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
“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
“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
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
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
“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
“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.”
KSHSAA partners with Lawrence startup to power high school camps, clinics, lessons
The Good Game’s just-announced team-up with the Kansas State High School Activities Association is designed to support a safer, more compliant and centralized approach to interscholastic activities, said founder Zarif Haque.
SafetyCulture rebrands to Mitti, unveiling platform built for teams from warehouses to NASCAR
A global operations system with its U.S. headquarters in Kansas City’s Crossroads is shifting its brand identity as the company signals a major expansion beyond traditional safety management to an all-in-one platform for frontline workers who technology largely has forgotten.
Steady growth keeps Full Scale on Inc 5000 list even as AI rewrites software development
Back on the Inc. 5000 list for the fifth consecutive year, CEO Matt Watson said the company’s repeat appearance developed more out of consistency than explosive startup growth — predicting longevity in the face of industry-reshaping innovations.
Paris-based biotech joins Topeka innovation hub; first lab tenant at Link Innovation Labs
A strategic location with strong access to customers across the region — as well as move-in-ready laboratory space — is expected to help Spore.Bio deepen its U.S. presence, said Amine Raji, noting Link Innovation Labs will get the company to work quickly.
ScaleUP! Kansas City adds 20 entrepreneurs shifting from launch to business building
The latest cohort of scaling business owners added to a popular executive-style coaching program represents a wide array of Kansas City entrepreneurship, including industries from construction and entertainment to catering, healthcare, and even moving.
How AltCap Your Biz put one of World Cup’s biggest KC small biz winners in the driver’s seat
A $35,000 grand prize helped EZ Pedicabs place its foot on the pedal months before the FIFA World Cup; by the time tens of thousands of visitors arrived, the company was ready with more bikes, more drivers, and the capacity to serve more of downtown Kansas City than ever before, its founders said.