We had a fantastic kickoff event for the ACCEL-KS grant program at Groover Labs on Friday, September 5. We had a large crowd of founders, entrepreneurs, state and business officials, and members of our community in our event venue to celebrate the launch of the new program designed to accelerate innovation across Kansas by getting proof-of-concept funding into the hands or entrepreneurs quickly and surrounding them with the expertise and programming to prototype, scale, and commercialize new ideas.
Romaine Redman, Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer, and Brandon Hutton, Director of Innovation and Programming, both with the Kansas Department of Commerce, shared remarks about the program’s origin and vision. Brandon talked about how the ACCEL-KS program builds on the Department’s earlier proof-of-concept initiative, while now moving faster and offering wraparound programming to support founders as they work to commercialize their new products.
Romaine reminisced about his early visits across the state of Kansas since he joined the Department of Commerce, and he shared how impressed he was during his visit to Groover Labs. Romain spoke about the powerful spirit of innovation located in “the core” of the Midwest, and how that energy is driving new product development forward. He emphasized partners like Groover Labs and KU Innovation Park must function as the backbone of a statewide proof-of-concept network to ensure entrepreneurs across Kansas have access to the resources they need to succeed.
Although Kansas Lt. Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland couldn’t be there in person, he recorded a video message played during the event, where he shared remarks to celebrate this moment for innovators, describing it as a milestone for the state’s economic future. He noted that Groover Labs and KU Innovation Park represent cornerstone programs for the state’s innovation system, each bringing heir unique expertise to help founders develop novel products. Lt. Governor Toland closed by describing ACCEL-KS as “Kansans helping Kansans” regardless of ZIP code, ending with, “When we succeed, Kansas succeeds.”
Our co-founder Tracy Hoover reflected on our journey since opening in early 2020. She spoke about how those challenges gave us time to refine our mission around physical product development, supported by grants and critical partnerships that allowed us to expand our Maker Labs, build more flexible workspace, and grow our dynamic community. She also paid tribute to her husband, Curt Gridley, who passed away last year, and whose vision continues to guide our work. With the new ACCEL-KS grant, we can now extend that vision statewide, supporting founders who take risks, build new products, and contribute to the long-term growth of Kansas’ innovation ecosystem.
Rounding out the launch event was a tour of the Maker Labs, were attendees learned more about our expanded capabilities. Highlights included the new Boss Fiber Laser, which offers unmatched precision for product prototyping, and our powder bed 3D printer in the Fab Lab, which complements our line of Neoden pick-and-place machines that support single-unit development and small multi-unit runs.
We welcomed Mayor Lily Wu, representatives from the Kansas Department of Commerce, Steve Skinner, interim Dean of Wichita State University’s College of Engineering, representatives from the Greater Wichita Partnership, staff from institutional members of the Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub: Kansas, staff from program ecosystem NXTUS, and many others from our community. We may have even caught a glimpse of a few potential ACCEL-KS program applicants in the audience!
The Department of Commerce is off to Lawrence on Monday for the KU Innovation Park’s program launch. Safe travels to all! What a fun and exciting Friday morning.
Now, the real work begins. APPLY HERE.