, , , ,

NXTUS expands enterprise-focused program beyond Kansas; four KC-area startups selected

August 13, 2025  |  Startland News Staff

Gharib Gharibi, Archia; Errick Quartucci, Alex Snook, and Hunter Haufler, OnSight; Donnie Hampton, ROZ; and Zik Nwanganga, ULOM; courtesy photos

WICHITA, Kan. — An ongoing initiative to demystify the relationship-building process between emerging entrepreneurs and potential enterprise partners just expanded deeper into the Midwest, welcoming 20 growth-minded innovators from Wichita to St. Louis.

Mary Beth Jarvis, president and CEO of NXTUS, speaks in March during the Gamechangers & Champions summit in Wichita; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“For entrepreneurs whose success depends on forging relationships with ‘the big guys,’ this unique program is so valuable,” said Mary Beth Jarvis, president and CEO of NXTUS, which organizes the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series. “The entrepreneurs build their knowledge and confidence to more effectively approach large organizations. And the enterprise partners benefit from getting to know these startups as potential suppliers and collaborators, helping advance the ‘grow our own’ economic development efforts that are crucial to keep our region moving forward.”

Advancing in program, four Kansas City-area businesses — Archia, Overland Park, Kansas; OnSight, Spring Hill, Kansas; ROZ, Olathe, Kansas; and ULOM, Kansas City, Missouri — are set to meet weekly with the cohort through the end of September, gaining the tools and insights needed to build meaningful partnerships with the medium-to-large enterprises they hope to collaborate with and sell to in order to grow.

New this year, the program expanded its reach by welcoming startup applications from across the Midwest, moving beyond Kansas for the first time.

Through a curated selection process, NXTUS accepted startup founders from across a wide-range of industries, from advanced cybersecurity and AI-driven health and wellness platforms to inclusive workforce integration, transformative HR services, and specialized professional support that spans logistics, compliance, creative marketing, and more.

Members of the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series cohort; photo courtesy of NXTUS

The just-announced cohort includes:

The 2025 program is expected to culminate with live pitches Sept. 29 at Cargill Protein Headquarters during the Startup-Enterprise Summit, the kickoff event of Launch Week, formerly known as Wichita Startup Week.

Now in its fourth year, the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series has graduated 60 startups across 15 counties in Kansas. Collectively, these entrepreneurs have generated more than $44 million in lifetime revenue and created or retained 125 jobs since 2022.

Enterprise partners for 2025 include:

  • Berry Companies
  • Cargill
  • City of Wichita
  • Equity Bank
  • Evergy
  • Kansas Department of Commerce
  • Koch Supplier Strategies
  • LANGE Companies
  • iSi Environmental
  • Sedgwick County
  • Textron Aviation
  • USD 259 Wichita Public Schools
  • Village Travel

In addition, the 2025 NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series is made possible thanks to support from NetWork Kansas, the Greater Wichita Partnership with Opportunity Wichita affiliate, Fidelity Bank, and Forvis Mazars.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged , , , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      Startland News Staff

      2025 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        Karis Harrington, right, chief of business development at Kansas City G.I.F.T.

        GIFT launches We Are Black pitch competition with 10 entrepreneurs vying for $60K

        By Tommy Felts | March 16, 2023

        Editor’s note: Kansas City G.I.F.T. is a non-financial partner of Startland News. Ten Black-owned Kansas City businesses are expected to pitch March 24 for their share of $60,000 at what organizers hope will become an annual event that helps to close the funding gap for entrepreneurs of color. The We Are Black pitch competition is…

        Zach Anderson Pettet, Money 20/20, Cordell Carter II, Aspen Institute Socrates Program, Terri Bradford, Federal Reserve of Kansas City, and Donald Hawkins, kinly, at the C3KC “Fintech is Revolutionizing Banking” session

        National pain points meet local solutions at C3KC; How ‘energy of the day’ can spark lasting change

        By Tommy Felts | March 14, 2023

        Editor’s note: The Junior League of Kansas City — through its C3KC conference — is an advertiser with Startland News. Fostering conversations about the most-pressing concerns facing communities not only helps expose the best of Kansas City innovation, said Becky Haddican, it also serves as a catalyst for even greater collaboration in the future. Now in…

        AI-generated bedtime stories are just the first chapter in JQ Sirls epic venture to make the publishing industry more inclusive

        By Tommy Felts | March 14, 2023

        Every great children’s story deserves the opportunity to be published, JQ Sirls said, adding his own footnote that more people are qualified than they think to create them.  “I could put 1,000 people in one room and tell them all to write a short story about their childhood. While many of them may have a…

        ‘When puppets talk people listen’: It’s not just storytelling anymore for one of KC’s most beloved children’s theaters

        By Tommy Felts | March 14, 2023

        A Kansas City arts institution known for years as the Mesner Puppet Theater is animated with new life, said Meghann Henry, detailing a mission pivot for the freshly sewn and rebranded What If Puppets. Evolution at the nonprofit has taken a turn toward early childhood education since the retirement of Paul Mesner in 2016 —…