Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Reporter, Startland News
Nikki brings to Startland News both community journalism and entrepreneurship experience and she loves being able to tell the inspiring stories of fellow creatives and risk-takers.
Before joining Startland News, she worked for over 10 years writing and editing for daily newspapers in Lawrence, Topeka, Duluth, Minnesota, and Park Hills, Missouri. She took a short hiatus from journalism to pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef and starting her own baking business.
Recent Stories by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Home buyers, sellers should keep more of their money, KC-built proptech startup says
“We're not anti-agent,” said founder Phillip Allen, who led the H&R Block team that developed Rapid Refund, the first electronic tax filing system. “We're anti-the abusive fees that go along with it.”
Cerner co-founder: ‘We always seemed to be in the right place at the right time’
Never underestimate the power of good luck among entrepreneurs, serial founder Cliff Illig told a crowd during a fireside chat that touched on the journey to Cerner’s $28.3 billion exit.
Jade Market launches incubator for Asian retailers amid vision to build cultural, business hub in KC
A small group of Asian entrepreneurs leading product-based businesses are getting an opportunity to brush up on their retail readiness in Hella Good Deeds’ inaugural Jade Market Cohort.
Mallouk family’s $5.1M investment will welcome children of all abilities to KC’s signature downtown park
A $5.1 million contribution from Kansas City’s most-recent Entrepreneur of the Year broadens the spectrum of play for many young people who too often find themselves without a space to belong.
KC summit calls on high-potential entrepreneurs to do more than just show up: Embed
“We’re going to help people rise in their businesses,” said Dulcinea Herrera, detailing plans for this week's Quarter Life Crisis gathering in Kansas City.
KC’s readiness is a team sport: Why cashing in requires World Cup collaboration
It starts with opening the door, said Dulcinea Herrera, encouraging business owners who are preparing for an influx of World Cup visitors to “think in the mindset of the world."
She’s flipping the priorities on homebuilding; this founder wants buyer stress out of the blueprints
“It’s one of the biggest emotional, financial investments you're going to make in your life,” the founder of Olathe-based buildNest explained, tapping into her own homebuilding experience.
Nature gets a human boost as experts restore KC’s forgotten heart-shaped forest ahead of World Cup
A hidden gem near Kansas City International Airport is being rediscovered and restored — just in time to welcome World Cup visitors flying overhead to the heartland.
Soccer icon Matt Besler: Other World Cup hosts are asking ‘How can we follow KC’s lead?’
Kansas City might be the smallest city hosting FIFA World Cup games this summer, but it’s already showing the other 15 cities how to lead the way, the former Sporting Kansas City superstar shared.
Moving humanity forward isn’t always pleasant, Block founder says, urging innovators to keep crossing the line
What’s so cool about getting up every day to do something that you don’t know is going to work? Jim McKelvey asked a crowd gathered for the Rockhurst University Leadership Series about the realities of forging ahead as an entrepreneur.