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
Amplified to scale: Superstars initiative shines brighter as Chamber widens spotlight (Photos)
Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. For the roughly 400 entrepreneurs who gathered Wednesday at lightwell, being a small business owner began to feel like something much bigger, said organizers of the KC…
Parade brings champion Chiefs home to the masses after Super Bowl win (Photos)
Confetti fell and hometown spirits rose Wednesday as the world champion Kansas City Chiefs returned from a stunning fight that earned them — and an estimated 1 million or more of their closest friends — the right to party. The Chiefs’ Super Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles — the team’s third overall — marked a…
Meet the Midwest’s future serial entrepreneurs: Pipeline reveals 2023 fellowship, Pathfinder cohort
Nearly 30 of the region’s most promising founders now have access to an industry-agnostic network that focuses solely on serial high-growth entrepreneurs — without taking equity in the startups it serves, said Melissa Vincent. Pipeline Entrepreneurs on Tuesday officially announced its new roster of high-profile fellows, as well as members of its latest Pipeline Pathfinder…
KC-built NFT startup merges with news outlet to ‘create clarity out of chaos’ in volatile industry
It’s time for the NFT industry and digital economy to grow up, said Randy Wasinger, announcing the merger of CryptoSlam and Forkast.News — a move meant to help tame a “Wild West” ecosystem “full of promise, glory and painful outcomes for many” via on-chain data analytics and journalism. “[The NFT industry] shouldn’t lose its fearless…
10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023
A new startup community has emerged in a post-pandemic world — and 10 scaling players are on the front lines, ready to redefine what startup success looks like in the Heartland. The newsmakers featured in Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2023 list are no strangers to our readers or their fellow entrepreneurs….
Bungii hires former C2FO exec for CFO role; startup delivers on new consumer demands
Ratcheting through the stages of a growing startup is easier with an experienced professional under the hood, said Ben Jackson, drawing upon the comparison of scaling to “chewing glass while staring into the abyss.” “Companies fundamentally change as various revenue thresholds are surpassed,” said Jackson, co-founder of Bungii. “A seed stage company looks completely different…
Winners revealed: LaunchKC awards $300K in rebooted grants competition
LaunchKC’s cornerstone grants celebration returned Tuesday after a four-year hiatus, awarding six Kansas City startups — from gaming and edtech to IoT and healthcare — with $50,000 each in non-dilutive grants. “A win for these companies is a win for Kansas City,” said Becca Castro, strategic initiatives manager for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas…
Cannabis biz expected to grow like a weed after MO voters light recreational marijuana
Tuesday’s vote in favor of recreational marijuana in Missouri shows Kansas City’s obvious appetite for legalization, said Michael Wilson, whose cannabis startup sees a vast new market opened by the election outcome. Statewide, Missouri poll-goers this week approved the high-profile constitutional amendment with 53.1 percent of the more than 2 million votes cast. In Kansas…
THC-infused lemonade squeezes into market as ballot push unbottles potential for 2M Missouri cannabis customers
Blending the classic and comforting flavor of lemonade with the benefits of marijuana is like mixing oil and water, said Michael Wilson. But Franklin’s Stash House persisted, spending the time and money to perfect the process behind its THC-infused lemonade, he said. “Our water soluble formula has been our biggest investment — and really the…