Startland News, 1712 Main Street, Kansas City, MO (2025)

09/26/2025

A strategic partnership with the Hilton Family Office is expected to help Kansas City-based Technology Labs on its mission to protect and educate new investors in the crypto jungle, shared co-founder Travis Wright.

The startup announced Tuesday that Hilton Finance — the lending and investment division of the boutique family office with deep ties to the Hilton Hotel empire — is investing $300,000 into its CoinResearch.ai platform, a cryptocurrency research and investing toolkit using AI-driven insights and tools to empower users to make informed, confident crypto investments.

A strategic partnership with the Hilton Family Office is expected to help Kansas City-based Technology Labs on its mission to protect and educate new investors in the crypto jungle, shared co-founder Travis Wright.

09/26/2025

Kansas City sports tech innovator Noonan’s latest big swing sees the startup paired with a major industry player whose homegrown headquarters exercises its domination in the wearables market from just a few miles down I-35 in Johnson County.

Lenexa-built Noonan on Tuesday announced a collaboration with Garmin, a powerhouse in GPS-enabled sports technology — currently ranked the No. 1 “best employer” in Kansas by Forbes with 5,000 workers at its Olathe operation.

Kansas City sports tech innovator Noonan’s latest big swing sees the startup paired with a major industry player whose homegrown headquarters exercises its domination in the wearables market from just a few miles down I-35 in Johnson County.

09/25/2025

A lot of branded swag gets buried at the bottom of a drawer after being collected from a special event or trade show — never again to see the light of day, Ivan Hadzhiev said, noting his new startup is helping companies think outside the bag when they design and distribute promotional products.

“We’re making merch people want to keep,” said Hadzhiev, founder of Merchpath. “Around 70 percent of swag ends up discarded, thrown away, and goes to landfills. We’ve all been at an event or conference where they give us stuff we didn’t ask for. Most of the time it’s not thought through, it’s not quality, and it’s not practical.”

A lot of branded swag gets buried at the bottom of a drawer after being collected from a special event or trade show — never again to see the light of day, Ivan Hadzhiev said, noting his new startup is helping companies think outside the bag when they design and distribute promotional products.

09/25/2025

Startland News’ one-night, rolling innovation showcase Friday served as a launch for select founders — capitalizing on a crowd of 500-plus Startup Crawl participants to bring their emerging companies into the Kansas City spotlight, one conversation at a time.

More than 40 companies were featured on the Startup Crawl, presented by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which spanned three venues in downtown and the Crossroads: Spark Kansas City, Mosaic and BOK Financial.

The discovery event — which doubled as a 10-year anniversary celebration for Startland News — targeted the startup community and general public alike, featuring a wide range of companies, from sports tech startups and AI-powered litigation software to fast-growing retail brands and a water generator that pulls drinkable water from the air.

Startland News’ one-night, rolling innovation showcase Friday served as a launch for select founders — capitalizing on a crowd of 500-plus Startup Crawl participants to bring their emerging companies into the Kansas City spotlight, one conversation at a time.

09/24/2025

A popular fall pitch competition for emerging entrepreneurs is returning to Union Station in November with AltCap today announcing 10 finalists for $60,000 in cash prizes — ranging from Kansas City’s first mobile matcha cart to specialty wellness retailers and a dog toy innovator.

Small businesses are expected to present their live pitches 4 p.m. Nov. 19 at City Stage Theatre at Union Station. Finalists will compete for a $35,000 grand prize and a $20,000 second-place prize — the biggest cash prizes in AltCap Your Biz history.

A popular fall pitch competition for emerging entrepreneurs is returning to Union Station in November with AltCap today announcing 10 finalists for $60,000 in cash prizes — ranging from Kansas City's first mobile matcha cart to specialty wellness retailers and a dog toy innovator.

09/23/2025

That glow within downtown Overland Park isn’t just coming from the freshly stocked shelves at the new Annie Austen storefront; it’s yet another product of the pandemic-pivot entrepreneur’s contagious positivity — lightening the mood just steps away from a massive farmers market overhaul.

“There really aren’t any safe options in life. Sometimes the rug gets ripped out beneath,” said Annie Austen, founder and namesake of the lifestyle brand-turned-retailer Annie Austen. “I’ve just followed my own path on what I felt was right. I know it sounds silly, but there’s something to be said for a gut feeling.”

That glow within downtown Overland Park isn’t just coming from the freshly stocked shelves at the new Annie Austen storefront; it’s yet another product of the pandemic-pivot entrepreneur’s contagious positivity — lightening the mood just steps away from a massive farmers market overhaul.

09/20/2025

A newly published mini-guide to Black-owned arts and entertainment venues across Kansas City is expected to push community members deeper into the metro’s rich Black business ecosystem, said Brandon Calloway, highlighting a range of cultural and nightlife destinations.

“Vibe the City” passports are available now at the G.I.F.T. Business Center at 5008 Prospect Ave., as well as at select restaurants.

A newly published mini-guide to Black-owned arts and entertainment venues across Kansas City is expected to push community members deeper into the metro’s rich Black business ecosystem, said Brandon Calloway, highlighting a range of cultural and nightlife destinations.

09/19/2025

Relocating to Kansas City after winning a LaunchKC grant — and the community and infrastructure support that comes with it — gives Russel Karim’s startup a centralized hub from which it can reach coast to coast, and even global partners.

“We’re changing the game,” said Karim, co-founder and CEO of SourceEazy, which reimagines how custom products are designed, sourced and distributed. “The vision is we’re going to be building probably one of the biggest companies in this space in Kansas City.”

Relocating to Kansas City after winning a LaunchKC grant — and the community and infrastructure support that comes with it — gives Russel Karim’s startup a centralized hub from which it can reach coast to coast, and even global partners.

09/19/2025

A series of funding wins is boosting a Kansas City startup’s efforts to automate the most complex — and tedious — parts of compliance work, drawing from the co-founder’s own pain points and resources from a server-full of local entrepreneur support initiatives.

With $2.15 million in funding under its belt so far, Olathe-based Roz — which finds documentation gaps, pulls evidence automatically, and checks continuously if companies are compliant with audits, contracts, regulations — is riding a wave of headlines with high-profile competitions and accelerators. It landed a pilot with a Fortune 100 company, and refreshed both its strategy and branding.

Funding for the alum of Kansas City-based programs like Digital Sandbox KC, Pure Pitch Rally, and LaunchKC includes a $1.875 million pre-seed round this summer, led by Outlander VC with investments by KCRise Fund and angel investors. Roz also benefited from work with the Entrepreneurs Roundtable in New York, a super angel/accelerator that netted an additional $275,000 in early 2025.

A series of funding wins is boosting a Kansas City startup’s efforts to automate the most complex — and tedious — parts of compliance work, drawing from the co-founder’s own pain points and resources from a server-full of local entrepreneur support initiatives.

09/16/2025

When Cheyenne Jolene steps on stage in the shoes of her alter ego, the singer-songwriter’s voice carries both raw emotion and unapologetic truth.

Performing as BodaciousThang, Jolene blends R&B, hip hop, rock, and soul into what she describes as “genre bending” music. Her songs are steeped in authenticity and storytelling, offering listeners intimate glimpses into her personal journey.

“I love LA, but my heart was definitely being pulled back to Kansas City,” said Cheyenne Jolene, who performs as BodaciousThang: a “genre bending” expression of her authentic storytelling through R&B, hip hop, rock, and soul.

09/16/2025

Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant doesn’t mince words about perceptions of the hungry Kansas Citians she serves daily through her award-winning culinary social venture.

“These are the people who — if you listen to the rhetoric — are deemed ‘lazy,’” the founder of The Prospect KC’s NourishKC Community Kitchen told Startland News. “We know the narratives being painted about this community are just not true because we’re there with them every single day.”

For McAfee-Bryant, whose LaunchKC-backed culinary education initiative feeds hundreds, the stakes aren’t abstract. Rhetoric that paints individuals in need as the problem allows policy makers to easily target support efforts like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for cuts or outright elimination, she said.

“We’re going to save ourselves,” said Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant. “This isn’t going to be some big bailout. It’s going to be us, as humans, caring about our fellow humans and stepping up to the plate.”

09/16/2025

A Kansas City startup’s AI-first platform is expected to save time — and patient lives — thanks to a successful seed round for its clinical trial recruitment tech, explained Kyle McAllister, noting his startup’s solution could help speed up access to treatment by years.

Trially, one of Startland News’ 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2025, on Tuesday announced a $4.7 million funding round, led by led by Kansas City-based Flyover Capital, with participation from Alpaca, Atria, Blu Ventures, Looking Glass Capital, Redbud, The Council, and Gaingels.

“We’re bridging the gap between life-saving medicine and the people who need it now,” said McAllister, co-founder of Trially, which aims to get patients into clinical trials faster by using its artificial intelligence tools to immediately match and engage them with the right programs.

A Kansas City startup’s AI-first platform is expected to save time — and patient lives — thanks to a successful seed round for its clinical trial recruitment tech, explained Kyle McAllister, noting his startup’s solution could help speed up access to treatment by years.

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