October 07, 2026
A new cohort of Tigers is turning ideas into businesses through hands-on experiences in the Mizzou Student Center — while returning entrepreneurs are taking their ventures to the next level.
By Brian Consiglio | Show Me Mizzou
Photos by Brian Consiglio and Pate McCuien
The University of Missouri empowers student entrepreneurs to build their own businesses by giving them a rent-free space, resources and mentorship to help them thrive.
The Robert and Shelly Family Griggs Innovators Nexus in the MU Student Center is the hub of Mizzou’s entrepreneurial community, giving students opportunities to collaborate and learn firsthand what it takes to start and run a business. Through the Griggs Innovators Nexus, students have access to retail storefronts, incubator spaces, programming, coaching, networking opportunities and other resources to help turn their ideas into businesses.
This fall, students are once again running their businesses inside the Mizzou Student Center through a partnership with the Griggs Innovators Nexus, Missouri Student Unions and U.S. Bank.
While this program has traditionally provided student entrepreneurs with retail storefronts, the program is expanding this year to also include dedicated incubator spaces, giving students with technology-based businesses a place to work, collaborate and grow.
“When it comes to entrepreneurship, this program symbolizes the Missouri Method of experiential learning in action,” said Kelsey Raymond, executive director of entrepreneurship programs at the Griggs Innovators Nexus. “The student entrepreneurs are managing payroll and taxes, hiring people, engaging with customers and having direct conversations with employees about what it takes to run a successful business. It’s an incredible learning opportunity that Mizzou has invested in to support student success.”
This year’s program includes seven students, the largest group to date. Read on to meet the Tigers turning their ideas into businesses.
Ottomate Digital
Location: Student Center room 1210D
What it is: A service that helps businesses automate repetitive tasks and save time
Operator: Layton Huff, a sophomore from Nixa, Missouri, studying industrial engineering in the College of Engineering
Layton Huff first heard about the Griggs Innovators Nexus after an instructor in Mizzou’s Chancellor’s Leadership Program connected him with Raymond. He later joined the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, where he learned about the incubator and retail space program.
Huff, an industrial engineering student, enjoys finding ways to improve efficiency and realized he could use those skills to help businesses save time.
“I love optimization and making things run better,” Huff said. “I became passionate about helping business owners spend less time doing day-to-day tasks that can be time-consuming and more time working on big-picture goals to help grow their business.”
Huff has since turned those skills into Ottomate Digital, a business-to-business service agency that helps small businesses automate repetitive tasks. He has worked with three clients so far, creating six automations.
For one client, Huff built a process to speed up the onboarding of coworking spaces. Rather than employees having to manually gather information, Huff’s program finds the information online and enters it into the company’s software, saving the company roughly 25 to 30 hours each month.
His incubator space has also given him a place to work alongside a community of fellow entrepreneurs who help keep each other accountable.
“We’re all pretty tight knit and like to check in with each other to see what’s working well and spot areas for improvement,” Huff said. “My message to anyone with an inkling of a business idea is that Mizzou invests in self-starters and supports them along their journey as aspiring business owners.”
Read the complete story on Show Me Mizzou, where it originally appeared . Want more stories like this? Subscribe to the Show Me Mizzou newsletter.