Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Reporter, Startland News
Nikki brings to Startland News both community journalism and entrepreneurship experience and she loves being able to tell the inspiring stories of fellow creatives and risk-takers.
Before joining Startland News, she worked for over 10 years writing and editing for daily newspapers in Lawrence, Topeka, Duluth, Minnesota, and Park Hills, Missouri. She took a short hiatus from journalism to pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef and starting her own baking business.
Recent Stories by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Heart-shaped goalllll: How city’s favorite parade of art, culture creates 150 openings for KC in 2026
Parade of Hearts scores new sculpture design as campaign looks down the pitch to World Cup potential A newly revealed sculpture design for the 2026 Parade of Hearts campaign is more than just the fiberglass from which it takes shape, Carmen Zuniga told a crowd gathered for a sneak peek at the prototype for the…
URL to IRL insights: KC analytics startup downloads $1.2M pre-seed round powered by coalition of VCs
The region’s investment community is rallying around an Overland Park tech startup that unlocks insights from videos online and beyond — and its trio of Kansas City founders is grateful to see local talent earning capital that more easily flows to coastal innovators. A $1.2 million pre-seed for dScribe AI is expected to fuel growth…
A night for knock-outs: Pipeline gala adds glitz to the hard-fought battles of entrepreneurship (Photos)
Midwest means resilience, Melissa Vincent told a black-tie crowd of entrepreneurs gathered Friday evening in the Grand Hall at Union Station, ultimately sharing the stage with not one, but two Innovator of the Year honorees. “When they get knocked down, knocked out, they get back up and they stay in the ring,” continued Vincent, CEO…
ProX calls on KC employers to help plant seeds; 1,700 student interns await program’s summer sunlight
For the fourth consecutive summer, ProX — one of the largest paid internship programs in the country — is giving Kansas City-area employers the opportunity to invest in the region’s future talent, Solissa Franco-McKay shared. The collaborative ProX effort pairs Kansas City students — from both sides of the state line — with area employers…
Rally unifies voices amid attacks on immigrants, LGBT+ rights; now it’s time to make noise, organizers say
As anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies seeking to dismantle DEI efforts ramp up, Danny Soriano has seen inquiries and communication to his digital media business noticeably slow down, the Latino entrepreneur said. “Clients [suddenly seem] deterred from going with me — as opposed to somebody who’s not of color or white,” explained Soriano, the founder of…
Concert: Black rockstars don’t just exist — they innovated the genre; how KC artists are still (song)writing history
A rock concert Friday at the newly opened Zhou B Art Center in Kansas City does more than place Black artists center stage for one night, said Malek Azrael; it spotlights that Black creatives belong in every musical space. “There is such a beautiful, Black presence in Kansas City and rock,” said Azrael, who is…
Protein-packed pallets: Sam’s Club deal pushes SimplyFUEL balls to record production (and Mitzi Dulan is rolling with it)
Juggling more than 50 million protein balls in 2024 is paying off for SimplyFUEL, Mitzi Dulan said, noting production quadrupled during the past year after adding retail giant Sam’s Club to its wholesale lineup. The founder and CEO is already riding that momentum in 2025, she said, teasing another big retailer launch in April. It’s…
Founder Problems: Podcast captures the ‘messy middle’ you don’t see on entrepreneurs’ highlight reels
A new Kansas City-based podcast is skipping over the fairy tale stories of founding a startup; instead diving straight into the messy parts, the hosts shared. Founder Problems — hosted by local entrepreneurs Sarah Schumacher, Zach Oshinbanjo, and Lee Zuvanich — is embracing the aspects of starting and running a business that no one wants…
Digital health startup aims to save medical providers time while bringing down cost of AI tech
CarePilot is on a mission to bring AI and automation to smaller medical clinics that don’t always have access to cutting-edge technology, shared founder and CEO Joseph Tutera. The Overland Park-based startup’s ambient AI technology — designed to help those smaller practices operate more efficiently — captures patient-provider interactions in real time, automating administrative tasks…
Chicken N Pickle splits spotlight with the Chiefs as FOX News broadcasts live from OP location
While the national focus this week is on football — and the Kansas City Chiefs’ drive for their third straight Super Bowl championship on Sunday — hometown pickleball got its share of the spotlight early Thursday thanks to a visit from “FOX & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy. Doocy — a Kansas City Chiefs fan who…