KCMO

Harrison Proffitt, co-founder, Bungii; KCMO Speakeasy Session public session on the 2020-2021 budget

Open letter to KCMO: Entrepreneur community makes 0.1 percent budget ask ‘for backbone of our economy’

Editor’s note: The following open letter was produced independently of Startland News by a coalition of small business and entrepreneur support leaders and signed by more than 210 members of Kansas City’s startup and business community. The opinions expressed in this commentary are the authors’ alone. The signatories are provided courtesy of the authors. Mayor Quinton…

Danny Ritz and Kevin Ritz, State Your Line

State Your Line: Ritz Brothers’ podcast straddles KC, border between fun and dumb

Holed up at home, recovering from a broken ankle, Kevin Ritz started to toy with the idea of launching a KC-centric podcast — despite living in a city rich with audio storytellers, he noted.  “I did a lot of research as far as seeing if there was a podcast [about Kansas City] out there already…

2020-2021 Kansas City, Missouri, city budget

Proposed KCMO budget includes $4.8M for zero-fare transit — cuts LaunchKC, KCSourceLink funding

A newly proposed city budget for Kansas City, Missouri, holds steady at $1.73 billion — making room for Mayor Quinton Lucas’ zero-fare transit program, while appearing to scale back funding for entrepreneur support across the city. KCMO would remove $50,000 for the LaunchKC program and $75,000 for KCSourceLink, if the submitted budget is approved, according…

Austin Wilson, UrbanLeap

New in KC: GovTech startup leader goes remote, relocating for KC costs with West Coast pay

Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what’ they’ve found so far in KC. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Kansas City’s got two things going for it: a growing…

2018 LaunchKC winners

KCMO turns to entrepreneurs for new ideas on budget support; Advocates to rally at work sessions

Raised voices and a commitment to civic engagement earned entrepreneurs an additional $350,000 in city support for the 2019 budget year and a second attempt is about to begin, explained Rick Usher.  “It really goes back to when the resident work sessions started in 2018,” Usher, KCMO assistant city manager for entrepreneurship and small business,…