The Emporia community is chock full of innovative entrepreneurs with unique ideas and products and sometimes all they need is a little assistance to get those ideas from concept to reality.
One local entrepreneur is receiving that assistance through a relatively new grant program announced earlier this year, the Kansas Department of Commerce Accelerating Concepts to Commercialization in Kansas (ACCEL-KS) proof-of-concept program. The program is a cooperative initiative that seeks to support entrepreneurs across the state with grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, which was made possible by a $400,000 allocation from KDOC, as detailed in a presentation from Groover Labs of Wichita in Emporia back in September.
Earlier this week, Emporia Main Street, one of the entities involved in the cooperative concept, announced the first local entrepreneur to receive a $5,000 grant, Greg Yotz. Main Street Director Casey Woods says Yotz is already an accomplished developer who will be able to make the most out of that $5,000 allocation.
Woods says that being able to announce the first grant is exciting, as is the potential for where the program can take Yotz and his concept. He adds that having a partnership with other like-minded communities, like Wichita, helps Main Street give local business owners and entrepreneurs a much larger stage to showcase their respective products and ideas.
Yotz runs LG Engineering LLC, which is focused on developing IoT-based smart wireless devices that help to enhance daily living, safety and connectivity for residents in rural communities.
