News Stories

KC council members set to rappel from Canary bar atop 10-story building for Fringe festival fundraiser 

Nothing screams KC Fringe Festival quite like rappelling down a 10-story building in the heart of Midtown, said organizers of a weekend fundraiser to help bring professional arts advocates — laid off because of the pandemic — back to the payroll. “To me, this fundraiser really speaks to what the Fringe does — which is…

Three Dog Bakery grand opening party at Bar K

Three Dog Bakery’s newest location brings doggie cookies, birthday cakes to Bar K 

A partnership between a Kansas City-bred, all-natural dog treat brand and one of the metro’s hottest spots for four-legged meetups is a natural pairing, said David Hensley, noting both businesses are centered around the goal of bringing joy to people and their pets.  “We’ve been working with Three Dog Bakery for a while now to…

Jeff Kostos, Spear Power Systems

Grandview-based battery innovator — Evergy Ventures’ first investment — exiting to global power player

A Kansas City-area startup developing next-generation scalable lithium-ion battery storage systems for land, sea and air is being acquired by a global power management leader, the companies announced Monday. Financial terms of the transaction — through which Grandview-based Spear Power Systems will add its power and talent to Sensata Technologies — were not disclosed. The…

Dominic Davis and Reggie Meade, The Future is Black (TFIB)

The Future is Black: Storytelling duo launches effort to inspire new generation of creatives, entrepreneurs

The future is Black and Dominic Davis wants Kansas City to know it, he said, announcing the launch of a new campaign aimed at better connecting and supporting entrepreneurs and creatives of color.  “When one of us wins, we all win,” Davis said, detailing his decision to found The Future is Black (TFIB) — a storytelling…

Brad Starnes, Splitsy

Divide and conquer: Splitsy pulls $70K from crowdfunding, ‘extra bump’ toward launch 

Splitsy is ready to cash in on its widespread consumer appeal, revealed Brad Starnes, announcing the close of the startup’s first crowdfunding campaign and what it might mean for its rapidly scaling future.  “We’re sitting at about $130,000 in funding right now,” said Starnes, co-founder of Splitsy, noting a nearly $71,000 chunk of the startup’s…