Zach Batson’s fascination with real estate started when he was a kid. He cut his teeth in the industry when he was in high school, working at one of Kansas City’s oldest commercial real estate firms. That experience only deepened his interest in the profession. After earning degrees in economics and finance, he launched his professional real estate career, absorbing everything he could about the industry: accounting, property management, construction…

B&B Theatres is set to open its second Lee’s Summit movie theater, an upscale boutique-style theater with modern and luxurious amenities. The grand opening will take place at 6 p.m. March 22. A Grand Opening Gala will take place March 21; tickets are $20, and proceeds will go to Kansas City’s Hope House, a nonprofit organization supporting victims of domestic violence. READ MORE: Tracking Tinsel Town Trends The state-of-the-art, seven-screen…

Mid-Continent Public Library and Clay County Economic Development Council are partnering to offer a Small Business Bootcamp on Friday, March 30, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. The seminar will take place at Woodneath Library Center. The event, funded by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will include a variety of seminars hosted by local experts versed in small business, such as KC BizCare and SCORE KC. Seminars will cover start-up…

The Selfie Boutique, a pop-up art gallery imagined by Alex Altomare, is currently on exhibit at 1827 McGee St. in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District. The concept came to Altomare after a visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, where he saw people were taking selfies with artwork — which, in his opinion, is not what artwork was intended for. So, he thought, what would art look like if it…

Carol Espinosa founded Freedom Interiors in 2010. She joins Smart Companies host Kelly Scanlon to share her strategies for building the commercial interior design and furnishings company, which serves corporations, educational institutions and government facilities.  The company has seen continual annual revenue growth and plans to add more employees this year. But Espinosa housed the company for several years at the Blue Hills Contractor Incubator to manage its startup and…