Middle Tech

Christian Miller is a Principal at Poplar Ventures, a Louisville-based Venture Capital firm investing in B2B SaaS companies based in Middle America. We sat down with Christian to do a deep dive into everything that goes into VC and discuss how he got into the space, what his day to day consists of, and how a VC firm operates. Learn more about Poplar Ventures at PoplarVentures.com Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

With $83 million in yearly cannabis tax revenue on the table, why does your friend from out of state still have to bring you the goods? Let us know what you think by shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

Nate, Logan, and Evan discuss the EU mandating a universal device charger, Twitter releasing features around NFTs & a creator tip jar, and Apple working on a mental health monitoring software. Watch Friday Updates live on Middle Tech's Instagram every Friday at 8:30am. @MiddleTechPod on all platforms.

Pat Madden is one of Lexington's best known real estate developers. He and his family are responsible for developing their family farm into what we know as Hamburg. After Graduating from Stanford and then the University of Kentucky Law School, Pat went on to practice law before returning to develop Hamburg into what it is today. Our conversation covered his background, the details related to developing Hamburg, advice he gives others entering real estate, as well as the story behind his new Bourbon venture, Never Say Die Bourbon. DevelopLex is a new limited series diving into the ins & outs of real estate development and investing here in Lexington, Kentucky. This series will feature interviews with some of Lexington's most prominent real estate developers that have played a major role in building Lexington into what it is today. Hosted by Weston Lockhart & Evan Knowles

Koby Hastings is the Founder and CEO of Leadrilla, a lead generation and CRM software serving independent sales agents in the Life Insurance and Medicare Industries. Through the use of software and automations, Leadrilla is disrupting an industry that's typically been regarded as sketchy and lacking technology. We discuss how Leadrilla has grown since Koby first came on (episode 72), how the Lexington startup ecosystem has supported that growth, and where Leadrilla is heading into the future.  Learn more about Leadrilla at Leadrilla.com  Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

The pandemic put a laser focus on the rural/urban divide in access to high speed internet. Now is the time to change that. Let us know what you think by shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

We sat down with Liz Brown Evans, Director of Marketing for Awesome Inc, to recap the pitches from Awesome Inc's August 5 Across event. 5 Across is a pitch competition hosted by Awesome Inc, in which 5 companies pitch to a panel of judges for 5 minutes each for a $500 prize. Use code MIDDLETECH to get free admission to the October 5 Across here. Visit Awesome Inc at AwesomeInc.org Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

Building in public has become a go-to for founders of early stage companies. But with shorter consumer attention spans and higher expectations, are founders really doing it for their customers? Let us know what you think by shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

Joshua Driver is the Co-founder and CEO of Selflessly, a cloud-based virtual foundation platform designed to create, manage, and report on corporate social responsibility programs. Based in Indianapolis, Selflessly is a certified B-corporation with a mission to empower companies to impact real change through managing their social responsibility programs. We discuss how the MVP for Selflessly was built in a few months, the importance of corporate social responsibility, and the Indianapolis startup ecosystem. Learn more about Selflessly at Selflessly Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

The average American will move 11.7 times in their life - so why is it so damn complicated? Let us know what you think by emailing us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com or shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

Lincoln Day is Middle Tech’s newest team member, creating content and news in the AgTech space (specifically in Kentucky). Lincoln is the founder of Stalk Commodities, a Kentucky based company working to automate crop harvesting processes. We’re pumped to welcome Lincoln to the team and are excited to help facilitate conversation around Kentucky’s booming AgTech ecosystem as we work to make it “the AgTech capital of the world”. We discussed Lincoln’s experience in the agriculture industry, Lincoln’s thoughts on AppHarvest, and what Kentucky needs to be considering as we build the AgTech capital of the world. Read Lincoln's first blog with Middle Tech here. Learn more about Stalk Commodities at StalkCommodities.com Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

This weekend: Kanye West is on a bit of a seemingly disjointed creative tear recently. Nate went to his show in Chicago this week and wonders what we can all learn from it. Let us know what you think by emailing us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com or shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

Jane Allen is the CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs to the resources available to them in the startup ecosystem and supporting them as they build their company. Nashville's startup ecosystem is thriving as the city grows and the NEC is playing a large role in ensuring that all entrepreneurs have easy access to the community. We discuss Jane's path to becoming CEO of the NEC, their mission, and compare & contrast Nashville's startup ecosystem to Lexington & Louisville's. Learn more about the Nashville Entrepreneur Center at EC.co Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

This weekend: The fact that sports gambling is not yet legal in Kentucky is, quite frankly, a joke. Let us know what you think by emailing us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com or shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

Sean O'Leary is the Founder and CEO of EdjAnalytics, an analytics company that leverages the power of data through human & artificial intelligence. EdjAnalytics can work with many different industries to turn data into business insights, but this conversation focuses on their work with the NFL and the sports industry in particular. Our conversation centers around how EdjAnalytics got its start, data's role in sports, and building a company in Louisville. Learn more about EdjAnalytics at EdjAnalytics.com Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

We spend a lot of time thinking about and discussing trends in business and tech, so we're recording those thoughts. This weekend: Data is going to continue to impact every aspect of our lives, how can we use it correctly? Let us know what you think by emailing us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com or shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

This week, Nate and Logan sat down to record a podcast about making a podcast. As the podcasting space continues to grow at a rapid rate, the Middle Tech team gets asked frequently what all goes into making a weekly podcast happen. Nate and Logan discuss what Middle Tech looked like in the early days, the software and processes used to record/edit/publish the podcast, and how the podcast has evolved since it started. Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com  Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Nate's Twitter Logan's Twitter

We spend a lot of time thinking about and discussing trends in business and tech, so we're recording those thoughts. This weekend: The Third Place, the place where we develop culture and community, is more important than ever - and it may become digital. Let us know what you think by emailing us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com or shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com 

Sarah Sanders is the Co-Founder of NATIVE, an agricultural technology company that is focusing on allowing consumers to trace the origins of their food right back to the farm it came from. With this technology, consumers can now directly support producers who are using responsible farming methods. We discuss Sarah's move from NYC to KY, the transparency of the ag-tech industry, and our experiences as students at the University of Kentucky.  NATIVE has recently closed a $1.75mm pre-seed round from Execs at Blue Apron, Kellogg's, USDA, and others. Learn more about NATIVE at NativeAg.io Visit us at middletechpod.com Watch the episode on YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Evan's Twitter Logan's Twitter

We spend a lot of time thinking about and discussing trends in business and tech, so we're recording those thoughts. This weekend: The API Economy has caused this era of entrepreneurship to be the most founder friendly - ever. Let us know what you think by emailing us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com or shooting us a DM on social! Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com