Woman-led Stories

Meet customers where they are (and they’re on TikTok): Marketing experts urge startups to invest in brand building

Like it or not, “TikTok remains king,” said Mikita Burton, encouraging startup founders to balance negative headlines about the video-sharing social media platform with its incredible potential for reaching their most-sought-after audiences. “We don’t just get to pick our customers’ favorite platforms, so you need to be where they are,” Burton, a social media strategist…

Start from the top: How these newsmakers forged companies to watch (Event Photos) 

Maybe it was an open opportunity in a market that couldn’t be ignored. Perhaps a calling to do something bigger than themselves. Or, for some, just a transparent bid to find profit in a world of problems waiting to be solved. Each of Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch launched with a motivation…

WeCode KC, CAPA selected for free services from this Top 10 KC small business winner

A company lauded among Kansas City’s top small businesses for three consecutive years this week announced the nonprofit recipients of $100,000 in pro-bono marketing services through a first-time expansion of its annual Crux for a Cause initiative. WeCode KC and Child Abuse Prevention Association (CAPA) will each receive marketing investments of $50,000 for 2024, said…

KC startup on a mission to show women’s health is more than a niche; a nationwide advocate could help

A women-led Kansas City health startup is among 10 companies chosen for a new innovation cohort from Springboard Enterprises, which made a name for itself locally in recent years through its popular Dolphin Tank pitch showcases. Marma was selected for the Springboard program — a comprehensive entrepreneurial bootcamp and an expansive workshop series — because the…

What if they connected: New leader wants to use puppets to give toddlers their first arts experience

Amanda Kibler has long admired What If Puppets, the nonprofit’s new executive director shared. “It’s a great company,” she said of the Kansas City arts institution known for years as the Mesner Puppet Theater. “I’m just over the moon to be involved. I’ve been saying for a long time, it’s the one company in town…