The Berry Nutty Farm is the latest company to graduate from the Ennovation Center. High school students and college seniors aren’t the only ones graduating in May. The Berry Nutty Farm, a company that makes fruit butters and jams, plans to “graduate” from the Ennovation Center and into its own facility in Independence that same month. The move is an important milestone for Andrea Schnetzler and Darrell Tindal, who base…

When Kansas City decided to make itself a more inviting place for small businesses, it went directly to the experts—the men and women running small businesses. The city’s Special Committee on Small Business, which formed about two years ago, held a series of listening sessions with local entrepreneurs and solicited ideas for making City Hall more efficient. Councilman Scott Taylor leads the committee, which has won notice from other cities…

We’re all used to reading about major corporations receiving incentives to relocate, hire employees or expand their facilities. There are programs out there, though, for small businesses. In Shawnee, for example, officials are introducing an incentive for companies with 50 employees or fewer. Through its Shawnee Entrepreneurial & Economic Development (SEED) program, the city will pay part of the fees associated with three kinds of SBA loans: 7(a), 504 and…

Here are 10 tips — including seven dos and three don’ts — to build a pitch that will win over investors. For better or worse, you need a presentation deck to attract investors. Here are seven dos and three don’ts when pitching investors if you want to have any chance of gaining their interest. 1. Do think like an investor // All investors—angels, banks, even your grandma—want to make a…