LISTEN: Meet the partners behind Plug and Play Topeka’s growth (and impact)
October 10, 2025 | Austin Barnes
On a special episode of Startland News’ 12-part podcast series diving deeper into Plug and Play, we explore how the Topeka-based program and its partners work to turn bold ideas into Kansas success stories.
Cole Ahlvers, NQV8 Fund, right, speaks on a panel at the Plug and Play Animal Health & AgTech Expo in Topeka; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
Guests includes Bret Lanz from Kansas State University’s Technology Development Institute; John G. Brown of StenCo; and Cole Ahlvers from NQV8 Fund.
RELATED: Global startups plug into Topeka: How Kansas connections are powering their innovation
Together guests unpack collaboration across universities, corporations, and investment firms is accelerating innovation in the Midwest — fueling everything from advanced manufacturing to agtech and animal health.
Recorded live at the Plug and Play Animal Health & AgTech Expo in Topeka, hear how Plug and Play connects these players, why Kansas is quietly becoming a national hub for commercialization, and what it takes to turn breakthrough ideas into scalable companies.
Listen to a teaser below or click here for the full podcast episode.
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Quickly-growing HipHire to launch app for part-timers
A startup facilitating part-time job placement is finding traction. Launched in 2015, HipHire digitally matches people looking for and offering part-time gigs. HipHire founder Brian Kearns wanted there to be a solution that was “a step up from CraigsList” that the public could rely on to find quality jobs. Kearns said that over 1,000 job matches have…
Events Preview: ECJC series, KC Roundtable
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. Weekly Events Preview January KCDUG Meetup When: Jan. 31, 6:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. Where: VML This month Eric Gruber is going to…
Life Equals raises $780K, opens larger West Bottoms office
Health supplement startup Life Equals is the latest firm to outgrow the entrepreneurial hamlet known as the Kansas City Startup Village. Thanks to a growing team, the Lenexa-based company — which sells vitamins and supplement products — is ditching its quaint 900-square-foot office in the village to create a spacious 3,700-square-foot event space in the…
Greitens’ budget cuts ding Missouri, KC entrepreneurship efforts
A series of state budget cuts by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will directly impact Kansas City entrepreneurship. The sweeping $146.4 million rollback of the Show Me State’s budget will cut funds from both the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Free Enterprise Center and Missouri Technology Corporation. Greitens’ plan will cut about $3.3 million from the enterprise…