We have a lot on tap this month.
Greetings, friends.
Groover Labs is heading into the holidays with several events and gearing up to fully open after the first of the year. Keep updated with our weekly newsletters and social channels.
It's your turn in the hotseat
If you've been curious about our coworking space, stop by between 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, for our hotseat open house at 334 N. St. Francis.
Register and we'll set you up with a hotseat for a few hours so you can get a feel for our community. We'll provide coffee and snacks.
If you want a tour of the building, please let a member of our staff know and they'll be happy to walk you through our 42,000-square-foot space. This is a first-come, first-served offer, so come early to beat the crowd.
Keep an eye out for more hotseat popup opportunities throughout the remainder of the year.
First Friday at WSU ShiftSpace
WSU ShiftSpace, the student-operated art gallery that makes its home at Groover Labs, will be open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on First Friday, Dec. 6, for its third annual group exhibition, "Future Forward," featuring work by area high school students.
As a special treat, Groover Labs has invited up-and-coming musician Evann McIntosh to play in our lobby.
Evann recently dropped her first album, "MOJO," and we're thrilled to share her neo-soul music with you. You'd never guess that she's a 15-year-old student at Derby High School.
Ready for battle: Startup Grind Wichita
We're playing host to Startup Grind Wichita's Pitch Battle and holiday party from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 12.
Groover Labs' mission is to fuel collaboration and product development, so this event is a perfect fit for our space. Tickets are available here.
Five selected startups will pitch in front of a panel of judges. The judges are:
Jason Toevs | Co-Founder/CTO | QuiCC
Maggie Koops | Operations Manager | Groover Labs
Gary Oborny | Chairman/CEO | Occidental Management, Inc.
Josh Oeding | President/CEO | e2e Accelerator
Becky Tuttle | Council Member | City of Wichita
Each startup will present for the chance to win $500 and a guaranteed 50% subsidy toward their exhibition space at the Startup Grind Global 2020 in San Francisco.
Meet Jeremiah Burian
What does Jeremiah do at Groover Labs? Jeremiah is our metal shop lead. That means he supervises the metal shop, teaches classes and acts as a mentor to members of Groover Labs.
What's his background? He graduated in 2005 from the master welding program at Tulsa Welding School. Jeremiah is a Wichita native. He was the metal shop lead and served on the board at MakeICT.
But who is he, really? Jeremiah is a teacher at heart. "I'm here to help everyone learn, and everyone learns differently," he said. "I’ve taught a lot of people who thought they wouldn’t be able to do this. I taught someone who was 79 years old how to TIG weld." He recommends that anyone interested in welding as a career take classes at Groover Labs first to make sure "this is something you want to do."
What else should you know about Jeremiah?: He co-owns Immortal Metal with our IT manager, Paul Maseberg. Immortal Metal makes and sells home decor, metal sculptures and repurposed items from scrap metal. It also offers custom welding.
One of Jeremiah's favorite sayings: "I don't cry. Sparks fly from my eyes."