Tag: NXTUS

Voice of the Chiefs offers advice for startups: Stay hungry, humble and pointed toward your goal post

By Tommy Felts / April 2, 2024

WICHITA, Kansas — Don’t settle for one winning season, Mitch Holthus — the longtime voice of the Kansas City Chiefs — told a group of startup founders, encouraging entrepreneurs to keep pushing forward before they find themselves hitting a professional plateau. “You celebrate milestones, but you don’t stay there,” said Holthus, comparing the average lifespan…

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Siblings spin family pet into family business, capitalizing on alpaca’s plush potential

By Tommy Felts / March 12, 2024

One Wyandotte County family’s trip to a local fair inspired their interest in alpacas, but it wasn’t until they brought one of the animals home as a pet that they realized the business opportunities they’d unleashed. “That’s where the idea started of — ‘Hey, we can actually make this an Alpaca clothing company and reduce…

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NXTSTAGE taps trio of KC entrepreneurs to help their companies grow revenue, scale

By Tommy Felts / January 25, 2024

WICHITA — Three Kansas City startup founders are among 20 early-stage companies selected for the latest NXTUS program aimed at boosting innovation from within urban and rural areas throughout the state of Kansas. Joining the 2024 NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort: Joy Broils, Hustle & Ground, Shawnee; Mark Lukenbill, Mpruv Sports, Basehor; and Crystal Webster, Sharing…

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This Wichita program is helping KC startups connect the dots to corporate partners

By Tommy Felts / November 22, 2023

WICHITA — An eight-week program targeting knowledge and access gaps between emerging startups and enterprise companies helped boost a trio of Kansas City ventures whose founders are now eying new customers and partners as they scale. The 2023 NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series — an initiative of Wichita-based NXTUS — wrapped its latest cohort during Wichita Startup…

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

By Tommy Felts / September 7, 2023

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…

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