Startland News’ one-night, rolling innovation showcase Friday served as a launch for select founders — capitalizing on a crowd of 500-plus Startup Crawl participants to bring their emerging companies into the Kansas City spotlight, one conversation at a time.
“I love that we got to share Portrayals XR with Kansas City first,” said Tricia Keightley, founder and CEO of a locally-built startup that officially debuted its virtual reality, AI-infused and mobile-based immersive healing platform at the event.
Tricia Keightley, Portrayals XR, talks with visitors at BOK Financial in the Crossroads during Startland News’ Startup Crawl event; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
“KC is such a powerful hub for entrepreneurs, and this was a fun, non-stuffy way to connect and interact,” she continued. “I’m grateful for the opportunity and excited for the day when we don’t feel like a startup anymore.”
Portrayals XR was one of more than 40 companies featured on the Startup Crawl, presented by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which spanned three venues in downtown and the Crossroads: Spark Kansas City, Mosaic and BOK Financial.
“Sure, curiosity draws a crowd,” said Tommy Felts, editor in chief of Startland News and who leads programming curation for the nonprofit newsroom’s signature events, like Startup Crawl and Startups to Watch, “but what we saw at the Crawl looked just as much like collaboration — attendees who were happy to trade an entrepreneur’s pitch for the opportunity to pitch in, even through a simple, five-minute trouble-shooting exchange.”
The discovery event — which doubled as a 10-year anniversary celebration for Startland News — targeted the startup community and general public alike, featuring a wide range of companies, from sports tech startups and AI-powered litigation software to fast-growing retail brands and a water generator that pulls drinkable water from the air.
Ivan Hadzhiev, founder of Merchpath, pitches his company to Startup Crawl attendees from inside Mosaic in the Live! Block at Power & Light; photo by Haines Eason
Startup Crawl offered founder Ivan Hadzhiev his first big opportunity to set up a booth to introduce Merchpath — his new platform for crafting more effective and intentional company swag — to potential partners and fellow entrepreneurs.
“We loved connecting with everyone while sharing how local businesses can strengthen their brand through merch that people actually want to use and keep,” said Hadzhiev, whose interactive display helped walk attendees through the process of design to premium finished products.
“The in-person environment allowed me to share some of the things that make Merchpath unique, including interactive NFC tap patches, demos of our design studio, as well as brand new products (sharing soon),” he added, noting Startup Crawl was the perfect setting to celebrate the creativity that makes Kansas City’s startup community so unique.
Check out a photo gallery below from journalist Haines Eason, then keep reading.
Starting new generations
Party vibes were thick Friday night at Spark Kansas City where Startup Crawl attendees gathered for a VIP toast to Startland News’ decade of storytelling — complete with birthday cake and live music from local artists Danny Soriano, BodaciousThang and Swoovi&&Co.
Olatunji Ajani, executive director for 1 Million Cups and Kauffman FastTrac, speaks on behalf of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation during Startup Crawl’s VIP celebration; photo by Haines Eason
“Congratulations to Startland for 10 years of impact; 10 years of elevating Kansas City; 10 years of making entrepreneurs from Kansas City seen across the world,” said Olatunji Ajani, executive director for 1 Million Cups and Kauffman FastTrac.
Representing the event’s presenting sponsor, the Kauffman Foundation leader challenged the crowd — and Startland News — to continue aggressively supporting Kansas City entrepreneurs, as well as working to inspire a next generation of builders.
A few moments later and a handful of yards away — tucked between startup founders in a Startup Crawl exhibition space — 11-year-old Tesher Schumacher called out to any passerby within 10 feet of his booth.
“You wanna buy a cat toy?”
The budding master salesman and founder was splitting a table with his entrepreneur mother, Sarah Schumacher, founder of website agency Tiny Thunder Studio. He’d come to the Crawl with a plan to sell six packages from his Cat Craft Toys brand in order to turn a profit.
“It was kind of hilarious to see him sell hardcore,” said Schumacher, noting she hadn’t coached her son beforehand (and he didn’t listen to her advice as the night went on). “I joked that Tesher should ask people if they actually have a cat before asking if they want to buy a cat toy, and he said no, because then they wouldn’t think of getting them as gifts (which at least one person did). I heard him answering questions, and multiple people said his explanations were what sold them. He’s clearly a natural.”
The idea for Tesher’s micro-business came from an experience with his kitten, Jio, who tore the fuzzy jingle balls off a cat toy and started carrying them around the house, Schumacher recalled.
“We reverse engineered how to make them, and I convinced Tesher he should turn it into a business,” she said. “I sourced the components, he drew a logo on my whiteboard that I digitized, my husband 3D printed the packaging and we made 100-plus toys.”
Tesher ultimately sold eight toys — two above his goal — but the real purpose of the evening had been to normalize talking about business, his mother said.
“The best way to learn is by doing,” Schumacher said. “Even if Tesher never does anything else with this or a future business, he’ll always remember what he learned about profit margins, cost of labor, and how tariffs impact pricing, which are basic concepts that everyone should understand.”
Powering storytelling impact
Stories like Tesher’s are among the reasons Startland News exists, said Austin Barnes.
Austin Barnes, publisher for Startland News, details the nonprofit’s new Founders Club during Startup Crawl’s VIP celebration; photo by Haines Eason
“If the past decade has taught me anything, it’s this: A single story can change the direction of someone’s life. That’s the magic of Startland,” explained Barnes, who now stewards the nonprofit as publisher, leading business operations alongside Felts, who oversees editorial content of the nonprofit newsroom.
The 10-year celebration served as a platform to announce Startland’s plans to lean fully into its storytelling platform — consolidating impact behind founder-focused programming — and opening the door to new paths of reader support.
“Every story we tell makes the unseen visible and the unproven undeniable,” Barnes told the Startup Crawl crowd. “And what keeps Startland going is our community: people like you who say, ‘Yes. These stories deserve to be told. And, yes. I’ll put my money on the line to support that.”
Founders Club — a new giving program rolled out at the event — allows readers to invest in the future of Kansas City by backing financially storytelling that actively de-risks investments in its entrepreneurial ecosystem, Barnes said.
A T-shirt collaboration with Kansas City-based streetwear brand and frequent headline-grabber MADE MOBB — featuring Startup Crawl event swag intended to help kick off an “All One Crew” mentality and donor campaign — illustrated the intersection of storytelling and entrepreneurship.
“We’re committed to sharing our own story in new and exciting ways,” said Barnes, who along with the Startland News team showcased the shirts throughout the evening. “That’s what this collaboration is all about. Because producing impact through Startland News is our passion, but it isn’t easy. And, as with entrepreneurship, it doesn’t come with a safety net.”
Click here to learn more about support options through the Founders Club.
In search of community
New to the local startup scene, founder Lizz Whitacre acknowledged she was a little nervous about the Startup Crawl crowd — unsure what kind of personalities to expect, but ultimately “beyond pleasantly surprised.”
Lizz Whitacre stands with her Pawlytics booth at Startup Crawl; photo courtesy of Lizz Whitacre
“People were inquisitive, genuine in either wanting to help or simply be encouraging, and asked incredibly thought-provoking questions that I’m taking back to my team to review,” explained the founder and CEO of Pawlytics, a pet tech startup that not only relocated from Nebraska to Kansas City this summer, but also recently pivoted its platform to work more directly with foster-based animal rescues and shelters.
“As I dug into my story, the company traction, and our mission, I was getting high fives and fist bumps all around; I felt so welcomed,” Whitacre said, noting she walked away with two meaningful meetings on the books thanks to Startup Crawl interactions. “The energy was really high, joyful, and supportive.”
“I was talking to a lot of people and working hard and thought I would be too exhausted to enjoy it, but honestly the hours flew by and I was bummed when it ended,” she continued. “It was a perfect way to share more about the company, myself, and our upcoming goals in order to give the community the opportunity to extend a helping hand — which many did. It solidified my excitement to be the newest member of the local startup community.”
Tricia Keightley, founder of Portrayals XR, center, details her startup for fellow entrepreneur Lisa Ragan, founder of Safely Delicious, during a stop along the Startup Crawl trail; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Portrayals XR’s founder felt the power of similar connections, she said. Keightley swapped stories and insights with fellow Startup Crawl exhibitors — like the team from Luma, a new dating app in Kansas City — as well as seasoned entrepreneurs just passing through like Lisa Ragan, founder of Safely Delicious, and resource partners from KCSourceLink and UMKC.
“It was amazing to finally launch publicly and show everyone what we’ve been building,” said Keightley. “As I like to say, the fortune is in the follow-up, so we’ll see how these relationships grow from here.”
Check out more photos below from Tommy Felts, editor at Startland News.
Further support for Startup Crawl has been generously provided by sponsors at: 2KC, Accelefund, AltCap, Bank of America, BOK Financial, Capitol Federal, Tiny Thunder Studio, EDCKC, Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Husch Blackwell, KCBizCare, KCSourceLink, the KC Tech Council, the Kansas Department of Commerce, the Kemper Family Foundation, Launch Code, Made in KC, the Mid-America LGBT Chamber, the Missouri Technology Corporation, Morgan Stanley, NMotion by gener8tor, Polsinelli, SeedFolk Partners, Spark Coworking, Switchyards, Tenfold Security, the UMKC Bloch School, the University of Kansas School of Business, and Urban Prairie Consulting.
Additionally, Startup Crawl is funded by a grant from The Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund (NTDF) — a program of the City of KCMO which provides support to non-profit organizations through contracts for services, established by State law in 1989 to help promote Kansas City’s distinct and diverse neighborhoods through cultural, social, ethnic, historic, educational and recreational activities in conjunction with promoting the city as a premier convention, visitor and tourist center.
Startland News is entering its next decade with a bold new model: our future is member-supported. If you believe Kansas City deserves independent, solutions-focused journalism that keeps innovation in the spotlight, now is the time to act.
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