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
Four role models selected for Hall of Fame as Junior Achievement celebrates 25 years of business honors
A fresh round of Hall of Fame laureates celebrates Kansas City’s living legacy of visionary leaders who drive business excellence, innovation and community impact, said Megan Sturges, announcing a range of honorees from tech to tender chicken. “The JA Business Hall of Fame celebrates more than business success — it honors the spirit of leadership…
First domino falls as University of Kentucky athletic department launches its own LLC
Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Parker Graham is co-founder of Vestible, an Overland Park-based investment platform that gives fans ownership in the career trajectories of their favorite players. The University of Kentucky’s athletic department is officially becoming its own LLC. Anyone in athletics needs to understand the implications…
BoysGrow cultivates young leaders in South Kansas City through farming, purpose, entrepreneurship
Editor’s note: The following story was written and first published by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri (EDCKC). Click here to read the original story. At the heart of South Kansas City’s farmland, a quiet transformation is happening. For more than a decade, BoysGrow has been shaping not just crops — but futures. Founded in…
Start the ignition: These Operation Breakthrough students just designed MADE MOBB’s latest drop
Vu Radley wants students at Operation Breakthrough’s Ignition Lab to have opportunities he wishes he would have been offered in high school, shared the co-owner of Crossroads-based streetwear brand MADE MOBB. His team spent the past nine months working with a handful of teens at the Ignition Lab — Josiah Bryant, Suleyman Dia, Jeremiyah Bradley,…