NXSTAGE grad: Getting in the room with the big guys can ‘change the whole trajectory’ for a startup
Connor Borrego pitching at NXTUS’ Startup Enterprise Summit at Cargill; Photo courtesy of Darrin Hackney.
A Kansas-built program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs woo future enterprise-level partners is already proving it was worth the mileage to Wichita, said Connor Borrego, noting the just-wrapped cohort gave him the tools to insert his startup into the buying processes larger organizations actually use.
“They did more than theorize,” Borrego, founder of Kansas City-based playhaus, said of the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series crafted by NXTUS. “They brought actual purchasing representatives who allowed us to understand how we need to actually present ourselves to have success with their organizations.”
The most-recent Enterprise Engagement Series culminated Monday at Cargill Protein Headquarters during Wichita’s Launch Week. It brought together entrepreneurs, enterprise leaders and community supporters for the graduation of the cohort’s 16 Midwest entrepreneurs and to recognize the 13 enterprise partners that supported the 2026 program.