes co-founder Vijay Harrell said. “The closer we are to our customers, the faster we can learn, spot their problems and then solve them.” The global trade firm,…

Eviction in Kansas City

With 42 KC evictions per day, civic hackers pinpoint action with data

Kansas City can be a leader on housing justice, Tara Raghuveer said. The details are in the data. Examining a Jackson County data set that included 173,720 eviction records spanning 17 years, Raghuveer, a Harvard-educated researcher and Shawnee Mission East High School graduate, confirmed a leading predictor of eviction in Kansas City: race. “It disproportionately…

Events Preview: Measuring social impact, Second Fridays

There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Are you hosting a relevant community event? Add it to the KCSourceLink Calendar for increased exposure. Email info@kcsourcelink.com for assistance. Startup Rewind…

Denise Kruse

Denise Kruse: So your startup landed its first big client — now what?

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. As a startup, it takes hard work to get a potential client through the door. You have to get them to believe in your business model and product or service you’re offering; wow them with your expertise and industry knowledge; and finally, close the…

Husch Blackwell’s Jeff Simon hopes outreach, Techweek grow KC’s organic startup community

Editor’s note: This story is sponsored by Techweek, but independently produced by Startland News. Give now, get later. That’s the mindset Jeff Simon, managing partner of Husch Blackwell’s Kansas City office, instills in his team of attorneys to not only encourage networking, but also build a stronger Kansas City. Empowering his attorneys with autonomy to…

Whiteboard2Boardroom schools startup on valuable connections

Without Whiteboard2Boardroom, many student-led innovations might be forever stalled in the world of academia. Instead, the program is credited with helping to accelerate the commercialization of such projects to the tune of 129 new jobs and $26.2 million in follow-on funding, according to a recent progress report. W2B has worked with 35 startups and engaged…

Techstars Spotlight: Sexy STEM jobs? They’re not for everyone, NexusEdge says

Shanti Akkineni and Eddie Lin are self-proclaimed “serial job hoppers.” It’s a frustrating reality for many, Akkineni said, because of a lack of mentorship accessibility and job awareness. She herself has experienced employment in five different industries within a decade, she said. “I would go to work Monday morning, sit at my desk and not…

Tech startup to assist in donating American Royal BBQ leftovers

If there’s one thing Kansas City celebrates more than entrepreneurship, it’s barbecue. A local startup, Tappecue, plans to use its technology this weekend at the American Royal BBQ competition to assist in donating leftover food to the hungry.  Tappecue is a cloud-based “smart” barbecue thermometer, with which BBQ aficionados can monitor meat temperatures via a…