ACCEL-KS Grant Recipients
The ACCEL-KS proof-of-concept grant program provided early-stage Kansas founders the funding and ecosystem support to turn product ideas into prototypes ready for commercialization. These six grant recipients built their hardware and software on their farms, in their basements, and in the Maker Lab at Groover Labs. We worked with Malibu Creative to tell the story of each founder, along with their experiences in the program. We hope you enjoy the videos as much as we enjoyed working with them.
Toadworx
Developing an IR night vision aiming device
Toadworx, founded by Logan Schraeder, develops night vision accessories and hardware for civilians and law enforcement. The current market forces buyers to choose between inexpensive knockoffs and expensive military-grade units. Toadworx is building affordable gear for real use. ACCEL-KS provided Toadworx with more than funding. They worked in the Maker Lab, where the team used CNC and 3D printing to turn parts around in hours instead of weeks. Visit their website here for more information.
Tacit technologies
Detecting wind-turbine failures for an aging U.S. wind fleet
Tacit Technologies, founded by Rye Kennedy, makes Jitterbug, a device that helps wind farm owners decrease maintenance costs by up to 30 percent. Jitterbug identifies the early signs that a wind turbine is failing, so operators can plan repairs before a breakdown. ACCEL-KS funded the work, and collaboration with the Groover Labs team helped strip out early complexity to move the project forward. And since motors and pumps fail the in same way, Tacit Technologies anticipates use cases beyond the wind turbine industry.
Lucille Group
Developing an AI-driven inventory platform
Lucille Group, founded by Andrea Amaro, uses AI image recognition to solve an expensive, often overlooked problem: homeowners and renters can lose tens of thousands of dollars after a fire or theft when they can't provide documentation of what they owned. Lucille provides users with tools to inventory a whole home quickly, capturing and valuing belongings before a claim ever happens. With ACCEL-KS, the company jumped roughly six months to a year ahead and gained mentors through the program's ecosystem support. Visit Lucille Group’s website and learn more about Ask Lucille here.
Planetary Talent
Developing a story-driven AI platform for rapid hiring across the planet
Planetary Talent, co-founded by Jacob Schlittenhardt, is rethinking hiring for a world where nearly every resume is written by AI and reads the same. Instead of a job posting, an employer shares its raw thinking about the hire they need, and the platform builds a model of the ideal candidate and runs targeted ads to find them. Applicants get a model too, built around their story, and the two compare notes before a human sees a shortlist. ACCEL-KS let Jacob contract a developer to build the infrastructure early customers needed. Visit the Planetary Talent website here.
Go Academix
Developing software to assist with compliance in healthcare education
GO ACADEMIX, founded by Jocelyn Powell, is an all-in-one platform for allied health training programs, the schools that train CNAs, CMAs, phlebotomists, and licensed nurses. These programs usually juggle disconnected tools for enrollment, learning management, and certification tracking. GO ACADEMIX combines all of that, plus scheduling and compliance, in one connected system. ACCEL-KS let Jocelyn hire a developer to rebuild her prototype into secure, working software. She now has a paying customer and is onboarding a program that brings 5,000-plus students onto the platform. Visit the GO ACADEMIX website here.
Grace Heritage Farms
Developing virtual fencing for regenerative goat grazing
Grace Heritage Farms, run by Sarah Easdon in East Central Kansas, is building virtual fencing for regenerative goat grazing. Rotational grazing keeps land and livestock healthy, but today it means physically dragging fence, which is slow and labor intensive. Sarah's system puts a GPS collar on each goat that beeps near a set boundary and corrects it if the goat crosses. Unlike collars that need one cell signal per animal, hers runs on a base station and works where coverage is weak, staying affordable at herd scale. ACCEL-KS funded a working proof-of-concept collar, and the coaching helped a self-described goat farmer become a startup founder. Learn more about Grace Heritage Farms here.
Other Grant Recipients
The six founders above are part of a larger cohort. ACCEL-KS funded 25 projects across Kansas in 2025–2026, spanning hardware and software and reaching well beyond Wichita into rural communities. Here are the remaining projects.
Brad Zwick Innovation - Designing modular in-field reusable crop storage and logistics systems
Chatterbox Studios - Building an adaptive, conversational language-learning platform
Covalent Construction Solutions - Creating AI-driven digital preconstruction tools
Deadwind Gum- Developing scent control chewing gum for hunters
Deltawerx - Deploying ultra-compact, auto-expanding weartec drones: instantly airborne for military and civilian use
Endure Robotics - Creating electronic wagons for industrial job sites and airports
Freeman Constructs - Building efficient AI-training technology
George Consulting and Engineering - Modernizing manufacturing with industrial IoT, automation, and cybersecurity
Haynes Design Solutions - Creating a device to assist with joist hanger placement in wall and deck construction
Helten Panacea (Handy Hook) - Designing tools for firefighters and industrial users
ILIOS Aerospace - Developing light sport aircraft under the FAA’s Part 22 MOSAIC Rule
LG Engineering - Developing IoT-based smart wireless devices designed to enhance daily living, safety, and connectivity for rural communities and residents
MLNavigator - Freeing your data from third-party AI dependency
Proactive Ballistic Systems - Building proactive technology engineered to enhance any safe room
Promax Freight - Accelerating freight workflows with intelligent automation
Sucka Punch - Creating improved mouth guards for athletes
Sweet Granada - Developing automation for production of flagship chocolate-covered popcorn
VapeShield - Developing technology to automatically prohibit vaping inside secondary schools
Winnovations - Developing fiber optic lures for smarter fishing