NXTUS Celebrates 22 Entrepreneurs Completing Fifth-Annual Customer Traction Cohort
Photo from the 2026 NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort graduation luncheon.
Wichita, Kan. – February 23, 2026 – NXTUS, Inc. today graduated 22 growth-minded entrepreneurs from its fifth-annual NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort at a luncheon at Evergy Connect. The program, completed by 92 startups to date, is tailored to each entrepreneur, helping them advance their unique go-to-market and revenue strategies.
“Over the past several weeks, these cohort members have leaned into the discipline of having real customer conversations, refining their positioning, and validating assumptions that highlight clearer paths to revenue. Team NXTUS is honored to provide this program that guides growth-minded entrepreneurs toward stronger, more sustainable businesses.” Amber Dunn, NXTUS Program Director.
The entrepreneurs hailing from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, provide solutions spanning service, technology, hard tech, and product-based industries. New this year, NXTUS welcomed seven ACCEL-KS at Groover Labs grant recipients. Funded by the Kansas Department of Commerce, the ACCEL-KS program helps Kansas innovators transform ideas into scalable products by providing early funding, mentorship, and access to critical resources.
The 2026 Customer Traction Cohort:
Accelerate Physical Therapy and Performance (Wichita, KS)
Brad Zwick Innovation (Wichita, KS)
buildNest (Olathe, KS)
Covalent Construction Solutions (Wichita, KS)
DogMa316 (Kechi, KS)
Electraform Equipment (Lawrence, KS)
Freeman Constructs (Goddard, KS)
GCE (Wichita, KS)
Get Ya Color on (Wichita, KS)
Grounds for Success (Liberal, KS)
KONKEH Artisan Alfajor Pastries (Wichita, KS)
Lucille Group (Wichita, KS)
Maze Freight Solutions (Overland Park, KS)
Merchpath (Kansas City, MO)
MyPrepBoss (Wichita, KS)
Ogallala (Wichita, KS)
Pitchster (Olathe, KS)
Promax Freight (Wichita, KS)
Set Your Sites (Lincoln, NE)
Sugaring With Love (Wichita, KS)
Toadworx (Wichita, KS)
Worktern (Overland Park, KS)
Throughout the program, participants engaged in one-on-one coaching with a national partner, designed to sharpen product-market fit, customer acquisition, and revenue generating strategies, and convened for in-person workshops to build community with one another.
As a result, cohort members validated their riskiest assumptions, strengthened pricing and financial models, and accelerated early sales conversations.
“Through the Customer Traction Cohort, I learned how to narrow down exactly who our first adopters would be, should be, and how that sets us up for success beyond our first few sales. The program helps you break down a huge, nebulous problem into very actionable steps unique to your needs,” said Logan Schraeder, Co-Founder of Toadworx. “Toadworx gained a lot of insight into specific customer discovery, validation, and ended up making our first sales in the process!”
The Customer Traction Cohort is supported by Network Kansas, the Kansas Department of Commerce, Groover Labs, Fidelity Bank, Evergy, and the Greater Wichita Partnership’s Opportunity Wichita affiliate.
For more information about the program or to view participant details, visit https://www.nxtus.io/nxtstage-customer-traction-cohort.