Gather the latest news about Groover Labs, Wichita Coworking, Startups, and Founders on our blog.
ACCEL-KS Webinar on Thursday, August 27
We’re hosting a Zoom webinar on Thursday, August 27, at 10 a.m. CT. During the virtual event, we’ll walk you through the Accelerating Concept to Commercialization, or ACCEL-KS, proof of concept grant program in partnership with the Kansas Department of Commerce.
ACCEL-KS Founder Video: Grace Heritage Farms
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.
ACCEL-KS Applications Open on Monday, August 24
We’re opening applications for the second year of Accelerating Concept to Commercialization in Kansas, or ACCEL-KS, our proof-of-concept grant program in partnership with the Kansas Department of Commerce. If you’re a Kansas founder, and you’re building novel technologies, whether hardware or software, we want to hear from you.
ACCEL-KS Founder Video: Go AcademiX
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 Founder Video: Planetary Talent
Planetary Talent, co-founded by Jacob Schlittenhardt, is reimagining the hiring process. Instead of a job posting, an employer shares its raw thinking about the hire they need; 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 Founder Video: Lucille Group
Ask Lucille, a product of the Lucille Group founded by Andrea Amaro, solves this by using AI image recognition to quickly inventory a whole home, capturing and valuing belongings before a claim ever happens. After a catastrophe, many homeowners and renters can lose out on tens of thousands of dollars from lacking documentation on household items.
ACCEL-KS Founder Video: Tacit Technology
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 Founder Video: Toadworx
Founded by Logan Schraeder, Toadworx develops night vision accessories and hardware for civilians and law enforcement. Their first product, the BATL (formerly the LAM Mk1A), began as a notebook page drawing during a team brainstorming session around a kitchen table. Now, they’re shipping to customers.
Accel-KS Proof of concept grant comes to a close
On June 11, we gathered at Groover Labs to mark the conclusion of the inaugural Accelerating Concept to Commercialization in Kansas (ACCEL-KS) proof-of-concept grant program, and to celebrate the 25 founders who spent the past year turning their ideas into working hardware and software prototypes.
Planetary Talent Wins Kansas Startup of the Year
Congratulations to Groover Labs member and ACCEL-KS grant recipient Planetary Talent, which was named Kansas Tech Startup of the Year at FlagshipKansas.Tech’s Ad Astra Technology Summit on June 4.
TOADWORX Wins Shocker New Venture Competition
ACCEL-KS Proof-of-Concept grant recipient and Maker Lab member Toadworx took first place in Wichita State University’s Shocker New Venture Competition. Congratulations, Toadworx!
Members in the News: ACCEL-KS Grant Recipients
Last week, the Wichita Business Journal published a cover story about startups to watch in Wichita. All four selections are both Groover Labs members and ACCEL-KS grant recipients.
ACCEL-KS Profile: MLNavigator
ACCEL-KS grant recipient MLNavigator on their product adapterOS, an energy and cost-efficient AI solution.
ACCEL-KS Profile: Grace Heritage Farms
ACCEL-KS grant recipient Grace Heritage Farm tells us about their Virtual Goat Fencing Collars.
Jacob Schlittenhardt Earns spot in Pipeline
We sat down with Planetary Talent Co-founder Jacob Schlittenhardt to hear about his experience as a member of Pipeline’s 2026 cohort.
ACCEL-KS Profile: Covalent Construction Solutions
ACCEL-KS grant recipient Covalent Construction Solutions is an AI-powered estimating tool built from the ground up with trade contractors.
ACCEL-KS Profile:Proactive Ballistics
ACCEL-KS grant recipient Proactive Ballisitic Sysems is building proactive technology engineered to enhance any safe room.
ACCEL-KS Progress Report: Where the money is going, and what’s being built
As of Janaury 31, 2026, we’ve received milestone reports from all grant recipients. Every funded project is active, building, and tracking toward their goals.
ACCEL-KS Profile: Winnovations LLC
Greg Winkler is the founder of Winnovations LLC, maker of The AngLure, a fiber-optic fishing lure attachment that mimics live prey to trigger instinctive strikes.
ACCEL-KS Profile: Planetary Talent
Planetary Talent uses AI to match startups with qualified candidates quickly, transforming hiring into storytelling.