Sundance Satellite Discount for Friends of Groover Labs

We announced several weeks ago that Groover Labs would be a satellite screen for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Due to concerns about the coronavirus, the screenings will now take place at Starlite Drive-in. Read more about the changes in the Wichita Eagle.

The GOOD news? Through our partnership with mama.film, we can offer a discount code to our newsletter readers. This discounted friend of Groover Lab's all access ticket allows your carload entry to ALL Sundance 2021 films screening at Starlite Drive In from from January 28-February 2. Your purchase directly supports mamaf.film’s programming and our local arts community. Films will show rain or shine. No refunds. Not transferrable.

To activate your $30 discount use Discount Code: sarahconnor at checkout.

https://www.goelevent.com/MamaFilm/e/Search

We're Expanding Our Office Hours (Again and Again)

Jason Toevs and Brian Wiens will join Foreman Law and NXTUS from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, January 15, for Groover Labs office hours. We started these free, informal meetings last year to make it easier for founders and startups to find and meet with local organizations and seasoned entrepreneurs as part of our mission to help strengthen Wichita’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Office hours take place on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month.

Toevs is the CTO and Head of Product for Quicc. His focus is on bridging the gaps between ideas, the tech how-to and investor relationships. He has helped raise 1.3M+ in startup funding along with building and leading products with local and foreign teams, as well as no-code projects to customer revenue. If you need to turn your tech or app idea into revenue, he can give you the confidence and early steps to get going with honest feedback on roadblocks or blindspots.

Wiens is graphic designer and brand strategist. He has worked as a design leader for more than 10 years with experience working with national brands and with local mom and pop shops. Wiens is passionate about building brands and designs driven by story and data. He believes that when a brand captures your voice, the connection brings energy—and movement—that propels your business forward.

Representatives from NXTUS will be available to meet with founders and entrepreneurs to discuss business plans, resources available in the community, capacity and capital needs for early stage founders, and more. To schedule an appointment with NXTUS, click here.

The attorneys at Foreman law have years of experience working with startups in the region and on a daily basis advise startup companies at all life cycle stages concerning legal and practical considerations related to formation, operation, and liquidity events. To schedule a time during Foreman Law’s office hours, please email contact@grooverlabs.org at least 24 hours in advance of your appointment.

We are thrilled to see our office hours program continue to grow!

Unified eSports Association Distributes $26,500 in Scholarships

Congratulations to Ramsey Jamoul and his team at Unified eSports Association. They completed their inaugural fall 2020 season, and they distributed more than $26,500 in scholarships to Unified Collegiate Esports Association teams who placed in the top four for each game.

Ramsey was the first speaker for our Tech Talk series last year, where he discussed the eSports industry and the challenges they face as a startup during a global pandemic. After his presentation, Ramsey took questions from the in-person and online audience for over an hour.

Read the press release here:

Unified Esports Association’s UCEA completes inaugural season with $26.5K in scholarships

The first competitive season for Unified Collegiate Esports Association has concluded, and we witnessed an incredible showing from universities across North America. A full visual gallery of our Fall games, brackets, final standings and more can be found here. 

During the fall season, 37 teams composed of collegiate students from the United States and Canada competed in separate leagues that were focused on three different games: Overwatch, CS:GO, Rocket League. UEA also hosted a stand alone collegiate Valorant tournament with iVCI and LG.

UEA distributed over $26,500 in scholarships to UCEA teams who placed in the top four for each game. This season was made possible through our partnership with Aim Lab, UEA’s official technology and training partner. Aim Lab not only provided scholarships for this season’s top 4 Overwatch teams but allowed UEA to integrate player development tools directly into all our leagues.

“I am very proud of what the UCEA inaugural season showed for the collegiate space behind the team at UCEA. With low forfeit rates, high production value, and excitement from players, I believe it showed everyone in the industry what collegiate can do,” said UCEA president Victoria Horsley. “Working with these schools has been amazing and I can’t wait to see where these students end up.”

For more information about UAE, visit their website.

In the News: Groover Labs in WBJ

Check out the last the latest mention of Groover Labs in the Wichita Business Journal. Read the article here.

Greater Wichita Partnership hires Omaha consultant to strategize accelerated entrepreneurship

By Shelby Kellerman

Dec 23, 2020, 4:07pm EST

For the last five years, the Greater Wichita Partnership has put together actionable plans to help spur new downtown projects, attract and retain talent, create workforce development programs and invite new companies and jobs to Wichita.

Now the Partnership is developing a new initiative — this one aimed specifically at accelerating entrepreneurship and high-growth startups.

"When we think about economic development, when we think about creation of jobs and creation of wealth, we think about those things coming from three things," said Evan Rosell, the Partnership's vice president of projects. "One would be growing the businesses that we have here, another would be bringing businesses from outside of our community inside to our community, and the third would be creating these businesses from within our community."

Where there's strong entrepreneurship, he added, there's vibrant talent, jobs and qualities of place.

Rosell says there's been promising growth in the last four to five years.

There's the e2e Accelerator, rebranded this year to NXTUS. Christina Long is pushing for more equity and diversity in entrepreneurship through her Create Campaign and Founder's Grove. There's also the new Groover Labs, Network Kansas and Youth Entrepreneurs, and Wichita State University is making strides with its Innovation Campus.

All to say there's potential here to take entrepreneurship even further.

"We've been super encouraged by the growth but we're not satisfied with where we are, we want to continue growing," Rosell said. "We're hungry for more."

So the Partnership has hired a consultant out of Omaha named Tom Chapman, who founded Chapman and Co. in 2016 to help economic development strategies incorporate entrepreneurship.

An entrepreneur himself, Chapman has been tasked with creating a more deliberate, strategic approach to growing an "entrepreneurial ecosystem" in Wichita.

For now, Chapman said listening to entrepreneurs is a key part of the process to identify the gaps in the process.

By the end of the first quarter in 2021, Chapman said he hopes to have some actionable steps for the Greater Wichita Partnership and the region as a whole.

Chapman said highlighting Wichita's entrepreneur success stories is another key part of finding the right resources.

"How to continue to expand the economic development efforts of Wichita is finding entrepreneurs and then telling their stories," Chapman said. 

"It helps a community to hear some of the stories that happen before somebody got the proverbial top of the mountain," Rosell added. "Those early days where it's not romantic and it's not particularly glitzy or glamorous, that helps shape even just how we think about this and takes it off of a pedestal in ways that people might say, 'If that's what entrepreneurship is, I can do that.'"

New Addition to Monthly Office Hours: NXTUS

NXTUS TO JOIN MONTHLY OFFICE HOURS AT GROOVER LABS

We started our office hours program late last year as an effort to work with local organizations who want to support founders and startups during the early stages of operations. Foreman Law began hosting office hours from 9 a.m. to noon on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month.

Today, we are pleased to announce NXTUS, a local organization that helps launch and grow highly scalable businesses, will hold office hours at the same time.

Our mission is to help foster a healthy startup ecosystem in Wichita, so if you’re thinking about starting a business, or you’ve already started one, consider membership at Groover Labs as the next step in your entrepreneurial journey. Work side-by-side with other founders who are just as motivated as you are, as well as have the opportunity to seek advice and feedback from local support professionals such as attorneys, accountants, and others.

Representatives from NXTUS will be available to meet with founders and entrepreneurs to discuss business plans, resources available in the community, capacity and capital needs for early stage founders, and more. To schedule an appointment with NXTUS, click here.

The attorneys at Foreman law have years of experience working with startups in the region and on a daily basis advise startup companies at all life cycle stages concerning legal and practical considerations related to formation, operation, and liquidity events. 

To schedule a time during Foreman Law’s office hours, please email contact@grooverlabs.org at least 24 hours in advance of your appointment.

Member News: KingFit and Wichita

Entrepreneur Magazine, which boasts a circulation of more than 500,000 subscribers and reaches over 86 million monthly page views, has placed the Wichita and Kansas City corridor as 1 of 8 heartland cities essential to the future of innovation. Read the article here. Sandwiched between Denver (No. 6) and Minneapolis (No. 8), the Wichita-Kansas City corridor was listed at No. 7 and discusses how the cities share funders and talent. Notable mentions in the article include Accelerator Venture Partners, a local network of accredited investors who play an active role in the Wichita startup community; and KingFit, the company founded by Groover Labs member Miguel Johns, whose mission is to battle diabetes through education.

These 8 Heartland Cities Are Essential to the Future of American Innovation

Here's why the future of American Innovation lies away from the coasts.

By Mark Minevich

ENTREPRENEUR LEADERSHIP NETWORK CONTRIBUTOR

Principal Going Global Ventures and AI /Digital Expert

December 10, 2020 8 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

For many years, much of American innovation — particularly tech innovation — was concentrated on the coasts. Just five metropolitan areas (Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and San Jose) accounted for 90% of all U.S. high-tech job growth between 2005 to 2017.

Those days are coming to a close. The modern map of innovation and entrepreneurship is starting to shift as companies and innovators move inward toward the heartland. U.S. states primarily known for their agro business are becoming known for their hubs of innovation, with high rates of startup growth and growing networks of business owners and entrepreneurs.

This is an important migration of people and ideas. It allows for the unlocking of the private sector for job creation investment, which will in turn stimulate economic growth and speed up America’s Recovery by investing heavily in geographic areas that typically do not get as much infusion of funding. 

Which cities are already proof of this inland innovation explosion? Well, for starters, here are eight of the most prominent. 

1. St. Louis

The gateway to the west has spent the last decade building innovation infrastructure, including three gems in Cortex Innovation Community, BIOSTL in Midtown and the coming National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on the city’s northside. At the same time, innovators have access to: 

• Spirit of St. Louis Fund for NPOs

• Arch Grants

• STLMade

• Downtown T-Rex co-working space and incubator

• Several co-working and innovation communities

• Multiple angel investors in the region

With the presence of several fortune 100 companies, a huge supply of VC funds and public grats, plus a vast amount of resources designed specifically for innovators and entrepreneurs St. Louis is on the precipice of leading the United States in 21st century innovation. 

2. Novi, Mich.

Located just outside of both Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI, Novi is one of the most innovative and fastest growing cities in the Great Lakes State. Recent news shows Cold-storage specialist Lineage Logistics raised $1.6 billion in funds. The city itself is committed to fostering more businesses to start and build in the city, shown by its own investment in the community through free startup counseling. Plus, the nearness to Detroit gives innovators in Novi access to endless resources throughout Southeast Michigan. 

3. Indianapolis 

Indianapolis hosts huge events as well as any city in America, its downtown has been reinvigorated over the past 20 years due in part the state and the city has invested in entrepreneurs and innovators. Indianapolis has several tech startups moving tech forward in the fields of bioinformatics, SaaS optimization, virtual training from industry giant Lessonly, could tech and customer management systems to name a few. There are many funders available to innovators in the Indy area such as High Alpha, Innovate Indiana, and Xcap Angels to name a few. If that wasn't enough, Indiana has dedicated $1 billion over the next 10 years to advance innovation and entrepreneurship in Indiana. 

4. Columbus, Ohio

Home to such promising startups as Sollis Therapeutics, Root Insurance and 2Checkout, Columbus has been consistently ranked by the Kauffman Index as a top city for scaling startups. The funds per capita available to startups in Columbus rank among the highest in the nation, meaning that startups internally grown and experts from across the nation see Columbus as a prime spot to lay down roots and begin to scale, as witnessed by former Sequoia Capital partners Chris Olsen and Mark Kvamme leaving Silicon Valley in 2012 to establish Drive Capital, which now ranks as the biggest VC firm in Columbus.

The overall Columbus community, including The Ohio State University and the Short North neighborhood, all work together to attract and foster a vibrant startup community. Innovators such as SafeChain and wireless-powered “internet of things” provider Nikola Labs and Ohio’s first unicorn, CoverMyMeds, now have roots in Columbus.

5. Omaha, Neb.

Other than being home to one of the most vibrant independent music scenes in the United States, Omaha, NE is an unexpected innovation hot spot. They recently became home to Facebook Inc.’s newest data center, have an incredibly supportive local chamber of commerce and are home to highly rated innovative companies from the fields of web security, video conferencing, Cardiothoracic Surgery and supply chain technology among several others. One of the biggest advantages they have is the presence of Nebraska Innovation Campus which works to connect “the talents of experts, companies and the university to create a unique culture of innovation.”

6. Denver, Co.

Home to renowned companies like Welltok, Reven Pharmaceuticals, Accera and others, Denver has a proven track record of fostering innovators and innovative companies to max potential. A huge factor contributing to this is the over 150,000 college students in and around the area, providing local companies with homegrown talent that is part of Denver and fully invested in its growth. 

One thing that all of the cities on this list have in common is that each has at least one hub for brilliant minds to work in close proximity. Denver continues this trend with Built In Colorado, a home to startups in ecommerce, fintech, health tech, ad tech and ed tech.  

7. Wichita and Kansas City, Kan. 

Wichita and Kansas City, Kan. sit 200 miles apart but have a symbiotic relationship in the funding and supporting of innovators in eastern Kansas. Just look at Wichita-based Accelerate Venture Partners, which is throwing its support behind two of the Kansas City area’s rising startups. In the midwest, people are less concentrated in metropolitan areas, so cities within proximity look to each other for talent, support, innovation and investment.

Wichita also is home to innovators like Kingfit, which is fighting diabetes through education that is accessible to patients on an app, or a company like Grit Virtual, changing the way construction companies project mange to eliminate waste and make large scale projects more efficient. 

Meanwhile, Kansas City ranks among the best cities in the entire United States in terms of funding and supporting female entrepreneurs and innovators. This exponentially strengthens the entrepreneurial and innovative communities and overall talent pools for larger businesses to recruit from. 

8.  Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

Last, but in no ways least, is the Twin Cities. In recent news, Google awarded African American-founded startups Civil Eagle, Watch the Yard and The Black Women’s Wealth Alliance $200,000 in funding as a part of its Black Founders Fund. This is not the first time the Twin Cities have been recognized as home to amazing innovators, and it is far from the last. The region is home to over 150 startups and growing. 

In October, Silicon Valley-based Arctic Wolf announced that it plans to move its corporate headquarters to Minnesota as well as create a $200 million Series E round of venture capital. This will add to the ability of the area to continue to grow innovators. As home to food giants Cargill, General Mills, Hormel and Land O’Lakes, the Twin Cities have the infrastructure and experience to scale and support their growing minds. 

What comes next?

How do we foster this growth and keep the movement growing exponentially? We need to first establish incubation spaces and facilities for innovators, entrepreneurs and start-ups. Then, establish a virtual technology commercialization marketplace. Startups and small businesses would identify a market or problem and propose a solution instead of relying on large companies and enterprises. There must be investment of time and resources from the local, state and federal governments as well as capital from private VC firms  — this cannot be an either/or situation. Grants must be established and awarded based on merit and inventiveness. These must then be supplemented by private investment to get them across the finish line, and scaled to a level that positively affects the general public. 

The future of American Innovation is in safe brilliant hands. You just need to scan more of the map than the coasts. Between the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River Valley, the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain lies a new better world. A stronger and smarter United States of America.

This article was written in collaboration with William Saulsbery

Recent Upgrades: Whiteboards and Sound Baffling

Over the past several weeks, the team at Groover Labs has been hard at work building and installing upgrades to different spaces in the building.

Whiteboards

If you recall from an earlier post, “Rent Our Conference Rooms,” we have six conference rooms and one boardroom available for rent, by the hour, for both members and non-members.

Small conference rooms are $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Large conference rooms are $15/$20. The boardroom is $20/$25.

We’ve seen an uptick in the use of these spaces during the pandemic for groups and teams who need a way to meet safely. Along with our hand-crafted white oak tables, comfortable chairs, HDMI- and streaming-compatible HDTVs, we’ve now added large whiteboards in each room. In addition to the conference rooms and boardroom, we’ve also added whiteboards in the hotseat area and in the classrooms.

Whiteboards are essential tools for collaboration. Jot down ideas, discuss them as a group, erase them, expand them, change them—it’s a fast and easy way to preserve ideas and stay focused.

Apps like OneNote and Evernote do excellent jobs of creating digital whiteboards on devices, but they don’t replace the real thing. At the end of a strategy session, take out your mobile device and snap a picture so you can revisit your great ideas.

Podcast Studio Sound Baffling

We announced at the beginning of the year that we bought Rode microphones and a soundboard to set up in one of our large conference rooms, which now functions as both a meeting space and podcast studio. The team recently found some interesting designs for sound baffling online, so they went to work. The baffling was installed earlier this week, and there’s a distinct reduction in the already-minimal echo when you’re in the room. We’re eager to hear the first podcast in the upgraded room.

As of December 2020, there are more than 1.5 million podcasts and more than 34 million episodes. With so many forced to work from home or outside normal routines, podcasts have become a wonderful way to connect with long-form content that aligns with personal interests.

Approximately 104 million people listen to podcasts in the United States each month, and 68 million say they listen to them weekly. They’re so popular that 93 percent of U.S. listeners say they listen to all or most of each episode they download or stream. You can read more podcasting statistics here.

If you either have a podcast or you’re thinking about starting one, consider recording at Groover Labs. Email contact@grooverlabs.org for details.

Our Lowest Pricing Ever on Select Memberships

We’re offering big discounts on select memberships. If you’ve been craving an alternative to working from home, now is the time to join our community! All Groover Labs memberships are available on a monthly basis - no long-term commitments.

27% OFF DEDICATED DESK MEMBERSHIPS

For a limited time we’re offering dedicated desk memberships for only $200 per month, normally $275. But you must sign up by January 31 to get this rate through June 30.

As a dedicated desk member you’ll enjoy 24/7 access plus other great benefits such as:

• Gigabit fiber internet access

• Use of seven conference rooms

• Fresh local coffee

• Free doorside parking

• Mail service

• Short walk to Old Town restaurants

Dedicated desks are the heartbeat of any coworking space. Imagine your desk as a first step on your entrepreneurial journey. Feed off the energy of other like-minded, hard-working people who are just as motivated as you are.

28% OFF STUDIO MEMBERSHIPS

For a limited time we’re offering studio memberships for only $250 per month, normally $350. But you must sign up by January 31 to get this rate through June 30.

As a studio member you’ll enjoy the same benefits listed above for dedicated desk memberships.

Our studio space is unique at Groover Labs. Much like an office space but with more freedom to make a mess, our studios are ideal if you want to mold the space to your unique tastes. It also includes ample open space for your occasional project needs.

You can have a desk and a workbench in the same space while working on your creative design projects. Or bring in a 3D printer and start prototyping your Big New Product ideas. And right across the hallway are two big classrooms where you can share your skills and ideas with others.

PRIVATE OFFICE MEMBERSHIPS

We have a limited number of private offices available for small and mid-sized teams. If you’re looking for a fusion of traditional manufacturing space and contemporary design, our offices are a great fit. Early twentieth-century brick walls line several of the offices, giving each space its own personality. These well-lighted workspaces look out into our coworking area to inspire community and collaboration.

Private offices are traditionally used by teams who plan to work 35 or more hours per week at Groover Labs, although this varies by member. We also welcome founders and businesses who have divested their current office space for virtual but need a central location to work together when necessary. 

Office amenities include custom white oak desks, and lockable file cabinets and doors. Located in the heart of our coworking area, which is known for its old-world vaulted barrel roof, office members enjoy 24/7 access, dedicated ethernet connections with independent VLANs for security plus the other great benefits that come with dedicated desks.

Come by anytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. if you’d like to join, or schedule a tour here.

Flexible Day Pass 10-Pack only $75

Update: This offer expired on 12/31/2020.

Not sure if you’re ready to join but still eager to get a break from working at home? Do you need occasional access to a conference room to meet with clients? You’re in luck. We’ve put together a special day pass package just for you. Buy a pack of 10 day passes before December 31 and pay only $75. Our day passes normally cost $20 each, so this special package saves you $125! Get yours here!

Day passes are a great way try out our coworking space and only pay for the days you choose. Our gigabit fiber internet is both stable and lightning fast. The sunny day pass member area provides flexible seating that looks out onto our grassy outdoor courtyard. While you’re here, meet some of our members. Have a coffee at the coffee bar. Use one of our special phone booths to make a private call. Maybe you’ll decide to stay.

Your 10 Pack of day passes can be used through June 30, 2021. Day passes allow you to work at Groover Labs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m weekdays.

Discounted 10-pack day passes are available online, at our front desk, or email us at contact@grooverlabs.org.

Groover Labs Co-Founders Appear on ICTPodcast

Last Friday our co-founders Curt and Tracy sat down with Brandon Paulseen of ICTPodcast to discuss Groover Labs, Wichita, technology, and the local startup ecosystem.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.