KC entrepreneurs tapped to team up with top-tier Kansas enterprise businesses

A trio of emerging Kansas City startups are among 20 cohort members selected to forge new strategic connections with big-name Kansas enterprise partners like Koch, Evergy, Cargill and Spirit AeroSystems.

Wichita-based NXTUS this week announced the latest program participants for the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series — a diverse array of growth-minded entrepreneurs offering innovative tech solutions; traditional services such as branded swag and commercial cleaning services; and enhancements to employee experiences, benefits, HR, and team culture, according to NXTUS.

The cohort includes local entrepreneurs Joy Broils, founder of Hustle and Ground, Shawnee, Kansas; Mark Lukenbill, founder of Mpruv Sports, Basehor, Kansas; and Lisa Cooper and Mindy Corporon, co-founders of Workplace Healing, Leawood, Kansas.

RELATED: Mpruv Sports adds pickleball, tennis to its on-demand edtech platform, strengthens C-suite roster

Also among the selected companies: Midwest Hemp Technology, a woman-owned Kansas company specializing in agricultural and industrial hemp — and whose founder, Sarah Stephens, envisions a future where hemp is treated as a superfood.

Click here to read Startland News’ recent feature on Augusta, Kansas-based Midwest Hemp Technology.

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What is NXTUS?

NXTUS works — through programs like the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series — to advance its vision to help promising startups grow, enhance Kansas’  innovation culture and foster inclusive prosperity in the region.

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NXTUS and NetWork Kansas collaborated to expand the 2023 program across the state, involving entrepreneurs from Network Kansas E-communities in multiple regions, said Amber Dunn, program manager of NXTUS, which runs NXTSTAGE efforts like the enterprise engagement series.

“This growing program shows how strategic collaborations can drive real progress,” said Dunn. “With a geographically expanded cohort and a robust lineup of workshops alongside our enterprise partners, we’re sowing the seeds for a more connected and prosperous business landscape across the state.”

Click here to see the full list of companies tapped for the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series.

NXTUS also this week announced enterprise partners for the program, which include Berry Companies; Cargill; City of Wichita; Evergy; Koch Supplier Strategies; LANGE Companies; Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC); Sedgwick County; Spirit AeroSystems; Star Lumber; Technology Group Solutions (TGS); and Wichita Public Schools.

In addition to the program’s weekly workshops connecting startups to these enterprise partners, entrepreneurs receive “playbooks” revealing strategies for doing business with large organizations in the public and private sector.

Company leaders will also pitch live at the Startup Enterprise Summit, a flagship event planned for Nov. 15 at Cargill Protein during Wichita Startup Week and Global Entrepreneurship Week.