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

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:

• Accelerate Physical Therapy and Performance (Ashton Reichmann), Wichita, Kansas
• Adelitas Coffee Co. (Oscar Pineda), Wichita, Kansas
• Archia (Gharib Gharibi), Overland Park, Kansas
• Capacity (Janice Perkins), Wichita, Kansas
• Eck Fabrication (Ethan Eck), Kingman, Kansas 
• Good Works Talent (Rachel Biggs), Wichita, Kansas
• Kwema (Ali Jabry), St. Louis, Missouri
• Logical A (Chris Weakly), Wichita, Kansas
• Malibu Creative (Austin Calam), Wichita, Kansas
• Mid-American Language Services (Maya Navarro Williams), Wichita, Kansas
• MMNT (Miguel Johns), Wichita, Kansas
• Moonbase (Nic Wentling, Christian Taylor), Wichita, Kansas
• OnSight (Errick Quartucci, Alex Snook, Hunter Haufler), Spring Hill, Kansas
• Phy-Cy.X Security Group (Clint Stevens), Wichita, Kansas
• POURPIS (Vanessa Tillemans), Wichita, Kansas
• Primor Fitness (Deb Whitney-Johnson), Kechi, Kansas
• ROZ (Donnie Hampton), Olathe, Kansas
• State of Becoming (Candice Smith), Wichita, Kansas
• Tranbarger AgriVision (Ty Tranbarger), Hutchinson, Kansas
• ULOM (Zik Nwanganga, Bing Low), Kansas City, Missouri

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.