Kansas group aims to build entrepreneurship in state’s communities

Dunn outlines support for start-up businesses during First Friday e-call

At a glance: The program manager for a Kansas-based organization that provides no-cost support to start-up businesses was the featured speaker during K-State's First Friday e-call, which aims to inspire entrepreneurship in the state.

Related: K-State First Friday e-call

Feb. 6, 2024

By Pat Melgares, K-State Research and Extension news service

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The program manager for a Kansas-based organization that provides no-cost support to start-up businesses in the state says that 2023 was the company’s “best year yet for serving the region’s growth-minded entrepreneurs and innovators.”

Amber Dunn said NXTUS, Inc. connected more than 1,000 start-up businesses with community assets while helping to build nearly $1.5 million in capital and expanding the customer base for early-stage businesses, many of those in Kansas.

“More startups equals more jobs, and more jobs equals better and more vibrant culture throughout our state,” Dunn said. “Also, we know that it helps to retain and attract modern talent to grow our local economies.”

Dunn was the featured speaker during the Feb. 2 First Friday e-Call, a monthly online series hosted by K-State Research and Extension that helps to nurture small businesses and inspire entrepreneurship in Kansas. The online discussions, which routinely host dozens of Kansas citizens from the public and private sectors, are available free each month.

Dunn said NXTUS, Inc., which was formed in 2016, works to boost Kansas businesses and communities. Some trends of note that she provided:

• More entrepreneurs means less poverty in a community. Research indicates that for every 1% increase in a state’s entrepreneurship rate, poverty decreases by 2%.
  
  
• More startups mean more jobs. She said virtually all net new jobs come from small and young businesses.
  
  
• Retaining and attracting modern talent grows the economy. Modern talent strengthens the ecosystem that helps innovators thrive.

“We like to think of ourselves as a startup for startups,” Dunn said of her company’s philosophy. “We put the entrepreneur at the center of everything that we do, and we have three key components of how we help entrepreneurs: build community, access to capital, and access to customers.”

Kansas, she added, has all the components necessary for success. She cited examples of other successful states and cities, including Madison, Wisconsin; Tulsa Oklahoma; Buffalo, New York; and others.

In Kansas, she said, “we take all types of entrepreneurs through our programs. The key that they all have in common is they want to grow and scale their business. They want the business to be different tomorrow than it is today. And they want to learn and be in a community where they can co-work with other entrepreneurs.”

Dunn said NXTUS has several programs to help build communities, capital and customer base. The company offers an eight-week track with weekly one-on-one coaching, in-person workshops and more; and hosts two pilot competitions in which entrepreneurs from Kansas or across the U.S. can sit alongside corporate partners for a period of time.

NXTUS also hosts a competition in which entrepreneurs can pitch their ideas to investors, similar to TV’s ‘Shark Tank.’

“We are really proud of the diversity of groups that we work with,” Dunn said. “Yet, there’s always an effort to do more and provide more service to everyone. We’re pretty proud of how the (business) cohorts have expanded across Kansas.”

The First Friday e-calls hosted monthly by K-State Research and Extension support the K-State 105 initiative, the university's answer to the call for a comprehensive growth and advancement solution for Kansas. Learn more about K-State 105 at https://www.k-state.edu/105.

NXTUS and NetWork Kansas have used K-State 105 funding to help serve new entrepreneurs with a broader reach throughout Kansas.

Dunn’s full talk and other First Friday presentations are available online from K-State Research and Extension.

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K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.