Cafe Cà Phê
UMKC’s pitch competition showcases ‘real people’ solving real problems with $88K up for grabs
Seven ventures remain in a popular regional business challenge that culminates this week with $88,000 in prizes on the line. Many of the competitors: no strangers to the pitch stage. Finalist presentations in the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge are planned for in-person Friday afternoon, followed by an awards ceremony at the UMKC Bloch Executive Hall….
‘9 to 5’ exposed sexism, toxic gender roles at work; 40 years later, has much changed beyond the price of a cup of ambition?
Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. The minds of women and marginalized employees are still being used without credit more than 40 years after Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda starred in a…
Annie Austen reinvents herself as a KC jewelry maker without tarnishing her influencer brand
To reshape her 2020 “blahs and feelings,” social media lifestyle influencer Annie Austen picked up a pair of pliers. She’d been collecting jewelry-making kits for years — but never committed to putting the jump rings, clasps, charms, and other pieces together. An Etsy shop launched with her younger brother, Matthew, changed everything, as the two…
KC’s first Vietnamese coffee shop brews $20K at AltCap Your Biz; other winners include an urban farm, development company and selfie studio
Cafe Cà Phê can now afford to build bathrooms in its anticipated brick-and-mortar coffee location, Jackie Nguyen teased on Instagram after being awarded the grand prize at the 2021 AltCap Your Biz: Pitch Competition. “The $20,000 will go toward helping build that out — getting new appliances, [hiring] new employees because we’ve outgrown our cart….











