Tommy Felts headshot

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

Eclipse watch: Drones to help UMKC-led researchers analyze gridlock

With all eyes on the sky for Monday’s rare solar eclipse, the heavens will be watching back. A team of volunteer drone pilots, research specialists and emergency management officials plan to use a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles to provide real-time observation and analysis of Kansas City-area traffic at two likely congestion points during the…

Shannon McGinley, CityShape Fitness

CityShape offers KC’s fitness-minded variety, exercise exploration

  Variety is key to connecting a diverse fitness community, Shannon McGinley said. Her company, CityShape Fitness, aims to bridge the gaps by offering web-based monthly memberships that give users access to a range of gyms and studios across the metro. “It’s about building community in Kansas City, and connecting people to all the tools…

Megan Day on Chopped

BBQ Addicts co-owner tastes individual success on Food Network’s ‘Chopped’

Megan Day left the corporate world for sweeter pastures. Now the BBQ Addicts co-owner is glazing her own trail as a premier pitmaster. And for at least one big victory, it’s all caught on camera. The Kansas City-based entrepreneur advanced earlier this month in a special grill master tournament on Food Network’s “Chopped.” Day bested…

KC Streetcar

‘Third-tier’ startup city? KC growing beyond tech snapshot, leader says

Momentum matters for a startup city, Ryan Weber said. A recent report ranking Kansas City in the middle of the pack among Midwestern startup hubs doesn’t factor in the ongoing rapid growth of the city’s tech scene, Weber, KC Tech Council president, said. International tech publication TechCrunch listed Kansas City as No. 9 out of…