Tommy Felts
Editor-In-Chief, Startland News
Tommy is editor-in-chief for Startland News, a Kansas City-based nonprofit newsroom that uses storytelling to elevate the region’s startup community of entrepreneurs, innovators, hustlers, creatives and risk-takers.
Under Tommy’s leadership, Startland News has expanded its coverage from a primarily high-tech, high-growth focus to a more wide-ranging and inclusive look at the faces of entrepreneurism, innovation and business.
Before joining Startland News in 2017, Tommy worked for 12 years as an award-winning newspaper journalist, designer, editor and publisher. He was named one of Editor & Publisher magazine’s top “25 Under 35” in 2014.
Recent Stories by Tommy Felts
Sisterhood of entrepreneurs: World Cup small biz effort forged unexpected bonds between founders
Business owners backed by the City of Entrepreneurs initiative are getting more than they bargained for, said Jackie Nguyen, describing the scene during the FIFA World Cup when she looked around Union Station and found herself surrounded by a freshly connected sisterhood — a family — of entrepreneurs.
Kansas City business owner wins Verizon’s live pitch competition timed to World Cup
Liz Benditt scored the final goal Friday, securing victory in a national pitch competition that began with more than 500 contenders before narrowing to a live, Shark Tank-style round at New York New Jersey Stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup final.
Shooting his shot: See KC through the lens of a man on stage for Fan Fest’s biggest moments
Frank Q. Pham’s most-pressing challenge during the FIFA World Cup wasn’t the heat or even getting close to the biggest stage in town. The Kansas City photographer — who seemingly was shooting everything, everywhere throughout the games — was busiest combatting FOMO, he said.
His work welcomed tens of thousands to KC: Meet the designer behind City of Entrepreneurs’ bold look
A small business takeover inside Union Station — transforming its historic Grand Hall into a marketplace tapestry of brightly-colored, bodega-style storefronts — is just one piece of a sprawling campaign to rebrand Kansas City as the City of Entrepreneurs, said Max Ayalla.
Here’s how Union Station, small biz marketplace are proving a real-world test for activating KC
Team Netherlands defeated Tunisia Thursday night in high-profile World Cup gameplay, but the day’s Kansas City winner was one of the city’s most iconic hubs of living history, said Union Station officials.
Crowd count: Oranje Army rallied 36,000+ fans for downtown Kansas City fanwalk
A fanwalk midday Thursday saw legions of Netherlands supporters march from downtown Kansas City to Crown Center — likely besting similar “Oranje Army” fan parades this month ahead of earlier World Cup matches in Texas, according to beacon technology from a Kansas City-based crowd-tracking company.
‘Come out, Kansas City’: Cafe owner calls on KC to fill World Cup tourism gap as small businesses outside FIFA footprint struggle
Construction on Southwest Boulevard slowed traffic to nearby storefronts and restaurants for more than a year, said Cait Benedict, with many small business owners holding out hope that if they could just make it to the FIFA World Cup, they could survive.
‘You never know who’s watching’: Marketplace prize winner refused to quit; now she’s one of KC’s star founders
Stage after stage, LaToya Ebony Sirls delivers her company pitch. She tweaks the delivery, adjusts certain words and details to address past judges’ questions, but her overall confidence in herself and the product never outwardly wavers, she said.
Organics in orange: FIFA Fan Fest pushes KC Can Compost’s concept beyond theory
Joining FIFA Fan Festival as the Kansas City site’s official compost partner demonstrates that a homegrown social venture like KC Can Compost can build the infrastructure, operational capacity, and trust to support one of the world’s biggest public events, said Kristan Chamberlain.
Here’s where to find that viral Argentina jersey (and more must-have KC-made merch)
These are moments fans want to remember forever, said Jesse Phouangphet, unpacking a just-arrived box of Kansas City jerseys emblazoned with a MADE MOBB crest and the colors of Argentina’s national football team. The Crossroads-built streetwear team officially dropped the jerseys in-store Tuesday as crowds of Argentina fans swelled throughout the city ahead of the…