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
Mother-daughter businesses connected by sustainability, faith, yearning for community
Quoleshna Elbert wants to get — and give — the most bang for her buck, she said. “I’m the person who wants to kill three birds with one stone,” explained the founder of Community Local, an eco-friendly T-shirt brand based in Kansas City. Such drive is hereditary. “We want to be able to go deeper…
Video: ‘Have you eaten?’ KC Pinoy adds food math to flavorful Filipino fare
Editor’s note: The following content about Chrissy Nucum’s KC Pinoy is sponsored by Mid-Continent Public Library but independently produced by Startland News. KC Pinoy food truck’s last customer of the day was aptly named: Lucky. “We’ve had a good enough day to break a hundred [dollar bill],” owner Chrissy Nucum told the diner at the…
Blue Hills incubator merging with mission-based urban core developer
A catalyst for change within the neighborhoods surrounding Prospect Avenue, the Blue Hills incubator is expected to continue serving entrepreneurs after merging with a leading development group in the urban core. The not-for-profit formed by combining the expertise of Blue Hills Community Services and Swope Community Builders aims to reclaim areas of Kansas City by…
Hungry Sprint Accelerator startups bite into corporate partnerships at Demo Day (Photos)
Winning a mother’s trust is a big deal, said Michael Moran, founder of MoPro, a high-protein, low-sugar Greek yogurt that was among the 2018 Sprint Accelerator cohort’s dairy-centric startups. But what’s perhaps even better than earning Mom’s blessing? Winning financial support from a key backer. Dairy Farmers of America announced a partnership with MoPro Tuesday…
Calling songbirds, good and bad: Choir Bar harmonizes with group singalongs
Kansas City’s new “Choir Bar” only works with a packed crowd, admits Matt Baysinger, but professional vocal talent isn’t required. “There’s no sheet music, no judgement, no solos, and no pressure,” he said of the “reverse karaoke”-style event wherein the masses — not an individual — belt out a popular tune. “We’re here to sing…
IXKC: Racial bias conversation puts white faces in an awkward spot — the minority
Editor’s note: Check out photos from this event below the story. White people have to understand that they’ll never understand, said Lora McDonald. “White people only have to be ‘white’ when they’re in a room with other races. When they aren’t, they get to be individuals, not just a monolithic group,” she told a diverse…
Dimensional Innovations scores with massive Target Center design overhaul
Amid the hustle of a Minnesota Timberwolves game, fans peer through a glass floor at passersby in a lobby below. Looking up, a giant, neon-colored basketball sculpture looms overhead. It’s a moment created for curiosity and connection — designed by Overland Park’s Dimensional Innovations. Extending through multiple floors of the four-story Target Center in Minneapolis,…
More jobs than job seekers? SnapIT-led tech partnership trains next wave of workers
Corporations and tech startups alike are desperate to get their hands on programmers who know Java, said Neelima Parasker. “Big organizations have it embedded in their systems, and they’re dying to get some Java resources,” the SnapIT Solutions CEO said. “And don’t get me wrong: So am I.” A new partnership between SnapIT, the Full…
AY Young pivots Battery Tour to music festival benefitting those without power
With an ear-to-ear grin and his infectious laugh, AY Young admits he’s perhaps an unlikely rapper. Back from taking a shot at stardom in California, the Kansas City-born Eagle Scout-turned-college basketball player-turned performer is plugging into the entrepreneur community in hopes of more efficiently powering the Battery Tour. “We’re essentially using the universal language of…
More than coworking: Plexpod lauded as economic driver at EDCKC Cornerstone Awards
A Cornerstone Award win for Plexpod is a recognition of the evolving nature of community and connections, said Gerald Smith. “When we set out to do the Plexpod Westport Commons project, from the beginning it was much more than just another coworking facility,” said Plexpod co-founder Smith. “We believed Kansas City needed a central hub…