Kansas City was born of an entrepreneurial spirit, said Steve Miller. “We were all in the spirit head of the Westward Expansion, and [were] entrepreneurs from the very beginning,” said Miller, candidate for the Kansas City, Missouri, mayor, last... Read more
Landing more than $100 million in funding is no small feat for PayIt — or any startup, John Thomson said with a mix of humble confidence. “Wins beget wins, and it helps to build the ecosystem,” said Thomson, CEO and co-founder of PayIt. Click he... Read more
Students who grow up in Kansas City’s urban core shouldn’t be denied access to a quality education based on their address, Myron McCant said as he thumbed through renderings of a 15,000-square-foot learning space that could soon grant such stude... Read more
A massive investment from a New York-based venture capital and private equity firm is expected to help push Kansas City GovTech startup PayIt to 120 employees by the end of 2019, John Thomson said. “We’re already growing at a pretty good clip, a... Read more
Amid nearly three dozen Kansas City mayoral candidate forums, Startland readers raised a round of questions — some easy to answer, others loaded — but each invested in seeing who will emerge from the shadow of popular, bow tie-wearing mayor, Sl... Read more
Kansas City’s unequal playing field for children and inconsistent access to early education programs has a distinct ripple effect into the business community, Matt Condon said, advocating for Mayor Sly James’ Pre-K for KC initiative. “I don... Read more
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by Plexpod, a progressive coworking platform offering ne... Read more
The role of mayor doesn’t always require being “the lead dog on the sled,” said Sly James. Rather, it’s an opportunity for a bridge between those knowledgeable enough to make change, the outgoing KCMO mayor added. [pullquote] KCMO Votes • Confus... Read more
Raise and raise relentlessly. Because in business, the sun won’t shine every day, Tim Barton told a room filled Wednesday morning with entrepreneurs and investors eagerly seeking support and insight at the 20th InvestMidwest Venture Capital Foru... Read more
Ties meet rocket tech: Crooked Branch refines bow ties with carbon fiber, urging fearlessness
Capitalize on what’s trendy, find a way to make it better, and the work will do itself, Paul Kaster said of his fresh-out-of-high school startup journey. Such a mindset has only elevated business for Kaster, founder of Crooked Branch Studio. The... Read more