Minority-Led Stories

KCK startup joins Tulsa Techstars, building toward expected $1.2M funding round

Another Kansas City startup is headed for entrepreneurial resources in Oklahoma with Foresight Reporting’s just-announced acceptance into The Build in Tulsa Techstars Accelerator. “We’re very excited to not only be embedded in the Tulsa entrepreneurial ecosystem, but also in its rich culture and history,” said Jannae Gammage, CEO and co-founder of Kansas City, Kansas-built Foresight….

Combat to capital: Vetelligence founder secures NMotion investment, accelerator deployment

A Kansas City-based startup focused on guiding military service members into tech careers is among the latest companies selected for a top regional accelerator — strengthened by its founder’s own background as a veteran-turned-entrepreneur. Vetelligence — led by Zachary Oshinbanjo, who served nearly four years as an indirect infantryman and specialist in the U.S. Army…

First he got the park clean, then his brother; New theater explores how Chris Harris played through the hazards

Five years after opening a golf course in the Ivanhoe neighborhood to help revitalize his community from within, Chris Harris is taking a swing at the east side’s theater desert. Harris — the owner and operator of Harris Park Midtown Sports and Activity Center and lifelong neighborhood resident — has now built an indoor theater…

Donald Hawkins, KC Collective; STARTLAND's Innovation Exchange

Former KC startup acquired by Atlanta-based banking platform, uniting two of the largest Black-owned fintechs

ATLANTA — Greenwood, a digital banking platform for Black and Latino individuals and businesses, announced this week its acquisition of Kansas City-founded Kinly — a neobank building generational wealth for Black America. The deal will help grow Atlanta-based Greenwood’s ecosystem of more than 1 million members and provide Kinly’s community of more than 300,000 with…

Million-dollar corporate gift puts $25M Negro Leagues capital campaign on the board; now you’re on deck

Editor’s note: Bank of America is a financial partner of Startland News, although this report was created independently by the nonprofit newsroom. A historic age of impact is under way, said Bob Kendrick, as Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum unveiled plans for a new, state-of-the art campus backed by a $1 million grant from…