Civic Saint

Big winner at GEWKC: AltCap Your Biz turns The Next Paige with $42K+ in prizes

Editor’s note: Startland News’ coverage of Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City is made possible by the support of Husch Blackwell. The value of local support should not be underestimated or taken for granted, said Elaina Thomas, winner of the $25,000 grand prize at Thursday’s AltCap Your Biz pitch competition. “I feel blessed, I feel like I…

Godfrey Riddle wants to build you a home; How Civic Saint’s eco-friendly bricks could reshape the foundation of affordable housing

Winning $55,000 in a recent national LGBT pitch competition provides Godfrey Riddle the building blocks for a hard pivot — shifting the focus of his lifestyle company Civic Saint from handmade retail goods to earthen bricks used to sustainably create artful, affordable homes. “Affordable housing is a problem I’ve been pondering since my family lost…

Maker featured in NBC series says ‘death cleaning’ opened his eyes to grief without guilt

Godfrey Riddle made it his mission to uplift others, the Kansas City social entrepreneur said, but when a new, high-profile Peacock series begins streaming next week, viewers will witness Riddle on the receiving end of that love and support. The Civic Saint founder is set to appear on an episode of “The Gentle Art of…

Shop Small: Five ways to give makers a smile as wide as the person opening your gifts from Shop Local KC

Editor’s note: Startland News explored Shop Local KC in Midtown as part of the newsroom’s five-part holiday gift guide that highlights locally owned shops and the makers within them. The items identified here were curated by Katie Mabry van Dieren, the founder of Shop Local KC the Strawberry Swing Indie Craft Fair. Featured stores, makers and…

Keenan Beasley, Venture Noire

In the Black: Why Venture Noire is bringing capital resources from Arkansas to KC’s founders of color

It’s time Black-led companies went from over-mentored and under-resourced to well-connected and infused with capital, Keenan Beasley said, announcing plans for establishing more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems that begin, in part, with a presence in Kansas City.  “Kansas City is a very mature market,” Beasley, founder of Venture Noire, said of what he’s observed among the…