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
Urban designer behind Royals’ Crossroads ballpark pioneered the modern MLB stadium (and he has the bats to prove it)
It’s difficult to find a Major League Baseball stadium that Earl Santee hasn’t influenced with his philosophy of community-oriented design. Called the “Godfather of ballparks,” Santee — the recently named CEO of Populous and literal architect of the proposed Kansas City Royals ballpark district in the East Crossroads — either designed or renovated two dozen…
Royals change stadium plan to keep Oak Street open to traffic, but fate of businesses is uncertain
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. The Royals’ original plan was to place the team’s corporate offices and entertainment venues on Oak Street, which would close the…
Royals Crossroads ballpark plan revs parking debate; how ‘creatures of comfort’ would need to adapt to a new downtown
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Kansas City PBS/Flatland, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, The Kansas City Beacon, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. Here’s the essential message that the Kansas City Royals have for folks fretting about…
Drug side effects could kill you; meet the KS lab team using DNA testing to save patients
A clinical reference laboratory in Olathe is working to make DNA testing for genetically optimized medications more routine and accessible in healthcare, Dr. Ziyan Pessetto shared. Sinochips Diagnostics — founded in 2019 by Dr. Jiawu Song, along with Pessetto and Dr. Andrew Godwin — was conceived with the vision to make pharmacogenomics (PGx) an integral…