Innovation check(s): Angels scout potential KC investments at NXTUS nano-pitch event

A startup showcase Tuesday in the heart of Johnson County’s innovation community put impact on display as NXTUS’ Accelerate Venture Partners organized a nano-pitch event for its network of angel investors amid Global Entrepreneurship Week-Kansas City festivities.

Conor Adler, program manager for NXTUS and syndicate manager for Accelerate Venture Partners, speaks during KC Capital Day at Aspiria NOW on the former Sprint campus; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

The Wichita-based entrepreneurial support organization — which has mobilized over $8.5 million for entrepreneurs in the Heartland since 2018 — brought KC Capital Day to Aspiria NOW on the former Sprint campus. The event spotlighted startups Scout and Likarda, recognized this year’s Accessing Growth Capital Series cohort, and gathered ecosystem builders, corporate partners, and supporters of early-stage innovation.

“Our goal is to help build companies of significance,” said Conor Adler, program manager for NXTUS and syndicate manager for Accelerate Venture Partners, noting the initiative continues to evolve beyond borders. “We serve the entire region.”

Launched in 2018, Accelerate Venture Partners — a collaborative group of active investors from diverse professional and industry backgrounds — exists to mobilize capital, mentor, and invest in early-stage, high-growth companies. 

“Through our angel network, we have had 82 investors write checks with the group,” Adler said Tuesday.  “This year, we’ve had some reinvestments in portfolio companies and recently did a $375,000 deal in a Kansas-based company. And we have some great companies pitching here today.”

Lisa Stehno-Bittel, Likarda, pitches her company KC Capital Day at Aspiria NOW; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

During the event, Scout and Likarda each were given five minutes to pitch their startups to the room of investors and ecosystem players. Investors from Wichita joined virtually for the presentations, question-and-answer sessions, and a private roundtable.

Scout — founded by veterinarian Gonzalo Erdozain in 2021 and one Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2025 — is a web-based application designed to alleviate veterinary burnout by replacing outdated, inefficient paper forms for dental charting and anesthesia management with streamlined processes, improved safety and enhanced patient care.

“Unfortunately for us in vet med, when it comes to technology adoption and implementation, we lag our human counterparts by quite a few years,” Erdozain said, explaining the value behind his company. “As an example, when it comes to dental procedures — that account for about 50 percent of all surgical procedures we perform — we learned that about 75 percent of veterinarians rely on paper, not only for dentals but also the anesthetic documentation. That means illegible handwriting, wasted time, basically preventable human errors.”

Lisa Stehno-Bittel, Likarda, pitches her company during KC Capital Day; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Likarda — founded in 2012 by Lisa Stehno-Bittel as a biotech research startup focused on managing diabetes in dogs — has pivoted and now partners with leading biotech, pharma, and research organizations as a trusted formulation and drug delivery partner.

“We are creating the new inactive ingredients for complex biological therapies,” Stehno-Bittel explained. “We have over 54 patents on our technology, and we make these microscopic beads that hold the active ingredient — whether it’s a cell or a peptide — and then we’ll slowly degrade and release that active ingredient — that drug — into the area so it protects the drug from your immune system while it’s being released.”

Before Scout and Likarda’s pitches, founders from this year’s Accessing Growth Capital Series cohort had the opportunity to give one-minute pitches to the investors as they wrapped up the eight-week program that helps founders from Kansas secure funding, refine their pitches, and connect with investors.

Alex Snook, OnSight, Spring Hill

Anthony George, GCE, Wichita

Ethan Eck, Eck Fabrication, Kingman

Among the Accessing Growth Capital Series founders pitching Tuesday:

• Alex Snook, OnSight, Spring Hill, Kansas — A logistics SaaS platform aimed at helping shipping companies prevent cargo theft through its verified check-in station.
• Anthony George, GCE, Wichita, Kansas — Designs, implements, and maintains advanced technology solutions, including robotics, machine learning, AI, and data structures, customized for diverse industry needs.
• Ethan Eck, Eck Fabrication, Kingman, Kansas — Combines precision manufacturing with disruptive innovation by leveraging advanced metalworking expertise to serve a wide range of commercial clients while developing proprietary technologies designed to reshape industries.

Cohort members who did not pitch at the event included:

• Fielding Brenner, Pitchster, Olathe, Kansas — An AI-powered sales training platform that helps teams prepare, practice, and perform at their best across the sales cycle.
• Koell Collins, STBL Strategies, Wichita, Kansas — Uses branded merchandise as a strategic channel to build stronger customer relationships, deepen emotional connection, and drive lasting brand loyalty.