KC BizCare

Crowdfunding investment helps fan favorite food cart revive second-chance entrepreneur’s outlook

After spending a decade in prison, owning her own catering business has given Stephanie Blaco a new purpose in life, she shared, and a new small business crowdfunding platform is giving her the opportunity — when others wouldn’t — to scale up. “That’s what I believe has kept me out of prison,” the Mixing Bowl…

KCMO investing $900K in entrepreneur support as advocates push for more funding

The City of Kansas City, Missouri, has budgeted an $900,000 investment in its KC BizCare Office as part of a broader plan to better support the metro’s entrepreneur community While advocates from within Kansas City’s entrepreneurial community love the city as much as its next fan, they acknowledge it can be a tough place to…

Translating business: KCMO chatbot breaks down startup lingo in 70+ languages

Editor’s note: KC BizCare is a partner of Startland News. Entrepreneurs who struggle with understanding the complexities of starting a business often find additional challenges if English isn’t their first language, said Nia Richardson, adding that all aspiring small business owners deserve the same access to resources. “We’re trying to look at ways to bring technology…

Meet the winners of KC’s first grants for micro-businesses; $55K awarded to women of color

A newly launched collaboration between entrepreneur support efforts announced Thursday its first batch of grant winners — positioning four Kansas City micro-businesses for greater success amid a near-universally challenging start for the year. “The first quarter of the year is hard for most businesses, and extremely hard for small businesses. This year was no different…

Starting a business in KCMO is too expensive, study says; here’s how the city can cut those costs

Entrepreneurs in Kansas City, Missouri, face a higher cost of entry to the world of small business than their peers in St. Louis — or even just across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas, said Jennifer McDonald. “We look at things like how expensive it is to start a business, how complicated it is,…