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Hack in traction: Startups learn hustle shortcode for winning customers, narrow focus
Drilling into the customer profile for his startup — an AI-powered, curated swag marketplace aimed at early stage tech companies — Ivan Hadzhiev used tailored resources from Wichita-based NXTUS to validate a complaint keeping prospective partners from buying in.
Startup leaders and other attendees listen to opening remarks during a graduation event for the most recent NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort organized by NXTUS; photo courtesy of NXTUS
In short, a lot of options — even for custom, branded merchandise — isn’t necessarily a good thing, he said; it’s overwhelming.
“Through this NXTUS program, I found that there’s no recommendation system, there’s no curation, and most swag vendors just force you to look through their catalog of 10,000 different items,” said Hadzhiev, founder of Kansas City-built Merchpath, and who graduated this week from the NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort organized by NXTUS.
“Customers are saying, ‘We just want someone to understand us and to give us the most curated list of swag and merch options so that we can show off our brand,’” he continued.”
ICYMI: Tech platform matches companies with merch Gen Z will actually wear
Getting such discovery data through NXTSTAGE — designed for founders who have moved beyond the idea stage but need structure and accountability to accelerate customer acquisition and refine go to market strategy — has fueled Merchpath’s new platform launch, set for March, Hadzhiev said.
With it, his startup can better solve “the biggest problem in this whole industry,” he said, noting customer interviews and product development work have positioned the company for its next phase.
“I’ve been working really long nights, building the platform and talking to startup people and founders, and have validated everything, thankfully through this program, which I’m really grateful for,” said Hadzhiev. “I’m really excited for the launch, and then from there to just continue to grow.”
Members of the NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort organized by NXTUS; photo courtesy of NXTUS
It isn’t just theory
Builders, backers and founders gathered Monday at Evergy Connect in Wichita, as NXTUS recognized Hadzhiev and 21 other graduates of its NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort.
In 2025 alone, NXTUS connected more than 1,800 startups to growth resources and mobilized nearly $1 million in local private capital, according to Mary Beth Jarvis, president and CEO.
“This is our mission at Nexus,” said Jarvis. “Let’s grow companies of significance right here in our backyard in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska in the heartland of America.”
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu tied the program’s focus on traction to the city’s broader economic strategy, emphasizing the discipline required to turn ideas into revenue. She described that stage as the point when founders test assumptions in the marketplace and refine their approach based on real feedback.
“The customer traction cohort is not about theory,” she said. “It’s about action, knocking on doors, landing customers, generating revenue and providing your solution that creates value here in our community.”
Pressure testing growth strategies
Under the leadership of Amber Dunn, program director for NXTSTAGE, founders spent weeks in one-on-one coaching sessions, pitch practice and targeted workshops designed to surface and challenge core assumptions.
“We focus on one thing in the customer traction cohort, and that is simply put, traction,” said Dunn. “There’s one thing that these early stage business builders need which is critical to their success, which is validation.”
That validation translates into measurable outcomes. Founders clarified cost structures that led to pricing increases, booked more product demos and generated thousands of dollars in actual sales during the cohort, according to Dunn.
Elysia Chao, founder of Overland Park-based Worktern, shares her pitch during a showcase for the NXTSTAGE Customer Traction Cohort organized by NXTUS; photo courtesy of NXTUS
Narrowing the niche
Elysia Chao, founder of Overland Park-based Worktern, is building a mentorship marketplace that helps high school and college students gain real world work experience before graduation.
“We help high school and college students build relevant work experience before they graduate, because we realize that a lot of companies are not really hiring at the entry level as much anymore,” said Chao. “They’re looking for relevant work experience, but students have an opportunity to build that.”
As demand grew, serving too many audiences at once became complex.
“They have been able to help identify how to get my early customers and develop traction,” she said of the NXTUS team. “So they helped me narrow my focus, because there were too many people asking for my service. There were so many students wanting to sign up, but they were trying to help me narrow my focus to just software students and marketing students, starting at a more niche area.”
That sharper positioning is guiding Worktern’s next partnerships, including outreach to regional universities and employers seeking early talent pipelines.
This story is made possible by Network Kansas.
Network Kansas promotes an entrepreneurial environment by connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners with the expertise, education and economic resources they need to succeed.
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