News

SHIFT 4: INNOVATING AND CREATING IN GOCREATE

06.15.2020 | BROGAN GILLMORE | DESIGN

We’ve all been there, that embarrassing moment as you knock over your half-full drink, spilling it everywhere and then having your head hung low as you retrieve something to clean up your mess, and this embarrassment is only doubled when in public.

“Spilling your tumbler is, well, just not fun, and a case of the spills can be devastating!! Sip Savor is the last lid you will ever need to cure all cases of the spills!” reads the first line to the lids story on Kickstarter, but there is way more to the story than what the crowdfunding sight tells you.

Sip Savor is the first crowdfunded project by a new product innovation and design company based out of GoCreate called Shift 4.

The year-old company is made up of 4 GoCreate members: Max Atefi, Brady Sherman, Hessam Vali, and Eddie Smith. The four of them met through GoCreate and bonded over their love of designing and creating, causing them to create Shift 4.

“We propose everyday problems and throw out those problems and ideas that we have [to each other] throughout the day,” said Atefi, one of the three engineers in the group. Going on to say that this particular idea came from a friend of the group, and fellow GoCreate member.

The Sip Savor was one of thousands of ideas that Shift 4 has come up with and for the fledgling company it appeared as the most likely to survive on the market.

“We have a process,” said Sherman, the lone marketer in the group. “How much does it cost? What is the market value? What’s the manufacturing time? Is it manufacturable?”

It was the spill-proof lid that survived through out all that criteria and had even progressed past the initial prototyping stages with the final product being used by Atefi. This iteration of the Sip Savor was 3D printed by the National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR), a luxury that can be afforded GoCreate members because of the two companies’ close relation with each other.

Now the company is on the hunt for a manufacturer to mass produce their product, a new experience for Shift 4.

The Sip Savor has been entirely new ground for the year-old product company, they said that normally they come up with ideas, flesh them out and then try to pitch them to companies to license the product. Instead the group decided to drum up support first via Kickstarter.

Before taking the Kickstarter approach the company said they had produced concepts for somewhere between 10 to 20 products.

The group laughed that it was difficult to get in contact with companies to pitch their ideas.

“But since we launched our Kickstart and [the Sip Savor] we have gotten in contact with companies that are what we needed but didn’t know before,” said Smith, a longtime member and mentor at GoCreate.

“It’s better that we start our own companies, or even development, then there’s more interest that we attract, because they see we are the real deal and they understand that we aren’t playing around,” Atefi interjected.

Currently the Kickstarter only has 10% of their $10,000 dollar goal, but the team remains optimistic of succeeding in getting the Sip Savor off the ground. Especially since they partnered with Fight for the Forgotten a nonprofit that seeks to provide potable water for areas that safe drinking water is scarce.

“Our main goal is to create products that help people solve their problems,” Atefi said. “When you talk about problems people always sometimes think of something crazy that is out of reach, but problems could be very simple that hasn’t been tapped ye. We try to find those problems that can be solved within our capabilities, and our current goal is to solve as many problems as possible.”


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MAKING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL DREAM HAPPEN

06.15.2020 | BROGAN GILLMORE | DESIGN, METAL, PAINT, WELDING

Entrepreneurs are the backbone of our economy, and here at GoCreate we not only want to help those with the entrepreneurial spirit, but celebrate them as well. 

The owners of Fuzzy’s Tacos franchise in Wichita have used GoCreate for the past year to produce an astounding amount of décor that blends the Fuzzy’s style with a Wichita State University aesthetic.

Clint Reitz, one of the owners and the man behind the taco shop’s décor, said that with the assistance of GoCreate’s mentors, its sign making capabilities and equipment they can have “custom designs on the interior that no one else is going to have.”

Reitz has been a member of GoCreate since June 2019, fist joining through membership assistance provided by the John and Mary Koch Foundation.

It was when the Braeburn Square location for Fuzzy’s was being constructed that Reitz said he first heard about GoCreate from John Tomblin, WSU’s Vice President of Technology Transfer.

“He went over everything that was available at GoCreate and what it had to offer,” the fast food proprietor said.

“That’s what got us initially looking at GoCreate, and after figuring out the availability of tools and equipment there that the standard person doesn’t have access to, is what really made us want to use it.”

Equipment like the vinyl printer, the CNC plasma table and laser engraver were essential for Reitz when working on Fuzzy’s décor. However, he was unfamiliar with their operation, but that’s where the mentors came in he said.

“The people that work there definitely helped me through learning all the basic equipment.”

Now, Reitz is a pro at using the equipment, deftly switching between the adjacent computers that have the vinyl printer software and laser cutting software, printing out large banners needed for promoting the most recent deal while at the same time engraving the Fuzzy’s logo on a plank of walnut.

The WSU Fuzzy’s taco shop is decked out in all the accoutrement expected of a restaurant on a university campus like a large shark version of WSU's gluten-filled mascot WU.

However, it’s not just the WSU-themed decorations made at GoCreate.

The ovens at Fuzzy’s have a plastic insert in their stainless-steel handles that overtime begin to melt “and the only way you can replace that is to buy a whole new handle,” Reitz said.

“I 3D printed [the inserts] at GoCreate for Fuzzy’s, then popped them in and put [the handle] back on the oven, and it was pretty fantastic.”

GoCreate provides a great place for entrepreneurs, craftsman and hobbyists to realize some of the projects that they may not have been able to do on their own.

Reitz sees GoCreate as a great resource for entrepreneurs.

“You get access to a million dollars’ worth of facility and equipment [at GoCreate] that an entrepreneur starting out doesn’t have access to, and may never have access to,” he said. “But it gives you the ability to come in and make and do and try things.”


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GOPROTECTUS TO PROVIDE FACE MASK COVERS AND SHIELDS

03.30.2020 |

(Wichita, Kan.) As COVID-19 continues to pose a threat to our community, a coalition of local leaders is driving an effort to protect those on the frontlines. Working under the name GoProtectUs, the group is producing and distrubutingfabric face mask covers and other products that can help safeguard healthcare workers and others from contracting the virus. Coalition members Wichita State University’s makerspace GoCreate, a Koch collaborative, Fruhauf Uniforms, ComfortCare Homes, Groover Labs, Gardner Design, and the charitable giving organization Grumpy Old Men.

According to the country’s top infectious disease experts, the U.S. may still be far from the peak of the outbreak, which has already claimed more than 2,500 American lives. At the same time that the number of confirmed cases increase exponentially across the country, critical supplies are scarce. In particular, N95 surgical masks, the mask type preferred by doctors and nurses as a trusted defense, continue to be in short supply. Face mask covers like the ones produced by GoProtectUs can extend the useful life of N95 masks, allowing them to be worn longer.

Through coordinating local donations and production resources, GoProtectUs is organizing community and commercial capacity to help limit the spread of the virus, especially to healthcare workers. Production of the mask covers will involve Fruhauf Uniform’s high-capacity equipment and hundreds of volunteer sewers, many of which come from local quilters’ guilds. Together, they expect to ramp up the current production to thousands of face mask covers in the coming weeks.

Efforts are also underway to stimulate the production of hard plastic face mask shields and other innovative products that can be useful in the battle against COVID-19. GoProtectUs is forming a plan with the goal of producing a sufficient number of these shields and other products as soon as possible, in collaboration with other community resources.

“It’s the least we can do to help protect the people working so hard to protect us,” said Ty Masterson of GoCreate, one of the leaders behind GoProtectUs. “This effort is a way we can proactively support our community during this time.”

“Our sincerest thanks to Grumpy Old Men for their generous $25,000 donation to start this effort,” Masterson added. “We hope to see more entities contribute to this urgent need.”

Creating the face mask covers will require additional volunteers and donations to pay for fabric and supplies. To donate directly to the WSU Foundation, Grumpy Old Men’s matching contribution fund, visit  

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Completed products will be distributed first to healthcare workers and other first responders in South Central Kansas with the potential to serve other areas of the state and the nation as production capacity allows. Mask cover kits are also available to the general public to be assembled for personal use. For more informationor to volunteer, call (316) 978-5307. 


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PROJECT PROTECT

03.27.2020 | | TEXTILES, EVENTS

GoCreate is CLOSED due to the Corona Virus, until further notice. However, we are actively helping an intiative called Project Protect started by Bella Bonita involving the huge mask shortage. This is a huge team effort and we want to thank all of our local companies willing to help!  

For more information, visit our

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HYPERBOREAN HAS COMPLETED ITS FIRST ROUND OF FINANCING WITH $2.1 MILLION IN ANGEL INVESTMENT

03.04.2020 | WICHITA BUSINESS JOURNAL

HyperBorean, a company founded by entrepreneur Todd Gentry and based at Wichita State University, has completed its first round of financing with $2.1 million in angel investment.

Gentry founded the company in 2013. He has worked to create an air conditioning compressor that converts waste heat into a power source for cooling.

He has been working with WSU's GoCreate makerspace on the development of the compressor.

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MERVE | FEBRUARY MENTOR OF THE MONTH

03.03.2020 | | WOODWORKING

Merv Bontrager has been a mentor in the woodworking department at GoCreate since 2018.

With a degree in clinical social work, he used to be a spychotherapist. “When I retired, part of what I learned about being a human being is one needs to be creative- whatever their creativity is,” said Merv.

In the early stages of his hobby, Merv went into a woodworking store and saw a magazine with a piece on ‘the 3 P’s of woodworking.’ “It was perfectionism, procrastination, paralysis,” Merv said. “So I learned my problem was that I wasn’t perfect and I was obsessed with it. Consequently I became paralyzed. Once I realized it was okay to make mistakes, then I got it done.” Merv said that phrase from the woodworking magazine stuck with him as a lesson for life as well. “If I get obsessed with being perfect in life, I’m going to be paralyzed. So I’m constantly reminded that I don’t have to be perfect, because I can’t be.

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MEMBER CREATES OBSTACLES FOR HIS PARKOUR ENDEAVORS

03.03.2020 | | WOODWORKING

At first glance Max Atefi might appear as a serious engineer with a natural attraction for precise details and problem solving. However, after scrolling his social media accounts or spending a few minutes with him, you will find there is so much more to this GoCreate member. Matin (or Max as he’s known by) came to the United States in 2009. As a refugee from Iran, Max struggled with being an introvert and expressing himself. He had studied gymnastics but around the age of seventeen it was no longer a challenge and he grew tired of the sport.

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MEMBER USES GOCREATE TO MAKE ART SHOW POSSIBLE

03.03.2020 | CYNTHIA WHITESIDE AND KIM MCCOLLUM | DESIGN, EVENTS

When Collin Allen decided to attend Wichita State University three and a half years ago, he knew GoCreate was a place he had to be. “I had heard about GoCreate and knew it was going to be a premier maker’s space," Allen said. "I researched the equipment, materials and facility and I was literally one of the first members to walk through the door." Now he is getting ready to host the largest art show he's ever had, with artwork that was 90% made from GoCreate.

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APPLICATIONS OPEN TO WIN $100,000 INVESTMENT FROM RISE OF THE REST!

03.03.2020 | | EVENTS

Applications to pitch a startup at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Road Trip with Steve Case are open now until Feb. 24. The Rise of the Rest Road Trip will visit Wichita April 20 and award a $100,000 investment to an early stage startup based in Kansas.

Revolution recently announced that its next five-day Rise of the Rest Road Trip will return to America’s Heartland the week of April 20 to highlight startup successes in Wichita; Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Okla; Northwest Arkansas; and St. Louis, Mo.

During each stop on the Rise of the Rest Road Trip, the team meets with and visits entrepreneurs, local business and government leaders, and ecosystem builders. The Road Trip also hosts daily fireside discussions and a startup pitch competition in which $500,000 is invested from the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund ($100,000 will be invested in a local startup at each stop).

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TWO SISTERS DISCOVER NEW SKILL WITH PET COSTUMES

12.05.2019 | CYNTHIA WHITESIDE AND KIM MCCOLLUM | TEXTILES

"When we started we only knew how to sew on a button,” said Sandra Salas about herself and her sister, Noemi Herrera.

The sisters moved to Wichita from Garden City just a couple months ago. Salas heard about a GoCreate class being offered at the Advanced Library on Hardwood Floors. After taking that class, the sisters were interested in seeing what else they could learn from GoCreate.

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AN AIR FORCE RADIO THAT CAN RUN FOR A WEEK IN THE SUN

01.25.2019 | ADAM STONE

The partnership with GoCreate proved key to the rapid development of the new system.

“When we cannot solve something ourselves with the tools that we have, that facility helps us to bring the project to completion,” Allen said. “They have machinery that we can’t fit in our lab or that we just don’t have, and we are able to use their equipment and their expertise. Without that partnership this wouldn’t have gotten done.”

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AIR FORCE USES GOCREATE RESOURCES TO BUILD GO BOX

11.16.2018 | PAUL SUELLENTROP

Allen is Team Chief of Wing Innovations at McConnell Air Force Base. GoCreate’s equipment and environment sparked a partnership that he thinks fits with the Air Force’s emphasis on innovation. Perhaps, Allen said, innovation facilities can become standard at Air Force wings throughout the country.

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AIR FORCE CREATES SOLAR-POWERED COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

10.02.2018 | NICHOLS MARTIN

An innovation group at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas has produced a solar-powered communications system designed for facility operations, security and civil engineering use, among other applications.

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JIM SWISHER RETURNS TO WOODWORKING AT GOCREATE

09.11.2018 | PAUL SUELLENTROP

When Swisher retired from the aircraft industry three years ago, he revived his wood-working skills at GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative. He makes intricately designed cutting boards from walnut, maple, cherry, oak, padauk and others.

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ENTREPRENEUR USES GOCREATE TO BRING PRODUCTS TO MARKET

08.07.2018 | PAUL SUELLENTROP

Entrepreneur Todd Gentry knew he needed equipment and guidance. A 3D printer, a laser cutter and a garage door would help, too.

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BIG IDEAS ARE BROUGHT TO REALITY AT GOCREATE MAKERSPACE

08.07.2018 | PAUL SUELLENTROP

These are the kind of stories that GoCreate director Ty Masterson loves to talk about when discussing the makerspace’s first year.

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FINE ARTS STUDENT CREATES JEWELRY, FURNITURE AND ART AT GOCREATE

01.03.2018 | SYDNEY PAYNE

Collin Allen is a father of three, a full-time student and a creator of whatever he puts his mind to. He has been making art, jewelry, furniture and paintings for himself and others for over 26 years, and GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative, at Wichita State University is giving him access to tools to do even more.

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$11.25 MILLION KOCH PLEDGE ADVANCES WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY

09.18.2017 | WICHITA STATE NEWS

In a gift commitment with sweeping impact, Koch Industries and the Fred and Mary Koch Foundation have pledged $11.25 million to create and advance programs at Wichita State University.

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MAKERSPACES ARE GAINING POPULARITY

07.14.2017 | AMY GEISZLER-JONES

Wichitans apparently want spaces where they can create things.

In 2016, membership in the city’s original makerspace community, MakeICT, grew from 166 members to 270. Within the first five weeks of 2017, another 40 people had signed up, according to the nonprofit’s president, Logan Pajunen. MakeICT is located at 1500 E. Douglas in the Douglas Design District.

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GOCREATE A GREAT ADDITION TO WSU, COMMUNITY

07.14.2017 | PHILLIP BROWNLEE

A new makerspace at Wichita State University is a great addition to the WSU campus and the community. GoCreate – which had its grand opening Saturday – is located in the new Experiential Engineering Building, off 17th Street.

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GOCREATE MAKERSPACE WANTS YOU TO ‘GET OUTSIDE OF YOUR HEAD’

07.10.2017 | NICOLE BYRNE

An idea isn’t enough to make innovation happen, but it’s a good place to start. The GoCreate makerspace, part of Innovation Campus, aims to provide individuals with the space and resources to design and develop nearly any project they can come up with.

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UNLOCKING HUMAN POTENTIAL THROUGH INNOVATION

06.28.2017 | THE WICHITA EAGLE

At Koch, we embrace innovation and its limitless potential to improve the lives of individuals and their communities. Wichita is a city filled with ideas, dreams and the will to make it happen. Together, we must create the conditions necessary for everyone to unlock their creative potential, enabling Wichitans to discover their passions, find success and create value for themselves and their communities.

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GOCREATE MAKERSPACE PREPARES FOR GRAND OPENING

03.06.2017 | WICHITA STATE NEWS

In anticipation of its April 8 grand opening, the 18,000-square-foot GoCreate makerspace at Wichita State University will soon offer memberships and membership assistance to creators of all ages and experience.

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KOCH AND WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCE GOCREATE, THE WSU INNOVATION CAMPUS MAKERSPACE

02.17.2017 | PRESS RELEASE

Liz Koch, president of the Fred and Mary Koch Foundation, unveiled the name and logo of the new makerspace that will open in the fall of 2016 on the Wichita State University Innovation Campus.

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THE INNOVATION CAMPUS: BUILDING BETTER IDEAS

08.04.2016 | THE NEW YORK TIMES | WORKSHOPS, ARTS

Where once the campus amenities arms race was waged over luxury dorms and recreation facilities, now colleges and universities are building deluxe structures for the generation of wonderful ideas.

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MAKERSPACE URGES INNOVATORS TO GOCREATE

12.03.2015 | SONIA GRETEMAN

Doers and dreamers from aviation’s earliest days broke free from earth’s pull. And changed lives round the world. We want modern-day tinkers and techies to continue pushing boundaries forward. Inquisitive minds now have a new space in which to play. It’s called GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative.

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