Startups Stories

Austin Wilson, GovTech Labs

He came to KC for remote work and low-cost living; he stayed to found his own GovTech company

When remote work opportunities brought Austin Wilson to Kansas City in 2019, playing the role of founder wasn’t yet on his mind — until he met a community of starters willing to do anything it took to make their city in the image of innovation, he recalled. “There’s no better time for innovation than in a…

Matt Shatto, Shatto Home Delivery

This milkman delivers community impact: Why Shatto added local makers’ products to its trucks

Shatto Milk is making good on its promise to connect local people to local products, Matt Shatto said, pouring details that revealed the true meaning behind the dairy startup’s push to expand its delivery service.  “I was very frustrated with how people were bastardizing the use of the word ‘local,’” added Shatto, who co-founded the…

Brian Roberts, The Black Pantry

Pop-up shop for Black-owned essentials plans its final 2020 stops; only the beginning, founder says

Editor’s note: This article is underwritten by Plexpod — a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes — but was independently produced by Startland News. Kansas City’s lack of a centralized shopping hub for products from Black-owned businesses frustrated Brian Roberts, he said, prompting the entrepreneur to launch…

Cart Kings

Safe and sanitized: Cart Kings corral COVID threat with three dads’ protective solution

Three Kansas City dads’ community-first mindsets pushed the trio to develop a “first-of-its-kind” technique for making grocery and retail stores across the metro safer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Their mission: disinfect shopping carts and other well-used items via a sanitization trailer — bypassing the arduous, fallible and potentially dangerous process of cleaning by hand, said…

Damika Clay

How Stick Figure Bully’s simple lines and shapes rewrite one woman’s childhood trauma as a cautionary tale

Editor’s note: This article is underwritten by Plexpod — a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes — but was independently produced by Startland News. A creative spirit, Damika Clay recalled a white sweatshirt on which she loved to write and draw designs. The same item she proudly…