Meet Jade Wicks, CEO @ KIPS.

KIPS (Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale) is an evaluation tool for parent-child relationships aimed at social workers and early childhood development centers. It seeks to help these care providers tailor their services and track program outcomes.  

The startup was a part of the Techstars Founder Catalyst Global Spring 2026 Program cohort. Wicks said she acquired KIPS in 2020 and redeveloped the software with her business partners. 

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur or support other entrepreneurs?

Honestly, becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t something I planned — it happened by accident. I went to school for business with every intention of landing a corporate job and climbing the ladder. But while I was recruiting someone to join my business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, I ended up getting recruited myself, into the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO).

Being part of CEO introduced me to all kinds of entrepreneurs and, eventually, to my now business partner, Taylor Korensky. What started as helping with marketing the summer between undergrad and grad school turned into becoming his right-hand person as we built up his brainchild, Appsky.

I’m still not fully convinced I’m an entrepreneur, but that experience has taught me more about entrepreneurship than I ever expected. And it opened the door to some really meaningful opportunities to support others in the ecosystem, like co-organizing One Million Cups and Startup Omaha Week.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you were just starting out?

Besides investing in Bitcoin? Get started sooner.

There’s something people don’t talk about enough: When you’re a college student, doors can open more easily. People are more willing to meet with you, mentor you and give you a shot. I would have taken way more advantage of that. 

If you want to build something, just start building. Don’t wait until you feel ready because no one is ever really ready.

I’d also tell myself that some people choose to be unhappy, and that’s not your place to fix. There’s a real difference between treating people with kindness and respect — which you should always do — and spending all your energy trying to please people who will take advantage of that kindness.

Learning to set boundaries earlier would have saved me a lot of time and energy.

How do you stay motivated when things feel overwhelming — or stagnant?

Motivation for me comes in the form of to-do lists. I know some people hate them, but I can’t live without one. I get so much satisfaction from checking off what I have completed each day.

When I feel overwhelmed or stagnant, like nothing is moving, it’s usually because I’m wandering around aimlessly. The fix is creating some direction: a goal to work toward and a plan to get there. 

Being a business owner means living in a certain amount of chaos, but if you can carve out even a basic structure that works for you, do it. I’m almost always more likely to make progress when I know where I’m headed and have a plan to execute while also being adaptable when things inevitably don’t go as planned.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome and how did you overcome it?

One of the bigger challenges I’ve learned from in business is being prepared for the unexpected. In an ideal world, clients are always happy, invoices are paid on time, there are no bugs in the software (not a real thing) and every deadline gets hit. But banking on that is unrealistic.

Having a line of credit and savings available for unexpected cash flow issues is a must. So is learning to manage client expectations — which gets a lot easier with a solid plan and consistent, responsive communication. Underpromise and overdeliver. Build extra time into everything. Make process improvements regularly and trust your team to do their jobs.

I’ve also learned that you need to hire people who are better than you and complement your skills — whether that’s a quality employee or an accountant, lawyer or other outside expert. You need mentors and people you trust, and you need to show up for them the same way you expect them to show up for you.

How can the Nebraska community support you?

Show up for the entrepreneurs and business owners in your life. Even sharing a post on social media can make a real difference.

For me specifically, if you have any introductions to home visitor programs, early childhood development programs or social workers and case workers who work with families, I would love the opportunity to connect with them about KIPS. 

This is an area where the right relationships can make a real impact, and warm introductions to the people doing that work on the ground — or the organizations supporting them — mean everything.