News Stories

Parker Graham, Finotta

How Finotta emerged from 2020’s perils with a leap of faith, $3M investment banked

The through line of Parker Graham’s startup journey so far: resiliency. “People like to joke that cockroaches just don’t die,” laughed Graham, reflecting after his fintech company, Finotta — more pheonix rising than cockroach surviving — recently closed a $3 million seed funding round and completely changed the makeup of its team. “I feel like…

Lisa Nguyen, Telehue Food

New in KC: Wichita-grown foodie whips up 4.5M TikTok, Youtube users with passion (and ramen) as her only guides

Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Lisa Nguyen was five…

Roman Raya, Taco Tank

Streets to tableside eats: Taco Tank gets off the ground, rolling into Crossroads food hall

Streetside tacos are a thing of the past for Kansas City-stuffed Taco Tank, but a brick-and-mortar expansion into Parlor’s Crossroads food hall means the potential of its authentic, Mexican street food is just hitting the grill, Roman Raya said.  “We were sharing a kitchen before with four other food trucks as our commissary. It was…

Miracle at Power & Light; photo courtesy of the Kansas City Power & Light District

Ho-ho-holiday bars: These Christmas-themed pop-ups will be your next seasonal spot for selfies, spirits

It’s Christmas in Kansas City — almost, teased the restaurant group behind the metro’s popular Miracle holiday pop-up bars, announcing their return and two brand new locations.  “It’s official, we’re back,” Rockhill Restaurant Group, which operates the bars as Miracle Kansas City in partnership with Cocktail Kingdom, said Friday on its social media accounts.  Returning bars…

Scale team at their Columbia office. Photo courtesy of KatFour Photo Commercial

Scale accelerator brings international talent to Columbia, reveals eight startups in first cohort

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. COLUMBIA,…