Startups Stories
Mother Clucker set to reopen Friday; bringing heat with spicy chicken perched for nationwide expansion
National expansion is on the menu for Kansas City-fried fast-casual hotspot Mother Clucker. But the chicken with a cult following has one hurdle in front of it — getting to the other side of COVID-19, said Derrick Foster. “Right before the pandemic hit we got approved to become a national franchise,” Foster, the founder and owner,…
Brown Sugar Collective promises sisterhood of support, collaboration for women of color
When it comes to entrepreneurial support in Kansas City, women of color often are left out of conversations that could help them grow their businesses, said Ashley Rudd. “They don’t necessarily feel like their voice is heard,” Rudd, founder of the personal shopping startup She’s Thrifted, said of her experience within the metro’s entrepreneurial community and…
True State redefines cannabis for daily life: There’s more to ‘hemp’ than CBD, says Michael Wilson
Opportunities are high — but True State customers won’t be, joked Michael Wilson, announcing the launch of a new hemp-based brand and the one-time luxury watchmaker’s return to the world of consumer goods. “We’re trying to get to the point where people look at the word ‘hemp’ and they stop thinking about marijuana and realize that…
Missouri startup support funding gutted amid COVID; Advocates hope reversing course could fuel recovery
It’s official: the 2021 budget for a popular public-private partnership that once infused millions into the Missouri tech and startup communities has been wholly defunded by the state as Gov. Mike Parson grapples with COVID-19’s continued economic fallout. But supporters of the Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC) hope Parson’s move — withholding all of the program’s…
‘Humans are the real technology,’ mother-daughter holistic health duo says
Balancing health tech with holistic and Taoist perspectives keeps the most important startup element — humans — top of mind, said Stacy Tucker. “Being in the tech space, we have these amazing advances in medical technology, yet we have gotten further and further away from humans as the real technology,” said Tucker, co-founder of Kansas…
