Middle Tech

On this week's episode, we're joined by the Co-founders of Land Betterment, Kirk Taylor & Mark Jensen. As the name suggests, Land Betterment exists to give old coal mining land a new purpose. From a farm-to-bottle distillery, to a rubber recycling plant, their projects not only aim to give the land a new purpose, but the organization also exists to benefit the communities & environment in which they are established. Visit us at middletechpod.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CsRH8pKpWqMuj9Hpika0Q Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22 

On this episode of The Middle Tech Podcast, we get an update on Truman's newest releases from Co-founder, Alex Reed. Alex first came on Middle Tech in season 1, episode 52 to discuss how Truman's was changing how we think of cleaning products through the use of concentrates & fun branding. Truman's is now releasing laundry & dishwasher detergent in addition to their 4 surface cleaner products. Visit us at middletechpod.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CsRH8pKpWqMuj9Hpika0Q Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

This week’s episode is all about how companies can build practical cultures of innovation. As technology advances and companies mature, it's essential that all businesses - especially large corporations - not only be accepting of innovation, but actively encourage it and seek it out. Venture Labs, an Awesome Inc program, was created to help companies equip themselves with the right processes to make sure they are building a culture that encourages innovation. This week, we sat down with Mike Hilton to discuss what Venture Labs does & why intrapreneurship is important in corporate settings. To learn more about Venture Labs, you can reach out to Mike directly at mike.hilton@awesomeinc.org.  Visit us at middletechpod.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CsRH8pKpWqMuj9Hpika0Q Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/loj

As we continue to adapt to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we decided to take a deep dive into two of the hardest hit industries - education & restaurants. We sat down with Tom Martin of EKU and Bryce Anderson of Vinaigrette to get a perspective on how this pandemic is affecting their respective fields and what this means going forward.  Visit us at middletechpod.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CsRH8pKpWqMuj9Hpika0Q Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22 

This week, we are revisiting a great conversation we had in season 1 with Dan Beldy, Founding Partner at Airwing Ventures. Dan discusses his experience in the Navy, venture capital, Disney's Steamboat Ventures, investing Fooji, and his journey to working in venture capital. Originally published on 10/29/18. Visit us at middletechpod.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CsRH8pKpWqMuj9Hpika0Q Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

For a lot of different professions, continued education is essential to ensuring that you are operating with most up to date information regarding your field. For nurses, this continued education is not only essential, but could make the difference between a patient living or dying. As a nurse himself, Shane Slone noticed a problem with continued education in nursing. Shane saw that nurses viewed their continued education classes as a box to check off rather than critical information needed to do their job properly. With little entrepreneurial experience and hardly any knowledge of coding, Shane created Nursing CE Central, a way for nurses to complete their continued education requirements while also learning vital information in an engaging & entertaining way. Tune in to listen to Shane's story and learn about the progress that his company has had so far. Visit us at middletechpod.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CsRH8pKpWqMuj9Hpika0Q Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram

This week, we sit down with Terry Samuel, President of the Kentucky Science & Technology Council, to talk about the role the organization plays in the state of Kentucky, and how that role has evolved over time. Although KSTC has changed with the times, their mission has remained constant - to act as a resource for businesses and entrepreneurs in Kentucky that are pursuing advances in science and technology. Tune in to find out how KSTC is helping businesses across the Commonwealth. Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

John Willmoth is the Managing Partner at Poplar Ventures where he invests in many of Kentucky's most successful software companies. Before getting into the venture capital space, John helped grow the communications giant, Nextel, from just a few million dollars in revenue to $15 Billion. On this episode, we will discuss the Nextel story, the ZirMed story, what it means to be a venture capitalist, and John's opinions on the state of entrepreneurship in Kentucky. Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

As remote work becomes more prominent for companies and their employees, one of the big concerns is how can culture be created and maintained among a team that never physically meets. Charley Miller saw this problem manifest as he worked on a startup with a remote team and knew that it was a problem worth solving. His company, Unitonomy, ensures that remote workers have a more frictionless communication experience, while also providing analytics and data for management teams. Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22 

In season 2, we got to sit down with Jonathan Webb to discuss the vision and mission of AppHarvest. In this episode, we sat down with Amy Samples, AppHarvest's Director of Culture, to take a deeper dive into how AppHarvest is creating a movement in Appalachia through partnerships and the story they're telling.   Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

5Ks and other exercise-based fundraisers are great for giving people incentive to get in shape, while also raising money for good causes. However, 5Ks are time-bound and location-bound. This is where Moolathon comes in with their platform that gives people the opportunity to participate in these fundraisers, anytime & anywhere. Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

Andy Eastes has been a successful entrepreneur his entire life. From mowing lawns, to flipping items on ebay, Andy has managed to take simple ideas and make them into successful businesses. So it comes as no surprise that he took inventory management and created a software that make keeping track of your inventory a breeze. Listen in to hear the lessons that Andy learned along the way and how he's managed to build SkuVault into a successful business. Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

After the crazy bitcoin bull run in 2017, it's likely that you've at least heard the terms "bitcoin" and "cryptocurrency". But now that the hype has died down, where does bitcoin go from here? Lexington Bitcoin Consulting is working to make sure that the state known for basketball, bourbon, and horse racing is not left behind when it comes to the cryptocurrency space. Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

The outdoor recreation industry accounts for more than $400 Billion of America's economic activity. Brad Luttrell recognized that there was a gap in the market for a social media platform dedicated to the outdoors and came up with the idea for GoWild, a social media and activity tracking platform for outdoor enthusiasts. Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

Over 50% of donated organs never make it to a recipient. This is obviously a huge problem - one that Dalton Shaull and Eric Pahl have dedicated the past couple years of their lives to solve. Their company, OmniLife, is streamlining the gift of life through increasing access, affordability, and quality of organ transplantation to thousands of patients suffering from organ failure.  Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles42_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

After a short break to strategize and plan, Evan Knowles and Logan Jones are back to bring you the stories of the some of the most interesting and exciting businesses and startups in the Bluegrass.  Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles42_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

Arian and Briana Green are a brother/sister team, building a basketball analytics company to help deliver teams real time analytics on their players and plays. Their company, Play Vision Sports, has customers that have used their product in big time venues, such as the 2019 NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Visit us at middletechpod.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/middletech/ Evan: www.twitter.com/EvanKnowles42_ Logan: www.instagram/lojo22

If you're looking to start a business, there are a ton of lessons you can learn from Chase Fairchild. The Co-Founder of multiple business (Manchester Coffee Co, Bolt Marketing) sits down with us this week to talk about his journey and lessons he's learned himself. This episode will be our LAST of Season 2. Thank you for everything this year, we're looking forward to being back in January 2020 for Season 3! Visit us at middletechpod.com  Follow @middletechpod on Social: Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod Send in your topic suggestions, feedback, and questions to us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com. Nate: twitter.com/nateante Evan: twitter.com/EvanKnowles42_ Logan: twitter.com/lojo23

This week we're joined by returning guest Justin Hall to talk all about Awesome Inc's initiative to develop (pun intended) software engineers in the Bluegrass, the Web Developer Bootcamp. We're also joined by recent graduate Taylor Akin to talk all about the experience from a student's perspective. Visit us at middletechpod.com  Follow @middletechpod on Social: Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod Send in your topic suggestions, feedback, and questions to us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com. Nate: twitter.com/nateante Evan: twitter.com/EvanKnowles42_ Logan: twitter.com/lojo23

Many words describe Don Skaggs: entrepreneur, inventor, consultant, and more. On this week's episode, we talk to the President of The Fulson Group about his past experience and current project helping entrepreneurs with business strategy, IP, and commercialization. Visit us at middletechpod.com  Follow @middletechpod on Social: Twitter: www.twitter.com/middletechpod Instagram: www.instagram.com/middletechpod Facebook: www.facebook.com/middletechpod Send in your topic suggestions, feedback, and questions to us at middletechpodcast@gmail.com. Nate: twitter.com/nateante Evan: twitter.com/EvanKnowles42_ Logan: twitter.com/lojo23