Minority-Led Stories

Innovative vintage looks, ‘anti-game day’ fits show out: Why this runway still fits after a decade in KC

Fashion trends change with the season, but eleven years after The Kritiq Fashion Show first dropped onto the streets of Kansas City its core purpose remains consistent, said Mark Launiu: creating a runway for people with bold ideas — and a support system along the journey.

Montre Moore, founder of Los Angeles-built AMP Beauty, pitches her company during a demo day-style graduation for LaunchKC's Social Venture Studio; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

LaunchKC graduates tap Kansas City energy, ‘electricity’ to power social venture growth

Escaping the clamor of Los Angeles for Kansas City has been refreshing, said Montre Moore, whose company AMP Beauty is among two drawn to the region for the fifth cohort of LaunchKC’s Social Venture Studio.

2026 AltCap Your Biz finalists: Easton Koch, BONICEL DENIM; Béty Lê Shackelford, Hella Good Deeds; Wesley Hamilton, INCLŪSIV Wellness; Keliah Smith, Keliah Dyann Art & Paper; DeMarkus Paul, Legacy Service Company; Madeline Johnson, Missouri Kansas Queer Law; Arden Pearson, Missouri Kansas Queer Law; Fred Neis, Rescue ID; Zoe Mays, Scream Queens; Erica Murff, The BeVel Barber Lounge; Casie Murff, The BeVel Barber Lounge; and India Clark Stewart, Your Healing Touch

‘Going bigger than ever before’: Meet the star finalists vying for $60K in AltCap Your Biz prizes

Nearly a dozen small businesses are set to compete this fall for $60,000 in prizes, AltCap Your Biz organizers said Friday, announcing 10 finalists in the expanded pitch competition’s 11th journey to the stage with Kansas City entrepreneurs.

Restaurateurs at Parlor KC ‘completely shocked’ by food hall’s planned closure

With just four days’ notice — and sitting on thousands of dollars in perishable food inventory — a half-dozen entrepreneurs with kitchens at Parlor KC said they were blindsided this week by a social media post announcing the food hall’s final hours.

Mayor calls legal challenge ‘unjust’ as city OKs replacement for minority-, women-owned biz support

Kansas City is moving ahead with a plan to replace its decades-old, but recently-disputed Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise program with a new initiative focused on small and local businesses.