Hack in traction: Startups learn hustle shortcode for winning customers, narrow focus

By: Taylor Wilmore

February 26, 2026

Ivan Hadzhiev, Merchpath; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Drilling into the customer profile for his startup — an AI-powered, curated swag marketplace aimed at early stage tech companies — Ivan Hadzhiev used tailored resources from Wichita-based NXTUS to validate a complaint keeping prospective partners from buying in.

In short, a lot of options — even for custom, branded merchandise — isn’t necessarily a good thing, he said; it’s overwhelming.

“Through this NXTUS program, I found that there’s no recommendation system, there’s no curation, and most swag vendors just force you to look through their catalog of 10,000 different items,” said Hadzhiev, founder of Kansas City-built Merchpath, and who graduated this week from the NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort organized by NXTUS.