Lula

Brooke Mullen, Sapahn

Pipeline pitch winner sells practical business moves (and leather) with socially conscious ethos

Brooke Mullen’s ability to pivot with silky smooth ease helped the Lincoln entrepreneur build a bridge to surging revenue in 2020, as well as win best pitch Thursday during a showcase of Pipeline’s latest fellowship class. “With a lot of our business being direct-to-consumer and actual live events, we had to completely change as all…

Kathryn Golden, Pitch Perfect, Enterprise Center in Johnson County

Pitching your startup to investors is about more than selling an idea, says Pitch Perfect leader

Perfecting a startup pitch depends on a founder’s ability to move beyond mere product knowledge and talk the investors’ language, said Kathryn Golden. “The reality is investors aren’t buying your product; they’re not customers,” explained Golden, programs director at the Enterprise Center in Johnson County. “Investors are looking at the company and asking, ‘Is this…

Venture capital Kansas City

Kansas City’s Top VC-Backed Companies in 2020

The 2020 Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies List reflects a range of success stories and COVID-era challenges among Kansas City’s community of growth-stage, venture-backed companies. The list — updated annually by Startland News and its parent organization, Startland — shows that while few companies were spared from COVID-19’s impact, many of Kansas City’s leading entrepreneurs continued to grow…

Firsthand from a founder: Applying for a SBA disaster loan? Come prepared with startup financials

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Serial entrepreneur Bo Lais is the founder of Lula, co-founder of the KC Collective founder network, and a current fellow in Pipeline Entrepreneurs. This op-ed is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community,…

Meet the half-dozen, seasoned KC founders joining Pipeline’s latest fellowship class

Nearly half of the new class of Pipeline fellows hail from Kansas City startups, revealed the high-profile entrepreneur network Thursday at the Pipeline Innovators Daytime Showcase. Among those Kansas City founders taking the stage during the announcement: Dominique Davison, PlanIT Impact; Kyle Ginavan, OneHQ; Bo Lais, Lula; Luke Lim, Tile Five LCC; A.J. Mellott, Ronawk…