Latest Stories
New in KC: Quarantine with family leads Techmate founder to open office in Kansas City
Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. Growing up in Nebraska, Nicole Beals felt like she needed…
Boutique startup specializing in breast prosthesis for cancer survivors catches attention of KC healthcare investor
As the new year rang in 2020, Jasmine Jones envisioned pop-up shops for Cherry Blossom Intimates — an accredited medical facility housed within a lingerie boutique that provides breast cancer survivors with customizable prosthesis. Eleven months into the unpredictable year, however, Jones innovated the startup into a virtual brand. “I had to ask myself, ‘What would…
Shop small: Five designer gifts at Kindred celebrating KC’s fashionpreneurs, winning vibes
Editor’s note: Startland News shopped Kindred’s Oak Park Mall store as part of the newsroom’s five-part holiday gift guide that identifies locally made goods and supports the call to shop small. Click here to read the multi-day gift guide as it develops. Local designers always have a spot on the rack within the Kindred Shops. …
Shop small: Five buys at Westport’s Mid Coast Modern to help support KC makers
Editor’s note: Startland News explored Mid Coast Modern’s Westport storefront as part of the newsroom’s five-part holiday gift guide that identifies locally made goods and supports the call to shop small. Click here to read the multi-day gift guide as it develops. Westport streets aren’t filled with as much cheer in 2020, Matt Bramlette said, entering…
Victorian hair artist resurrects dead art form; talks representation for asexual, disabled communities
For as long as Courtney Lane can remember, she’s had a fascination with the ways people memorialize their deceased loved ones, the Kansas City hair artist said. “I had a family who didn’t shelter me from the concept of death,” Lane recalled. “When I was 5 or 6 years old, my grandmother took me on…
TripleBlind earns strategic investment from Accenture to jump into $500B market faster
A newly announced strategic investment is expected to boost a high-profile, pre-seed Kansas City startup’s bid to help enterprises harness the potential of sensitive data. Terms of the deal between Dublin-based Accenture and TripleBlind were not disclosed Wednesday, but the investment by the global professional services firm marks a significant step forward for TripleBlind as…
Off the rack: Tesseract’s next wearable robot tech — interactive tees with embedded intelligence
It wouldn’t be a Tesseract Ventures original if it lacked hard-wired flair, John Boucard said, showing off the metro’s leading robotics startup’s newest creation — interactive tees. “What we’ve developed is some embedded intelligence inside the textiles,” Boucard, founder and CEO, said in a recently released video showing four T-shirt styles — which represent the…
Only made in KC: Sandlot Goods revives iconic ‘KC hat’ with 25-step, felt-to-field production
The classic, Baldwin-style KC hat is back in the game — boasting a newly drafted team of makers and a modern twist on its otherwise traditional look, Sandlot Goods announced. “With most major hat manufacturers moving their production overseas, there is a space and a need for a classic, American-made ball cap,” said Chad Hickman, founder…
Fur-miliar faces: Teacher-turned-entrepreneur captures pet personalities through custom art
Combining her love for art and animals, Chris Bohannon is happily letting pets and passion guide her entrepreneur journey. “I absolutely adore animals,” said Bohannon, the artist behind Artist KC — a Waldo-based small business specializing in custom pet art. “I am a crazy cat lady. I love dogs. I think hedgehogs are super weird…
GEWKC conversation: Black women are building tech — but are we building them?
A coalition of organizations working to connect early-stage founders to critical resources — with an emphasis on equitable access — is shining the spotlight on Black women in tech during this week’s premier entrepreneurship event series, Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City. “Black women are launching businesses at the fastest clip of any racial group. Despite…
