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
Look inside: Switchyards teases its new KC work club, sells out memberships in hours
Switchyards’ first foray into the region — officially debuting Monday within Kansas City’s East Crossroads — is even prettier than its designers expected, Brandon Hinman said. “And that’s a high mark,” the Switchyards creative director told Startland News. “This big, beautiful, old warehouse is a new neighborhood work club.” Atlanta-based Switchyards — a third-space workplace…
Dual attractions at vineyard disc golf course bring hole-in-one for this Kansas entrepreneur trio
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. EDGERTON, Kansas — A rural Douglas County family is pairing its award-winning Kansas table wine with 18 holes of disc golf and earning national recognition in the process, Christy Fuller-Flyntz shared.…
Peek inside: Engenious Design expands its hands-on R&D collaboration space in Prairie Village
A 56,000-square-foot design center for his business is about more than just space, said Chris Justice; it’s what’s inside the high-tech facility by design: people. “Our work of designing, prototyping and testing is hands-on with specialized tools and equipment. That means our team works together, in person,” said Justice, co-founder, principal and CEO of Engenious…
How a Missouri native’s high-tech, faith-based bracelet company found inner peace in California
The emotional rollercoaster of social media can take a toll on mental health, said Gary Rakes, a Raymore, Missouri, native who saw an opportunity to create a digital safe space — one that lives on a user’s wrist. His business, Free Luma, offers a line of RFID-enabled bracelets designed to connect others through positivity and…
