Company boosted by Topeka becomes capital city’s latest Plug and Play corporate partner
April 24, 2023 | Startland News Staff
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TOPEKA — Plug and Play Topeka announced this week the addition of Bimini Pet Health as a new corporate partner of the Topeka-based animal health accelerator — a move expected to help the company, in turn, expand its product offerings and support its pet supplements brand.
The Bimini deal comes about three and a half years after a coalition of economic development and business officials in Topeka used incentives and a $1.1 million investment in Bimini to expand its online-based startup to a brick-and-mortar facility in Shawnee County.
“Bimini is excited to partner with Plug and Play Topeka and continue our long-standing relationship with Go Topeka as we start the next chapter of our journey,” said Dr. Sam Al-Murrani, owner of Bimini, who credited Go Topeka’s early support as foundational to his startup.
“As a growing animal health company our focus is to become an innovation leader while bringing more jobs to Topeka and Shawnee County,” he continued. “We look forward to continuing to serve our city and community over the coming years, together, with our partners.”
Click here to learn more about Bimini Pet Health.
Bimini joins Plug and Play Topeka’s founding partners Cargill, Evergy and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
“It’s exciting to see one of our local entrepreneurs come full circle, from starting up his own business and serving on our local boards to now signing on as a corporate partner of Plug and Play’s Animal Health Vertical here in Topeka,” said Stephanie Moran, senior vice president of innovation for GO Topeka. “Bimini truly embodies the health of our local startup community, and we look forward to working with this innovator to grow the area’s prominence in the animal-health realm.”
Lindsay Lebahn, Plug and Play animal health accelerator
Plug and Play’s animal health accelerator in Topeka launched in 2020 and has since helped advance 65 startups, leading to 17 pilot projects/proofs of concept and two successful partnerships between startups and corporate partners.
Twice a year, the local team in Topeka carries out three-month-long business development programs for startups chosen to participate by Plug and Play Topeka’s corporate partners. The accelerator, as well as resulting projects and partnerships, are aimed at facilitating connections that advance the industry.
“We are excited to announce our new partnership with Bimini Pet Health,” said Lindsay Lebahn, senior program manager for Plug and Play Topeka. “By combining our expertise, we aim to push boundaries and develop cutting-edge solutions that bring value to the Animal Health ecosystem. We look forward to collaborating and driving meaningful progress together.”
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play operates in more than 35 locations across five continents. In addition to corporate innovation and startup acceleration programs, it has built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where it has invested in hundreds of successful companies, including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi.
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