K-State LAB offering Kansas startups free growth resources
February 17, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
A Kansas State University business development program is awarding more than $100,000 in grants to Kansas startups.
Through K-State LAB — which stands for “launching a business” — participants will receive business lessons, face-to-face mentoring and access to market research. Launched in 2014, the program aims to connect entrepreneurs with the right people so that they can grow their ventures, director of the Kansas State center for the advancement of entrepreneurship Chad Jackson said.
“The Launch a Business program allows us to share our expertise with the community,” Jackson said in a release. “Our faculty, alumni and students are incredible resources, and we are excited to ask them to volunteer to support the next great startup ventures. We are grateful to KS State Bank for making this possible.”
Eligible startups must be based in Kansas, innovative, scalable and not have raised outside funding. Kansas City area startups including AEGLE Palette, Alvoru Clothing and Acre Designs were among the local firms that have participated in the program.
10 promising startups will be selected into the one month program, which will begin May 25 and culminate with a demo day in June. This year, the program will accept an additional five entrepreneurs who are K-State faculty or graduate students.
Applications will open March 1. For more information, visit the K-State LAB website.
Featured Business

2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Smart City Living Lab opens, targets growing pains of a swelling city
The much-anticipated “Kansas City Living Lab” — a platform for application development that taps the Kansas City Smart City initiative — is now welcoming new tech partners. Using smart city infrastructure, the Living Lab allows innovators to test and commercialize technologies that can solve problems in Kansas City. The project is led by Think Big…
JE Dunn spinout Site 1001 raises millions more from local investors
A Kansas City-based tech firm that’s created a smart buildings platform recently raised another significant batch of venture capital funding. Site 1001 — a technology spin out from Kansas City construction giant JE Dunn Construction — raised $6 million to boost its engineering, research and sales efforts. The round was led by JE Dunn Construction…
Pure Pitch Rally palms $20K to KC startups
Kansas City already has the right lineup for its own tech rally, Karen Fenaroli said. “We have the investors, we have the start-up talent,” Fenaroli, founder of Fenaroli & Associates and organizer of Pure Pitch Rally, said. A pitch competition next month attempts to connect the two, offering winning entrepreneurs an opportunity to nab $1,000…
Indie craft, maker fair Strawberry Swing returning Sunday with KC love
One of the largest indie craft fairs in the Midwest is expected to draw thousands of Kansas Citians to discover local makers and creators. Strawberry Swing’s summer event, set for Sunday at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art lawn, aims to showcase vendors from Kansas City, as well as parts of Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma and more.…
