Evan Rosell is the executive vice president of operations at the Greater Wichita Partnership, which bolsters economic development and entrepreneurship in Wichita.
He is one of six individuals featured in the WBJ's 2024 Business Startup Guide as someone well-connected within Wichita's entrepreneurial ecosystem, offering up space and mentorship for small business leaders who are stepping onto the scene.
What Rosell says about...
The local startup scene in 2024: I think the startup scene is vibrant here. We have tremendous assets in our region. And I think most importantly, there's a growing awareness. I think people have started seeing that Wichita has a great talent base from across different disciplines. And then we add to that a Midwestern stick-to-it-iveness. I think that talent and grit really provide for an environment to grow new ideas and new businesses. This is who we are as a city. We've seen an increase in the work that organizations do to come across entrepreneurs and founders to support them. Some of those organizations include NXTUS, Create Campaign, Network Kansas, Groover Labs, Wichita State University and the work that Christina Long and her team are doing.
A hurdle that young entrepreneurs can face: I think all different entrepreneurs have different types of questions and many of those emerge from the type of work they are doing. Some entrepreneurs might be coming from an industry — we have really strong industry talent here — where they’re pretty acquainted with those industries but have new, innovative ideas, so they’re solving for issues they’ve experienced before. Others may be starting out with less industry experience and have different types of questions. In either case, it points back to the robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region, which has a lot of assets to help entrepreneurs answer whatever question or hurdle they may have. NXTUS is super helpful with entrepreneurs they’re working with, and so are Create Campaign, Network Kansas, and others.
Startups to be excited about in 2024: Go Carrera is one. It was started by Paul Stewart, who is a longtime leader here. My understanding is that he's developed a patent-pending algorithm that has launched a national online sales marketplace to help people find flooring installers who have the right qualifications. So think of Angie's List with builders and home projects. Work Torch is another one that is continuing to grow. They are coming out of Covid time and they are doing great work connecting the workforce with opportunities within restaurant contexts. Greater Grounds Coffee in downtown that Byron McSwain is leading right across from Cargill ... that's another one that I hear a lot of excitement about. So those are just a few.
