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
Events Preview: DevFest, UMKC Career Accelerator
There are a boatload of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter or curious Kansas Citian, we’d recommend these upcoming events for you. WEEKLY EVENT PREVIEW DevFest When: February 20 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Where: Jack Reardon Convention Center Attend for great content from…
Blake Miller: Missouri should scrap its ‘Show Me’ slogan
Editor’s note: The following piece was inspired by recent news that Acre Designs, a startup that launched in Kansas City, will be relocating to San Francisco after facing a tepid, area investor market. Cue the somber violin music. Another sad, all-too-familiar Kansas City story recently played out with news that Acre Designs will be leaving the…
Former KC startup eyes nationwide education revamp with merger
About a year after a move from Kansas City to St. Louis, education tech firm myEDmatch has merged with a nationwide teacher recruitment platform. Led by CEO Alicia Herald, myEDmatch will combine its platform connecting teachers and school job openings with St. Louis-based Teachers-Teachers, a firm that focuses on teacher recruitment. The new, yet-to-be-named entity…
Byrd: How the Silicon Prairie can avoid Silicon Valley’s diversity issues
When Google and Intel first released their employment statistics in 2014, the topic of diversity was nowhere as elevated as it is today in corporate circles. Silicon Valley and its many companies from large tech giants down to startups are under the diversity and inclusion microscope. Why all of the emphasis on diversity? Demographically our…