Corporate Stories

Donald Hawkins, kinly, at the C3KC “Fintech is Revolutionizing Banking” session

Fintech revolution follows historical abuse of Black wealth: ‘We’re already late, but we’ve got to do something’

Editor’s note: Startland News is a media sponsor for the C3KC session “Fintech is Revolutionizing Banking.” With nearly 30 percent of Americans reported as under-banked or unbanked, leaders in the financial space need to ask themselves what steps must be taken to create a more inclusive system, said Cordell Carter II. “We often ask leaders the…

Neal Sharma, DEG exit

A weakness today can be KC’s superpower tomorrow: Call for corporate engagement begins with CEOs

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity.  Successful entrepreneurial ecosystems require a certain level of corporate engagement — and even stewardship — said Neal Sharma, noting the…

Willa Robsinson, Willa’s Books & Vinyl, at H&R Block

‘Supplier diversity is deceptively difficult’: How to boost diverse small businesses without tokenizing them

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity.  Successful efforts to promote increased, consistent spending with more diverse small businesses must start with C-Suite buy-in, Christine Kelly said,…

Rich Smith, president-emeritus, and Kevin Lewis, CEO and president, Henderson Engineers — one of 12 companies in the first cohort of the CEO-to-CEO Challenge

Meet the 12 KC companies pledging to buy from diverse vendors; Join them in the CEO-to-CEO Challenge

Editor’s note: The following story was sponsored by KC Rising, a regional initiative to help Kansas City grow faster and more intentionally, as part of a campaign to promote its CEO-to-CEO Challenge on supplier diversity.  A dozen high-profile Kansas City companies are at the vanguard of a new regional effort to boost supplier diversity programs…

TJ Roberts, Kinship Cafe

Chamber’s new ‘Superstars’ roster brings exposure to 2,000+ KC small businesses 

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. An excited TJ Roberts took a quick break from shoveling snow Friday in the parking lot of his Kansas City, Kansas, coffee shop to post his elation…