NXTUS launches bracket-style pitch competition for Kansas startups with $20K in prizes
A new, high-energy pitch competition is expected to help startup founders collide with angel investors and innovation leaders from across Kansas — all set against the excitement of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this spring. The Game... Read more
Chris Boyle wants you to reach for kombucha on instinct; his plan: make it as accessible (and tasty) as your favorite beer
Daily Culture Kombucha’s expansion is not quite as effortlessly self-replicating as the scoby that powers the Kansas City brand’s bold, full-bodied flavors — but a commitment to consistency and authenticity has fermented a strategy founder Chris... Read more
This sandwich shop’s top menu item: Make Gallatin beautiful again (and don’t skip the sweet rolls)
Editor’s note: The following story was produced through a paid partnership with MOSourceLink, which boasts a mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state of Missouri grow and succeed by providing free, easy access to the h... Read more
Lawmakers redeploy bill to boost veterans as entrepreneurs; targeting easier access to capital, credit
Bipartisan legislation to help veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs overcome barriers on the home front is back in Congress, with backing from two area lawmakers who say the time is now to get resources to those who served. U.S. Rep.... Read more
Olathe restaurateur brings comfort food home from the Mediterranean (starting with falafel bowls)
Summer Salem looked around her city for an authentic Mediterranean restaurant and found a gap in the Olathe marketplace. So a year ago she began planning one of her own. She teamed with her husband, Abraham, who also is a partner in a downtown K... Read more
A new milestone for the University of Missouri-Kansas City — achieving status as Kansas City’s first Carnegie R1 research institution — is expected to help boost the region’s ability to start, grow and scale more startups, leaders said this week... Read more
How this founder’s hobby (plus a little trouble) became Oak Park retail incubator’s biggest success story
“Big Chunky Blankets” — soft as a baby’s cheek and custom knitted in any color of the rainbow — folded into the foundation of what would become Maryann Nzioki Hult’s resilient, nearly pandemic-proof foray into entrepreneurship. They put local Ta... Read more
KC Bier Co building new 30,000-square-foot urban beer garden; founder brewing a space for all
A Kansas City-built, German-style brewery is expanding to Lenexa — bringing an authentic Bavarian beer garden experience to Johnson County, said founder Steve Holle. Developed in partnership with West Star Development, the new KC Bier Co. venue... Read more
Cook to CEO: Chad Offerdahl sticks to Big Biscuit basics as breakfast industry trends funky — ‘That’s not us’
Chad Offerdahl’s journey with The Big Biscuit didn’t start in an office — it began in the kitchen, explained the CEO of the fast-growing, locally owned breakfast brand. That’s where he first learned the classics that define the company, its miss... Read more
‘Invest with women we know’: This $1.4M wellness hub project is redeveloping one neighborhood from within
It’s an old real estate adage: “Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood.” Longtime Kansas City commercial broker Sheryl Vickers said it also applies to business properties, “one thousand percent.” Like twin mid-century office buildings jus... Read more