How Silicon Valley, Topeka joined forces for a downtown tech incubator in Top City capital

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. 

[divide]

TOPEKA — A new incubator is expected to help homegrown tech idealists turn their dreams into successful startups, said Stephanie Moran, sharing a vision for the Link Innovation Labs that includes critical lab and equipment space in the heart of downtown.

“We’re excited about what this will do for us,” said Moran, senior vice president of innovation for GO Topeka, revealing fresh details about the 17,000-square-foot project inside the former AT&T building at the intersection of Topeka’s Southeast 6th and Southeast Monroe streets.

In addition to 7,500 square feet of lab and equipment space, the incubator is expected to feature a 2,500 square-foot networking, presentation and general conference area in which entrepreneurs can pitch prospective investors. Plans also include a public-facing cafe at the southeast corner of the building — a feature that will give a view to a working “showcase” lab.

The future Link Innovation Labs space, formerly a corporate AT&T building, in Topeka; photo by Haines Eason

Ag tech, animal health focus

The region already is home to a few other incubator campuses, including KU Innovation Park in Lawrence, The Kansas Bioscience Park Venture Accelerator in Olathe, the The MU Life Science Business Incubator at Monsanto Place in Columbia, and the Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln. 

“Topeka sits in the middle of an animal health corridor from Manhattan, Kansas to Columbia, Missouri,” explained Moran, noting those fields are garnering more and more interest in the startup world. 

Given Topeka’s capital city status, a collective of Topekan business, education, legislative and tech leaders saw a tremendous opportunity to focus an incubator on ag and vet-related innovation.

And, while everyone wants to invest in the next Google, she said, the great thing about startups and innovation in general is there’s always that next great idea.

As the effort moved from conception to planning, Moran and colleagues consulted with representatives from several of the regional campuses with a goal to understand what’s already worked — and perhaps even what they wished they’d done differently.

“Everybody wants to see the innovation sector really grow and thrive here in the region,” Moran said of the counterparts at other innovation spaces, adding, “All of them have been great resource partners.”  

Link Innovation Labs’ Lobby; rendering courtesy of GO Topeka

Link Innovation Labs' Pitch Room; rendering courtesy of GO Topeka

Link Innovation Labs' Lab space; rendering courtesy of GO Topeka

It’s all about flexibility

Startups face real challenges. Working space can be expensive, and finding a right-sized homebase can be difficult.

“So, we’ve got some smaller-footprint spaces — great for those early startups who may not need a lot,” Moran said of the Link Innovation Labs’ offerings. 

Labs range from 650 to 850 square feet. 

“But, if we do have a company that’s looking for a slightly larger lab space, we have flexibility built in — we could combine two or three of those spaces into a larger footprint,” she said. 

Link Innovation Labs’ layout will be ideal for startups and companies looking for a lab-office combination. On the first floor, in the northeast corner, labs will sit along the outer wall, with an equal number of intimate offices located centrally. While the current plan focuses on the first floor, the option to expand to upper floors is on the table.

A look at the unfinished interior of the future Link Innovation Labs space, formerly a corporate AT&T building, in Topeka; photo by Haines Eason

Stephanie Moran, GO Topeka, points out features of a new office space area in the future Link Innovation Labs in Topeka; photo by Haines Eason

Topeka goes to the Valley

Seeds for the space were planted in 2017 when a handful of Topeka leaders came together to draft a five-year strategy for Topeka, Moran recalled.

Stephanie Moran, GO Topeka

Dubbed Momentum 2022, the goal was to identify key initiatives that would move the community forward by spurring development, job growth and community engagement. 

A central focus of such efforts is usually fostering entrepreneurship, and the Link Innovation Labs idea grew from there. 

As Momentum 2022 grew closer to reality, the collaborative group reached out to the well-known tech incubator Plug and Play, “and the initial planners said, ‘Hey, we think it’d be awesome if you set up an animal health accelerator program in Topeka.’ And, lo and behold, that happened,” Moran said. 

Collaborators included Greater Topeka Partnership and GO Topeka representatives who traveled to Silicon Valley to learn about tech incubators and, eventually, make a pitch. 

The efforts were successful — so much so that “(Plug and Play) actually hired one of the GO Topeka team members to head up a Plug and Play team here in Topeka,” Moran said. 

[divide]

Plug and Play and the Silicon Valley boom

Plug and Play started more than 30 years ago in Silicon Valley and grew from a family-owned rug import business. Its storybook success tale: Founders owned a large warehouse, and a young startup came seeking office space. That startup couldn’t offer much money for rent, so the founders bartered a stake in the company. That company was Google.

Plug and Play now has a stake in more than 20 different industries — insurtech, fintech, crypto, animal health, ag tech, retail and more. Learn more about its story.

[divide]

The future Link Innovation Labs space, formerly a corporate AT&T building, in Topeka; photo by Haines Eason

What comes next

Link Innovation Labs will, in effect, loom over I-70 as it bends north through Topeka before turning west on the north end of downtown. 

Moran agreed the campus would serve as a de facto billboard for the capital city of innovation.

And, at less than a mile from the Kansas State Capitol building and a short walk from Evergy Plaza, the Topeka Performing Arts Center and two hotels, the location could not be better. 

Earth moving already has begun.

“It’s been remediated; it’s been demoed,” Moran said. “And construction begins June 1.”

A groundbreaking ceremony is planned on site June 4, followed by a Plug and Play graduation and pitch expo at GO Topeka June 4-5. (All current startups in this year’s Plug and Play cohort — about 20 — will pitch potential investors at the event.) 

Between now and then, the focus is on leasing the space to ensure a strong launch, Moran said, noting interested parties can reach out directly to GO Topeka. Collaborators also will lean on corporate, civic and university partners to capitalize on their individual strengths and expertise.

Construction is scheduled to complete in early 2026.

[divide]

Haines Eason is the owner of startup media agency Freelance Kansas. He went into business for himself after a stint as a managing editor on the content marketing team at A Place for Mom. Among many other roles, he has worked as a communications professional at KU and as a journalist with work in places like The Guardian, Eater and KANSAS! Magazine. Learn about him and Freelance Kansas on LinkedIn and Facebook.