Gather the latest news about Groover Labs, Wichita Coworking, Startups, and Founders on our blog.
People you should know in Wichita's startup scene
The June 19, 2023 edition of the Wichita Business Journal featured several components of Wichita’s growing startup ecosystem. One section covered “People You Should Know in Wichita’s Startup Scene” and listed our co-founders, Curt Gridley and Tracy Hoover.
Updated 1 Million Cups Schedule
1 Million Cups is officially operating on its summer schedule, which includes taking a break for a few Wednesdays in a row, and hosting a presentation at another location. Click the post to view the summer schuedule.
Groover Labs Receives $1.15M BASE 2.0 Grant Funding
We are thrilled to receive funding from the Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) 2.0 economic development grant for our CyberLink Infrastructure Expansion Project. BASE funds are intended to address infrastructure and economic development needs, and our grant award will allow us to continue critical projects we had to cancel or delay because of the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Member Interview: Francis Baalmann and ICTShortStay.com
Member Francis Baalmann began his career as an attorney. Now, he’s a real estate property manager, short-term rental owner, and entrepreneur.
InfoFluency to Launch Revenue Management Tool
Groover Labs member InfoFluency is launching a new Revenue Management Tool. We sat down with Alyssa McGuinn, managing director of business development, to discuss the tool and the reasons they decided to build it.
Local Software Firm Flint Hills Group Launches Whiskey Shelf App
Dave Cunningham, founder and CEO of Flint Hills Group and Groover Labs early adopter, has spent the past several months with his team building a new mobile app for whiskey lovers. Dave, a whiskey enthusiast himself, drew inspiration for the app while leading Campfire, a 12-week startup course taught at Groover Labs.
WorkTorch's Deborah Gladney Testifies Before Congress
Longtime Groover Labs member Deborah Gladney, founder and CEO of WorkTorch, the only career discovery platform for the service economy, testified before the House Finance Subcommittee on Capital Markets on Wednesday, February 8. The subcommittee is a part of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.
Groover Labs and Member Ingrid Green on KSN
Groover Labs was recently featured on KSN for a weekly segment titled, “Here for You Spotlight.” Reporter Julia Thatcher toured Groover Labs with co-founder Tracy Hoover to learn more about our mission. She then spoke with Ingrid Green, executive director of Drones4Girls, a program that teaches kids to build, code, and fly mini-drones.
Member Interview: Ethan Franks
Ethan Franks started coming to devICT’s Thursday morning Code & Coffee events last year to network with software developers in the area. He’d been working in construction when the Covid-19 global pandemic hit, and he decided to change careers. Ethan enrolled in code boot camp and was a regular fixture in the hotseat area. He recently landed a job as a mobile app developer. We sat down with him to talk about his journey.
Book Our Event Venue!
Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break. We did, and we’re glad to be back at work. Speaking of work, we’ve had a busy couple of weeks. Of interest to us: the number of calls and reservations we’ve had for our event venue. We’ve booked events with little-to-no warning and events that reach out all the way to October 2023.
WSU Athletics Partners with DARI Motion
Read the latest press release from one of our longtime members, DARI Motion, about their agreement with Wichita State University Athletics, to provide musculoskeletal health and human motion assessmentnts from WSU student-athletes:
Studios Available on January 1, 2023
We have two studios available starting January 1, 2023. The studios are $350/mo., are billed on a month-to-month basis, and seat between 1 and 3 people. While the private offices in the coworking area come with desks and lockable file cabinets, the studios come as they are: you are free to furnish them with your own desk, chairs, couches, lamps, etc.
Members in the News: WorkTorch
Congrats to Groover Labs members WorkTorch on their article appearing in Essence Magazine! WorkTorch, formerly known as QuickHire, recently announced a $2.2M raise as well as a rebranding of the startup’s focus to incorporate not just job discover but also career development.
Greenfield Incorporated And MKC Expand Existing Partnership
Maker Labs member Greenfield Incorporated recently announced it has expanded its relationship with Mid Kansas Cooperative (MKC), a full-service farm cooperative, to coordinate logistics for its consumer packaged goods (CPG) partners. MKC will manage the intake, storage, and cleaning of crops — such as corn, soybeans, and sorghum — harvested by GreenField’s robots.
Member News: Block-It-Socket Launches
Congratulations to Groover Labs member Tate Hancock on the launch of his latest product, the Block-It-Socket, an innovatively designed babyproofing device that stays attached to power outlets so owners can’t misplace them. The product is made from durable, long-lasting, BPA-free UL94-rated material that stands up against repeated use.
Interview with WorkTorch Cofounders
Longtime Groover Labs members Deborah Gladney and Angela Muhwezi-Hall, cofounders of WorkTorch, recently announced a $2.2M seed round and rebrand (formerly QuickHire). Deborah and Angela, as well as Caleb Bill, have played an integral role in our success.
PLOT Featured in The Construction User Magazine
PLOT Jobsite Management recently one the Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) Industrial Grade Innovation Conference and Expo’s Startup Battle! You can read more about it in an earlier blog post here. TAUC’s industry magazine, The Construction User, covered the pitch battle. Read the story from the magazine below.
Player Card, Inc. Featured on KAKE News
Congratulations to Jacob O’Conner and Jon Peterson, cofounders of Player Card, Inc. for being featured on KAKE News. O’Conner and Peterson both graduated from Groover Labs’ Campfire, a 12-week technology-focused startup course based on Y Combinator’s startup class at Stanford University.
The Knowmadics Cyber Security of Excellence at Groover Labs
In early November, we hosted the launch of Knowmadics’ Cyber Center of Excellence at Groover Labs. There were more than 90 people on hand to hear from U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, Knowmadics CEO Paul Maguire, Greater Wichita Partnership CEO Jeff Fluhr, and our co-founder Curt Gridley.
QuickHire Rebrands to WorkTorch, Raises $2.2M in Seed Funding
Congratulations to longtime members Deborah Gladney and Angela Muwhezi-Hall, cofounders of WorkTorch, the career discovery platform for service workers, on their $2.2 million seed round. They recently rebranded from QuickHire to WorkTorch to expand their product offerings. Wichita-based Tenzing Capital and Josh Oeding led the new round.