A Marquette aerospace technology startup, Kall Morris Inc., has received $10,000 for winning the Center on Rural Innovations Virtual Pitch Event. The KMI team, pictured from left: Adam Kall, Troy M. Morris, Liza Fust and Austin Morris. (Photo courtesy of KMI)
MARQUETTE — A Marquette aerospace technology startup, Kall Morris Inc., has received $10,000 for winning the Center on Rural Innovations Virtual Pitch Event.
CORI’s “Small Towns, Big Ideas” event was held on Nov. 10. It featured KMI as well as nine other rural startups from around the country. A panel of judges evaluated the pitches based on a series of criteria focusing on the business model and the product itself as well as a series of questions given to each of the presenters.
“It was a wonderful shock,” said Troy Morris, co-founder and director of operations at KMI. “It was intrinsically rewarding to be selected from the very stiff competition.”
KMI, founded in 2019 by Northern Michigan University alumni Adam Kall, Austin Morris and Troy Morris, seeks to become commercially viable by collecting and eliminating man-made orbital space debris, which can cause damage to satellites and rockets.
The technology that KMI is developing, which it has recently presented to NASA, involves a three-part process which identifies, targets and retrieves the debris.
The funding received from the event will be used for continued research, testing and furthering KMI’s mission of “Keeping Space Clear for All.”
Troy Morris says that as of now, there are no plans to be involved with the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association’s Upper Peninsula spaceport in Marquette County.
“KMI is not directly involved with any spaceport projects,” Troy Morris said. “But (we) would like to see any space or local project being developed to include ecological responsibility, economic inclusion and serious engagement with stakeholders.”
Marquette is one of 25 communities that is a part of CORI’s Rural Innovation Network, which aims to advance the economic futures of small towns and rural areas throughout the country by connecting local leaders and helping them support each other in ways which range from data access to legal and financial support, with Northern Michigan University and Innovate Marquette SmartZone being affiliated with the network.
“KMI is an excellent testimony to the technological innovation that is happening right here in Marquette,” said Dave Kronberg, director of entrepreneurial outreach and services at Innovate Marquette in a press release.
Kronberg added that there are “positive impacts felt by the entrepreneurial ecosystem when the community partners, entrepreneurs and startups work together.”
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