Cafe Cà Phê

Jackie Nguyen, founder and owner of Cafe Cà Phê, and her team accept first-place honors in the James and Rae Block Kansas City Startup Awards at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge

UMKC pitch contest puts Cafe Cà Phê closer to Jackie Nguyen’s big goal; winners range from students to emerging startups

The University of Missouri-Kansas City continues to brew innovation — and the return of its Regnier Venture Creation Challenge (RVCC) Friday poured proof, offering more than $88,000 in critical cash prizes to percolating ventures that spill far beyond its classrooms.  “I moved to Kansas City from Washington D.C. over the summer and I started following Cafe…

Jackie Nguyen, Cafe Cà Phê; Jill and Justin Bertelsen, Bertelsen Education and Crib Coaching; and Risa Stein, SeeInMe

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….

Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman in a promotional photo for "9 to 5"; photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

‘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; photos courtesy of Annie Austen

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…

Madoka Koguchi and Jackie Nguyen, Cafe Cà Phê; 2021 AltCap Your Biz grand prize winner

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….