Gather the latest news about Groover Labs, Wichita Coworking, Startups, and Founders on our blog.
Accelerate Wichita Recap
On Tuesday, June 17, Tom Chapman of Chapman and Co. presented his “Accelerate Wichita: Regional Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report” to an audience of interested startup ecosystem supporters at Groover Labs. You can read the report in its entirety here. In 2020, the Greater Wichita Partnership, an economic development organization focused on the greater Wichita metropolitan region, hired Chapman and Co. - an expert in entrepreneurial ecosystem evaluation - to analyze and develop strategic next steps for Wichita’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
VC Huddle Recap
We recently wrapped up our first VC Huddle, and we want to extend a big THANK YOU to everyone who joined us! We had a wonderful time, and we hope you did too. Thank you to Balaji Gopinath and Greg White of Kubera Capital, Dan Kerr of Flyover Capital, and Mary Kate Love of Koch Disruptive Technologies. And, of course, thank you to members of the Groover Labs advisory team, which include Dave Cunningham, Mark Janzen, Greg Giefer and Carie Lemack.
VC Huddle : Extended on 7/13, in-person and virtual
Today, we’re excited to announce VC Huddle: Extended, a panel discussion and networking event with another set of venture capital firms. The event takes place at Groover Labs and virtually on Tuesday, July 13, from 4-6 p.m., and we hope you’ll join us. The discussion, titled “Early-stage Capital for Midwest-based Startups,” will feature Mike Freeman, CEO, Innosphere Ventures, Maggie Kenefake, General Partner, Royal Street Ventures, and Mark Janzen, Vice President of Operations, Avalara. The panel will be moderated by Rob Gerlach (Executive Director of Tech Transfer and Commercialization, Wichita State University). Stick around after the discussion for networking, drinks, and snacks.
Feature Your Artwork for Sale at Groover Labs
Open Call! Feature your artwork for sale at Groover Labs. This call is open to any 2-D media that can be hung on a wall. We want to feature local artists as we begin to host more large events and have a flow of people in our 42,000 square-foot coworking, office, event, and maker spaces located in Old Town!
1 Million Cups @ Groover Labs
1 Million Cups is back, and it will take place at Groover Labs! We are excited to host 1MC, which begins at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 7. We will present alongside Marquette Atkins’ wonderful Destination Innovation Camp. As a program of the Kauffman Foundation, 1 Million Cups works with entrepreneurs, empowering them with the tools and resources to break down barriers that stand in the way of starting and growing their businesses. Mr. Kauffman believed it was a fundamental right for anyone who had a big idea to be able to bring it to life—and we're here to fulfill that mission.
Groover Labs Featured as a Small Business Champ
We were recently featured by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce as a story in their Small Business Champs video series, which highlights innovation during the 2020 global pandemic
Member Profile: Greg Giefer of DARI Motion
DARI Motion uses a constellation of high-speed, high-definition cameras instead of markers, hence “markerless”, to record their subjects' movements. The data feeds into proprietary software in real-time, which compares their moves against a vast trove of human movement data. The software generates a report that shows how the subject’s movement compares against the field. One DARI Motion capture system can easily collect up to 75 subjects in an 8-hour day, which makes the process scalable. It used to take six months to collect biomechanical data like this; DARI does it in minutes.
Kansas Micro-Internship Program
Groover Labs is excited to share the Kansas Micro-Internship Program with you. Through this program, Kansas-based companies and organizations can receive grant funding for Micro-Internship opportunities as long as the selected student is enrolled in a Kansas public college or university. Micro-Internships are short-term, paid, professional assignments that take place in all areas of an organization. These projects can be completed remotely on a year-round basis and typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work. Projects are typically due within a month of kick-off and provide your busy team with immediate support on short-term tasks.
Summer Holiday Hours
Here are the summer holiday hours: Monday, May 31, 2021: Monday, July 5, 2021: Closed to celebrate Independence Day; and Monday, September 6, 2021: Closed to observe Labor Day. If you’re a dedicated desk or private office member, you have 24/7 access to the building, and you are free to work here if the is off for the holidays. If you have any questions, or you would like to sign up for a membership with 24/7 building access, please let us know!
Toastmasters Open House
On April 28, the Groover Labs Toastmasters are hosting a virtual open house featuring acclaimed 27-year Toastmaster and 8-time district champion Rick Chandler. Attendees will hear Chandler speak. In addition, they will get to experience a typical club meeting, which includes hearing a club member speaker, Table Topics, and evaluations. A guest question and answer session will follow the formal meeting.
NXTCONNECT Presents: How to Captivate Your Virtual Audience
On Friday, 3/26, at 11 a.m., NXTCONNECT will present: How to Captivate Your Virtual Audience, a combination in-person and virtual presentation in the event venue at Groover Labs. This is a fee online event that as part of our entrepreneur education series. RSVP via Zoom registration appreciated. This month we welcome Nathan Gold, nationally acclaimed "pitch coach," who has helped hundreds of startups and entrepreneurs up-level their presentation.
Guest Post: Amy Huser Talks Tapestry Weaving
We asked local artist Amy Huser, who is also a community associate at Wichita Coworking and Makerspace Groover Labs, if she’d write a guest blog post about her experience teaching the Tapestry Weaving class last weekend. It can be scary to sign up for a class if you’re new to the discipline. Read how teaching reminded Amy what it’s like to start at the beginning.
QuickHire in the news (again)!
The QuickHire team has secured new funding and hired a new chief technology officer. Read more about these exciting developments in the Wichita Business Journal.
CPA Karen Montiel Joins Our Office Hours Program
We are please to announce the addition of Karen Montiel to the Office Hours Program. Montiel is a tax manager with Regier, Carr & Monroe LLP. She works with clients in many sectors including non-profit, legal, healthcare, and construction. In her time in public accounting she has worked on companies ranging from small, family owned businesses to large partnerships and corporations that involve advanced tax strategies.
KingFit's Miguel Johns Named to 2021 Pipeline Fellowship Class
Congrats to Groover Labs member Miguel Johns, founder and CEO of KingFit, for being named to the 2021 class of Pipeline Fellows. Each year, Pipeline selects a group of high-growth entrepreneurs to join a yearlong fellowship from across the Midwest. The Fellowship year is defined by four, three-day modules focused on topics such as business models, financials, finding your customer, and much more. The goal of these modules is to help our entrepreneurs grow their companies and provide them with expert advice from our panel of national advisors and mentors.
KWCH Features Groover Labs and FlagshipKansas.Tech
Check out KWCH reporter and anchor Lily Wu’s latest #BuildingYou segment about the focus on the tech sector in both Wichita and Kansas. Hear from our co-founders about their mission to help foster a healthy tech startup ecosystem in Wichita and from FlagshipKansas.Tech executive director (and Groover Labs member) Ashley Scheidemann about retaining and bringing in tech talent to Kansas. Watch the story here on KWCH.com or on Lily Wu’s Facebook page embedded in the post..
Free Coworking Day 3rd Wednesday of Each Month
Beginning in February, we will host a free coworking day on the third Wednesday of each month from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. You’ll have access to our first-come, first-served hotseat area, gigabit fiber internet, private phone booths and free coffee. You don’t need to register or call in advance, just drop by. Seating is limited, so get here early. Standard Covid-19 protocols apply.
AGH CPAs & Advisors Join Groover Labs Office Hours Program
Groover Labs started free, informal office hour 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.
Member News: Kansas Global VP Named as Next Gen Global Leader
Congratulations to Kansas Global Trade Services Vice President Tyler Walston, who was named as a Next Gen Global Leader. The Next Gen Global Leaders network is a program of the U.S. Leadership Coalition, an organization whose mission is to strengthen America’s civilian-led tools—development and diplomacy, alongside defense.