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. Chapman and his team analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Department of Labor and Statistics, the Small Business Administration, and other public and private sources. They conducted interviews with local founders and members of the support infrastructure to learn from those involved in the day-to-day work of helping startups.

Some of the key findings in Chapman’s report say we must

Improve our startup rate--we need to start more companies
Find, engage, and support founders and startups
Tell more stories about our founders, both successes and failures
Reach those outside the ecosystem to cultivate their engagement in the effort
Face and accept the low rate of entrepreneurial development so we can change it

The report’s general summary of the current ecosystem is that it’s “okay.” But Chapman says we can do better. The region has a highly skilled engineering workforce--something our co-founders Curt and Tracy have been saying since before they opened Groover Labs--as well as deep experience in agriculture, aerospace, and energy. Each of these, as well as committing to leverage the cyber security assets from McConnell Air Force Base’s cyber security arm, present opportunities for Wichita’s entrepreneurs.