Black business advocate GIFT wraps holiday markets to close visibility gap for entrepreneurs

The holiday shopping season offers many retail-focused entrepreneurs a gift of their own, said Kharissa Parker, describing opportunities for emerging Black business owners to meet customers in-person at events like Kansas City G.I.F.T.’s Small Business Saturday Black Business Market.

How Polsinelli stepped onto the national stage without walking away from its KC roots

By Tommy Felts / November 10, 2026

“We’re not just a national law firm that happens to have an office in Kansas City,” said Greg Kratofil. “We’ve been helping build this city’s technology ecosystem for decades while also building a national practice capable of representing some of the most innovative companies in the world.”

GEWKC returns to Union Station with maker fair, packed lineup of startup, small biz speakers

By Tommy Felts / November 10, 2026

“Every year, we think we can’t possibly top the previous year; and yet every year, our attendees, speakers, makers and supporters blow us away,” said Callie England, director of GEWKC. “This event is one of the highlights of our year because it shows everything the Innovation Center and our partners do for entrepreneurs, all in one place.”

Sports-wellness tech cohort adds two more Kansas City companies in time for tip off

By Tommy Felts / November 10, 2026

An intensive week of programming opened Monday at ShotTracker’s headquarters in Overland Park as a small cohort of founders — including two just-added Kansas City area innovators — began an immersive new experience led by Endeavor Heartland an Keystone Innovation District.

Hydrangea House grows into long-vacant, Tudor-style Brookside police and fire station

By Tommy Felts / November 6, 2026

Mother-daughter duo Jessica Carpenter and Abigail Gaughan have been deep cleaning the 6,265-square-foot space — putting in new ceiling and floor tiles, upgrading plumbing, and hanging one-of-a-kind chandeliers. Three trucks of merchandise await, filled with homegoods and vintage and antique furniture.

‘Shark Tank’ is TV (not reality), founders say; Students urged to prepare for the grind, think like entrepreneurs

By Tommy Felts / November 5, 2026

“You can work for the biggest company in the United States and can still be an entrepreneur within those walls of that company,” said Mathes, a namesake for the Mathes Innovation Center at William Jewell College. “So, if you want to be successful in whatever career you’re in, you need to at least think like an entrepreneur.”

How this KC-area college turned entrepreneurs’ ventures into a fast-growing MBA program

By Tommy Felts / November 5, 2026

“People don’t want to study theory,” said Taras Polik, founder of London-based startup OneDay. “They can watch videos online on YouTube. They really want to do practical things with their own hands and learn this way.”

Innovative vintage looks, ‘anti-game day’ fits show out: Why this runway still fits after a decade in KC

By Tommy Felts / September 1, 2026

Fashion trends change with the season, but eleven years after The Kritiq Fashion Show first dropped onto the streets of Kansas City its core purpose remains consistent, said Mark Launiu: creating a runway for people with bold ideas — and a support system along the journey.

Inspired by Taylor Swift, AMC creates ‘Leawood Films’ to get more movies to the big screen amid straight-to-streamer trend

By Tommy Felts / August 31, 2026

A new film distribution venture from AMC is expected to partner with filmmakers to expand the supply of small- to medium-sized movies to theaters across the country — putting more eyes on the big screen and allowing filmmakers to keep ownership of their intellectual property after the theatrical run.

Legacy play: Chiefs team up with developer from family roster to bring KCK, Olathe football hubs to gameday ready

By Tommy Felts / August 31, 2026

Two companies founded by sports and business icon Lamar Hunt are drawing on their shared vision and lineage to shape a new year-round, mixed-use entertainment district surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs’ stadium in Wyandotte County, Kansas, as well as a hub near the franchise’s new headquarters and training facility in Olathe.

LaunchKC graduates tap Kansas City energy, ‘electricity’ to power social venture growth

By Tommy Felts / August 29, 2026

Escaping the clamor of Los Angeles for Kansas City has been refreshing, said Montre Moore, whose company AMP Beauty is among two drawn to the region for the fifth cohort of LaunchKC’s Social Venture Studio.

How Dolly Parton’s sparkle lit the way for this entrepreneur’s outlook on self, the business of beauty

By Tommy Felts / August 28, 2026

Alley Gage won’t say sorry for crying so hard that she needed to take off her lashes this week after learning about the death of entertainer-turned-business mogul Dolly Parton — her favorite glamour girl and an American icon. Parton wouldn’t have apologized either, the owner of Alley Gage Beauty said, noting the star never let anyone dull her sparkle.

‘Going bigger than ever before’: Meet the star finalists vying for $60K in AltCap Your Biz prizes

By Tommy Felts / August 28, 2026

Nearly a dozen small businesses are set to compete this fall for $60,000 in prizes, AltCap Your Biz organizers said Friday, announcing 10 finalists in the expanded pitch competition’s 11th journey to the stage with Kansas City entrepreneurs.