Gather the latest news about Groover Labs, Wichita Coworking, Startups, and Founders on our blog.
Interview with Metal Shop Lead Jeremiah Burian
Meet Jeremiah Burian, the Metal Lab lead at Groover Labs. He’s one of our earliest hires, and he’s worked tirelessly since mid-2019 to bring the Maker Labs online. Burian has vast experience in metal works, completing a professional welder program at the Tulsa Welding School. He enjoys teaching, and he’s ready to lead his first Maker Labs-related class at Groover Labs starting Oct. 1. We sat down with Burian to discuss his upcoming four-week 3D Printing and Open Studio class.
An Interview with the KaaS Team
Knowledge as a Service, Inc., or “KaaS”, operates Ringorang®, an app-based software solution designed to disrupt corporate learning. Companies that subscribe to Ringorang will use the technology to ensure employees retain and apply critical information from each learning session. The KaaS team brings high energy to Groover Labs. They walk fast and talk faster.
3D Printing and Open Studio
Are you looking for an in-person 3D printing class in Wichita? Are you in the market for a 3D printer but not sure where to start? Do you already have some experience with 3D printing but want to build your skill level? If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, then our in-person 4-week 3D Printing and Open Studio class is for you.
Office Hours Upgrade
We're upgrading the Office Hours program! Starting in September, each Office Hours advisor will give a short talk about a topic relevant to their field. After each talk, we'll open the floor for discussion. We will then return to our regular Office Hours advisory time, where each advisor will be available to meet with eager entrepreneurs.
Interview with Chad Cox, Co-Founder of Optical Launch
Chad Cox is the co-founder of Optical Launch, a turnkey e-commerce application built to boost the optical experience of patients, customers, and optical staff. Born and raised in Wichita, Kan., Cox is a veteran who served in the U.S. Army’s 3rd Ranger Battalion stationed in Ft. Benning, Ga. He has a degree in computer science from Wichita State University and, in his free time, is a pretty good chef. Read our interview with him here.
QuickHire Featured in the New York Times
Photo credit: Doug Barrett for The New York Times. Click the link below to read a New York Times article published on August 19 about the strength of the startup boom in the U.S. during the pandemic. The article features Groover Labs members Deborah Gladney and Angela Angela Muhwezi-Hall and their tech startup QuickHire, a mobile job search platform directed at the service industry.
QuickHire Appears in Washington Post (Again!)
Groover Labs members Deborah Gladney and Angela Angela Muhwezi-Hall, along with their tech startup QuickHire, were mentioned in the Washington Post for the second time in less than two months. Click the link for the article.
Groover Labs Welcomes Bookkeeper Brittany Sweeney to Office Hours
Brittany Sweeney is the owner of Sweeney Bookkeeping, LLC. She has an extensive background in public and private bookkeeping, having worked in the field since 2010. Over the years, she has worked with a variety of different businesses. Brittany decided to open Sweeney Bookkeeping, LLC after seeing a need for affordable bookkeeping services for small businesses and start-ups. Her clients' success is what drives her.
ROTR 9.0 city visits postponed; $500K local investment commitment still on!
Due to growing concerns about the Delta variant, we have decided to postpone bringing the Rise of the Rest Bus to the Heartland this fall. We’ve long said that what makes our Road Trips so powerful is the opportunity to bring together individuals and organizations from across the community to celebrate what makes a city special. We are committed to delivering that experience for the five cities on the ROTR 9.0 agenda, and we hope to do so as soon as possible in 2022. Stay tuned for details.
KAAS begins crowdfunding to drive local hiring
Check out Groover Labs member and tech startup Knowledge as a Service, or KaaS, in a recent edition of the Wichita Business Journal by clicking on the link below. They have initiated an equity crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder.com to help hire 40 people in Wichita over the next year as they move operations to town.
Upcoming Maker Labs Open Houses
Are you interested in taking classes in our Maker Labs? Possibly becoming a founding member of our maker community? Great! Over the next three weeks, we’ll host six Maker Labs Open Houses, where you’ll tour our facility and learn about classes we’ll begin offering in September. Come in and talk with us about your interests. We’d like to get your feedback on our plans as we finalize the details.
Revolution’s RISE OF THE REST ® returns for 9th Road Trip
The team at Revolution, the DC-based investment firm led by tech pioneer Steve Case, announced that their RISE OF THE REST ® tour, originally scheduled for April 2020, will be returning this fall to the Heartland! These cities were selected nearly two years ago, and after a long wait during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rise of the Rest is finally making the trip.
QuickHire featured in Washington Post
Read a Washington Post article published on July 27 about changes in the workforce, and specifically, the service industry workforce. The article features Groover Labs members Deborah Gladney and Angela Angela Muhwezi-Hall and their tech startup QuickHire, a mobile job search platform directed at the service industry. Visit their website here. Read other stories about QuickHire here and here.
Member Profile: Brandon Paulseen and ICT Podcast
Brandon Paulseen is the founder and host of the ICT Podcast, which focuses on talking with people who do difficult things at the highest level to learn how they power through adversity and build businesses. He started it in 2017, and has now recorded more than 100 episodes, with a new episode airing each week. Paulseen began recording in the Groover Labs podcast studio last year.
American's Seed Fund: No Equity, Just Funding
The National Science Foundation’s America’s Seed Fund offers funding for early stage R&D and take no equity in the company — applicants retain full control over your team, the direction of your work, and your intellectual property.
Kansas Department of Commerce Proof of Concept Grant
Groover Labs is proud to be an approved partner for the Kansas Department of Commerce Proof of Concept Grant announced on July 1, 2021. Qualified applicants are eligible to apply for grants of $5,000 - $25,000, and applications must be submitted through an approved partner.
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!