middletech

AI Edge #3

evan@middletech.com (Evan Knowles) — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 02:00:00 GMT

Today’s tip is about how to use ChatGPT to summarize an article, book, legal document, and other long form text. It's a great way to save time and learn. It's definitely not a substitute for actually reading a book or article, but it can help you get an idea of what its about. Take a look below at this example ��

As you can see, you'll need to have. dialog with ChatGPT to get a full summary and more detail. That's the beauty of this is you can take the conversation where you want depending on what you need to know.

Another example is summarizing legal documents like the an NDA so you can get an idea of the most relevant clauses ��

It took the most important parts of an NDA and gave them to me in very plain english. This does not replace the need for a good attorney but it can help you get more comfortable with legal documents and making decisions with them.

Here’s how Evan think about this…

“I wish I had this in school... There is no better way to learn than reading books and detailed articles about a topic, but if you are just needing some basic information or are crunched on time, this is a great tool to streamline information collection. I still recommend using professionals and reading full books."

Logan's thoughts:

"Think of ChatGPT like an assistant that can read a legal document or article for you and give you the important takeaways. After you input the document/article/transcript, the first step is to simply summarize it. You can then ask it to explain it in simpler terms, elaborate on the parts that are difficult to understand, or relate one part to another. If you need more detailed summaries (such as summarizing chapters of a book or sections of an article), follow the same steps by only giving ChatGPT a single chapter or section at a time. This is a superpower for those of us that read slowly or struggle to comprehend densely written material."

AI Edge #2

evan@middletech.com (Evan Knowles) — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 23:23:52 GMT

Today’s tip is about how to use ChatGPT for tips on how to start and plan a project or task. For example, if you have a visual presentation on research your boss asked you to do and you need help getting started, you can ask ChatGPT for tips on how to get started. Take a look below at this example ��

Then have it get more specific about part of the plan or outline…New Paragraph

Notice how it used memory to answer that question. It knows what you ask it previously, in this case how to create a pitch deck, and will use that context to craft a better answer.

Here’s how Evan think about this…

“Use ChatGPT as a brainstorming tool and a way to gather different perspectives. Create your own outline and then ask ChatGPT what it would do and compare the two outlines. Steal some ideas from ChatGPT if you like them. You’ll probably start to notice ChatGPTs answers are very useful and maybe better than yours. Why wouldn’t you want to leverage that?New Paragraph

Why the 2020s Might Be The Most Significant Decade in Human History

logan@middletech.com (Logan Jones) — Fri, 16 Dec 2022 19:26:07 GMT

Sustainable Nuclear Fusion, Artificial Intelligence, and Quantum Computing

December 5th, 2022 was a big day in the world of nuclear fusion research. The United States Department of Energy announced that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory successfully achieved nuclear fusion that produced net power gain. Fusion, as I discussed in a previous Weekend Thoughts , is considered the holy grail of clean energy production as it can theoretically provide us with an almost limitless source of clean, safe, and sustainable energy for Earth. As of yesterday, though, that theory has now been at least partially proven correct.

We can generate a fusion reaction that produces more energy than it consumes - and that alone is really f*cking exciting.

Even if it was for a very short amount of time, researchers have been trying to prove that net energy gain is possible through fusion since the theory was understood in the 1930s.

As a refresher, fusion is the process by which atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei and the leftover mass becomes energy. This is the same process that powers the sun and other stars, and until recently, has not been possible on Earth. To produce a fusion reaction, you need extreme temperatures - as in tens-of-millions-of-degrees-hot extreme. You can see why this makes it very difficult to produce in a controlled environment where you can harness the energy produced.

Nevertheless, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has found a way. Their achievement of net power gain from fusion marks a major milestone in the quest for fusion energy, and while there’s still a long way to go before fusion power becomes a practical reality, this breakthrough brings us one step closer to unlocking the vast potential of this clean and abundant energy source.

Now, to add a dose of reality to this exciting advancement, let’s breakdown what was actually achieved and what it took to achieve it. This article from Ars Technica puts some numbers to the announcement:

In terms of specifics, the lasers of the National Ignition Facility deposited 2.05 megajoules into their target in that experiment. Measurements of the energy released afterward indicate that the resulting fusion reactions set loose 3.15 megajoules, a factor of roughly 1.5. That's the highest output-to-input ratio yet achieved in a fusion experiment.

Before we get to visions of fusion power plants dotting the landscape, however, there's the uncomfortable fact that producing the 2 megajoules of laser power that started the fusion reaction took about 300 megajoules of grid power, so the overall process is nowhere near the break-even point. So, while this was a real sign of progress in getting this form of fusion to work, we're still left with major questions about whether laser-driven fusion can be optimized enough to be useful.

So yes, we can create a fusion reaction that produces more energy than it consumes when speaking strictly about the reaction itself. We sent 2.05 megajoules of energy into the fuel pellets and in turn, it produced 3.15 megajoules of energy. However, it took a lot of grid power to make those lasers produce the energy that was required to ignite the reaction. The article continues on to describe the inefficiencies of the facility and equipment that was used in this research:

But many speakers emphasized that the facility was built with once-state-of-the-art technology that's now over 30 years old. And, given its purpose of testing conditions for nuclear weapons, keeping power use low wasn't one of the design goals. "The laser wasn't designed to be efficient," said Herrmann, "the laser was designed to give us as much juice as possible to make these incredible conditions happen in the laboratory."

Tammy Ma leads the DOE's Inertial Fusion Energy Institutional Initiative, which is designed to explore its possible use for electricity generation. She estimated that simply switching to current laser technology would immediately knock 20 percent off the energy use. She also mentioned that these lasers could fire far more regularly than the existing hardware at the National Ignition Facility.

While we may still have a lot of problems to solve before we begin powering our cities with nuclear fusion reactors, there are a couple trends that lead me to believe that we’re going to figure it out.

Fusion, A New Age of Computing, and the Power of Compounding

Just as exciting as the advancements in fusion research are the recent advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.

The significance of these technologies advancing simultaneously primarily overlaps in one key area: data. Each test run by fusion researchers yields a treasure trove of valuable data, and that data can be used to train and improve the machine learning algorithms, which can in turn be used to improve the tests conducted by fusion scientists.

One of the key challenges in fusion research is the need to understand and control the complex behavior of plasma – the superheated fuel used in fusion reactions that causes atomic nuclei to fuse. Plasma is incredibly difficult to study, as it is incredibly hot and extremely difficult to contain. As a result, researchers have to rely on advanced computer simulations to model the behavior of plasma and to predict how it will behave in different scenarios.

This is where machine learning algorithms come in. By analyzing the vast amounts of data generated by these simulations, machine learning algorithms can identify patterns and trends that would be impossible for a human to spot. This allows researchers to make more accurate predictions about the behavior of plasma, which in turn can help them to develop better fusion reactions and improve the efficiency of fusion reactors.

Combine all of that with the progress being made in developing a quantum computer and I believe that we’ll see advancements begin to happen at an exponential pace due to the power of compounding. A quantum computer could theoretically complete computations that would take normal computers longer than a lifetime, allowing researchers to gain insights into the data collected that were previously not possible.

A lot of things will need to go right for this future to become a reality, but as an optimist, I prefer to frame things in terms of “what’s the best that could happen” rather than “what’s the worst that could happen”. This is primarily what drives my belief that we’ll manage to figure out fusion in this decade, and that will be the most significant advancement in human history.

The Most Significant Advancement in Human History

What would it mean for humans to have access to theoretically limitless, sustainable, clean energy? What happens once the cost of energy drops to essentially zero? One of the primary cost inputs of doing just about anything is based on the cost of the energy needed to do it. Whether it be transportation, construction, or computing, if you remove energy from the cost equation, you’re left with the human costs and the cost of raw materials. Now add artificial intelligence and robotics - both of which are advancing at breakneck speeds as well - and you can see how we might be on the verge of entering an age of abundance.

A future where fusion, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing coexist is a future that would be difficult for us to wrap our minds around with our current understanding of the world. These three advancements have the potential to revolutionize the world as we know it and bring about unprecedented levels of progress and prosperity. Whether we cross that chasm in this decade or not, I do believe that humanity will eventually get there. It's up to us to seize the opportunities that these technologies present and use them to build a better future for all.

What is going on with AppHarvest?

evan@middletech.com (Evan Knowles) — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 14:36:16 GMT

What happens when you have zero percent interest rates, ESG, stimulus money, COVID, and SPACs colliding all at once? AppHarvest.

AppHarvest’s SPAC and rocket ship success now appear to be a malicious cash grab by investment bankers and global elites enabled by the highly controversial ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) movement. Whether the founding team was aware of what would eventually happen, I cannot be sure; however, I do know there has been poor execution from the leadership team and bad actors like Jeffrey Ubben, who infiltrated the company early to use it as a financial vehicle to quickly cash out millions dollars while the state of Kentucky and everyday retail investors were left holding a falling knife.

Like everyone, I was initially bought in. The state was bought in. The media was bought in. We all bought into AppHarvest.

It's amazing how far saying all the right things will get you. Entrepreneurs and politicians have this gift. They communicate their visions to rally people behind them, and Jonathan Webb is a master of the craft. He masterfully leveraged his experience in DC, free capital, SPACs, the ESG movement, and the narrative of a struggling state (Kentucky) to raise $1.5 Billion dollars in less than 5 years for a dream manifested on a whiteboard years before. Props to him for making his dream a reality… seriously. I want to have empathy for a fellow entrepreneur and don’t want anything to come across as an attack. Give the man props, BUT the problem with dreams is that you have to wake up to face reality. Facts are the facts and reality is setting in…

Middle Tech had Jonathan on the podcast in the early days before any construction started and they had a small team that had just finished raising a $100 million Series A. I left that interview having mixed feelings. I was super excited for the state and for Jonathan’s team, and I walked out of the interview saying “He felt extremely scripted like a politician.” I don’t like politicians very much by nature, but I quickly looked past it because I’m not one to judge based on a first encounter and founders tend to develop scripts when they raise capital. I know I have with my own company.

We kept in touch with Jonathan and his team. They have been great supporters of our work so we followed that interview up with a few more.

Episode 89 with Amy Samples

Episode 112 with Geof Rochester

After the episode with Geof Rochester, Jonathan, his team, and I spent time drinking bourbon with several other close friends on the side of a mountain in Morehead, KY at Cave Run Lake. We listened to some Tyler Childers and there were good vibes all around.

Next, the grand opening left me awestruck by the size of the facility and the high profile personalities it attracted. Politicians, venture capitalists, construction crews, and many others gathered to celebrate the opening of their flagship facility in Morehead, KY. Jonathan stole the show and delivered an emotional speech during which he paused several times to gather himself. The passion was there and even made me tear up. Being an entrepreneur myself, I love seeing people so passionate chasing their dreams especially when they are this big and in Kentucky. Unfortunately, this was the last time I was bullish about the company. When they SPAC’d, my eyes were opened by several red flags.

We were played:

Let’s start with the FACT that none of this would have happened without the ESG movement . I’m not gonna take a political stance on ESG so do your own research (I give my personal opinions on the podcast) but ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. It is a criteria and a scoring system that holds companies accountable for things like green house emissions, diversity, sustainability, safety, and other socially responsible initiatives. It has influenced how trillions of dollars have been invested around the world. Companies with acceptable scores are placed into funds and rewarded with more liquidity and capital. To date, the ESG movement has proven to be more of a control mechanism and marketing stunt than a profitable and virtuous movement. Mutual funds and bankers are collecting massive fees for moving capital to these companies while the consumers who entrust their money with these wealth managers get less in return than if they had invested their money in a normal index fund.

Jonathan and his cofounders were very familiar with this narrative and movement having worked for the US government raising billions of dollars to fund the US Army’s green initiatives like solar energy. The White House had the goal of supplying 20% of the Department of Defense’s electricity usage from renewable sources by leveraging private sector capital for the projects.

After leaving DC, Jonathan raised $1.5 billion in under 5 years to fund AppHarvest. Raising this kind of money this quickly by a first time founder is unheard of and not possible without 0% interest rates and ESG funds flowing into unproven and risky projects.

There was an excess of money in the system. It was clear because I’ve spoken with the top indoor farming experts in the world and they will tell you, AppHarvest was grossly over-funded and overvalued. Normally, these farming models do not raise venture capital. They use debt to grow. The only hope AppHarvest had to meet its valuation this quickly was if we suddenly ran out of water in North America and we were in a state of emergency. While we seem to be heading that way, who knows when that will happen or if this is the right solution.

Yet, no one seemed to do their due diligence. Well known names and prominent investors like Rise of the Rest, Endeavor, Fidelity, and Blake Griffin saw an inspirational story of a company building farms that use less water while employing workers in safe conditions with high wages and benefits… aka ESG. These early institutional investors who seemed not to care about the feasibility of the idea ended up taking board seats and started dictating who got to invest next and who the leadership team was going to be…

Then, Jonathan and the early team largely lost control of the business. Literally. It was moving too fast and executives like David Lee were brought in from Impossible Foods (another struggling ESG company) and assumed more control and board seats. Many of these board members had little to no experience in the farming industry and one of them (Martha Stewart) was indicted for insider trading and found guilty of purgery. How did Martha Stewart get a board seat of a B2B company with no consumer brand? I’ll get to that later, but the point is the founders with the original vision have been losing influence.

However, the board member that concerned me the most was Jeffrey Ubben. He is known to be a ruthless activist investor with a legacy riddled with fraudulent companies - as well as some huge successes like Adobe and Microsoft. His job is making money. Plain and simple. And he has left a path of destruction along his way from tech to ESG to consumer prescription drugs to fossil fuels. It doesn’t matter who he hurts along the way. As long as he makes money, it doesn’t matter.

Prior to AppHarvest, he was involved in shady activity at Halliburton, Valeant, and Nikola . He has a pattern… Invest millions early, take board seats, exploit a flaw in the market (in this case ESG), speak on the companies’ behalf, pump the stock price up, and liquidate shares. AppHarvest served as a financial vehicle for him to make money at the expense of consumers by exploiting the ESG movement.

In addition to ESG, Jeffrey is known for exploiting consumer drug prices. While at Valeant , he and his hedge fund ValueAct developed the executive compensation strategy and helped in the overall company strategy that involved acquiring pharmaceutical companies, rapidly raising the drug prices, slashing R&D spend, and laying off hundreds of employees. This pumped the share price up so he could sell his own shares profiting more than a billion dollars. The US Securities and Exchange Commission eventually investigated the company and shares fell 90%.

Think of Ubben as a pirate. He explores capital markets (ocean) looking for vulnerable companies (other boats) to attack in order to extract value (treasure).

To jump on the ESG boat and diversify his public image away from ValueAct and Valeant, he started a new fund called Inclusive Capital to virtue signal and make green investments so he can bond better with his wife who is a nature conservationist. He is on record saying that in this interview . What a sweet husband! These funds were where his investments in Nikola and AppHarvest came from.

Mix the ESG movement with SPACs and you have unregulated, weaponized finance… What is a SPAC ? It stands for Special Purpose Acquisition Company which is a company without commercial operations that is formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO.) Traditionally, pre-IPO companies have to work with large investment banks - for example Morgan Stanley - to go public. The bank does an extreme amount of due diligence to underwrite the deal. The company goes on a road show pitching hedge funds and other large investors who then set a price for the company to go public. Then retail investors can get in on the action after the smartest investors in the world get a first look. However with a SPAC, there is little to no due diligence. They merge with a blank check company and offer shares immediately to the public. It’s proven to be a way to bailout zombie or overvalued companies.

Why is this relevant? Well, AppHarvest raised about $700 million prior to IPO and inflated the valuation to something that made zero sense. THEN they SPAC’d knowing retail investors would buy into the hype and the ESG funds would gobble up the stock on the backend. Which they did…

These ESG funds are made up of consumer funds by the way. They are pension funds and other vehicles consumers use to invest for retirement. Some states are beginning to ban ESG investment within their pension funds. Further proof of this problem is the top four/five institutional investors in Nikola and AppHarvest are identical, and of course, they are some of the biggest supporters of ESG in the world.

So Jeffrey Ubben and other investors exploited ESG to pump the stock and have since cashed out thanks to the SPAC. Ubben is no longer a share holder. Below is an audit trail of all his trades of the AppHarvest stock after the SPAC as well. This does not include his shares he got when they went public. He was still trading the stock and because of this behavior, Ubben is currently being accused of a "short swing" in a lawsuit detailed here .

The exact same thing happened with Nikola and that was actually a fraudulent company. The founder Trevor Milton is gonna be in prison and Jeffrey is just chilling doing the same thing to AppHarvest.

On a final note related to Ubben, he was the second largest shareholder and member of Martha Stewart's board when she was indicted on insider trading so he made sure to welcome his old pal into AppHarvest.

This is how the financial markets and investors affected the company. How about their execution and its effect on the business?

If you know how to read a balance sheet or an income statement, it was pretty obvious from the get go that AppHarvest was going to run out of money or continue to dilute investors by raising more capital. They did exactly that while trying to cut costs. I say trying because you can look all over the city of Lexington, KY and see AppHarvest has been spending money on things that made zero sense - like a food truck that was turned into an indoor farm and two retail locations that never had staff working or people visiting. The biggest head scratcher was AppHarvest’s acquisition of Root.ai which was a robotics company they acquired for $60 million only to lay off the team several months later because they couldn’t support their expensive salaries. AppHarvest later wrote the entire acquisition off as a loss in the form of goodwill. Evaporated.

One of the disappointing ways AppHarvest began exploring cost savings involved seeking migrant workers to work in their farms. Initially, AppHarvest touted their mission of hiring local workers, paying them great wages, and providing benefits. But as time has progressed, productivity waned, and the stock price has fallen, it seems that management sought to hire migrant labor leveraging the H2A program . As they sought these migrant workers, they laid off the majority of their team that occupied massive amounts of commercial office space in downtown Lexington. As part of the layoffs, NDAs were signed by employees so the public didn’t get word of things going south.

One final but absolutely crucial piece to this puzzle is AppHarvest’s relationship with Mastronardi. AppHarvest’s only customer is Mastronardi and they control AppHarvest’s prices, distribution, and expansion plans. So AppHarvest never actually controlled their own destiny, and it appears Mastronardi will literally own AppHarvest. I say that because Mastronardi and AppHarvest formed a joint venture and Mastronardi just acquired AppHarvest’s real estate in Berea with plans to lease it back to AppHarvest. I expect this will happen with the rest of their facilities.

Where are we today? Well, the stock is priced below a dollar down from highs of around $40 and just about all of the early investors have sold their shares leaving Jonathan the largest shareholder. Jonathan currently owns almost 20% of the business but the value of the business has fallen 97% since its highs.

As a result of this market failure and poor execution, the company recently announced they are running out of money and restructuring. However, in all this turmoil, executives David Lee and Julie Nelson are getting severance packages that amount to $7 million which is about 50% of AppHarvest’s 2022 total revenue. You read that correctly. People are still extracting value from the company.

How would I summarize what we witnessed with AppHarvest?

Higher powers that sit in fancy rooms came up with a vision for the world, they created narratives that aligned with that vision, they systematized it in the form of ESG, they told the world how to move money, savage capitalists and ESG funds moved OUR money without our knowledge in exchange for fees, pirates like Jeffrey Ubben took advantage, and they have made out with billions and billions of dollars. Sadly, AppHarvest was a small piece of that bigger game in which the people of Kentucky and the retail investors are the losers. This is an unfortunate market failure.

Meanwhile, Ubben just joined the board of ExxonMobil which is one of the largest fossil fuel and emissions producers in the world.

And by the way, ExxonMobil’s ESG score is worse than fraudulent FTX and better than Tesla which is the number one electric vehicle company in the world .

Ask yourself … “Would any of this have been possible without the ESG movement and SPACs?”

The answer is NO.

Just like engineering teams build rockets that go to the moon, financial engineers create elaborate schemes to make billions and control people. Sometimes its good capitalism, sometimes it's malicious capitalism, and sometimes it's fraud.

Time will tell what AppHarvest’s legacy will be.

Funding & Building Agtech Startups in the Region

lincoln.dayky@gmail.com (Lincoln Day) — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 15:50:08 GMT

How existing entities can get involved in the development of Agtech startups

Last month I highlighted a podcast called Future of Agriculture on my LinkedIn page. The episode I refer to in the post is called “Funding Innovation for Agriculture, People and Planet with Suma Reddy of Future Acres.” I have listened to this podcast a lot over the last year - it is hosted by Tim Hammerich, who has done a great job covering the entire spectrum of the agtech start-up space globally. This episode caught my attention for one reason: it lays out the headwinds that an agtech star-up founder will experience in the hardware development space.

When you think about automation and robotic development for any industry it can usually be broken down into two categories: hardware and software. Just like a computer - the hardware is the physical device that contains the necessary components to perform a task, and the software, which is installed on the device and tells those components how to function. Think: a MacBook as the hardware and Microsoft Word as the software. This line of thinking can be used when developing robotics, too. The hardware is the actual machine that is performing the task, and within that machine is a particular piece of software telling that machine what to do.

Robotics, in one form or another, has been around for decades. I can remember visiting the Toyota plant in Georgetown in the mid-2000s and seeing robotic arms lifting heavy pieces of steel to be stamped into panels for the body of a Camry. This was attainable primarily because of Toyota’s manufacturing capabilities and the ability for them to control external variables enough to create specific, repeatable actions for the robot to perform. This isn’t as easy when it comes to agriculture.

Applying this technology to the agriculture industry is becoming more of a necessity, mainly because of the labor burden required to grow and produce high quality crops. However, hardware development is the most expensive and time-consuming piece of that technology and is often overlooked and underfunded.

Growing a high yield, quality crop, regardless of variety, is largely dependent on one variable: the weather. Weather conditions make it a challenge to create a specific, repeatable piece of software for a robot to perform. Each plant matures differently and has different characteristics

That is why Suma Reddy and the folks at Future Acres have decided to tackle the “low hanging fruit” of the crop life cycle: post-harvest activities such as in-field transportation. However, during the episode she talks about how this is still a very time-intensive task that requires many iterations before a prototype is ready to test. This is where incubators and venture-capital backed laboratories come in to play - and this is where I think the University of Kentucky and our regional VC ecosystem can help Kentucky elevate itself as a leader in the agtech movement.

Farming robotics, like a Camry, needs steel and electric motors to create products – it requires welders to be able to transform that steel into a working prototype. This endeavor is not only very difficult to do from a talent standpoint, but also requires a lot of up-front capital before a prototype can be tested. This is one reason why the VC community is hesitant to invest in hardware focused technologies. A return on their investment isn’t as time friendly as software focused start-ups and largely requires an appetite for delay and re-ups in investment due to unforeseen setbacks.

Suma workshopped Future Acres in a VC backed studio called Wavemaker Labs. Wavemaker is responsible for initial work on the robotic burger-maker dubbed “Flippy” – as well as other projects including an autonomous lawn mower and pizza maker. These types of robots require not only software engineers, but also electrical and mechanical engineers, as well as a team of machinists, welders, and electricians to build a prototype. Wavemaker Labs is a Venture Capital backed lab that connects founders with this talent pool and helps spread investment risk among several companies using the same talent pool and facilities.

If Kentucky wants to be a leader in the agtech space, we must be willing to invest in hardware development. The University of Kentucky, as well as other research-based institutions, have the facilities capable of welding and machining hardware, and entities like Awesome Inc. have the software development capabilities to write automation code. These are the types of partnerships that can help mitigate risk but also allow regional founders the ability to workshop their ideas and build prototypes before having to raise capital large amounts of capital.

Alternative funding models that promote collaboration among entities like Awesome Inc. and the University of Kentucky are necessary to develop solutions to some of the world’s largest problems, like food security and farm efficiency. Innovation requires new processes and out of the box thinking and If Kentucky truly wants to be the leader of agtech, innovation must happen here.

There are two sides of a coin. DOGE/SHIB

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:02:01 GMT

There are two sides of a coin.

At least that was my rationalization as to why I failed to transition from SHIB to DOGE in the previous article before edits. I conflated the two because, well, I conflate them. They are linked in my mind and as they are in the memes. Just as a dog pack has the alpha and omega, dog coins have DOGE and SHIB.

Crypto heralds a new age of currency, and it behooves us to attempt to get a grip on what currents are moving just under the surface. In the moment-to-moment flotsam and jetsam of Twitter, there is an ever-present struggle to separate the wheat from the chaff, artistry from con-artistry.

This grappling with what constitutes real currency eerily mirrors the 20 th Century’s grappling with what constitutes real art.

My attention went from a casual observer of crypto on the periphery to a keener interest, when SHIB made a billionaire of a mysterious whale. The victory was short-lived with one tweet from Musk answering the question of how much SHIB he held: None. The subsequent crash led to discourse about the value of crypto as a whole, and much trashing of SHIB INU.

Interesting that SHIB took all the heat for being a shit coin and was an obvious “bad boy” in the crypto space with the audacity to claim value where none was “deserved”, while DOGE was spared the infamy.

Just as SHIB was devalued by the influence of Musk, DOGE has been lifted to the point of tender to acquire merch from Tesla. As of the time of writing, Mcdonald's is now the point of focus of pressure from the DOGE community to accept DOGE coin. To accept the inevitable. And in the process, become part of the discourse.

Obviously, we are adrift in a time of great uncertainty. Just as thick fog surrounds a ship, multitudes of articles and conjectures obscure the ability to chart a course with any confidence. If you do find yourself in a state of analysis paralysis for too long, consider flipping a coin.

5. Dudley Webb on Developing City Center, Lexington Financial Center, and Over 60 Locations Across the Country

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 18:18:34 GMT

When you look at the Lexington skyline... you should think of Dudley Webb. Born in a small coal mining community, Dudley Webb brought his talents to Lexington through the University of Kentucky school of Law where after practicing for several years, he and his brother morphed into Massive Real Estate Developers - creating what is now "The Webb Companies". Under the Webb Brother's leadership, The Webb Companies grew into one of the largest real estate development organizations in the country, with projects across the U.S. from New York to San Francisco and Boston to Miami. Our conversation covered his personal and professional background, growth constraints in a booming city, and the Future of Lexington from Dudley's perspective.

Welcome to Season 2 of DevelopLex - a new series from Middle Tech 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

DevelopLex is proud to be supported by:

SVN Stone Commercial Real Estate

Community Trust Bank

Lexington Pavement Sweep

Intro music by SmithTheMister

182. Insignum AgTech: Kyle Mohler on Leveraging Biotech to Allow Plants to Communicate

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 15:24:49 GMT

Kyle Mohler is the Founder and CEO of Insignum AgTech, a biotechnology company working in the AgTech space to engineer plants that can change their pigment whenever they contract a disease, alerting the farmer so that they can take early action. Our conversation with Kyle focuses on how Insignum’s technology was developed, the benefits that it gives to farmers, the ethics & implications of bio-engineering in general, and Kyle’s experience growing a business in Indiana.

Learn more about Insignum at InsignumAgTech.com

Weekend Thoughts: Entrepreneurship is Sales

Sat, 12 Feb 2022 17:22:41 GMT

Evan overviews how everything about being an entrepreneur boils down to one key skill: sales.

Friday Update - 2/11/22

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 19:51:22 GMT

Logan, Nate, and Evan discuss Cash App adding the Lightning Network, Disney’s victories in the streaming wars, and Peloton’s recent struggles.

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

Today's Friday Update is sponsored by KY Innovation, Bolt Marketing, and Render Capital.

181. UK Office of Technology Commercialization: Ian McClure on Commercializing University Research and Technology

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 19:51:20 GMT

Ian McClure is the Chair-Elect, AUTM; Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Impact, and Executive Director, UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky (a mouthful, we know). Put simply, Ian leads the University of Kentucky's efforts to commercialize the research and technology that comes out of the university. UK's Office of Technology Commercialization has made great strides since Ian joined and is continuing to address some of this regions biggest needs, from access to venture capital, to support for entrepreneurs looking to leverage university research for their businesses. This episode is co-hosted by Lincoln Day, as Lincoln has gone through the process of commercializing university research for his company, Stalk Commodities. Our conversation covers how UKOTC does what they do, why it's so important for this region, and where Ian hopes to take it into the future.

Learn more about UKOTC at Research.uky.edu/ukinnovate

Weekend Thoughts: The Benefit of Specializing

Sat, 05 Feb 2022 19:51:19 GMT

Danny, the newest member of the Middle Tech team and an expert motion graphics artist, overviews the benefits of diving deep into specialized careers and industries.

Friday Update • 2/4/22

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 17:26:16 GMT

We cover Meta's market cap drop, Prime pricing increase, Crypto tax compliance, and AI coding.

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

Today's Friday Update is sponsored by KY Innovation, Bolt Marketing, and Render Capital.

180. Sightline Freight: Thomas Mella on Modernizing the Supply

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 17:30:09 GMT

Thomas Mella is the Founder & President of Sightline Freight Partners and is based in Chicago. Sightline Freight Partners helps clients get the most out of their real-time transportation visibility platforms, a segment of tech startups that are modernizing the supply chain. Thomas talks to Nate about the history of Chicago, and the Midwest in general, leading in the supply chain, and how that domain knowledge is creating a hub for modern supply chain technology in the city.

Learn more about Sightline at SightlineFreight.com

Building a More Resilient Supply Chain With Circular Ag-tech

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 14:19:45 GMT

Ag-tech and the food supply chain have been at the forefront of investors’ minds since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. Grocery and worker shortages forced businesses to rethink their supply chain and production models to include a more resilient system. During pre-pandemic life, many parts of American company's supply chains included international entities - even companies like Kroger imported produce from Mexico. When companies were mandated to close during the pandemic, there was a realization that just because the supply chain model was efficient doesn’t mean that it is resilient. Now, companies like AppHarvest and Full Harvest are showing that it’s possible to bring food production back to the United States using new and existing technologies. This is great – and it’s something that all of us should advocate for in all industries, not just agriculture. However, what isn’t being discussed is what happens to all of our American-made food and produce once it’s thrown away?

Landfills are nasty places. They smell and are large emitters of both air and ground pollution. Most of the emissions consist of two compounds: carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). According to the EPA landfills are the “third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States.” First are Natural Gas and Petroleum Systems, followed by enteric fermentation [read cow burps]. There are companies that are working on carbon capture and methane reduction in the oil and gas industry as well as companies that are developing livestock feed that decrease the emissions of flatulence But what isn’t happening on a large scale is landfill diversion of food waste.

Composting or aerobic digestion dates back to at least the times of the Roman Empire. It has been used for centuries and is a tried-and-true way to break down organic matter like food, manure, grass clippings, and other plant matter into a usable product that returns nutrients back into the ground. This means that you can take food waste and turn it into usable, marketable material through the act of composting. This process is relatively simple and doesn’t require a lot of up-front capital or infrastructure.

Another type of organic waste technology that has gained traction over the last decade is anaerobic digestion. This is a process by which microorganisms break down organic material in the absence of oxygen. Using this method of waste management, the breakdown process takes place in an enclosed module that allows for the capture of methane and carbon dioxide. Once captured, the methane can be refined and used as biogas for energy consumption – which at scale can reduce natural gas usage.

The EPA states that food makes up 22% of the waste found in landfills. If we can reduce the main emitter of greenhouse gasses from landfills and turn them into renewable energy and organic fertilizers this will not only contribute to a carbon-neutral future, but it will also create jobs and revenue streams from what has historically been viewed as poop and trash.

Weekend Thoughts: Wegmans

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 17:33:30 GMT

While sitting in the coffee shop at Wegmans (the best grocery store in the world) Nate contemplates how odd it is that the brand has a cult following and what that must mean about its products and focus on customer experience.

Friday Update • 1/28/22

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 17:37:36 GMT

Nate and Evan discuss Spotify's Joe Rogan situation, and then are joined by Colby Hall of SOAR to talk about broadband in Eastern Kentucky.

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

Today's Friday Update is sponsored by KY Innovation, Bolt Marketing, and Render Capital.

179. Cloverleaf: Kirsten Moorefield and Darrin Murriner on Helping Team

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 17:40:54 GMT

Kirsten Moorefield and Darrin Murriner are the co-founders of Cloverleaf, a platform that uses character assessment tools to automate coaching and help teams communicate more effectively. Based in Covington, KY, Darrin and Kirsten have lots of experience building a company and raising venture capital from this region. Our discussion centered around building company culture through better communication, their experience raising VC in Middle America, and Kirsten’s experience as a female founder.

Learn more about Cloverleaf at Cloverleaf.me

Weekend Thoughts: Another Web3 Barrier to Entry

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 17:45:13 GMT

Watch the episode with video on Spotify! Nate tries to participate in Zed Run, a Web3 NFT-based horse racing game. However, he is quickly taught about another barrier to entry in Web3.

Friday Update • 1/21/22

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 18:06:45 GMT

Logan, Nate, and Evan discuss Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision, Meta making moves with NFTs, and Walmart exploring the metaverse.

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

Today's Friday Update is sponsored by KY Innovation & Bolt Marketing.

178. Interapt: Ankur Gopal on Developing Tech Talent in Kentucky

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 18:17:46 GMT

Ankur Gopal is the founder and CEO of Interapt, a Louisville-based software development company with a focus on training tech talent. By providing custom training solutions, Interapt allows their newly trained developers to seamlessly step into roles with their client companies. Our conversation with Ankur covered the importance of developing tech talent when building an emerging tech ecosystem, how Interapt maintains a balanced remote work culture, and the vision Ankur has for the Kentucky technology ecosystem.

Learn more about Interapt at Interapt.com

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Middle Tech is proud to be supported by:

Our presenting sponsor, KY Innovation

Bolt Marketing

The Johnson Law Group

Render Capital

Weekend Thoughts: Web3 is For Nerds

Sat, 15 Jan 2022 18:28:42 GMT

Nate had a lot of time to think over the holiday break. Going down the Web3 rabbit hole was a common past time, and it occurred to him that the more he learned the more he realized he didn't know. For a concept that is supposed to revolutionize industries with mass adoption, the barrier to entry is way too high.

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Friday Update • 1/14/22

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 18:31:52 GMT

Nate, Logan, and Evan discuss the James Webb telescope, the concept of ownership as it pertains to the Wordle game, and Evan's experiences in the San Fransisco tech ecosystem.

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

177. Endeavor Global: Adrian Garcia-Aranyos on Growing a Global

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 18:43:38 GMT

Adrian Garcia-Aranyos is the Global President of Endeavor, a global organization that supports high impact entrepreneurship and works to connect regional, national, and international startup ecosystems by providing mentorship, a robust network, and funding through their Catalyst fund. Prior to becoming Endeavor's Global President, Adrian was the first President of Spain's Endeavor office in Madrid, and also held positions at well known companies such as JP Morgan and The Economist. We discuss Adrian's experience setting up an Endeavor office in an emerging market, the global trends he sees in entrepreneurship, and the role Endeavor plays in creating what they refer to as the "multiplier effect".

Learn more about Endeavor at Endeavor.org

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Middle Tech is proud to be supported by:

Our presenting sponsor, KY Innovation

Bolt Marketing

The Johnson Law Group

Render Capital

176. Middle Tech: A Look Back and a Look Ahead

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 19:02:37 GMT

Logan and Evan are joined by Nate Antetomaso and Tj Barnett to recap all that went on throughout season 4 of Middle Tech and what we plan to accomplish in season 5. A lot happened in season 4 - we invested heavily in social media by bringing Tj on the team, launched several new series, monetized the podcast, and recorded interviews with some incredible entrepreneurs. We have even bigger plans for season 5 and are very excited to announce Middle Tech's new partners going into 2022 (announcement coming on the first episode of season 5).

To all those who have supported us along the way - thank you. Your support gives us the energy to continue to grow Middle Tech and this region's startup ecosystem.

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Weekend Thoughts: Scarcity on the Internet

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 19:05:39 GMT

Evan analyzes if there can ever be true scarcity on the internet, and how digital assets compare to the oldest and most directly scarce asset: land.

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175. Lamar Wilson: A Conversation on Bitcoin and Its Impacts on

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 19:12:24 GMT

Lamar Wilson is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of the Black Bitcoin Billionaires group, a social media group with a mission of educating people about Bitcoin and blockchain technology. Lamar has been involved in the bitcoin space since 2011 and has become a well known figure within the crypto community. We discuss why Bitcoin has gotten to where it is today, what the future could potentially look like for Bitcoin, and the impact that it could have on civilization.

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Weekend Thoughts: Social Media & The Metaverse

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 19:25:31 GMT

Tj wonders how the future, and the metaverse specifically, will change social media and expand its influence on our lives.

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Friday Update • 12/10/21

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 20:22:08 GMT

Nate, Logan, and Evan discuss Kickstarter adopting a blockchain protocol, Roku and YouTube reach an agreement, and the WikiLeaks founder being extradited to the US.

Honorable mention headlines:

- Life360 is selling their users precise location data.

- Commonwealth Fusion Solutions announced a $1.4 billion round of funding last week, led by Tiger Global and Bill Gates.

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

The Importance of Curiosity

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 14:25:42 GMT

Curiosity, in many ways, is what it means to be human. The definition of curiosity is the strong desire to know or learn something - curiosity has been driving humanity forward since humans first emerged on earth and are responsible for the exponential rate at which technology is improving and developing. We seek to understand, and as we understand, we naturally want to constantly improve, develop, and expand our understanding of the world. You'd probably be hard-pressed to find an entrepreneur that is not naturally curious.

Collectively, human curiosity has led to a staggering amount of innovation and countless improvements in how we live our day-to-day lives. But something I've been thinking about recently is the role that curiosity can play in an individual's life, as I've seen it do some pretty interesting things in my own life. While some of us are much more prone to curiosity than others, I view it as something that can be cultivated and practiced. I view it as the base from which creativity can emerge and opportunities can present themselves.

Although I'm still young and have a lot more life to live, it's easy for me to look back and see the paths that curiosity started me on that led me to where I am now. From there, I enjoy extrapolating out 5 to 10 years and manifesting where my curiosity could take me. It gets me excited for the future and allows me to stay consistent and inspired by what goes on around me.

So, take this as advice, take it as a glimpse into how I view the world, or hopefully, let it spark your curiosity in your own way.

When I was a kid, I had an insatiable curiosity for the world. I climbed trees, explored creeks, and did my own "science experiments". I had great parents and friends that encouraged that curiosity and because of that, I began to view my curiosity as one of my favorite traits about myself; it became an integral part of my personality. My curiosity lead to (mostly good) risk taking and naturally finding myself outside of my comfort zone. When you combine curiosity with an action bias and affinity for risk-taking, it becomes a compounding effect that can take you to some cool places.

If I were to give advice on using curiosity as a force for good in your own life, I would tell you to try and form what I'm going to call "The Curiosity Opportunity Cycle". Become really in tune with what piques your interest and inspires you to learn on your own, outside of the classroom. Once you have some glimpse of something that you think is interesting, dive in headfirst. Immerse yourself in the community through books, podcasts, tweets, blogs - set up systems that allow you to learn frictionlessly (curate your social media, subscribe to newsletters, make friends that are interested in the same things). The reason I say dive in after just a glimpse is because once you set down a path of learning about anything, you will have so many opportunities to branch off to different tangents to follow your curiosity. You just have to get your mind in motion, you can't sit around waiting for some incredible idea to grip you because you'll be waiting too long. From there, you have to choose action over inaction. Say "Yes" to as much as you possibly can while you're young and energetic (but be conscious of balance). As you say yes more, watch out for new opportunities and connections to appear. Use this to fuel your curiosity and continued learning. This is when the cycle really kicks off. Here's a rough diagram of what the cycle looks like:

Once you really find that thing that lights your fire, the bottom part of the cycle should be what you focus on the most. If you're still trying to find your passion, stay on the outer perimeter of the cycle and continue learning until you really identify what your thing is.

Even after you think you've found it, don't be a stranger to the outer cycle. It's what keeps life interesting and inspires innovation.

What I've found after operating in this cycle for the past 5+ years is that all the things you learn and all the experiences you accumulate are connected and compounding. Think of it like a spiderweb - the experience you gain and the people you meet can all draw lines to each other and form a sort of web that allows you to naturally collect new opportunities in your web as they pass. Here's a simplified version of what my web would look like:

I just listed a few of the primary opportunities I said yes to and a couple of the primary people that I got connected to as a result, but you get the idea. Everything is connected, everything is positive-sum in the process of forming the future you. The denser you can get your web, the more opportunities you can catch as they drift by.

Now, I also mentioned that I like to extrapolate this process out another 5 to 10 years and let that keep me inspired and excited for the future. For me, this has allowed me to begin the process of honing in on what I actually want to be pursuing for the rest of my life as I try to see where all this could lead me, like a ship orienting to a distant lighthouse. What's the big picture, my end goal, my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? You don't have to have a perfect answer to that, but thinking in a future-oriented way allows you to at least point yourself in the right direction. Think of it like a flashlight narrowing its wide beam into a narrow, concentrated beam. Find a general direction you like and then narrow that beam of curiosity as you go.

I know that I'm approaching this from the perspective of entrepreneurship and business, but to leave it there would be grossly understating the role that curiosity should play in people's lives. Curiosity is a key ingredient in creativity. It's the fuel that we put in our engines as we pursue a better future, whatever that looks like to you. However, to stick with the car analogy, you need an action-bias gas pedal, the balance mindful break, and a steering wheel to navigate you from opportunity to opportunity - or else you'll sit still.

As I mentioned above, I really do believe curiosity is something that can be practiced. I believe it starts by just allowing yourself to be amazed at the world going on all around us - everything is so infinitely complex, yet it all works together in harmony to produce the reality you're experiencing right now. You can find inspiration for curiosity just about everywhere you look if you can reframe your view of the world.

So - if you haven't given it much attention before now, take this as an invitation to get in touch with your curiosity.

174. Vaco: Taylor Desseyn on Recruiting in the Tech Industry

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 20:37:18 GMT

Taylor Desseyn is a Senior Recruiter Advocate at Vaco, a talent solutions company with a focus in the technology industry. Through his work as a recruiter, Taylor has taken a slightly different approach by creating daily content to help match the top tech talent with the top tech companies. He's currently the host of the Guidance Counselor 2.0 and Unicorn Finder podcasts, using that content to educate and connect with those in his field. We discussed the trends Taylor has seen in the industry over the years, how he creates as much content as he does, and the effect that the shift to remote work has had on technology careers & recruiting.

Learn more about Taylor at taylordesseyn.com

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Weekend Thoughts: The Importance of Curiosity

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 20:42:04 GMT

Logan explores the role that curiosity plays in entrepreneurship and personal development.

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Friday Update • 12/3/21

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 20:43:45 GMT

Evan, Nate, and Logan discuss Jack Dorsey stepping down as Twitter CEO, SpaceX production troubles, and the religious app Glorify just raised $40M.

Honorable mention headlines:

- Tesla released a cyberquad ATV for kids

- Twitter bans posting pics/vids of private individuals against their wishes

- Rumors are that Apple is planning to release an AR headset near the end of 2022

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

173. TechPoint: Roger Shuman on the Growth of the Indianapolis Tech Ecosystem

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 20:46:51 GMT

Roger Shuman is the Senior Relationship Manager for TechPoint, an Indianapolis-based organization that exists to serve the ecosystem through building talent pipelines, connecting companies to venture capital, and promoting the companies currently building there. Roger has been at the center of all of this for the past twenty years, gathering experience in various startups before joining TechPoint to help grow the Indy ecosystem. We discussed the programs they’ve put in place to grow Indy’s talent pipeline, what they’ve learned from watching their tech ecosystem grow, and the advice they have for up and coming cities working to build their tech ecosystems.

C onnect with Roger on LinkedIn at

linkedin.com/in/rshuman/

L earn more about TechPoint at

techpoint.com

V isit us at

MiddleTechPod.com

T witter

I nstagram

F acebook

L inkedIn

E van's Twitter

L ogan's Twitter

SonofaBitchcoin

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 15:21:43 GMT

Worthless…false value… contributes nothing to society…joke. These disparaging remarks were made in reference to the Shiba Inu Coin at peak SHIBI. I would have agreed wholeheartedly myself, but I was given pause. Something felt disconcertingly familiar about the attitude and the verbiage surrounding the coin.

Floating in my mind’s eye was an inverted urinal rudely signed R. Mutt. And yes, it was every bit as unpleasant as it sounds.

The inverted urinal, titled “Fountain” by French artist Duchamp, caused quite the uproar in 1917. It was deemed a loathsome afront and a tasteless joke at the time. The very idea of a ready-made sculpture, a mass-manufactured object taken from its original context and recontextualized to an elevated art object by the will of the artist, was preposterous. Today Duchamp is touted as the father of the ready-made and the moment he submitted his piece to the Society of Independent Artists is the greatest damn moment in art history. By the way, never disagree with an Academic in the Arts about this fact. They will fight you. Invoking “Western Chauvinism” is the only known counterattack.

It was a revolution and a revelation! The value was not in the object itself but in the concept of liberating the object from its original context. It freed artists, for better or worse, to create value from that which is deemed valueless. And there lay the utility. Just as the utility is not in the SHIBI itself but in the values and behavior of the community holding the coin. A ready-made currency.

Could it be that SHIBI is to “Fountain '' as Musk is to Duchamp? Several labels have been slapped on Elon, but the conceptual artist doesn’t seem to be one. That is surprising as he is a manically creative workaholic with personality traits that usually coincide with the artist archetype.

Conceptual art is not about the object, material, skill, or subject. It is all about the discourse of the artist, curator, gallerist, institution and audience surrounding the work. What Musk has been doing with crypto on Twitter is choosing a ready-made currency and elevating its value by creating discourse around the coin. Yeah, it’s just a joke though, right? Yes. Just as “The Comedian”, by Maurizio Cattelan, is just a joke. Jokes have been doing big business in the art markets of Western countries for decades. The very fact that it is a joke is why it should be considered more seriously.

This is not to say one should break the piggy bank open and snatch up as many Musk Bucks as possible. However, this may be indicative of the developing creator economy where many investors are collectors more interested in cultural and historical artifacts, physical or digital than monetary returns exclusively.

What kind of brave new economy would a currency with the intrinsic value of modern art create?

Mr. Musk is even following the provenance of ancient coinage in his favoring of Dogecoin, as there is a long history of mankind putting our best friends on our monies.

Check out this super interesting bit of visual history: Forget Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, these 5 ancient dog coins got there first (protos.com)

172. DemandJump: Christopher Day on Changing the Way Companies Approach Content Marketing

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 20:48:28 GMT

Christopher Day is the Founder and CEO of DemandJump, a software that helps companies automate keyword and seo research, so that they can provide more valuable content, more consistently. In addition to assisting with content marketing, DemandJump can also attribute revenue to specific pieces of content, allowing companies to focus on what's working. DemandJump has recently just closed a $20mm round of funding to help grow the business. We discuss Christopher's background as a serial entrepreneur, DemandJump's approach to content marketing, and how they plan to use AI to grow their business.

Learn more about DemandJump at DemandJump.com

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Three Kentucky Agtech Companies That Should Be on Your Radar

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 15:31:07 GMT

The state of Kentucky is poised to be a leader in what will likely be a trillion-dollar Agtech industry. The importance of a resilient food system cannot be understated, and the COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in our existing food system. A lot of attention has been directed towards AppHarvest, and for good reason. They are revolutionizing agriculture and innovating new ways to grow food and distribute it efficiently.

However, there are Agtech start-ups that rely on a traditional farming base that have the know-how to raise plants from seed, harvest them, and deliver them to the downstream entity. Three of those companies are headquartered right here in central Kentucky and range from plant-based medicines to labor-reducing equipment manufacturers.

A1 Ag Implements

A1 Ag Implements was founded around the idea of building a device that could cut labor hours for weed removal in large fields of produce, tobacco, and hemp. Taylor and Travis Cooper, two brothers from Kentucky along with Cody Arvin, are life-long farmers. They believe that in order to stay profitable in farming, you must mechanize and cut costs. Initially dubbed the “hemp-hawk” the Cooper’s and Cody started with a single row weeder that was designed specifically with hemp in mind. After initial success selling smaller versions of the hemp-hawk, they have scaled up to as large as eight rows and are selling the hydraulic weeding system to organic row crop farmers that grow anything from peanuts to peppers.

Artemiflow

Artemiflow is a technology-based start-up that uses extracts from a plant called Artemisia Annua to treat malaria, cancer, and other diseases. The extract, artemisinin, is one of many derivatives that the Artemisia plant contains. Artemiflow has a patented extraction model that is more efficient and environmentally friendly than existing processing and extraction models.

Artemisinin has been consumed in China for generations. It also has been used in medications to treat malaria in Africa. However, recent studies in the United States have shown promise for the extract to be effective in COVID-19 treatments and even some types of cancer.

At this point, the production of the Artemisia plant is very labor-intensive. That is one reason Artemiflow has decided to focus its clinical and production trials in Kentucky. The grower base here is very skilled at producing labor-intensive crops efficiently and is eager to continue that trend with the exit of tobacco and hemp.

RedLeaf Biologics

RedLeaf Biologics is another technology-based start-up. However, instead of an extraction-based technology, RedLeaf boasts a genetically engineered plant variety that was identified after many trials of lab work performed by founder Seth DeBolt. RedLeaf is a type of sweet sorghum plant that contains a red leaf instead of the typical green leaf found on most other varieties of sorghum. What is unique about RedLeaf’s plant is that the red pigment found in the leaves can be extracted and used in many consumer products. From snack foods to cosmetics the red pigment is a great natural alternative to synthetic food colorings.

Unlike other sorghum plants that use the stalk for the final product, RedLeaf uses the leaf. This makes the production process similar to tobacco, therefore it is a great candidate for yet another crop that Kentucky farmers can grow.

However, like all innovative companies, the need for capital to further develop and scale these technologies is more important than ever. The state government has indicated that Kentucky wants to be a leader in ag-tech, but it’s up to the entrepreneurs, institutions, and most importantly the investors to seize this opportunity and commit to being a market leader in ag-tech. As we like to say at Middle Tech, “we are still in the early innings” and now is the time to be a leader in innovating the farming process in not only Kentucky but the United States as well.

Weekend Thoughts: Hard Seltzer, a Lesson in Innovation

Sat, 20 Nov 2021 13:46:39 GMT

Nate ponders the how White Claw's continued dominance of the growing Hard Seltzer industry teaches us about jumping on opportunities and embracing innovation.

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Friday Update • 11/19/21

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 14:47:58 GMT

Nate and Logan discuss more Apple Car leaks, the new name for LA’s Staples Center, and the Satoshi Nakamoto lawsuit.

Honorable mention headline:

Russia has cause a bit of an issue with space debris after destroying one of their satellites.

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

171. Climavision: Chris Goode on Transforming the Weather Data Industry

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 14:50:25 GMT

Chris Goode is the founder and CEO of Climavision, a Louisville based startup building the infrastructure to offer weather data as a service. In June of 2021, Climavision came out of building in "stealth" to announce that they had raised $100 million from TPG. Through building and operating their own radar systems and partnering with Low Earth Orbit satellite companies, Climavision will be collecting massive amounts of raw weather data, feeding that data into its algorithms, and then providing the data and insights to their clients via API. Our conversation with Chris covers his extensive background in weather technologies, the significance of the data that Climavision is collecting, and the potential impacts that AI will have on the weather data that they're collecting.

Learn more about Climavision at Climavision.com

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Weekend Thoughts: Space Is Open For Business

Sat, 13 Nov 2021 14:53:12 GMT

Logan looks at the space industry opening up due to SpaceX's Starship rocket, and contemplates the downstream business effects of this rapidly expanding industry.

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Friday Update • 11/12/21

Fri, 12 Nov 2021 15:03:57 GMT

Logan, Evan, and Nate discuss Elon selling his Tesla shares after a Twitter poll and Twitter’s new paid features.

Honorable mention headlines:

Rivian goes public with $0 revenue
SpaceX crew 2 safely returns to earth
Robinhood gets hacked

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

170. The Future of Work: Steve Cadigan on Creating a Better Model of Working

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 15:06:55 GMT

Steve Cadigan served as LinkedIn's first Chief HR Officer, advises multiple startups, and most recently published his book, Workquake: Embracing the Aftershocks of COVID-19 to Create a Better Model of Working. Steve sat down with us to talk about the ongoing effects that COVID-19 has had on work, where things will go from here, and what Kentucky can do to prepare for this new paradigm.

Learn more about Steve and Workquake at SteveCadigan.com

Visit us at MiddleTechPod.com

Weekend Thoughts: Why Entrepreneurs Need To Make Content

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 14:08:48 GMT

Evan goes over his experience with content and why producing media is important for every entrepreneur.

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Friday Update • 11/5/21

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 14:12:09 GMT

Nate, Evan, and Logan cover UK basketball players partnering with crypto exchange FTX and Zillow shutting down their ibuying business. Honorable mention headlines:

Squid Game crypto crashes from over $2800 to less than $.01

Facebook shuts down facial recognition software , will delete facial scan data of over 1 billion users

Microsoft is launching metaverse features

Rivian to IPO next week (the traditional way) at a roughly $60B valuation

Amazon is planning to launch a satellite internet program

Watch Middle Tech's Friday Updates LIVE at 8:30am EST on Instagram every week! @MiddleTechPod

What is Red Tide and How does it Affect Oceans?

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 14:59:10 GMT

Red Tide is one of those peripheral issues that has likely affected all beach lovers at some point in their beach-going career. From family vacations when I was a child to spring break trips in high school and college, the infamous Florida Red Tide conversation has sprouted up at least once on nearly all trips to Florida. It wasn’t until my latest experience with it, where I accidentally stepped on a dead fish on the beach, that I took the time to figure out what Red Tide is and what it comes from.

Karenia Brevis (K. Brevis), named after Dr. Karen A. Steidinger, is the organism that is believed to cause Red Tide and large-scale fish die-offs since the early 15th century. (Here we go again blaming our problems on Karen.) Sometimes referred to as a harmful algae bloom, Red Tide thrives in high-salt content water and can spread at a rate of one meter per hour. The blooms release brevetoxins that can kill all sorts of marine animals and birds.

Brevetoxins can also affect respiratory systems in humans when they become airborne. If a person consumes shellfish that are contaminated with brevetoxins, it can cause illness as well. It should be noted that the illness is minor and will affect people with pre-existing conditions more, nor is there any record of humans dying from Red Tide brevetoxins. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Commission, a study in the 1970s and 80s found that during three red tide blooms, coastal towns lost an estimated $15-25 million per bloom, from a reduction in tourism. That number has obviously increased dramatically over the years.

Red Tide is an overgrown algae that reduces oxygen levels in water, which in turn causes the fish to die. But what’s interesting is that the algae has always been there. It wasn’t until runoff water that contained high levels of nitrogen and other chemicals found in fertilizer made the algae become overgrown. Nitrogen in fertilizer is essentially a steroid for plants. From grass in your yard to orange tree groves to marijuana plants in greenhouses, nitrogen is used to help things grow all over the country. In this case, instead of a pot plant, the algae in the ocean is getting the steroid.

The good news is that we know what causes Red Tide and where it comes from. It comes from every person that lives in or visits Florida. Now, are there larger polluters than others? Do large-scale coastal farms and golf courses contribute more than the average citizen trying to dye his lawn green? Sure. But there are a lot of folks out there that want green grass and it adds up. There are also a lot of people who won’t want to play a golf course if it’s brown. It’s a never-ending cycle that needs to be addressed at the top of government, where there is the capability of addressing all industries involved in water pollution.

It seems that the science is conclusive on Red Tide in Florida. It’s now up to the government to implement legislation that fixes the problems causing Red Tide. I also think there is an entrepreneurial opportunity to mitigate runoff water and even maybe an automated device that can disrupt large clusters of Red Tide before they become harmful. Regardless of who is at fault Red Tide or who is working to fix it, we need leadership to address that there is a Red Tide problem and decide the most appropriate way to go forward.

Three Reasons Why Now is the Time to Invest in Rural Broadband

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 15:11:48 GMT

The internet is, for all intents and purposes, the future of the world economy. From crypto-currencies to healthcare, businesses are being operated more and more from behind a computer. That doesn’t bode well for Kentucky, which according to recent U.S. Census figures, ranked 44th in the nation for broadband access.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed our connectivity issue in Kentucky. Stories of children spending the day in the parking lot of their local library to “steal” wi-fi so they can attend their Zoom classes have plagued parent’s Facebook profiles since early 2020. This was a tough lesson to learn during an even tougher time. But, with a flux of funding coming in from the federal government, we have a generational opportunity to fix our connectivity issue for good. Here are three reasons why the state should use those funds to increase rural broadband access for all Kentuckians.

1. We have a beautiful state that will attract remote workers

One of the biggest differences between pre-pandemic life and (semi) post-pandemic life is the frequency of remote work. It’s now possible for someone who is based out of the Chicago Google office to go fully remote and live wherever they want. We have a beautiful state with a low cost of living.

This means that Kentucky should be a destination state for remote workers. There’s something for everyone here and if we can offer the best internet speeds to remote workers, that improves our case for getting them to move here and contribute to our local economies.

2. It can directly benefit our farmer’s bottom line

According to a study done by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) farms with 25 Megabits-per-second (Mbps) download speeds and 3 Mbps upload speeds realized a 3.6% increase in corn yields as measured in bushels per acre, per 1,000 households. Moreover, the study also found evidence of statistically significant decreases in the operating expenses per farm operation.

Tasks like online banking and finding the best price for seeds and fertilizers benefit productivity and margins. But perhaps a more salient reason for better internet access is having the ability to monitor and collect real-time data on crop conditions, soil health, and equipment status. Being able to remotely control irrigation has a two-fold effect on the farm’s bottom line, as well as the conservation of a valuable natural resource.

3. It could be the difference between life and death

Having the ability to visit a doctor via telehealth capabilities could be the difference between life and death for folks in rural areas. A 2019 report in the Health Affairs Journal showed that people in rural areas have a 40% higher chance of preventable hospitalizations and a 23% higher death rate than those who live in urban areas. One could speculate that investing in broadband and bringing telehealth services to rural America would lower those numbers, and at the very least, would allow patients to receive consultation online in their home, which in turn would prevent them from having to commute long distances to the nearest provider.

The case for rural broadband expansion is now. It is imperative that our state government hold the large telecommunication companies accountable and start chipping away at the rural-urban divide crisis that we face in America. For the playing field to be truly level, the same opportunities must be available to all Americans, regardless of how far up a holler they live.

The Agricultural Climate in Kentucky is Changing

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 15:15:13 GMT

Agriculture is defined as “the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other product.” However, as companies continue to develop new technologies, that definition may be outdated in just a few years. From soil-less greenhouses to animal-less meat, the race to feed a billion more people by 2030 is on, and the leaders are high-tech, highly valued companies.

In February of this year, Morehead, KY-based AppHarvest went public via a reverse merger at a $1 billion valuation. They raised nearly $500 million with plans to invest in more Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) facilities, as well as in companies like Root AI, which is an agrobotics and artificial intelligence company AppHarvest acquired for $60 million.

The rise of companies like Appharvest have put a spotlight on Kentucky and many have challenged the state to become a hub for Ag-tech innovation in the United States. In June of last year, Governor Beshear doubled down on that challenge and announced a plan to build ‘America’s agritech capital’ in Kentucky.

Some of the benefits of Governor Beshear’s plan:

Start-Up Loans for Agribusinesses

New Economic Development Programs

Energy and Environmental Support

Access to Universities for Research and Development Resources

Agriculture is nothing new for Kentucky. The state has always had a resilient and efficient agricultural community. From supplying hemp fiber for rope during World War II to providing tobacco for the cigarette boom during the “Mad Men” era, our farmers have always produced quality crops. However, as weather patterns change and labor costs continue to increase, farmers are faced with problems they have never experienced before. For this reason, it is imperative for companies like RootAI to provide solutions for outdoor farming just like they do with indoor farming.

As “harvest” season approaches, my hope is to be able to learn more about these companies and organizations who are taking on the challenges of a changing agricultural climate and share them with you here. If you have any suggestions on companies that we should look in to, reach out to us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, or even TikTok!

For those of you who like to dive into rabbit holes, I have included some links below that will scratch that itch.

https://www.beyondmeat.com/products/the-beyond-burger/

https://www.therobotreport.com/root-ai-acquired-by-appharvest-for-60m/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/appharvest-announces-q2-2021-results-110000428.html

The Importance of a Long-term Perspective

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 15:17:41 GMT

In today’s society, it is so easy to get caught up in the false reality of getting rich quickly or materialistic lifestyles. All thanks to social media. This has created a sense of anxiety in today’s young professionals and youth, in general, that is detrimental to a healthy, successful lifestyle. Out of this came grind culture, phony online courses, false comparisons, and a sense of impatience.

I believe that in order to truly be successful and happy, a long-term view of life needs to be taken. Nothing comes easy. Ask any entrepreneur you know and they will tell you how hard it is and how much time it takes to get to build something from scratch. So many benefits come from taking a long-term perspective.

Decreased anxiety
You stop comparing yourself to others knowing they are on a different path
Roadblocks look like speed bumps
Focus comes easier
Risks are easier to make
You live in the moment
Endure criticism
Customer obsession is easier
Innovation is possible

Along with customer obsession, Amazon is a perfect example of this thinking coming to life.

I encourage you to take some time to think about your long-term goals and figure out how to map your actions to that. I think you’ll find a sense of peace in knowing it will take time to reach your goals and that taking baby steps towards those goals will add up to the point you actually reach them.

Slack Vs Microsoft Teams

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 15:20:11 GMT

One of the greatest technology battles of our generation is Slack vs Microsoft Teams. They are fighting over the communication channel business takes place. Business used to take place on email, but with better technology and better user experiences, email begun to lose its attractiveness and people are beginning to prefer chat applications. Last week, I ran a survey on Linkedin to see which service was more popular. I got about 270 votes and it was neck and neck.

I remember being an early adopter of Slack in 2014 my freshman year of college. I have never actually had to experience building a business using email as the primary communication method. Thank god! All I've ever known is Slack. I can't imagine life without it and many other people feel the same. Slack's early adopters were technology companies and startups. The developer community loved it and you started to see Slack move across entire companies and gain significant market share, but they had a challenger...

When Microsoft launched Teams, their lead and market share were threatened for a couple of reasons. For one, Microsoft basically gave Teams away for free as part of their Office Suite. They had immediate distribution to thousands of the biggest businesses across the world and could scale at breakneck speed. They also had the resources to innovate and market the service very quickly. They did a great job of that as well. Below is the result of their massive scale and distribution.

You can see how fast Microsoft caught up despite launching years after Slack. The battle got heated when Slack challenged Microsoft with anti-competitive tactics by giving it to customers for free and basically automatically putting it on people's computers. Unfortunately for Slack, it looks like they lost the battle and had to sell to Salesforce in order to get access to similar resources and distribution. I believe this acquisition will be a great move long term, but I will always wonder what Slack could have done on its own. I do know one thing for sure... Email or is dead or greatly reduced 5-10 years from now.

If there is one thing to learn from all of this, 8 or 9 times out of 10, great business models and innovations will be copied and greatly challenged by the big guys, and most of the time, they will win or get their share. That's the world we live in.

Virtual vs In-person Work

Sun, 28 Mar 2021 15:28:15 GMT

The world unquestionably changed in so many ways due to COVID. One of the ways the world has changed the most is how we work. Businesses had to very quickly change to a remote-first reality. That move put a strain on less technical businesses and it put stress on employees who were used to being around people as part of their job. The new reality will likely be something closer to a hybrid model but COVID proved a good percentage of the work we do every day could be done virtually.

Not all things will go virtual though. Here are several things that will remain in person for the most part:

Strategic sales with large accounts: This is something that can never be virtual. Large sales and business relationships have to be done in-person to establish trust and strong rapport. The investment of travel and entertainment for large accounts and strategic relationships will always be worth it. We will see a large percentage of sales and introduction meetings go virtual but not the big ones. There is too much on the line.
New employees in roles that involve strong teamwork: The teams that come to mind here are sales, brand marketing, product development, and some engineering. You can never replace the serendipity and spontaneous conversations that take place in person with these roles. Especially new teammates. These roles all involve heavy collaboration and brainstorming new ideas. That work cannot be done over Zoom or Miro with the same effectiveness.
Entry-level sales: Sales is all about empathy, energy, and knowledge. New salespeople need to be around other salespeople to get the energy, empathy, and knowledge it takes to convert sales. Those things are feelings and learned by example in spontaneous moments. Entry-level sales is very hard in general. It is the hardest team to build at any company. Making this role remote would greatly increase stress, disconnection, and ultimately churn of salespeople. Sales organizations with high churn typically fall behind.

During our interview with Masha Khusid of Drive Capital on episode 139, we discussed this exact topic. Check it out below and listen to the full episode on your favorite streaming app.

WIFL: How We, as Founders and Business Leaders, can Break the Gender Gap

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:37:10 GMT

In Middle Tech’s recent episode with the co-founders of Women Innovators, Founders, and Leaders, or WIFL for short, breaking the gender gap in business ownership and participation rates of women in business was discussed at length. In their conversation with Laura Halligan and Meredith Moore, the Middle Tech team in Episode 137 attempted to gain a better understanding of what it actually takes to include more women in the tech, entrepreneur, and startup ecosystem. This episode is a must-listen for any new founder or business owner looking to increase the company’s inclusion of women.

First, like when handling any problem, it takes recognizing that there is actually a problem. Of course, most players in this ecosystem recognize that more women are needed in this space, but few recognize that there really isn’t any data specific to the problem in the tech and startup scene in this part of the country. Laura points out that there simply is no metric tracking women’s participation in Tech and Entrepreneurism in the specific ways needed to advance the goal of more inclusion. There is some non-specific data comparing the gender gap, summarized spectacularly by Evan Knowles in his blog for Middle Tech, “The Gender Gap by The Numbers” , but this general data simply does not give companies the metrics they need to include more women. Government bodies and extensions like the Small Business Development Center and the Kentucky Department of Economic Development need to step up to help provide more specific data that gives metrics helpful to driving change.

Second, male founders must realize that it is more than making the job available to women; it requires active measures to include, like tailoring job descriptions to have language that resonates more with women or by expanding beyond your network into groups that are specifically promoting women as thought leaders. Laura points out that founders must ask themselves “what are the things that would make women feel comfortable working with you? Or what are the types of things from a hiring perspective that maybe we're only looking from the male perspective that would make this job more attractive to a woman in tech?” When looking for talent, founders should be aware that they may need to cast a larger net to truly reach women who are both interested and qualified.

Third, understand that it is never too late to bring in more female diversity, but also know it is much easier to include women from the beginning before any set culture dominates. Plain and simple: if a “bro-culture” has already been established as a company’s norm, then most women will not feel comfortable or invited to work in that culture. WIFL is amazing because it is creating an environment and culture that women are comfortable being themselves in, which is not something that is true in the entrepreneur ecosystem in general. They have found success because not only do the participants feel comfortable to truly be themselves but also because their presenters and leaders do not try to change their reality when speaking to the group. For example, one presentation was led by a woman who held her child on her hip for the entire presentation, which made the participants feel comfortable being a mother in that environment. It takes recognizing that everyone is human and has human needs, which includes motherhood, so that women feel recognized and empathized with.

Finally, involve women in leadership roles and public-facing roles, so that women feel that it is normal for them to be involved in such a business. Just like Vice President Kamala Harris is normalizing women of color being in the White House, a founder who puts women front and center normalizes women being involved in and leading their company.

Of course, this problem is not one that will go away quickly, but that is because the problem is so deeply rooted in entrepreneurism. Solving this problem will take active planning and action on behalf of all founders. Fortunately, as more founders are successful in their diversity and inclusion missions, it will become more normalized for women to participate and lead thus making it easier to destroy the gender gap. Everyone stands to benefit from destroying the gender gap, so let’s all take action in trying to do so.

The Need to Knows of Shareholder Agreements

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:30:10 GMT

As a founder, you probably have hired or will soon hire an attorney to help create the legal structure of your company. If you are not planning on hiring an attorney to help with this stage, then please reconsider as they, along with an accountant, provide the crucial groundwork to ensure your vision for the company becomes a reality. One of the main pieces of groundwork they will suggest is that you have them create is a Shareholder Agreement, also known as a “buy-sell agreement” or “buyout agreement.” It is not legally required, but this document certainly should be created for the reasons mentioned in this article. This article is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such, but instead, this article will help you go into the conversation with your attorney more prepared to discuss creating a shareholder agreement.

Second, only to the articles filed with the Secretary of State to give your business legal force, the shareholder agreement is one of the most important documents for your business. So, what is it? A shareholder agreement is a legal binding contract that governs how shares of the company will be redistributed upon the occurrence of certain events. Put simply, it controls what happens to the ownership of the company when crap hits the fan, which it certainly will no matter who you and your co-founders are.

They are meant to safeguard against instability by providing an agreed-upon plan when a shareholder wants or has to part ways with their shares. Generally, the events that trigger the shareholder agreement include a partner leaving the company, a new partner is invited to join, a partner dies, divorces, or becomes disabled, or the company decides to liquidate. Planning for these events ensures that business stays business and does not become personal. It can never be underestimated what kind of emotions will arise during these events and planning on figuring it out when those emotions are running can destroy businesses, friendships, and families.

Beyond ensuring that there is a plan in place for handling big life events of the business, shareholder agreements offer many more benefits. The shareholder agreement can create a market for the sale and purchase of the shares by defining how one can buy or sell shares. It can also establish how the company will fund purchases of shares back from the shareholders, whether it will require further capital contributions from partners or will seek loans. The importance of establishing these processes cannot be understated as it can prevent accidental loss of control of the company. It can prevent shareholders from selling without first getting approval from a majority of the members or it can provide that the company and then the shareholders have rights of first refusal to buy any shares that are being offered for sale. It can also prevent shareholders from having their interests be diluted by having other partners contribute capital to strengthen their positions.

Shareholder agreements can also provide the process by which the company will be valued in the event of a sale or other disposition of ownership interests. Establishing which method or process of business valuations will be used can save future costs of litigation as no two valuations will be the same when employed by owners looking to sell their shares. With a plethora of different methods and a wide array of estimated values stemming from those methods, having a single set method ensures both parties are getting the best price for their purchase or sale of interests.

Finally, the last main benefit shareholder agreements provide is an opportunity for the co-founders and shareholders to discuss these issues amongst themselves before the agreement is in place. By simply having these conversations and implementing an agreement, friends and families can remain friends and families when business situations make it hard to do so. It allows all involved parties to at least understand why things are the way that they are and know that it is not personal.

Proper preparation prevents poor performance. The shareholder agreement is arguably the most important bit of proper preparation a founder can do in this life of his or her business. It is worth the extra up-front capital it will take as it can save millions down the line. The benefits far outweigh the costs, and your lawyer should be there to guide you along the way.

The Gender Gap By The Numbers

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 15:43:28 GMT

In our latest episode with Laura Halligan and Meredith Moore, we discussed the gender gap that exists not only in technology but business as a whole. Laura and Meredith founded WIFL which stands for Women, Innovators, Founders, and Leaders. It is a group that is working to bring women in business together and shed light on the challenges they overcome. The conversation we had with them was eye-opening and very informative on how everyone can all do a better job going forward when it comes to diversity and inclusion. You can listen to the full episode below!

What I wanted to bring attention to with this article were some of the numbers related to the gender gap in the business community. Let's take a look.

Locally, there aren’t a lot of good numbers around female representation but we do have a few stats…

In 2019, Kentucky women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $724, or 79.2 percent of the $914 median usual weekly earnings of their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Only 11% of businesses are founded by females in Kentucky.

Nationally, the stats are even more eye opening…

McKinsey analysis shows women’s jobs were 80% more vulnerable than men’s jobs during the pandemic.

Women-led startups received just 2.3% of VC funding in 2020. This is alarming given 20% of startups had female founders.

12% of decision-makers at VC’s are females.

What can be done to help improve equality? Well , it starts with all of us. We need to bring more awareness to this issue and the numbers that back it up. Awareness is the ultimate first step. Next, we need to take a look at our education systems and make sure women are being encouraged to follow the same career paths as men do. For instance, only about 20% of computer science students/professionals are females. That is clearly a problem and is one of the leading causes of the lack of women in the technology community. Next, we all need to act. We need to begin paying more attention to the ways we recruit, interview, and treat women and minorities in our workplaces. We encourage you to listen to the full episode and get more involved in the solutions!

As one of the founders of Middle Tech, I can say we need to do a better job finding more women and minority founders to interview and highlight. If you have founders in mind that fit the podcast, please reach out and share them with us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Perch Security - The Rise of Cybersecurity

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 16:54:37 GMT

You wouldn’t go to war without your bulletproof vest, so don’t go into the internet with the cyber equivalent. Episode 134 of the Middle Tech Podcast with Wes Spencer can be described only as eye-opening. Wes, the Chief Information Security Officer of the cybersecurity software firm Perch Security , presented cybersecurity and IT in a way that truly delivers just how essential paying attention to detail in this field is to companies of all sizes. As Wes eludes to, the internet is a theatre of war just like any battlefield, except, unlike any other battlefield, normal civilians like you and me are willing to waltz our ways into the middle of it. And, even worse, most of us do it without any preparation or equipment.

Recently, a major hack occurred on U.S. soil mainly affecting the company SolarWinds. This hack, arguably one of the worst in U.S. history, affected many key federal agencies as well as caused the SolarWinds stock price to plummet over 23% . SolarWinds will be far from the only one as cybercrime losses this year alone are projected to be $6,000,000,000,000.00 – yes, that is six trillion – and with a limited number of Fortune 500 companies, the majority of this will fall on small to mid-sized businesses. Cybersecurity companies like Perch add value to companies of all sizes by reducing the risk that a hack is successful. There is a key distinction to be made here from the typical thought process about IT and cybersecurity; Perch reduces the chances of success of the hack, not reducing the chances of a hack.

Wes pointed out that “the reality is every organization at some point is going to suffer a breach. ... You have to get past this prevent breach mentality.” Wes makes clear that this is not a defeatist attitude, but instead a realistic attitude. If you are trying to prevent a breach, then you have to be right every single time while the hacker only has to be right once. That is an exhausting and defeating place to be as a start-up with little funding, which is why changing that mindset is so important. Instead, if you are defending against a breach in the manner Perch does, the hacker has to be right every single time to avoid detection, while the defender only has to be right once to expose and eliminate the hacker before the hacker is successful. Now, that seems doable, realistic, and worth the effort.

Perch takes the company’s budget for cybersecurity, sets the protection priorities, and then creates a plan to monitor and prepare for a breach when it occurs. That way when a hacker is able to get past the firewall and anti-virus, you are both aware of, and prepared for, the hacker’s presence. It is both an art and a science, in the same way, medicine or law are both art and science; it takes art to diagnose a problem and science to solve it. The practice of cybersecurity is your bullet-proof vest, and Perch is your commander leading you through the cyber theatre of war.

So, as a consumer, what are the easy-to-implement steps to practice good cybersecurity? Wes recommends you use a password manager, like LastPass. This will make your life not only safer but easier. The password manager, which is specifically designed to be secure enough to hold passwords, requires you to know one password for all 300 of your passwords.

Then you can input long and strong passwords for those 300-sum accounts and only ever have to remember the one for the password manager. Wes also recommends utilizing a two-factor authentication app, like Google Authenticator – over the text or phone generally offered – as there is no way the second factor could ever be compromised as it changes constantly.

As easy as those steps are to implement if you are creating a cybersecurity plan for your business, it takes more than that. Wes puts it simply, unprepared and unaware small to mid-sized companies “are just sitting ducks” for hackers to hack and then extort. Fortunately, cybersecurity companies are growing like never before, so there is help available. According to a Crunchbase article , businesses in this sector received $8.1B in funding worldwide and $6.3B in the US. There is almost certainly a company that can create a cybersecurity plan within your budget and risk requirements.

First things first though, educate yourself about cybersecurity and the risks that are out there. Episode 134 of the Middle Tech Podcast featuring Wes Spencer is the perfect place to start.

The Power of Networking in Fundraising: Rule 506(b) Private Placements

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 17:02:21 GMT

So, you have built this amazing product that fits into your target market and has a high potential for scalability. But you also used up all of your initial capital in creating this highly scalable product. Now you need additional funding to achieve the scaling goals. While funding likely is always on the mind of the entrepreneur, the stage of scaling up the start-up is a time when it becomes the main focus for many. Depending on the fundraising strategy, this may be too late to begin taking active steps to achieve funding in a manner that is most effective for your company.

Whenever a company seeks funding through outside investors, it is making an offering of a security in its company. This action requires compliance with federal and state law, most notably, the SEC’s regulations for registration of that offering. The Securities Act of 1933 requires any offering of a security to be registered in accord with the procedures laid out in the statute unless an exemption to registration applies. Okay, so you have to register, no big deal right? WRONG. Registering is extremely expensive, time-consuming, and then makes any information disclosed on the registration public. The costs of having to register alone could be enough to prevent some entrepreneurs to move forward, but also knowing that many of the company’s secrets, including future plans, will be made public, makes it crucial for some to avoid.

A key exemption to the registration requirement is Rule 506(b) Private Placement, which allows for an entrepreneur to offer investment opportunities to certain investors without having to register with the SEC. While your lawyer should help you with the specifics of meeting the requirements of Rule 506(b), there is something you must do as an entrepreneur if you wish to take full advantage of Rule 506(b). Fortunately, it is not something extra beyond what the business world already requires of any successful businessperson. You must network with the investors in your community to establish pre-existing substantive relationships with those investors.

Private Placements exempts from registration any offering of a security made to a possible qualifying investor with whom the offeror (entrepreneur in this case) or the offeror’s agent (typically the business’ lawyer) has an established pre-existing substantive relationship. A relationship is pre-existing if it is formed prior to any offering, and a relationship is substantive if the offeror can judge whether the investor is financially literate enough to understand the risks of investing in private placements. Because this relationship must be formed prior to any offering, waiting until you are ready to start looking for investors is too late.

Networking prior to the stage of looking for outside investors allows the entrepreneur to grow his or her circle of prospective investors. While this task may seem impossible or even easier said than done, Kentucky’s entrepreneur and business ecosystem is constantly described by entrepreneurs as accessible and easily maneuverable. People in this community generally want to see other people in the community succeed and generally are willing to provide a helping hand to those looking to do so. The benefit is not found in every entrepreneur ecosystem and is in fact one of the biggest strengths of Kentucky’s business ecosystem. Because of that, any entrepreneur in this ecosystem should utilize it and utilize it early.

Not only will networking with the community in which you are hoping to find success help you qualify for SEC registration exemptions during the fundraising stage of your business, but it will help you grow in general. In meeting these qualified investors, you will have the opportunity to learn from them, whether that is specific to your product or industry or just in general about doing business in Kentucky’s business ecosystem. Without making offerings to invest, you can talk about achieving product-market fit within an industry, business strategies, past examples of success, and so much more.

Personally, I always thought the saying “your network is your net worth” was a little cliché or even silly, but after becoming more familiar with Rule 506(b) Private Placements, I see that statement is extremely true. While having these pre-existing substantive relationships with qualifying investors is no guarantee for receiving investment funds, it sure does help to have the opportunity to have more qualified people to make the offering to. Further, having those acquaintances that have found success before can provide an opportunity for learning and growth as an entrepreneur.

Stuccco: Matt Langan on Bootstrapping a Software Startup

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 17:00:09 GMT

While startups receiving big sums of money from outside investors seem to constantly snag up all the news headlines, especially in software and tech, most startups are bootstrapped, or, put differently, funded only by the founders’ personal funds and revenue. Despite there not being a set path for a company’s success, so many great lessons can be learned from examining a successful bootstrapped company, especially one that has grown up right here in Kentucky. Fortunately, Matt Langan was willing to share tips for business strategy and emotional resolve he has learned while creating Stuccco, a home-design software company based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Stuccco is an established virtual staging and emerging home-design software company that offers services for realtors, homeowners, designers, and retailers. Stuccco’s team is changing the home-design game by making it easy, fun, and more affordable for anyone looking to visualize a home’s true potential. The main service provided is top-of-the-line virtual staging for realtors, and the service is so good that the photos in the home advertisements require disclosures that they are manufactured images to manage homebuyer expectations. They are developing services that will allow designers and homeowners to virtually test furniture from retailers in their space. Proving the company is moving in the right direction, Stuccco was awarded the Vogt Award in September 2020 and won the Render Capital Competition in October 2020.

Somewhat deceivingly, Matt Langan has only been working on Stuccco full time for about 18 months now despite starting the company six years ago. Like many emerging entrepreneurs, Matt did not have a large number of funds to get the company going nor was he able to go full-time off the bat. Maintaining income outside of Stuccco was crucial to Matt being able to avoid rushing decisions and “just throwing crap up against the wall out of desperation to generate revenue ... because [he] was able to pay [his] bills” through that outside income. Matt does not “think somebody should be all in until they’ve achieved product-market fit.”

Stuccco, like all companies, has evolved since it went live in 2016 to create product-market fit and to stay ahead of the competition. Matt points out the importance of seeking feedback from prospective users prior to launch to ensure that your product resonates with your target niche. Learning the hard way, Matt built and rolled out Stuccco prior to seeking user feedback only to be met by crickets. He stated that had he “done it over ... [he] would have spoken with a ton of prospective users and learned if it was going to cut through the noise ....” Prior to rolling out a product, he said an entrepreneur’s goal “is to be able to describe what you’re doing and to immediately get the resonance ... from your specific customer.”

Fortunately, Matt was able to capitalize on seeking feedback prior to launch because he created a plethora of open channels of communication between Stuccco and its users. From these channels of communication, Stuccco’s team is constantly able to make product enhancements and develop product roadmaps that consistently fit their market. Matt recognizes how crucial it is to develop a product that fills an existing market demand but has just enough innovation to stay ahead of the competition. As he put it, “Because as an entrepreneur, you could develop a product that is absolutely amazing, but the market's not ready for it. ... Well, that means you have to stay in business, you know, paying down your bills for 10 years until the market matures to meet you.”

Being able to successfully create a company that provides a product or service that meets the demands of the market is much easier said than done. Matt certainly was not trying to paint a picture that getting to where he is now has been easy; in fact, he noted that “entrepreneurship, especially a bootstrapped entrepreneur, it can be very lonely.” He spent plenty of time working alone with only his laptop not sure if what he was working on would even succeed. Through self-belief and through seeking customer feedback to understand you’re creating something of value to them, an entrepreneur can quell skepticism.

Having an emotional resolve to overcome skepticism and sort through customer feedback is crucial to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Matt noted the three common traits he believes most successful people have. First, entrepreneurs have enough ego to believe they are smart enough to create a product that others might not even know they need yet. Second, the ego is balanced with a humble sense that improvements not only can but need to, be made. Third, the self-discipline to focus on a specific task for extended periods of time. Through these three traits, an entrepreneur will be able to consistently innovate on the feedback they seek until they find the product-market fit necessary to reach their vision of success.

Through Matt’s dedication to Stuccco and creating a product that meets the needs of his customers, the company has found quite a bit of success, especially for a software company in Louisville, KY instead of Silicon Valley. Matt believes that utilizing the benefits of Louisville’s entrepreneur ecosystem played into his success. He said, “what I love about Louisville is that all the other entrepreneurs in the area seem to be rooting other entrepreneurs on.” On top of the city’s friendly atmosphere, the low cost of living fosters a great environment for testing ideas, developing tech, and starting conservations with customers to achieve product-market fit. He noted that although the city lacks access to venture capital like Silicon Valley or other larger entrepreneur ecosystems, funding can be achieved almost entirely through online video conferences. Remote work and the innovations from it are also expanding the talent pool a company has access to while hiring. But, in true entrepreneur form, he noted that there was always room for improvement.

To hear more from Stuccco’s Founder, Matt Langan, listen to the podcast here .

Jai Malik: Ethics takes Planning

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 17:04:21 GMT

With great power comes great responsibility. Jai Malik, founder of Countdown Capital, explained in Episode 132 of The Middle Tech Podcast , how his passion for deep tech led him to being able to bring ethics into the entrepreneur’s product development. Jai studied philosophy and business and political economy at NYU, which is how he began his journey to becoming a venture capitalist. But he did not go through internships or scouting to get there; instead, he developed and amplified his voice to establish himself as an expert ready to run his own VC firm. Jai’s journey and his current mission are great examples of the power of passion and communicating with others about that passion.

Countdown Capital is a $5M deep tech venture fund that takes an active role with the companies it invests in to ensure the products developed using their capital are ethic-conscious. First, what is deep tech; deep tech is many things. Many describe it as non-software technology or capital intensive technology, but Jai describes it as “anything that possesses strong [Intellectual Property] or [Intellectual Property] that is disruptive compared to an existing paradigm or solution framework towards a problem.” So more or less deep tech is anything that has potential to have great impacts on the way humans do things, and that is why Jai puts so much emphasis and effort into integrating ethics into the development of its investments.

Jai explained that, “it can infiltrate every aspect of society. ... . And so the question is always, how do we make products safe for people to use and businesses to use while making sure that they provide a lot of valuable work.” Jai seeks to limit the negative impacts of deep tech by educating the entrepreneurs as to whom, and how, society will be impacted by the product, and then provide possible workarounds or mitigators to possible impacts. Through the management of the venture capital fund and the work with the fund’s entrepreneurs, Jai is able to make massive societal impacts.

Despite the possible societal impact that can be made as a Venture Capitalist, becoming one was not something that many Kentuckians had in mind when they were asked what they wanted to do when they grow up, and that may be because there is so little opportunity to be one in this region. As Venture Capital slowly becomes demystified as it makes its way into middle America, the career path is becoming more and more realistic. And, fortunately for Kentuckians, internships and scouting are not the only way to get there, in fact, they may not even be the best way to get there. As Jai put it, “I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to develop a really, really deep passion for what kind of investing you want to do and whatever you do, do not do what other people are doing.”

Jai was able to raise a $5M Venture Capital fund through extreme hard work, sleeping only about 4 hours a day, and truly becoming a known expert in his community. As he developed his passion for deep tech, ethics, and investing, Jai also “started tweeting about things that I think many VCs talk about pretty much on a daily basis, and I just try to be as engaged as possible. So if people have an interesting perspective and they're engaging, engaging with me ... I'm going to engage with them ... because I want to learn something.” For people trying to get into investing following a path similar to Jai’s, he suggests to “focus on amplifying your own voice ... use Twitter, use social media; be creative about how you get your voice out there and how you interact with your core demographic.”

It is no secret that this region is many years, if not decades away, from high scale involvement from high profile Venture Capital funds found in Silicon Valley and other coastal entrepreneur ecosystems. With that said, the industry is alive and developing here in middle America, especially as remote work has taken the spotlight. Not only are more opportunities arising, there are tons of benefits that can be taken advantage of in the region, many of which the Middle Tech community has heard before. First, as Jai pointed out, middle Americans are down to earth in how they treat others in ways that cannot be found in coastal ecosystems. Second, Jai honed in on the fact that “cost of living is low ... and there's certainly a lot of space that can be bought and commercialized if you're looking to, to build something big here and physical.”

Venture Capital can be highly impactful on society, as Jai and Countdown Capital make clear, and the opportunities to be a Venture Capitalist in middle America are growing. By developing your passions and your engagement with your passion’s demographic, these opportunities can be more plentiful. To learn more about ethics in deep tech and how Jai has been able to leverage his venture capital fund, tune into Episode 132 of the Middle Tech Podcast .

Why the Hell Didn't we Know About Kingdom Trust?

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 18:29:42 GMT

If I told you one of the most innovative fintech (financial technology) companies in the world was in Murray, Kentucky, and employs almost 100 people, and has more than $20 billion in assets under management would you believe me? A few weeks ago I wouldn’t have either. But it’s true. Kingdom Trust became a pioneer in the fintech space when they were the first in the United States (and probably the world) to legally custody Bitcoin for their clients. This means their clients could own bitcoin in their retirement accounts alongside other assets. Their innovations didn’t stop there. They are now building a platform called Choice that will be the FIRST IN THE WORLD to handle any asset in a retirement account.

The story of Kingdom Trust is about as pure a startup story as you can possibly have. Matt Jennings and his team have built an amazing business by listening to customers and staying on the cutting edge of the technology and finance communities. With no technical background, Matt and the Kingdom Trust team have been the envy of tech billionaires and innovators around the world. “Have you ever had a guest on your podcast that doesn’t know how to use a keyboard?” How did this happen? How did a man with no tech background from Murray Kentucky build such a success story? The short answer is they kept pushing and listening to customers. The long answer can be found on our podcast episode with him below.

Here’s another question for you… Why the hell doesn’t anyone know about Kingdom Trust? It’s not out of a lack of media appearances. Matt has been featured in Wired Magazine and on several very prominent podcasts and media outlets outside the state. So what the hell has local media been doing all this time? As much as I love finance and technology, if anyone in Kentucky was going to know about Kingdom Trust, it would have been me, but I didn’t. We say it over and over again at Middle Tech and it is our driving motivation. If we want Kentucky to continue to be relevant in the years to come, we need to be celebrating innovation. Not just basketball and horses. We need to elevate culture in the Bluegrass and start seeking media that motivates us to become something more.

I watched JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy on Netflix the other day… Do we want that to be what people think about when they think about Kentucky? Absolutely not. As the new Executive Director of SOAR, Colby Hall, said, we need to control how people perceive our own state by telling the stories ourselves and not letting other people do it. Prominent Bitcoin promotor and host of the wildly popular “Pomp Podcast,” Anthony Pompliano, basically laughed out loud on his podcast when he asked Matt what it was like building Kingdom Trust in Kentucky. The only way we will ever avoid the stigmas given to us is by pushing harder to change the narrative.

We’re much more than basketball, bourbon, and horses. We are innovators in the space economy . We are building some of the world’s biggest greenhouses and becoming an agtech hub of the world . We are pushing healthcare forward. We need to start celebrating that more. We’re doing our part here at Middle Tech. That’s for damn sure. Hat’s off to Andy Beshear and his team for trying as well. But where are the other media outlets? I’ll tell you where they are. They are covering murders. They are questioning why a bunch of 18-year-olds can't win a basketball game and they are covering out of touch politicians.

This is a screenshot of the Herald Leader's home page of their website. It's just sad.

There are many more Matt Jennings out there in Kentucky. I don’t mean there are other people building cutting edge fintech companies. I don’t mean there are other great, successful founders out there. I mean there are other potential founders out there that could do what Matt is doing. We need to elevate the culture in Kentucky for them. The future.

Stuccco Snack Bites

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 18:33:30 GMT

Stuccco: Business Overview

Stuccco is an established virtual staging and emerging home-design software company that offers services for realtors, homeowners, designers, and retailers. Stuccco’s team is changing the home-design game by making it easy, fun, and more affordable for anyone looking to visualize a home’s true potential. The main service provided is top of the line virtual staging for realtors, and the service is so good that the photos in the home advertisements require disclosures that they are manufactured images to manage homebuyer expectations. They are developing services that will allow designers and homeowners to virtually test furniture from retailers in their space. Proving the company is moving in the right direction, Stuccco was awarded the Vogt Award in September 2020 and won the Render Capital Competition in October 2020.

Stuccco: Maintain Outside Personal Cashflow Until You Have Product-Market Fit

Matt Langan, in true bootstrapping fashion, has only been working on Stuccco full time for about 18 months now despite starting the company six years ago. Like many emerging entrepreneurs, Matt did not have a large number of funds to get the company going nor was he able to go full-time off the bat. Maintaining income outside of Stuccco was crucial to Matt being able to avoid rushing decisions and “just throwing crap up against the wall out of desperation to generate revenue ... because [he] was able to pay [his] bills” through that outside income. Matt does not “think somebody should be all in until they’ve achieved product-market fit.”

Stuccco: Seeking User Feedback Prior to Launch

Stuccco, like all companies, has evolved since it went live in 2016 to meet the demands of the market and to stay just ahead of the competition. Matt points out the importance of seeking feedback from prospective users prior to launch to ensure that your product resonates with your target niche. Learning the hard way, Matt built and rolled out Stuccco prior to seeking user feedback only to be met by crickets. He stated that had he “done it over ... [he] would have spoken with a ton of prospective users and learned if it was going to cut through the noise ....” Prior to rolling out a product, he said an entrepreneur’s goal “is to be able to describe what you’re doing and to immediately get the resonance ... from your specific customer.”

Stuccco: The Emotional Traits Necessary to Bootstrap a Company

Being able to successfully create a company that provides a product or service that meets the demands of the market is much easier said than done. Matt noted that “entrepreneurship, especially a bootstrapped entrepreneur, it can be very lonely.” He spent plenty of time working alone with only his laptop not sure if what he was working on would even succeed. Having an emotional resolve to overcome skepticism and sort through customer feedback is crucial to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Matt noted the three common traits he believes most successful people have. First, entrepreneurs have enough ego to believe they are smart enough to create a product that others might not even know they need yet. Second, the ego is balanced with a humble sense that improvements not only can but need to, be made. Third, the self-discipline to focus on a specific task for extended periods of time. Through these three traits, an entrepreneur will be able to consistently innovate on the feedback they seek until they find the product-market fit necessary to reach their vision of success.

Stuccco: Louisville Provides a Fostering Environment for Start-Ups

Tesla buys $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 18:59:48 GMT

Today is a huge day for Bitcoin. Maybe the biggest day ever. Today, Tesla bought $1.5 Billion of the cryptocurrency and also said it plans to accept it as payment.

Tesla’s move into bitcoin represents an investment of a significant percentage of its cash in the investment. The company had more than $19 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand at the end of 2020, according to its most recent filing.

Elon has been rather vocal lately about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on Twitter and Clubhouse saying, “I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing, and I am a supporter of bitcoin.”

Given Elon’s influence, this is the biggest endorsement the currency has gotten to date and this propelled its price nearly 14% to a new record high of $44,900.

What might be the biggest deal of this announcement is the fact they will accept it as a form of payment. This challenges many ideals around the currency as it being a store of value that we should HODL vs a medium of exchange for goods or services. Either way, this will create liquidity in some way shape or form for Telsa and maybe the broader market as more follow in Tesla’s footsteps.

A secondary effect of this is we should start to see more fortune 500 companies add Bitcoin to their balance sheet out of fear of missing the boat. The scarce nature of Bitocin will force people’s hand faster than they might have imagined so we are going to be seeing news like this more frequently.

CONGRATS TO THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN BELIEVERS! This is a day for the history books. Take a look below to see what people are saying.

Jeff Bezos to Focus on Other Projects

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 18:37:09 GMT

After about 30 years of growing Amazon into one of the most impactful businesses the world has ever seen, Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO. When you consider what Jeff Bezos has accomplished, you can’t help but just say “Wow.” He turned an online book store into a company that gets us whatever we want in a day or less. He built the internet’s backbone with AWS. He put a digital assistant in millions of people’s homes. He did all of this by putting customers first. He built so much trust with customers that they allowed Amazon delivery people to open their front door when they aren’t home to deliver a package. We gave Jeff the keys to our house.

Jeff is following several great tech pioneers before him that stepped down from their roles as CEO to focus their time on other projects. CEO’s like Larry Page of Google, Bill Gates, and Larry Ellison of Oracle all retired to focus on their passion projects and philanthropy. Similar to both of them, Jeff will still have major influence over his business. His successor will be Andy Jassy who built AWS into what it is today, which by itself, would be one of the largest businesses in the world with $13 billion in annual profits. Amazon is in good hands and Jeff won’t be removed from the company’s biggest decisions.

Many believe right now is the best time for him to leave. They are coming off the best year ever due to the fact they built a service absolutely essential during a time we needed it most. They allowed millions of people to stay at home by avoiding trips to the grocery stores and they are powering millions of new businesses around the world with AWS. It goes without saying he will go down as one of the greatest CEO’s to ever exist. He’s done the impossible and now he wants to spend his time building new things that will take us further into the future.

Jeff said he looks forward to focusing on his Day 1 Fund and his Earth Fund, his rocket company Blue Origin, and the Washington Post. It will be exciting to see these other initiatives grow given their importance to our everyday lives. Inequality, climate change, space travel, and media are all going to be very important topics going forward and we need smart people like Jeff focusing their time on them.

Below is a major throwback interview from when Jeff first started Amazon. Check it out!

Colby Hall Helping Shape Our Appalachian Region

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 19:12:34 GMT

When you describe Kentucky’s Appalachian region and the people who live there to a person with absolutely no preconceived notions about the region or its people, it is easy to build excitement about the area. Unfortunately, this excitement is significantly harder to muster up with someone who already has preconceived notions about Kentucky and Appalachia as the vast majority of the people in the United States do. Of course, the region has areas of concern that need to be addressed, but so does every region of the United States, few of which are as underserved as Appalachia. So why does the negative stigma control the narrative about Appalachia?

Colby Hall, the new Executive Director of SOAR, believes that the narrative is negative because there is no unified voice that is able to project the great opportunities and people here louder than those projecting the negative narrative. Even as the region has been gaining traction as a possible leader of the emerging US AgriTech industry, a shadow still looms. Colby believes that this is a product of people who have moved here – instead of those from here – unintentionally and naturally highlighting the negative stigmas to enhance their personal narratives of moving to the region.

SOAR, or Shaping Our Appalachian Region, is a non-profit, non-partisan organization taking control of the narrative by creating and supporting a collaborative network of businesses, organizations, and individuals to champion the over 750,000 people in the 54 counties of Eastern Kentucky. SOAR works to expand job creation, enhance innovation and identity, improve quality of life, and support all those working to achieve these goals. By connecting the dots and controlling the perspective, the hope is that Eastern Kentucky and the rest of the nation will be able to realize the opportunities that are currently, and soon to be, offered.

The main vehicle SOAR is utilizing to change the perspective is promoting tourism in the Appalachian region. Increasing tourism brings business and economic opportunity, but more importantly, the region becomes viewed as more attractive and more appealing. Appalachia is undeniably gorgeous and offers unique outdoor opportunities that deserve exploring, but few people know that you could spend more than one day visiting here. Especially during the social distancing and business closures caused by COVID, there is plenty to explore. SOAR is using its network and platform to highlight tourist attractions and activities, so people not only know they can but will want to, vacation in Appalachia.

They are not only helping make people believe there is a future in Eastern Kentucky; they are working to create that future. Colby described SOAR as a clearinghouse for all-things economic development. While not looking to take credit for the progress to be made, they realize the region is simply too spread out not to have a centralized source connecting innovators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. When businesses in Somerset are aware of businesses in Williamsburg, they may be able to find opportunities to work together.

Economic development is much more than just providing a platform for businesses to work together. It includes bringing high-speed internet and fresh, healthy food to the region. SOAR is working to bring high-speed internet through fiber optic cable to these regions by proving to the private company internet providers that there is a financial incentive to do so. Colby is excited about Starlink, Elon Musk's and Tesla's high-speed internet satellite system , but he knows Starlink could be years away from providing blanket coverage and that fiber optic is the only way to keep the region from falling further behind. SOAR is also creating a logistics chain that connects local food producers and farmers with consumers to bring down the cost of fresh, healthy food. By bringing healthy food and high-speed internet, the region can combat the education and health issues that plague it.

SOAR is not creating all of the amazing opportunities of Appalachia Kentucky; they are projecting them. By doing so, they will bring the economic development the region needs and deserves so desperately. They are shedding the extra weight and adding the fuel as Appalachia prepares to take off as an up and coming region in America.

9 Investing Due Diligence Tips

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 20:37:26 GMT

As a follow up to our blog about the rise of stock trading during COVID, I wanted to share ways new investors can perform due diligence on the stocks they are purchasing. Due diligence is the research that goes into making an important financial decision. Successful investors spend hours doing due diligence before they buy a stock. Without it, you're basically closing your eyes and throwing darts.

When performing due diligence you should look at some of the following things:

Leadership - Who is running the company and are they capable of executing?
Customer growth - Are they winning new business at a good rate?
Customer feedback - What are their customers saying about them
Operating metrics - how efficient of a business are they? Are they spending a lot on marketing? What are their sales cycles? What are their margins and are they improving?
Employee happiness - Are they treating their employees well? Can they effectively recruit talented and happy people?
Technology/product - Do you understand their product well? Are they leveraging technology to make their customers happy?
Moats - Do they have an advantage that will be difficult for other businesses to replicate?
Brand - Do they have a well-known brand in their market?
Business Model - Are they selling widgets once or do they have recurring revenue?
Investors - Have they attracted successful investors? If they have, you should feel more confident in your bet if they were willing to invest prior to you.
Fundamentals - Income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and financial reports.

Those are some of my favorite things to research in order to understand a business fully before making a decision to invest or not. How do I research those things? I’ve provided some resources below.

Study their company website

A company’s website is their sales pitch. You can learn about their product, business model, team, and target audience. You can also see all the information relevant to investors on their investor portal. Every public company’s website will have an investor page with presentations, earnings calls, and news. The presentations are always solid resources packed full of the most important data.

Take a look at their profile on Crunchbase

Crunchbase is a database full of information about businesses. People mostly use it to study startups but it is an easy way to find news and past investors in the company’s venture rounds.

Google Search Trends

I like to use Google Search Trends to understand if interest in the business is increasing on Google. I also like to use it to compare search trends against competitors. In the example below, I compared the search volume over the last five years for Roku to their competitor Amazon FireTV. You can see Roku has a much higher search volume and is trending upward faster. This result is a clear indicator that Roku is the dominant player and that is currently playing out in real life with Roku now having more than 50% of the smart TV market.

Take a look at their G2 profile

G2 is a site that businesses use to help them make software buying decisions. It provides information like customer reviews, case studies, product tutorials, and product comparisons. I like to read customer reviews and competition grids like the one below. Grids like this help me understand the competitive landscape in their given industry. For instance, I can look at this one and see Docusign is the clear leader in the E-signature market. I can also see who their closest competition is so I can study them too.

Watch their YouTube videos

Before I buy a stock I make sure I understand their product well. The best companies will post very informative videos on their Youtube so their customers can learn about their products.

Check out their Glassdoor profile

Glassdoor is a site that will give you an idea of their workplace culture. It is a job search and company review site that allows employees to rate the business on several factors and leave reviews while those searching for a job can look at job postings and those company reviews.

What are people saying about the company on Twitter?

Twitter, or FinTwit specifically, has become one of the top resources investors have at their disposal. If you have a stock you are following and want to see what other people are saying about it, put a dollar sign in front of the stock ticker. Twitter will return results of what everyone is saying about the stock. I often find great research papers, news, analysis, and investing tips. Follow your favorite investors and engage with their posts.

Twitter is also a great place to find new stocks that are getting people excited. If several of your favorite investors begin to share the same stock, that might be a sign you need to research it. There are some very talented and transparent investors.

Yahoo Finance

There are plenty of places to research a stock's fundamentals. I personally use a combination of Yahoo Finance and Etrade. I like Yahoo finance the most because of the simple but detailed user experience. Robinhood is user friendly but not nearly as comprehensive as others when it comes to data. I use yahoo for reading financial reports and looking at stock charts. I use Etrade to actually buy my stocks and find analyst recommendations.

Look in the App Store

If the company you are investing in is B2C, you should check the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.Go to their app profile to view the reviews, comments, and ranking. For instance, GoodRx is the number #2 medical app in the App Store. That tells be it has mass adoption and momentum to stay at #2 for as long as it has. They are also rated highly on the user experience with 500,000 plus reviews. That is a lot of reviews. That tells me the way their solution to the problem of there being a lack of medical price transparency is well received.

Hopefully, this helps new investors find the right information to make smart decisions. Personally, I spend several hours of due diligence before even considering buying a stock. I've taken a disciplined approach and I suggest the same for readers. Keep a long term mindset and put in the time to research. Having the right data and conviction will allow you to stay focused and avoid emotional decisions. When you get emotional when investing, you lose money. Don't do that.

Choosing the Entity Type of Your Startup

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 19:08:04 GMT

A crucially important step of starting and running a business is choosing which business organization your company will take. With C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Partnerships, LLCs, GPs, LPs, LLPs, and, yes, LLLPs, the choice is anything but simple. While tax implications often lead the conversation, choosing the proper entity structure can make meeting the capital expansion needs, adding more investors and owners, and planning for exit strategies significantly easier.

The complexity of the decision leads to the one consistent piece of advice for the vast majority of entrepreneurs regarding the choice of entity. That is to seek the help of a business attorney. The business attorney will be able to ensure that all specific tax, employment, ownership, and funding goals for your company are considered, whether you, as the founder, thought of the issue or not.

Nonetheless, if you’re an entrepreneur or aspiring to be one, you probably want to learn more about this consequential decision. This blog is meant to provide considerations likely to arise in a choice-of-entity conversation with your lawyer. This blog is not legal advice; in fact, the only advice to be drawn from this blog is that you seek a lawyer in making this decision.

Before diving in, it is important to lay this piece of groundwork. C-Corporations, the entity form of nearly all publicly traded companies, is subject to a double tax, one on the corporate level and one on the shareholder level while S-Corporations, LLCs, and other Partnership forms, are pass-through entities subject to tax only at the ownership level. While LLCs are currently the most common form of new business entity because of their flexibility, the current corporate tax rate of 21% might make the C-Corporation the optimal choice. It depends on your specific plan.

If you plan to reinvest all of your business’ earnings back into it in order to facilitate growth, then C-Corporations likely are going to be your best option depending on the tax rates of the owners. Currently, any earnings that are kept in a C-Corporation are subject to a 21% tax rate and, as long as those earnings have a designated purpose by the board of directors, will not be subject to an accumulated earnings tax. Earnings of pass-through entities, including LLCs, are taxed at the rates of their owners ranging from 10% to 37%. Further for pass-through entities, there is a newly qualified business income tax deduction that may allow for a 20% deduction of the shareholder's taxable income from a qualified business. The difference between having to pay taxes on 21% and 37% of earnings is enough to control the choice of entity decision in most cases, but clearly, the difference is not always as stark as 16%. A tax professional should assist in determining the applicable tax rates.

If the business will be your full-time employment and is structured in a way that is meant to provide for you and your family, then the ability to bailout earnings and other tax considerations, such as self-employment taxes or the fringe benefit deduction, may control your decision. Opposite to retaining earnings, when a C-Corporation distributes earnings it is subject to a double-tax leading to a much bigger tax bite. C-Corporation distributions are subject to the 21% tax rate and the shareholder's dividend rate, which could range from 0% to 20%. Pass-through entities will only be subject to the single tax at the owner’s rate; plus the qualified business income deduction of 20% may be available. Seems like a simple decision, but, as promised, it gets more complex. Partnership distributions may be subject to self-employment taxes, while C-Corporation distributions are not. Shareholders and employees of C-Corporations, but not pass-through entities, have the fringe benefit deduction available to them, which would also allow you, as an employee, to have benefits such as group-term life insurance or medical-dental insurance plans.

If meeting the needs of your investors are your highest priority, then it will depend on their preference for return on investment. One of the few controlling factors is the investor's willingness to pay taxes on income that was retained in the company and to undertake the risk of company audits reaching their returns. Investors unwilling to pay taxes on income not received in hard cash or to complicate their personal tax returns will require a C-Corporation form as all pass-through entities put the investor at risk of those consequences. Other investors may wish for losses to be allocated to them to recoup their investment while the business is unprofitable. These investors, often those with other streams of income, will opt out of investing in C-Corporations because losses in C-Corporations are retained with the business. Instead, their needs are better served by a pass-through entity which will allocate losses based on the Operating or Partnership Agreement. Further, these investors, if not material participants in the operations, may be seeking to increase their passive income, which allow gains to be offset by losses and losses to offset other business gains.

If maintaining control is your main concern, it will turn on the aggressiveness of your investors in seeking control. Corporations, C or S, and limited partnerships give the majority shareholders control over the business without an agreement stating otherwise, but the minority often has no control rights or authority over the business. This lack of rights may give pause to minority investors who want to have more say in the business operations. LLCs and general partnerships require operating/partnership agreements to layout the control structure of majority and minority interest holders. If the minority investors are aggressive and eventually a threat to overtaking the company, then negotiating the control rights of both groups in an operating agreement could lead to loss of control rights that otherwise would have been secured if a C or S Corporation or limited partnership was chosen.

Finally, if selling out at the end is your ultimate goal, then a variety of factors can push the discussion. First, when an owner sells a pass-through entity, the realized gains are taxed based on the owner’s proportional interest in the company with each owner paying their individual income tax rate on their portion. This single tax is unlike C-Corporations which must pay 21% of the realized gain at the corporate level before the remainder is taxed on the shareholder level at each individual’s income or capital gains tax rate. With that said, the shareholders of the C-Corporation may qualify for the Section 1202 deduction, which could eliminate the tax at the shareholder level. Now for more complexity; the basis the shareholder has in their interest can dictate the amount of income that has to be recognized. If earnings have been retained in the C-Corporation, the basis of the shareholders is likely still relatively low, which will lead paying tax on more income. The same is not true of pass-through entities because the shareholder's basis is increased by the entity’s earnings.

Clearly from this brief overview, this decision is very complex and significantly more nuanced than one may be led to believe. In most cases, you will have competing interests that require a balancing analysis of the pros and cons. Even if you have read this whole blog, which would show extreme dedication to learning, this decision shamelessly requires the help of an attorney.

AppHarvest Hires New President and Begins to Harvest Tomatoes

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 21:09:23 GMT

It hasn’t been long since we last wrote about AppHarvest but a lot has happened in that short amount of time. The team there is doing amazing work and we love to follow them. Below are a few exciting updates we want you to be aware of:

Hired a new President

Impossible Foods' CFO David Lee will become AppHarvest’s president and he will start in his new role on Jan. 25. In this role, David will help develop strategy and lead the sales, marketing, and finance teams.

Prior to being at AppHarvest, Lee served as Impossible Food’s CFO since December 2015, where he helped grow the company and secure more than $1.3 billion in funding to accelerate manufacturing, product development, and distribution. He also worked as COO of Impossible from 2015 to 2019, during a period of significant transformation for the company.

This is a HUGE get for AppHarvest and is a testament to the potential of their business model and strategy. Jonathan Webb has continued to impress when it comes to recruiting talent and capital. A project like this requires exactly what Jonathan and his team are doing on that front.

AppHarvest expands office space in downtown Lexington

Given the growth AppHarvest is seeing, you’d probably figure they are expanding their physical presence as well in the form of office space. Well, they are doing exactly that in The Square in downtown Lexington. I’m sure many of you were familiar with Hopcat and their crack fries. Unfortunately, they closed and after their recent departure, AppHarvest will be taking that space along with several other new suites in addition to the offices they already have there.

This is exciting news for downtown Lexington. Anything that brings more talent and people in general to the downtown area is great given the current commercial real estate environment.

Tomatoes are starting to be shipped to groceries

The sustainably grown tomatoes will be available in select national retailers such as Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Food City and Meijer.

To learn more about AppHarvest, check out our episodes with Jonathan Webb, Amy Samples, and Geof Rochester below.

Recap of President Trump Getting Legally Banned from Twitter

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 20:30:28 GMT

Twitter, Facebook, and many, many other high profile social media companies have banned or suspended President Donald J. Trump’s accounts following the insurrection in the Capitol he incited on January 6th. According to an article by AP , Facebook and Instagram suspended his accounts until after the inauguration, and Twitter banned his account permanently.

A large portion of Trump’s followers immediately began screaming that the President’s right to free speech had been violated, including his son, Donald Jr., and Republican members of Congress.

The right to free speech under the First Amendment requires that “Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech.” The Fourteenth Amendment requires that States also not abridge the right of free speech without due process of law. According to the March 27, 2019 Report, U.S. courts have interpreted the right of free speech under the First Amendment and incorporated through Fourteenth Amendment to limit only the actions of state actors. As it stands currently, social media companies are private companies, not state actors, and therefore not constrained by the First Amendment. In fact, many legal commentators claim that when a social media company allows or limits content to be posted on their platform, they are exercising their First Amendment right to free speech thus limiting Congress’ and States’ ability to regulate.

With that said, it undeniably brings to light the true power Twitter and other Big Tech firms wield in today’s society. Because of Twitter’s drastic, but necessary, action in banning President Trump, Big Tech has found themselves right in the crosshairs of world leaders for the possible threat they pose to free speech. Notably, as reported by MSN, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been a critic of Trump throughout his presidency, found Twitter’s ban concerning. Twitter, however, has made it clear that it does not intend to be a threat to free speech.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, addressed the weight of the sword his company swung in banning Trump, but, again, reiterated the necessity of the action with a thirteen tweet thread . In the second of the thread, Jack notes the “extraordinary and untenable circumstance” that forced the action taken. Shortly after the permanent suspension, Twitter released a blog that President Trump was permanently banned because he posed a “risk of further incitement of violence.”

It is clear that Trump used his accounts to gather his following on January 6 . It is also clear he then incited the insurrection that ensued through his rhetoric at the rally when he claimed, among other things, “[b]ecause you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.” He then failed to call a halt to the violence by praising them and further emboldening then by falsely claiming the election was fraudulent in a video released on his social media accounts . Trump’s Twitter account initially was suspended for 12 hours on January 6, at which time he was warned that his account would be deleted if he did not stop spreading misinformation.

Trump was not banned until Twitter determined that two of Trump’s tweets have been understood as encouragement to replicate the insurrection at the Capitol. In fact, Twitter discovered “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.” Fortunately, these threats did not ring true, but, nonetheless it was reasonable to believe they may have at the time Twitter took action.

As Jack claimed in his tweet, these truly were “extraordinary and untenable” circumstances.

For years, and increasingly so in recent months, Twitter users have urged Twitter just to ban his account because of the misinformation and half-truths he constantly posted on the account, especially regarding COVID-19. Twitter refused to ban Trump because their public interest framework is meant to protect the free speech of World Leaders. In fact, even after the ban, Jack has doubled down on creating an “ open decentralized standard for social media ” to protect freedom of speech on the internet.

The market viewed the ban as unfavorable, which lead to a drop in about $2.5billion in Twitter’s market value . However, this is not solely because of the loss of Trump’s account as many companies were already avoiding advertising on Twitter because of fear of being associated with Trump. This drop is mainly attributed to fear of future regulations from world leaders. If Twitter wishes to control these speculations of harsh regulations, it needs to increase transparency into its criteria and decision making for what content is posted and what is banned, especially surrounding world leaders.

With the power Big Tech wields in the ability to control speech and the limits on the United States’ ability to limit Big Tech’s power, for now it seems that Big Tech will continue to control what content may or may not be posted. However, they clearly have a huge financial incentive to increase transparency when it comes to procedures to protect free speech.

As for now, it is all speculation how exactly a balance will be reached, but fortunately for you, I will update this blog as more major news breaks. Look for more at middletechpod.com/blog .

The Rise of Stock Trading During COVID

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 20:41:03 GMT

COVID has changed the world in so many ways. Too many to count. One of those changes excites me but also worries me. I’m talking about the rise of stock trading. Millions of people around the world have begun trading stocks on apps like Robinhood or Cash App, so I wanted to take some time to address a few things I think are important to understand and consider. Things like why is trading taking off right now, what is going on in the market that is encouraging trading behavior, what is happening as a result of all this trading, and what new investors should to do to be responsible and successful.

Why is trading taking off right now?

Let’s list a few reasons why:

Boredom - People now have a lot more time on their hands and are looking for ways to entertain themselves.
No sports - People no longer have sports to watch and gamble on so they have looked for another exciting alternative.
It’s become popular - Influencers such as Dave Portnoy have begun talking about it online
Zero barriers to entry - Robinhood took the trading world by storm by introducing a no-fee trading app that is extremely easy to use. Prior to Robinhood, buying stocks was not free and done on clunky apps that were intimidating to most users.
Stimulus checks - People are looking for ways to use their stimulus checks
There is money to make - Very few people make money consistently while trading but it can be done.

What is Going on in the Broader Market?

The market has BOOMED since the COVID lows, especially technology. Why? For one, interest rates have gone to zero. This has forced people to look for alternative ways to get a return on their capital and right now equities are the best way to do that. Tech companies like Tesla, Square, Docusign, and others are getting access to cheap capital to grow their businesses.

It also goes without explaining that technology is a HUGE beneficiary of COVID. If a business wasn’t going digital before, they are now. This rapid transition online has caused the NASDAQ and tech companies to soar in comparison to the DOW and S&P 500. Some of the biggest COVID winners include Tesla, Square, Roku, Teladoc, Crowdstrike, Shopify, Amazon, Twilio, Stitchfix, Peloton, and Salesforce. All of these businesses are digital innovators.

On top of tailwinds behind the stock market, there is a lot going on in the real estate market driving this rise in trading as well. Because of supply chains, unemployment, the rise of remote work, and low housing inventory, real estate is difficult to invest in right now. This is just pushing more people into the stock market.

What is Happening as a Result?

Young people are flooding into the market because they want a piece of the action. With the market continuing to rise, new traders are getting a sense of false hope and success. Many are using money they don’t have to trade stocks or they are using large portions of their assets to risk on a stock going up. The video below paints the picture perfectly.

To me, this video is scary. I’d love to think this is a joke but I have had several friends and people I know speak like this as well. Many have begun buying and selling stocks purely because they are consistently going up right now. This is a problem and there have been consequences.

For example, Richard Dobatse , a San Diego Navy medic, used Robinhood’s platform to ply $15,000 from a credit card advance, later augmented by home-equity loans, into over $1,000,000. But then he suffered severe losses, and his account fell to less than $7,000.

Another sad example is in June 2020, a University of Nebraska student named Alexander Kearns took his own life after (mistakenly) thinking that he had racked up a $730,000 loss on his Robinhood trading account. In a note that he had left on his computer, later posted by his cousin-in-law, he asked, plaintively, “How was a 20-year-old with no income able to get assigned almost a million dollars worth of leverage?”

What needs to happen going forward?

EDUCATION!!!

I do not want to discourage stock trading. I would rather push for more education because I have been there and done that. I started trading stocks my senior year of high school with the money I made in the summers. I traded for about three years and realized I wasn’t getting the crazy returns I had hoped for. There were extreme swings in my portfolio. One month my portfolio would be up 60% and the next month it would be down 10%. This went on long enough that I realized I needed to switch my strategy so I started studying. I want people to have that same experience (As long as they don’t blow all their money.) I traded stocks because I was uneducated. An educated person would not trade stocks because it doesn’t work long term. You might as well try to be a professional athlete. That’s how hard it is to consistently trade successfully to the point you make serious money.

What should new investors do?

Study finance and accounting. Learn how to read financial statements. By doing this you will understand the actual value, growth potential, and risks involved with that company. A great place to start is getting familiar with balance sheets, income statements, and popular metrics like price to earnings ratios and price to sales ratios.
Have a long-term mindset. Most people don’t make money in the short term but most people make money in the long term. Plan on holding your stocks for more than six months at the least. You should buy a stock with the intention to own it forever unless something significant changes with that company's strategy.
Keep an investment journal. When you find a company you are interested in, throw all your research into a google document to reference. This will force you to aggregate information and ideas. Once you have it all written down, you can weigh the pros and cons.
Invest in what you know or want to know more about. You should invest in things you are naturally curious about and understand. This allows you to remain focused and motivated, see things other people can’t, and force yourself to learn.
Diversify your portfolio. Figure out your risk tolerance and diversify accordingly. Depending on your age, risk can be a great thing. Personally, I lean into more risk because of my young age and personal goals.

While there are serious worries I have related to the flood of traders, overall, I’m excited. I think this will bring much-needed attention to finance and encourage more people to learn and have some ownership in their portfolio.

Land Betterment to Sponsor Season 4 of the Middle Tech Podcast

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 14:17:17 GMT

Middle Tech is grateful to have Land Betterment as a sponsor for the entire season 4 of the Middle Tech Podcast. Land Betterment and Middle Tech both share the same goal of fostering the community and business ecosystems in this region so the connection was there from the moment we met the founders Kirk and Mark.

Land Betterment is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through upcycling former coal mining sites to create sustainable community development and job creation. Their approach is unique and very important given it tackles several of the economic and environmental consequences of coal mining with a single project. To learn more about Land Betterment, check out their website here!

Middle Tech plans to use the funds from this sponsorship and others to produce more content and reach a larger audience. We are just getting started and greatly appreciate Land Betterment’s commitment to this region and its people!

Rebuilding Kentucky After 2020

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 14:14:13 GMT

The year 2020 likely is one many of us are ready to move on from, but, unfortunately, a lot of the damage that was caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic has seeped into our new year. With that said, it should not stop Kentuckians from having a hopeful outlook for what is to come. It is important to remember that prior to the halting interruption the pandemic caused, Kentucky had low unemployment rates, rising workforce participation, and growing economic opportunity. With vaccines being administered and the start of a new year, now is the time for planning a hopeful recovery for Kentucky, her people, and her businesses.

Before looking at a plan for recovery, it is important to understand the extent of the damage suffered by Kentucky’s economy. The Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker created by a team at Harvard University shows that Kentucky’s economy certainly is damaged but that we are already on the road to recovery. Kentucky’s employment rate was down only 5.1% going into November of 2020 which is substantially recovered from the low of 22.1% logged on April 20th, 2020. Further, Kentucky’s consumer spending had only decreased by 1.4% as of late December 2020 likely thanks to the first round of stimulus checks and other available government aid.

Unfortunately, Kentucky Small Businesses have not recovered as quickly. As seen on the graph pulled from the Harvard Economic Tracker, Kentucky Small Business Revenue was down a stark 20.5% over 2020, but that is after a recovery of over 20% from the low of 45.0% on March 30th. The decrease in economic activity for small businesses in Kentucky led to a 27.3% decrease in the number of small businesses open in the Commonwealth. Small businesses in high-income ZIP codes in Kentucky were affected slightly more than those in middle or low-income ZIP codes which shows that correcting the economic damage is a responsibility of each Kentuckian.

Clearly, Kentucky is hurting, and a lot needs to be done in order to truly get Kentucky back on track. A group of Kentucky’s business leaders made up of the presidents of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Greater Louisville, Inc., and Commerce Lexington issued a joint press release about their 2021 agenda to get Kentucky back on the road to economic prosperity. This press release came just in time for the Special Session of the Kentucky Legislature that began on January 5th, 2021.

The business leader’s press release pushes the Kentucky Legislature to make business relief and economic recovery the priority for the special sessions, especially because the Kentucky Legislature will be drafting its budget for the year. They suggest the relief takes the form of funding the Commonwealth’s depleted Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, providing limited and targeted liability protections for schools, businesses, and others, and investing in Kentucky’s infrastructure and education.

Unemployment Insurance rightfully takes priority in their agenda as it is crucial in keeping the people of Kentucky financially stable and able to engage in consumer spending. The group of business leaders hopes that the Kentucky Legislature will be able to continue to provide the vital employee protection of unemployment insurance, but also that they will be able to reform the process of administering it to lower the costs for the employers.

Limiting the liability schools and businesses might face from a COVID related accident or incident is a very hot political topic as corporate liability limitation was a key negotiation point regarding the second round of federal stimulus checks. Limiting businesses’ and schools’ liability for COVID related injuries will save them the costs of litigation of those cases, but it also encourages sub-standard implementation of COVID safety protocol and removes remedy from a person who may have been injured by such a businesses’ or school’s sub-standard implementation of those protocols. The group of business leaders seems to be urging the legislature to find the right balance that will prevent frivolous suits but still allow recovery where necessary.

Finally, business leaders want investments in Kentucky’s infrastructure and education. According to the press release, Kentucky is quickly becoming a logistics hub for the United States. That is ground that cannot be lost as it is crucial for the future of Kentucky as we come out of this pandemic. Specifically, Kentucky’s roadways and bridges must continue to be maintained so our clout as a logistics hub is not hurt by one of the fundamentals of logistics – transportation. Further, investing in high-speed broadband internet for all Kentuckians will keep the state from falling behind as remote work and learning are becoming more and more intertwined with the Post-COVID economy. Education and workforce development at all levels also must remain a priority for investments because without an educated, working population Kentucky’s businesses will not be able to successfully create jobs for Kentuckians.

The pandemic and 2020 rocked all Kentuckians, certainly some worse than others, but as the data shows, we all are ultimately living in the same economy. The press release from Kentucky’s business leaders gives reason for the hope that things are getting better, but it also reveals the grim reality of how much work there is to be done to get there. It seems that Kentucky must stay true to itself by protecting its people and businesses from unnecessary costs and hardships by ensuring that Unemployment Insurance is available and continuing to invest in the areas that had Kentucky on the path of growth prior to the pandemic.

Why Businesses Should Embrace Podcasts

Sat, 09 Jan 2021 14:37:39 GMT

Sales and marketing tactics are constantly changing. This is due to buyers’ behaviors always being in flux and because attention is hard to come by so this forces you to continuously experiment with new tactics. Most of these tactics will revolve around some kind of content. I like to think of content as a digital salesperson. The more content you have, the more a person can learn about your product without talking to anyone on your team, which is a good thing! You want your potential customers to reach out to you when their intent is high: meaning they have a pain point and they already have most of the information to solve it. You don’t have much control over whether or not potential customers have a problem or pain point that they need taken care of but you can control how much they know about you and your solution.

In order to create informed buyers, you need to feed them content and LOTS of it! You need to give them all forms of content so they can learn about your business on their own time and in their preferred channel. A channel that is grossly underutilized right now is audio, and by audio, I mean podcasts. Podcasts have a huge amount of momentum behind them with the number of listeners growing 40% over the last three years so you should consider ways to stay in front of the trend. Below, I’ve listed 5 reasons why your company needs to use audio as a sales channel.

1. Sales is storytelling

Any great salesperson knows you have to alter the reality of the person buying your product by convincing them their life will be better because of your product. In order to do that, they have to picture that altered reality for themselves. You make that happen through storytelling. Good salespeople can confidently speak about numbers and features, but great salespeople wrap a story around those numbers and features.

When a person turns on a podcast, they are wanting to learn something new or listen to an entertaining story. Give them both. To start, consider doing a simple series about your product. You don’t need to launch an ongoing podcast brand. You could create a one time series about what your company is building, why it started, who is involved, and how it can help the listener. Think of it as an audio version of a website someone can listen to during their commute or in the gym.

2. Podcasts can Serve as Pillar Content

A podcast is not just a podcast. It can be turned into a blog, social content, or a Youtube video. Use a transcription tool to turn the audio into text in order to generate blogs and social graphics.

3. Demonstrate Authenticity

There is nothing more authentic than having a free-flowing conversation. People want to hear undoctored, authentic audio. That’s what resonates with people most. Doubt that? Consider the fact Joe Rogan has hundreds of millions of listens every month due to the fact he’s authentic. People trust him and trust is one of the most important aspects of a sale.

4. Establish Thought Leadership

There is no better way to establish a reputation and thought leadership in a given subject than talking about it a lot. The breadth of a person’s knowledge about a subject comes out best in a conversation. Not a quote, not a presentation, not a short video, but a conversation. When you speak about something in an unscripted fashion, people can tell you know what you are talking about more easily. Get your most knowledgeable teammates on a podcast and just riff with them about the problems you are solving and get guests involved from the industry. Make it entertaining and informative!

5. Network without the expectations of a sale

Podcasts will allow you to reach out to potential customers and influencers in your space to have a conversation person to person, not seller to buyer. Pick their brain on the broader industry and trends. It is mutually beneficial for you and them. They get to use your platform to share their thoughts and they get content that their marketing team can share on their own channels. Win, Win.

We encourage you to just get started! Companies like Slack, Shopify, Sephora, and McDonald's are already seeing great success with their podcasts. These companies are constantly finding new ways to engage and build their communities and if they are creating podcasts, you probably should too…

We are here to help!

If you need help getting started, don’t hesitate to reach out! We have just begun to help businesses outsource their podcast production. After having numerous people and companies ask about starting a podcast, we figured we'd make it easy for them. We will help you get started by managing the setup, audio production, and we'll even create social graphics using quotes from the podcast. All you have to do is hit record and send us the audio. In return, you'll get a professionally produced podcast ready to be shared with your customers, friends, and employees. To learn more, click HERE!

What Makes TikTok so Addicting and Unique?

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 14:31:32 GMT

TikTok has taken the world by storm this past year thanks to its very entertaining video-based feed people can’t seem to take their eyes off. More than 200 million Americans and over 2 billion people worldwide have downloaded the app. Given TikTok was launched in 2017, this makes it the fastest growing app ever. Driving this extraordinary growth is a user experience we had not seen until TikTok introduced it. I’m talking about the full-screen video feed that starts as soon as the app opens. It might not seem like a revolutionary design but it is.

The reason this user experience is so addicting and unique is that it gives TikTok the chance to give you a guided tour of your mind and the tour guide is their powerful artificial intelligence. What do I mean by “A guided tour of your mind?” I mean TikTok knows you better than your parents and significant other and uses that knowledge of you to literally feed you content you love. It understands you, understands the content people create, then uses those profiles to give everyone the content they enjoy.

Consider the fact you rarely look at the content your friends make. Most of your time is spent on the “For You” feed. This is a breakthrough in the social media space. Most social apps are built on some kind of social graph meaning it surfaces content it knows you will like based on your relationships. Facebook and Twitter do this and layer in ads and other content when they can. TikTok is different. They build a persona for you based on how you interact with the content in TikTok, how you interact with other apps, and any personal information you share online. All this together gives them a good picture of who you are. TikTok also makes a persona for every piece of content uploaded onto it’s platform using machine vision, location data, watch time, music profiles, hashtags, and other AI tools. It then matches the two personas using a very powerful matching algorithm.

If you combine the data and persona building I mentioned above, with the fact they give users no other option but to watch full screen, short videos, you get a highly addictive app. Take a look at the different user experiences below for Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Facebook gives users a ton of options to engage with different types of content when the app is opened. This prevents Facebook from having a sense of control over the user’s journey thus preventing themselves from collecting specific engagement data used to improve the user’s experience. It also makes many users feel like the app is cluttered. Instagram is going down a similar path as Facebook. With the additions of stories, reels, and shopping, Instagram is giving users many different paths to go down. TikTok only gives you two directions, up or down. This enables them to collect data very specific to the way you engage with videos which allows them to control the content it puts on your feed easier. That is why TikTok is so addicting and unique. They designed it so you can create your own user experience with the help of their AI.

Check out our TikTok @middletechpod

Why Middle Tech

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 14:54:20 GMT

Middle Tech has now released over 125 podcast episodes, hundreds of social media posts, and hours of blog content. This year alone, our team has more than doubled from four people to ten people. Middle Tech has begun forming partnerships with other Kentucky companies and is looking to continue to expand the content we produce. We have momentum to grow and plan to capitalize on it. And, although all of us at Middle Tech are entrepreneurs, none of us are in it for the money. So, if it is not the money, why are we doing what we are doing? Each of us loves Kentucky and wants to create a resource that advances the business ecosystem in this region by providing news, entertainment, and educational content related to startups, entrepreneurship, and technology. We believe media is essential when cultivating a successful startup ecosystem, and founders are the cornerstone of that ecosystem.

Founders first!

Each Middle Tech team member truly believes that founders from Kentucky, and all over Middle America, can achieve levels of success similar to what could be achieved in Silicon Valley or NYC if more people knew of the benefits this region has to offer. Put another way, Middle Tech believes that by creating a platform for founders in Kentucky and Middle America, we can legitimize the entrepreneurial ecosystem of this region as a competitor to the coastal entrepreneur ecosystems.

There simply is not a source of information that highlights the stories of entrepreneurs and founders in this region, which makes the ecosystem seem significantly more barren than it really is. A sad effect of this false view of barrenness is that the region’s founders and investors exit our ecosystem for those on the coasts, taking with them their talent, money, and jobs that would have come with their company or investments. No region can thrive when its talent, money, and economic opportunity leave it.

One of our co-founders Evan Knowles has personal experience with what our region faces when it comes to lack of awareness.

Middle Tech is working to reverse this effect by showing that there are many, many more successful companies in this region than one is led to believe. Kentucky has far more to offer than coal. Kentucky has far more to offer than bourbon or horse racing. Kentucky offers a developing ecosystem that is quickly being populated by tech-driven companies across all industries, especially those in agriculture and healthcare. Middle Tech is here to allow the ecosystem’s existing founders to share their success stories and put their businesses on the map. By showing that success can be had in this region, there is significantly less pressure for this region’s talent, money, and economic opportunity to be taken elsewhere.

On top of highlighting the success stories of this region, Middle Tech also allows founders to share their failures, mistakes, and shortcomings. There is an information desert surrounding the process a founder should follow in middle America, which oftentimes varies significantly from the process that would be taken in Silicon Valley or other coastal entrepreneur ecosystems. This lack of information puts founders in our ecosystem at an extreme disadvantage trying to maneuver their way from an idea through their business’ exit. Middle Tech is creating a resource of information that can help illuminate the path founders can take to reach.

Middle Tech is here for the advancement of the founders of this region. Middle Tech is here to inspire future founders to create in this region. Middle Tech is here to give founders guidance as they try to build a successful business. Middle Tech is here to give them a platform to share their success. Middle Tech is here to help this region we all believe in so much.

Big Ass Fans that Fight COVID-19

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 14:49:57 GMT

Covid-19 has been a game-changer for every company around the world forcing closures, pivots, and adaptation using innovation. One of the companies that has innovated during these trying times is Lexington, Kentucky native Big Ass Fans. Founded in 1999 by Carey Smith, Big Ass Fans has been one of Kentucky’s great business stories after growing from a small father-son business to an international powerhouse building products for SpaceX, Orange Theory, Walmart, Amazon, and Target. Their primary products include fans, lights, and controls for industrial, agricultural, commercial, and residential use. In 2017, the company was sold to private equity firm Lindsey Goldberg.

To help fight the virus, they recently launched a clean air system that leverages their existing fan technology in order to circulate air around proven purifying technologies like Ion disinfecting and UV disinfecting killing 99.99% of pathogens that cause COVID-19 and Influenza. The graphics below show how Big Ass Fans does it.

As you can imagine, this new technology has caught on rather quickly and is being deployed in gyms, warehouses, factories, and schools around the world. In the video below, Big Ass Fans’ CEO Lennie Rhoades says they were prepared for the demand and are “In a good shape” to support businesses in their fight against COVID.

How to be a great podcast guest 🎙 (with gifs)

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 18:52:50 GMT

As the podcast industry continues to gain popularity, the likelihood of you being invited to speak on a podcast is increasing as well. So when your buddy Dave asks to interview you about your expertise on The Mandalorian, how can you make sure you’re prepared?

Since sound & interview quality have been my responsibility as a producer for over 100 episodes of the Middle Tech Podcast, I’ve been able to compile a list of tips, tricks, and best practices when it comes to crushing your interview. The following are things to keep in mind before, during, and after your podcast debut (accompanied by some fun gifs ��).

Before the Recording:

Understand the Style of the podcast ��

Before you sit down in front of the mic to talk about how Baby Yoda is NOT actually Yoda, it’s important to understand the interview style of the podcast. Does the host prefer for it to be conversational or more question & answer? Are there any specific points that the host would like to cover during the conversation? Is cussing kosher or is the podcast PG? Having these answers can help you feel more comfortable and prepared before your interview. I would suggest simply asking the host those questions and listening to past episodes of the podcast to gain a better understanding of the style of the podcast.

What we do for Middle Tech:

Middle Tech is a hybrid conversational & prepared question and answer podcast. We have a theme that we want to stay consistent with, but we don’t conduct a strict interview. Think of it as more like providing some guardrails for the conversation. What this looks like in practice is that before every interview, we conduct an “intro” call with our potential guests . This intro call accomplishes a couple of things - we establish some camaraderie with the guest prior to recording, we can decide where the “guardrails” should guide the conversation, and we communicate what the process of being on a podcast looks like. After the intro call, we craft discussion notes (the guardrails) that we share with the guest prior to recording so that they can prepare some thoughts beforehand if they’d like.

Find Headphones ��, the best microphone you can find ��, and record natively �� (Only for remote recordings — skip this section if the recording is in person)

If the interview is being recorded remotely via zoom or some other conferencing software, do the host a favor and do these 4 things:

Wear headphones - this is simply to prevent echo if you’re in an echoey room.
Use a good mic - if this is your first podcast appearance, you likely don’t have anything much better than the mic on your Apple headphones. While this is fine, you’ll be doing everyone a favor if you can find a way to borrow a decent microphone from a friend. Amazon also has lots of great, cheap options if you’re serious about doing more podcast interviews.
Don’t use a phone - Mostly because of tip #4 ��
Record natively - out of these three suggestions, this one is the most important if you’re doing a remote interview. Recording natively means you are using software of some kind to record your own audio directly to your computer. This is important because zoom (or any other wifi based service) tends to lag during conversations. On top of that, the quality of audio will be greatly increased if you record it natively. For simplicity, we recommend using either GarageBand (for mac owners) or QuickTime player.

Don’t overthink it! ��

Prepare in whatever way makes you comfortable, but don’t psych yourself out and try to rehearse what you’re going to say. Let it be natural, you’ve been asked to speak on a podcast because you’re you, so don’t get in the way of yourself!

Use the bathroom ��

This one seems obvious, but it happens more than you’d think. Nothing disrupts the flow of a conversation like having to go pee. Remember to take care of it prior to recording.

During the Recording:

Mute your phone ��

Simple. Just remember to do it.

Keep the mic a fist’s distance away from your mouth when speaking (depending on the mic) ��

For most podcasting microphones, a general rule of thumb is to keep the mic about “a fist’s distance” away from your mouth when speaking. Be mindful of this distance if more than one person is interviewing you, as your mouth will get closer and further from the mic as you turn your head to speak.

Don’t hit your hands on the table ��

Lots of people talk with their hands, which is fine, but if you’re one of those people, do not let your hands hit the table. Usually, the microphones are attached to that table and can easily pick up any tapping caused by your hand motions.

Avoid using sentence fillers such as “Like” & Uhm” ��

This one can be more difficult to control, especially if you're nervous. However, just consciously trying to avoid those sentence fillers can go a long way in making you sound composed and intelligent. It’s OK to have silence between thoughts rather than filling it with one of those words.

Avoid starting your sentence while the host is still finishing theirs ��

Most people don’t have to think about this too much, but occasionally we’ll have a guest that will finish sentences or start answering a question before we’ve finished asking it. This isn’t a huge problem and occasionally it can be a sign that the conversation is flowing really well, but the audio becomes really mixed for the listener when that happens. A good rule of thumb is to always let someone finish their thought unless you can tell their intentionally trailing off so that you can pick it up.

After the Recording:

Share assets with the podcast team ��

If the podcast plans on highlighting your episode on social media channels, be sure to send over any headshots, logo files, or assets that could assist in making social content.

Promote your episode ��

Tell your mom, your girlfriend, your dog, and anyone else that cares that you are now a bonafide podcast personality. Posting your episode on your own personal social channels is a great way to get some clout while also helping the podcast further its mission, whatever that may be. Podcasters work hard to make their podcast happen, often while making little to no money on it. Helping them get their audience numbers up is a great way to show your support.

If you think I missed something, please let me know in the comments! ��

And if you’re interested

Geof Rochester of AppHarvest: Marketing the Next Wave of Agriculture

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 16:27:24 GMT

There are record-setting wildfires raging across California, Oregon, and Washington. Deadly derechos are destroying farms, homes, and communities in Iowa. And past hurricanes are being revived as “zombie” tropical storms in the Gulf Coast. Whether we want to believe it or not, we are seeing the effects of climate change across the country on the news almost every day. As AppHarvest Chief Marketing Officer, Geof Rochester, points out in his episode with Middle Tech, climate change is no longer an issue that can be viewed as something in the far distant future. It is here now, and, if we don’t adapt to it, there will be grave consequences, not just for future generations, but also for us. Fortunately, Americans are beginning to realize that change is needed and needed now. Helping begin the push for change to sustainable agriculture practices is AppHarvest, a high-tech greenhouse company located in Appalachia, KY. The company is not only utilizing cutting edge agriculture technology to create ultra-efficient greenhouses, but they are also engaging in strategic marketing to develop the consumer market necessary for this change.

Unfortunately, extreme natural disasters and unsettling news stories are not the only product of climate change caused by agriculture. It is predicted that, if current soil degradation caused by today’s agricultural practices are not changed, the world will run out of topsoil in about 60 years. The world uses topsoil to grow over 90% of its food, and we are almost out of it. This horrifying reality means that if humans don’t innovate agriculture, we have a food shortage and ultimately a famine. If we don’t study history, we are doomed to repeat it, so let’s consider the Dutch famine of the 1940s. Holland was left devastated by World War II and the German occupation that occurred thereafter. By the end of the occupation, they had fallen into famine and no way to produce food. Holland, to help solve and prevent food shortages, created thousands of acres of greenhouses. If history is any indicator, high-tech greenhouses could be the very solution to stopping the imminent food shortage caused by climate change.

AppHarvest completed facility in Morehead, KY

AppHarvest’s greenhouses use 90% less water through high-tech distribution systems that other farming methods simply aren’t able to implement. They also implemented a lighting system that uses 40% less energy than typical lighting systems. Even though they use only a fraction of the water and lighting energy, AppHarvest’s commitment to sustainable practices led them to dig a rainwater retention pond to prevent toxic algae blooms in Kentucky’s natural waterways. Further, because of the greenhouses, there is no need to use pesticides which would ultimately absorb into the produce. And you might think that these sustainability practices come with a cost of decreased production, but they don’t. AppHarvest will be able to produce 30 times more food on their Morehead, KY farm than traditional farming methods. Because they are able to eliminate weather and seasonal constraints, they can produce crops 365 days a year.

So, what about American farmers whose livelihoods may be put at risk by a switch to sustainable greenhouse agriculture? As Geof points out, AppHarvest’s competition is not the typical American farmer. Instead, their competition is international imports of fresh produce. Currently, American consumers rely on international importation for its fresh produce bought in grocery stores, while typical American farmers sell their yield to restaurants. So instead of putting typical American farmers out of commission, the company will actually be seeking to reduce American consumers' reliance on other countries by replacing some of that reliance back on other Americans.

Still not convinced that this innovative company is onto something big? Well, consider how much time it takes for a tomato to get from Mexico to you – at least a couple of days, if not a week. AppHarvest’s greenhouse farms in Appalachia, KY are within a day’s drive of 70% of the American Population. That means your tomato will be a day old instead of a week old when it hits your local grocery store, and it will have taken 80% less diesel fuel to get it to you. Imagine being able to walk into a grocery store to for ripe produce that was picked off the plant the day before. It would be like having a local farmer’s market inside of your grocery store.

All of the benefits of this agricultural innovation are only possible, however, if the consumers get behind buying produce grown by these sustainable practices. AppHarvest recognizes this hurdle, so they are attempting to build awareness of the impending food and climate crises in a new way. Instead of having scientists, who people may be reluctant to listen to, explain the urgency for change that is needed, Geof is attempting to team up with high-profile people like NBA stars or pop culture icons to begin to push the need for sustainable food production. He hopes that by the people who Americans enjoy listening to spreading the word, sustainable American agriculture truly can be the way of tomorrow’s future.

For more information on AppHarvest listen to Middle Tech’s interview of Geof Rochester at the following link or listen below: Middle Tech Website

Why Appalachia Should Pay Attention to SpaceX

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 16:32:07 GMT

As the internet becomes more ingrained in everything we do as humans, not being connected is simply not an option. For an area that many consider “left behind” or “forgotten”, Appalachia needs to understand the significance of Starlink’s world-wide internet so that we can take full advantage of this incredible advancement in technology.

This article explains the inequity of the poor internet services provided in Appalachia (and most rural areas), why this inequity exists, and how Starlink will help even the playing field.

The Costs of Not Having Access

I heard a story recently about a school that had to go completely online because of coronavirus. Of course, this was most schools when the virus first hit, but this story resonated with me because of how the students and faculty were forced to adapt just to continue their education. There were so many students with inadequate or no internet access that the school had to move all of their wi-fi routers to the front of the building, so that those students could connect to the school’s internet to participate in a sort of quasi-remote learning from the school parking lot. This school just happened to be in my backyard — Bourbon County, Kentucky — and it really got me thinking… How many people in my home state are unable to get online education or are otherwise struggling because of these “connectivity issues”? And furthermore, how could we possibly expect the people & places lacking sufficient internet to keep pace with the rapid rate of innovation happening in the more populated parts of our country?

Education is not the only crucial human resource being denied to these people because of poor internet connection. Healthcare accessibility also suffers tremendously in these regions, especially now that COVID has made it unsafe for people to seek healthcare in person.

Further, as the technology and economic opportunity gap between the coasts and rural America widens, the more talent is drained from those rural areas, further widening the gap. If an area is unable to offer high-speed internet, the vast majority of businesses simply are not able to survive; therefore, those in rural areas have to leave in order to get the same opportunities. While a strong internet is not the sole solution to the talent drain issue, it is a strong step in at least giving that talent the opportunity to stay.

As Kentuckians, we have endured watching our “Land of Opportunity” fade, and regardless of whether you feel that the end of coal is a good or bad thing, there’s no ignoring the economic hole that its absence leaves. It is crucial that rural Kentuckians are able to connect to the internet with the same efficiency as those on the coast if we want any chance of filling this economic gap.

The Virtual Barriers of Entry

The year is 2020. Everything is happening online. You can obtain an entire education online, you can invest online, and for some jobs, you can work completely online. The land of opportunity has now shifted from the physical world… to online.

But this shift has not brought everyone along with it. While you can call the internet a “place”, it’s a place that has very real barriers of entry. Take account of the tools and resources that it’s taking you to read this article. You’re likely reading it on a screen that cost you a couple hundred dollars, that’s running on electricity you pay a monthly fee for, with an internet connection that also demands a monthly fee of its own. We are all paying to access this internet and, in most cases, the benefits are well worth the cost.

It’s safe to say that internet providers provide most of us a great and necessary service worth the cost. But like any business, internet providers invest capital in places where they can see a return. Where would that be for internet companies? Populated areas. This means that there are both financial and locational barriers to entry, and even if you’re able to overcome the financial barrier, you must still overcome the locational barrier. Relocating for capable internet connection is simply not an option for many people, especially those with deep roots in their hometowns, as many Kentuckians do.

What is Starlink?

With the way the internet is provided now, through cable, it creates a web of internet access across the nation. Internet companies invest in expanding that web to areas that have the most population, but, like a spider-web, there are holes in it. Starlink, a SpaceX subsidiary, is constructing a constellation of low orbit satellites that will provide low latency, high-speed satellite internet to the entire globe. By launching over 12,000 satellites into orbit using SpaceX rockets, Starlink will be able to take advantage of some pretty insane technology in order to provide internet all across the world. I’ll let the video below explain how this technology works, but I’ll do my best to summarize what they’re saying below.

A Quick Summary of the Video

Satellites will communicate via 5 lasers that will beam light pulses to other satellites to transfer information. Because light can travel faster in the vacuum of space than it can in fiber optic cable, this creates lower latency.
Starlink needs a large number of satellites in their constellation because they are planning on operating them at a much lower altitude than traditional satellite internet satellites. The lower altitude means their radius of coverage is much lower, however, the latency is also greatly reduced, increasing the quality of connection.
At the end of 2019, 50% of the world’s population was still offline.
Starlink satellites cost roughly $300,000 a piece, which is remarkably cheap when talking about space.
Starlink could rake in ~$30b to $50b a year in revenue. That gives SpaceX a crazy amount of funding to do whatever they want since they're currently a private company (like colonizing Mars ��).

Starlink could be a catalyst for many opportunities in the Appalachian region, but at the very least it will provide equal opportunities for healthcare, education, and employment to rural areas that desperately need the upgrade. Appalachia needs to understand these major opportunities that are approaching in the not-so-distant future and ensure that they are prepared when they finally arrive.

Louisville Sees Big Bump in People Moving to City

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 16:29:34 GMT

Some good news for the city of Louisville is that more people are moving into Louisville than this time last year, according to a recent Redfin News article . Redfin, an online real estate brokerage, reported that Louisville saw a 113% net inflow increase in Q3 of 2020 as compared to Q3 of 2019. New York represented the most common state of origin for people moving into the city. Further, more of Redfin’s users were looking to move into Louisville than were looking to move out of Louisville.

This increase at this time may be somewhat surprising as Louisville has faced protests and national pressure for institutional change in the wake of the Breonna Taylor killing. However, for people that know the city has much more to offer, the increase in inflow seems like a long time coming.

People are leaving large metro areas as the COVID-19 Pandemic has hit, and is hitting, those areas the hardest. Remote work has made it possible for those people to leave large cities for cities, like Louisville, that can offer better lifestyles during the pandemic. Louisville and similar cities are able to offer more space to safely spread out at shockingly lower costs.

The influx of people to the city, and the added economic stimulation that comes with them, is welcome with the virus causing strict regulations to prevent its spread. Hopefully, as vaccines are rolled out and regulations are lifted, there will be new opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners that also come along with these people moving to Louisville.

To zoom out a bit and look at the full data set, you can see Louisville came in second for Metro areas with the biggest increases in net inflow, Q3 2019 – Q3 2020.

Bradley Davis: Podchaser Building the IMDb of Podcasts

Tue, 08 Dec 2020 16:39:19 GMT

Bradley Davis’ idea for his start-up began with a failed internet search for an IMBd or Good Reads style catalog to find podcasts he would find interesting. With no results, Bradley took to the podcast subreddit to either find such a catalog or someone who would help him build one. After sifting through the candidates, Bradley finally found his business partner, Ben, based out of Melbourne, Australia. Six months later, Podchaser, coined as “the IMBd of podcasts”, was founded. Now, Bradley has created an international team and secured millions of dollars in funding to perfect Podchaser.

Podchaser was one of the first webpages providing ratings and reviews of individual podcast episodes, but this was only the beginning. Since this first integration, the database has expanded and is continuing to expand the data it collects and publishes for its registered members. This data they compile is unbelievably useful given that there are millions of podcast listeners looking to find the best episode out of millions of podcast episodes with absolutely no consistent, reliable place to find information on the episodes. Usefulness does not directly translate into monetary value, however, so Bradley knew that Podchaser’s product needed to be delivered in a way that would naturally create a loyal user base.

In Middle Tech’s 122nd Episode, Bradley Davis gives some incredible advice, and sheds some light, on how to harness the benefits of an organically grown community. Most of the lessons that can be learned from this episode are broadly applicable beyond the scope of podcasts as an organically grown community will benefit almost all start-ups looking to put a product or service on the market.

First, what is an organically grown community? In the case of Podchaser, the organically grown community began as a group of podcast creators and listeners looking to create the best possible informational and discovery resource for episodic level podcast content. \The community continues to grow as more and more users register. In the case of a podcast or brand, the organically grown community is the group of listeners, users, customers, or followers that support because they enjoy the content produced by the business. This community too will grow as the content reaches more people.

Like a farmer must tend to her crops, a startup must foster its community in order for it to grow. The first version of Podchaser was purposefully closed to a couple of thousand invitees so that the crew at Podchaser could directly engage with the users for feedback on how to make the product better. By interacting with the core users, Podchaser not only enhanced user loyalty and activity but also was able to create a more widely desirable product.

Now Bradley was comfortable that he had a desirable product, but he was not necessarily sure how best to monetize it. Like many data-driven start-ups, the value of the data can be clearly explained in a pitch, but that pitch is not always followed by clear streams of revenue. Bradley researched companies he believed provided a similar product and eventually reached out to a veteran employee of one of those companies. Bradley was able to validate his plan for monetization by comparing it to that of a similar but more established company.

With a clear plan for monetization, Bradley began seeking funding through the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and other Kentucky investment funds. One after another, Podchaser was denied funding, but Bradley continued to pitch Podchaser to potential investors. His perseverance paid off as Bradley eventually did secure funding, which he correctly attributes to finding the right investor for his company, rather than Podchaser being flawed. After persevering through many failures to secure that first investor, Bradley developed his network investor by investor to eventually secure just under 20 angel investors and $2,100,000.00.

Podchaser is applying that funding to continue to grow based on its business plan and the necessary improvements along the way. The goal for Podchaser is to continue to empower its user base to crowdsource data until it reaches a critical mass where it will serve as the hub of information for podcast listeners. Bradley believes that revenue will follow this hub because of the growth in people listening to podcasts. Podchaser is purposefully positioned to help facilitate the growth of the podcast industry, which helps Podchaser itself and the industry as a whole.

From subreddits through post-funding, Podchaser has had the consistent goal of creating a database of episodic podcast reviews and ratings. They have kept this goal in mind while remaining flexible which has allowed them to create a valuable product that also meets the original goal. Any entrepreneur can take lessons away from Bradley’s cultivation of Podchaser’s organically grown community, validation of his plan for monetization, or his perseverance through failed funding pitches. His episode is certainly worth a listen and can be found on your chosen streaming platform.

The Startup Fundraising Journey: The Investment

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 16:37:07 GMT

As you heard in the first installment “The Hunt,” there is a lot to think about when it comes to getting a VC’s attention and maintaining that attention long enough to get to a term sheet. You have to be capable of building a network, doing cold outreach, communicating your idea effectively, and gathering the correct data that shows them you are worth their time; however, getting their attention and time is just the beginning. If their due diligence shows you are someone worthy of an investment, a term sheet is going to be given to you and things get serious. In this installment named “The Investment,” we cover what happens once you get a term sheet. We’ll walk you through what goes into a company’s valuation, what kind of additional due diligence is necessary, and what the approval process looks like to move forward with the investment. This stage of the process is often the one entrepreneurs know the least about, so we hope to provide an inside look into how to prepare for this stage of the process.

Below, we’ve highlighted some of the key parts of the conversation. The full podcast is available through our episodes page HERE or your go-to streaming platform. Just search Middle Tech.

To help provide transparency into the mind of a venture capitalist and the process of arriving at a term sheet, John immediately gave insight into how a venture capitalist thinks about investing and some of the mental exercises they go through. I found this part to be particularly useful. Being able to understand a potential investor’s point of view and mentality is very important when you head into a negotiation. John made it clear that investors are in it for the long run and are always working to generate a return for their investors. They have an obligation to produce some kind of return for the investors in their fund. In order to get those returns, John focuses on understanding the business and the value it produces. John says, “When we're looking at an individual investment, I'm less worried about the specific multiple. What I'm really trying to understand is do I feel like I have a good grasp of what the business is? Do I feel like I have a good understanding of how to value the business? What does the value need to be for me to get to that return?”

Those returns come from an increase in revenue over time. “So over some period of time, do I believe that this business can go from a five million dollar revenue business today to a hundred million dollar revenue business in 10 years? Now, you look at the market comparables. You look at the operating metrics of the business and you put a valuation on that business.” If the VC feels they have conviction on the business and it’s future value, they offer a term sheet that contains the amount of money they are willing to invest, the percentage of the business they want to own, and the valuation of the business.

This conversation naturally led to the question of whether or not there is room for negotiation and the response was “It just depends on the investor and the company and if the company has alternatives. If you've got a competitive process where you’ve got more than one investor investing, that's the best way for an entrepreneur to make sure that they're getting both fair price and best price. You're basically trying to mutually come to terms on something that will work for both parties. The investor wants the entrepreneur to be motivated and wants them to be focused on the business and wants them to be happy with the opportunity that's in front of them. And I think on the flip side, the investor needs to feel like they're in a good spot that they can generate a return for their investors. So it's a balance and it's OK. I don't have a problem if an entrepreneur pushes back on valuation.”

When the term sheet is mutually agreed upon, another round of due diligence is performed. This round is more detailed and the goal is to look under the covers for any surprises that didn’t come up. Christian says, “We go into confirmatory due diligence, meaning we're looking underneath the covers trying to figure out were there things that you didn't tell us? Were you in a lawsuit three years ago? So it really centralizes around three or four functional areas. Legal and financial. So accounting, running your books, making sure there's no taxes, no tax liabilities or anything like that. And technology due diligence. And then you run into an operational and management team, due diligence. So we're doing a lot of reference checks. So calling customers, making sure that they're talking the same way. So that's the kind of stuff that you're really trying to confirm. Make sure that all the statements that went up to a term sheet are true and accurate.”

John stresses that entrepreneurs have to disclose everything and communicate to the best of their ability because things can certainly go sideways if there are surprises. He said, “I'll say to entrepreneurs, this is really, really important. Do not surprise your investors! OK. Tell them everything and let them get to a decision that they want to invest. Do not let them be surprised. Number one, it'll kill a deal. Right. And then if it happens post the investment, now your relationship is off to a really bad start.” When asked what he has seen surprise him or catch him off guard in the past, John said the most common miscommunication is around the potential of the business and an overly optimistic sales pipeline. “Be honest about what you're doing and allow the natural process to take place where you can get to get the terms that everybody's comfortable with” he says.

So how long does this whole funding process take? Christian said 4-6 months and John said it could be faster than that. It really comes down to how fast the entrepreneur wants to move and how difficult the deal is.

To end the conversation, John discussed the thrill of being involved in venture deals and how he enjoys the journey that includes not only closing the deal and the exit of that company but the entire lifecycle of the company. He said, “Ultimately, the best part is the actual journey, to be honest with you. It's like, OK. I like this business. I like this entrepreneur. I like this team. I want to get in. I want to help them. And I want to grow that business. And so we make that investment. It's all about the work from there. And trust me, every single investment has a problem or multiple problems. And you're gonna have to fight through it and you gotta figure it out.” The next installment is about exactly that. In the final installment titled The Partnership, we cover everything a venture capital firm does to bring value to the table and help the business grow over the long run. The relationship is only beginning when the investment is made. Stay tuned!

Five Reasons To Choose Kentucky For Your Start-Up

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 16:59:43 GMT

As entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystems emerge all across the globe, it is becoming more apparent that start-ups no longer have to be in Silicon Valley or New York to achieve great levels of success. Entrepreneurs now have a multitude of choices of different ecosystems, each offering their own unique advantages and disadvantages. While there still are few ecosystems that can match the fundraising potential and ability of Silicon Valley, most start-ups do not need the ability to raise tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in a short period of time. Many, if not most, business models thrive on more steady growth, so entrepreneurs should research the varying benefits of emerging start-up ecosystems like accessibility, competition, and location.

Kentucky, especially Lexington and Louisville, offers many benefits that should encourage entrepreneurs to begin their business venture in the region. Known for its bourbon, horse-racing, and college basketball, Kentucky is flush with unique entertainment outside of working hours. Beyond the booze, betting, and basketball, Kentucky is a region of untapped potential with growing support for the entrepreneur and start-up culture. Here are five reasons why you should choose Kentucky’s start-up ecosystem.

1. The People

In Kentucky, the people say “hey, how y’all doin?” as they walk past each other. Most hold doors open for others, and many will go out of their way to lend a helping hand to strangers on the street. There is a common, friendly, helping attitude among Kentucky’s people, including her entrepreneurs and business owners, that brings them together. This common attitude is a two-fold benefit. First, it means that good-intentioned, hard-working entrepreneurs will always be able to find a way to become a part of the community instead of being treated as outsiders. Second, once an entrepreneur is able to embed herself or himself in the Kentucky community, then the people of Kentucky will be there to lend a helping hand throughout all stages of your start-up's journey.

2. Collaborative Environment

Kentucky’s start-up ecosystem is young, developing, and not yet overflowing with competition, which allows Kentucky entrepreneurs and business owners to create a collaborative environment. In an ecosystem with willing-to-help players and sparse competition, there is no entrepreneur, business owner, or investor tied to the region who is more than one or two phone calls away. If you want a sit-down with a leader or expert in your space, you can make that sit-down happen. Entrepreneurs in Kentucky’s ecosystem simply want to see more and more entrepreneurs succeed here and are willing to help those entrepreneurs along the way. While this benefit may diminish as competition within the ecosystem grows, it will never go away because the collaborative environment is more than just a product of sparse competition. It is a direct product of the kind, helpful nature of the people who live here.

3. Centrally Located

On top of the low barriers to entry in the Kentucky entrepreneur ecosystem, Kentucky is within a day’s drive of over 80% of the US population. This benefit has massive logistic upsides for start-ups looking to distribute products or provide in-person services. It means that the shipping and transportation cost of importing material or exporting products will be significantly lower and that there will be more potential delivery options available. Especially important for US Agtech, this logistical blessing allows fresh produce to reach a massive client base while still fresh without having to harvest prior to the produce being ripe.

4. Cheap Cost of Living

Of emerging ecosystems in the United States, Kentucky’s cost of living is among the lowest, even in Louisville, the state’s biggest city. When an entrepreneur is able to find business space, housing, and other living necessities at prices that would be considered dirt-cheap relative to Silicon Valley or New York, the entrepreneur is able to pour more money into, and take more risk with, the start-up. In many cases, there won’t have to be many major lifestyle sacrifices throughout any phases of the start-up. Further, it means that fewer dollars can be spent on employee salaries while still being able to provide those employees with strong standards of living.

5. Gorgeous Nature

It’s already known that Kentucky has an unbelievable amount of opportunities to enjoy bourbon, basketball, and betting on horses, but few people realize how truly gorgeous the state is. With rolling hills and old deciduous forests comes big lakes and picturesque sunsets. In Kentucky, a gorgeous hiking trail or relaxing lake can be reached within a half-hour drive from almost anywhere. And even if you’re not big on the outdoors, Kentucky can still offer you bourbon, basketball, and top tier horse racing in young, up and coming areas. The mental and physical health benefits of being able to temporarily unplug from an entrepreneur’s fast-paced life are undisputed but often sacrificed because it is simply too difficult to get away from many of the large, established start-up ecosystems. That sacrifice simply does not have to be made if you bring your start-up to Kentucky.

The Startup Fundraising Journey: The Hunt

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 16:56:22 GMT

Middle Tech was founded in order to grow the startup ecosystem in Kentucky and Middle America using digital media to educate, entertain, and inspire entrepreneurs as well as people working in the technology space. One area we’ve wanted to shed more light on recently is the process of raising venture capital. We’ve found that many first time founders have questions around the topic with few readily available resources, so they find themselves seeking help from a coastal firm with limited familiarity with this region’s entrepreneur ecosystem. We wanted to fill the void, so we partnered with Louisville, KY-based venture capital firm Poplar Ventures to create a three-part series covering what it is like to raise money in venture capital in middle America. In this series, John Wilmoth and Christian Miller will walk you through the entire journey. We hope this helps founders go into the fundraising process with the confidence and knowledge required to raise the money needed to scale their businesses.

Poplar Ventures is an early, growth stage venture capital firm focused on cloud software technology companies in middle America. In February 2019, Poplar closed on its inaugural fund of $22 Million fund. Their goal is to deploy that capital over the next several years into six to ten startups with at least $1mm in annual recurring revenue (“ARR”). Poplar Founder and Managing Partner, John Willmoth, and Senior Associate, Christian Miller, are passionate about finding high-quality entrepreneurs who have a strong founder-market fit. They seek to leverage John’s 17 years of experience growing Nextel from $10mm in revenue to $15bn to help entrepreneurs achieve long-term success. John and Christian were more than willing to sit down with us to share some key insights into the venture capital investing process.

Below, we’ve highlighted some of the key parts of the conversation. The full podcast is available through our episodes page HERE or your go-to streaming platform. Just search Middle Tech.

Let’s dive in….

This first installment is titled “The Hunt.” We will cover how a venture capitalist (“VC”) firm finds entrepreneurs to invest in and vice versa. We wanted to give entrepreneurs an idea of how to approach VC’s and insights into how VC’s use networking and other strategies to find good entrepreneurs and companies to invest in. Christian said, “For entrepreneurs out there trying to get connected with VC’s, warm intros are really critical. So leverage your network in any way you can. And then it doesn't hurt to do cold outreaches.. We'll look at any deal that comes to us. If you are on our website, go out there and still make the introduction for yourself.”

Since Covid has started, a damper has obviously been put on in-person events and networking; however, Christian says that hasn’t slowed him down. “I would say, I've probably looked at 100 plus companies in the past two months. Almost half have come from virtual based events in Chicago, Nashville, and multiple different places. That would've been hard to cover in such a short time period.”

Whether it’s in-person events, virtual events, or cold outreach, John suggests focusing on building a long term relationship and being able to clearly communicate what you are building and why. “Almost every one of the investments I've made in the past have been situations where I've known the entrepreneur for quite a while. Getting to know them ahead of time is important so that when that right opportunity comes up, when they're at [Poplar’s investment] stage, we already have built that relationship. It makes a big difference.

If it's gonna be a cold email, all I really care about is that you're able to articulate what you're doing. Honestly, it's not more complicated than that. If you can't do it in an email, that probably tells me something. You ought to be able to explain your business and what you're doing and why you're doing it in a very short email.”

Once John and Christian get in touch with a founder and begin building a relationship, they then start to conduct their due diligence on the business and the founders. During their due diligence process, they focus on several functional areas: the team’s experience, product-market fit, the size of the market, competition, go-to-market strategy, and the financial profile of the business.

A tip Christian gave entrepreneurs here is “have a data room (a virtual file folder of relevant files that summarize the functional areas of the business and address potential investor focus areas). Prepare at least your core files that you're going to need in that process. Usually around historical financials, a summary income statement for year to date or whatever that time period is, maybe last 12 months, and something that's a KPI tracker... Particularly for Software as a Service (“SaaS”), you're looking at churn, revenue retention, customer acquisition, how many logos or customers you actually have, and then some kind of MRR or ARR over time. Having something like that is going to make your lives a lot more simpler, especially once you get involved in the [capital raising] process with multiple VCs who are asking you for all these things.”

Next, we talked about how the terms of the deal are decided. The terms determine the structure of the deal and the valuation of the business, so this part is especially important for founders. The key takeaway here is that it is an open dialog and that there are negotiations so both parties arrive at a happy place. John said “It’s ultimately about the pricing. It's no different than any other market. The public markets are easier because you get instant pricing. In a private market, the only way you get that pricing is by having those conversations and having an investor show up and being willing to invest in the business. So the best advice for the entrepreneur, get it competitive, make it a competitive process. Get more than one investor interested in your business and you'll get to the clearing price for your particular company.”

We ended the conversation by discussing the differences between coastal venture capital and venture capital in middle America. John and Christian are pretty adamant that there are few differences; however, the primary difference is the amount of money the coastal firms have to deploy quickly saying “If you have a business that is going after a multi-billion dollar market opportunity and it's a land grab situation and you've got a very good idea that you need 50 million dollars right out of the gate, guess what? We ain’t, helping you. I can lead you to the right people but maybe you need to be in Silicon Valley.

The big difference is the scale. If the scale of is going to be very big, it tends to be much bigger in Silicon Valley. They're making big, big bets. And so that team basically has the ability to go hire a lot of people very quickly and they're basically going out and trying to win that market. So a lot of capital, build the team, go prove the market, go win the market. There's different ways you can go about it. We're not set up for that.”

John then went on to say that Poplar and other funds in this region focus on finding businesses that are the right fit rather than focusing on making several very large, high-risk bets. John wants both parties to bring value to the table. The VC brings experience, a network, and capital while the entrepreneur brings a clear vision and path to success that leads to returns for investors. In the next episode of this series, The Investment, we will be covering the investment process. It will be a deep dive into what goes into a company’s valuation, what additional due diligence is needed, and what the approval process looks like for a VC. Stay Tuned!

Coming Soon ... The Startup Fundraising Journey

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 17:09:02 GMT

The Middle Tech team is always trying to bring helpful and relevant content to the startup ecosystem. One of the more consistent areas of interest from entrepreneurs is the topic of raising venture capital here in middle America. Is it the same as raising money on the coasts? What is the most effective way to engage with a venture firm? How can you best position your company for a successful fundraise? What are the expectations of a venture firm during the process and post-investment? To help us answer these questions, we partnered with Poplar Ventures , a premier early-stage VC firm based in Louisville, KY, to create The Startup Fundraising Journey. This three-part series will put listeners in the head of a venture capitalist and will walk through, in detail, how VCs find deals, do due diligence, write a term sheet, and how they provide on-going support after the investment is completed.

The Startup Fundraising Journey will kick off on Monday, November 30th. Each episode will be about 30 minutes long and will be accompanied by a full video recording of the conversation and an article summarizing the conversation. We encourage anyone reading this to check the series out and share it with any entrepreneurs wanting to learn more about the fundraising journey.

About Poplar Ventures:

Venture capital firm located in Louisville, Kentucky
Invests in cloud software technology companies based in middle America
Closed its inaugural fund of $22 million in February 2019
Founded by Managing Partner - John Willmoth
Typically invest $1mm - $3mm in Seed or Series A rounds
Recently brought on Christian Miller as a Senior Associate
Current investments include some of the region's most notable software businesses such as PERQ, SkuVault, Switcher Studios, and Podchaser. Predecessor investments include Zirmed, QA Symphony, and Aprimo.
Leverages a group of Investment Advisory Partners to provide industry, operational, technology, and financial guidance to Poplar portfolio companies. The group includes esteemed cloud software executives, technologists, and thought leaders.

Land Betterment: Putting Earth and Community First

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 17:05:39 GMT

Sustainability has been a major topic lately on the podcast. Kentucky is really working hard to set an example for the rest of the world when it comes to this topic. You might not guess that would be the case and we don’t blame you. Kentucky is well known for being a primary coal producer, but that doesn’t mean things can’t evolve and change. They need to change. For one, coal power production is quickly being replaced by alternative energy and that means coal companies are shutting down and people are losing their jobs. This is leading to very severe economic consequences in many parts of Kentucky and poor economic conditions lead to many other side effects like poor health and substance abuse. The second reason things need to change is our environment is being devastated by unsustainable business practices and natural disasters. Businesses are polluting and clearing land without considering the consequences and we are seeing record droughts and storms throughout the United States. Whether you believe in climate change or not, you should believe taking care of our planet is important.

To discuss the topic of sustainability some more, the Middle Tech team recently attended Land Betterment’s quarterly stakeholder meeting that was hosted at the Bulleit Bourbon Distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky. Land Betterment is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through upcycling former coal mining sites to create sustainable community development and job creation. Their approach is unique and very important given it tackles several of the economic and environmental consequences of coal mining I mentioned above with a single project. Their website reads:

“We recognize that no community can sustain itself without the ability for its community to generate stable income from satisfying jobs. Such opportunities have to capitalize on the strengths of the population and ensure the environment is protected for the future. We combined the best of both worlds to clean up the environment and provide opportunities for the long term benefit of the community.”

Land Betterment’s projects include recycling plants, parks, distilleries, bee farms, eco-friendly housing developments, and farmland. As mentioned above, these projects are restoring the land as well as bringing jobs into the communities. The distillery project is one we like to highlight. It will be called Coal Craft Spirits and it’s a “farm to bottle small-batch craft spirits brand that is grown from the roots of organic craftsmanship with a focus on environmental stewardship, quality, and perfectionism. The mash bill for our spirits utilizes ingredients directly from our Betterment Harvests division.” This project will bring a social and tourist destination to the region while creating sustainable jobs.

Part of what separates Land Betterment from other companies in the industry is their local presence and empathy. This region takes pride in its people and community. Land Betterment makes sure to engage the community and build relationships that last using their knowledge of the people and land. This is in contrast to firms that buy land without having a presence locally. The Land Betterment team believes their approach is a more sustainable and long term solution given their deep familiarity with the people and region.

Bringing it back to the stakeholder event, Land Betterment also invited members of the startup and sustainability community in the region to join. The conversations that took place revolved primarily around the future of good business and sustainability. Ben Smock of Canopy , a company that promotes good business in Kentucky, had the following to say about Land Betterment and the future of good business,

“Sustainable practices become increasingly more important by the day. Our future depends on it. It's not just the work of individuals, nonprofit organizations, or governmental entities, it must also be a sincere focal point of the business sector. Catalytic solutions to social and environmental challenges must be creative, collaborative, and ultimately focused on people and planet, not just profit. Land Betterment represents a unique convergence of social and environmental sustainability, and hopefully will serve as a model for other businesses that endeavor to do well, and do good.”

We believe Land Betterment is definitely serving as a model of good business and we encourage you to listen to our full interview with the founders Kirk and Mark below!

10 Endeavor Network Members on Middle Tech

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 17:18:34 GMT

The entrepreneurial community in this region has a long way to go but it is rapidly growing in size and interconnectedness. This is vital because entrepreneurs need all the support they can get from mentors, government, service providers, financial institutions, and many others. The more interconnected the community becomes, the more access entrepreneurs have to the right kind of support at the right time. Endeavor , a global network of high-impact entrepreneurs that connects founders with mentors, funders, and other resources, has been making a very concerted effort to provide entrepreneurs in cities like Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis with the necessary resources and connections to grow successful businesses.

Endeavor offers entrepreneurs access to a network of support and mentorship with the goal of fostering long-term economic growth in the regions it operates in. Brought to Louisville in 2014 with the help of the late Humana co-founder Mr. David Jones Sr., Endeavor has been an integral part of this region's entrepreneurial growth. Locally, In the 5 years they have been operating in this region, 18 entrepreneurs from 14 companies have been selected to join the network, generating more than $110 million in revenues and raising $134 million in capital in 2019 alone. These companies have also created more than 1100 jobs to date. Globally, Endeavor is in 37 countries, 8 U.S. markets, and in 2019 Endeavor Entrepreneur led businesses generated excess of $24 billion in revenue and employed over 4.1 million people around the world. Middle Tech has had the pleasure of interviewing several members of the Endeavor network so we wanted to look back and highlight those conversations.

Endeavor currently has two programs for entrepreneurs. They have the primary Endeavor Entrepreneur network of high-impact entrepreneurs and the regional Scale Up program for high-potential earlier founders. Entrepreneurs in the global network are required to pass an extensive selection process before becoming Endeavor Entrepreneurs. These entrepreneur-led companies are typically generating at least several million in revenues and are Series A stage or beyond. Scale Up Entrepreneurs participate in a 6-month regional growth accelerator program and are usually $500k-2M in revenue. Below are those entrepreneurs as well as several Endeavor mentors we’ve interviewed on the Middle Tech Podcast.

Episode 117. Kyle Green (Endeavor Entrepreneur, selected in 2017)

Kyle and his team at Handle Global are building a software platform that is helping hospital systems manage their supply chain using Handle’s marketplace and capital cycle management (CCM) SaaS product. The powerful combination of these two solutions will change the way hospitals manage their assets, allowing them to focus more on the care they deliver to their patients. Handle is especially important today when COVID-19 has created a great deal of stress and chaos in the healthcare system. We discussed Kyle’s background, Handle’s origin story, the company’s future, and advice Kyle has for entrepreneurs solving difficult problems.

Episode 67 . Jonathan Webb (Endeavor Entrepreneur, selected in 2019)

Jonathan is the CEO and founder of AppHarvest . With several environmental and political threats to our food supply, AppHarvest is hoping to make Kentucky the AgTech Capital of the World by creating fresh, quality produce that can be grown efficiently and safely within a day's drive of 75% of the US. With a recent move to go public, AppHarvest is making major moves toward that goal and we have not only spoken with Jonathan but several of his teammates to continue coverage from different perspectives on how they plan to accomplish the goal of making Kentucky the AgTech capital of the world.

Episode 87. Andy Eastes (Endeavor Entrepreneur, selected in 2016)

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 co-founded SkuVault with Slav Ivanyuk to make inventory management a breeze vs the confusing and complicated process he was used to with his e-commerce background. We discussed lessons that Andy learned along the way and how he's managed to build SkuVault into one of Louisville’s software gems.

Episode 116 . Mo Sloan (Endeavor Scale-Up Entrepreneur 2020)

Mo is the founder and CEO of EZ-Chow . They are giving control back to restaurants when it comes to online ordering by creating a software solution that allows the customer to order directly from the restaurant's website. By using EZ-Chow's software, the restaurant controls the customer experience and does not have to pay heavy fees as they do with big names such as DoorDash & UberEats. We discuss Mo's journey from the corporate world to starting his own company, what he's learned along the way, and his experience starting a company in Louisville, Kentucky.

Episode 110. Nate and Richard Walsh (Endeavor Scale-Up Entrepreneurs 2020)

Richard and Nathan Walsh are the co-founders of Continuud . Continuud is a telehealth platform that is focused on using data to improve patient retention rates, while also helping healthcare clinics gather insights on how they can improve their care. While Continuud envisions utilizing their platform to help clinics deal with all different types of chronic illnesses, they are currently focused on HIV. We discuss their experience being married LGBTQ+ founders, how their platform is changing HIV care, and the importance of telehealth.

Episode 85 . Brad Luttrell (Endeavor Scale-Up Entrepreneur 2020)

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. On this episode, we covered his background, his entrepreneurial mindset, and where he sees GoWild going into the future.

Episode 78 . Sarah Alessi and Jacob Isaac-Lowry (Endeavor Scale-Up Entrepreneurs 2020)

Sarah and Jacob created FlyWire Cameras , a hardware + SaaS company, to provide data and analytics that are used to help make the commercial fishing industry more sustainable and profitable. On this episode, we explored exactly how they help and their journey starting the company.

Episode 99. Christian Beck (Scale-Up Mentor)

We sat down with the Christian who is the Executive Design Partner of Innovatemap which is an Indianapolis-based design firm that helps companies of all sizes design & build digital products and services. In this episode, we focus heavily on the importance of good design. Christian walks us through what early-stage companies should be doing in regards to design, and also shares lots of wisdom about the role that good design plays in building successful digital products.

Episode 91. John Willmoth (Endeavor mentor and panelist)

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.

Episode 121. David Willbrand (Endeavor mentor)

David Willbrand is a Startup & Venture Capital Lawyer at Thompson Hine. David provides a unique perspective on this region and its startup ecosystem as he has been working in it since 1996. In addition to acquiring a great deal of experience helping founders navigate the legality of starting a company, David has also had a front-row seat to watch this region's startup ecosystem grow & evolve over time. We discuss the role that law plays in starting a company, the legal implications of big tech turning into monopolies, and what David has observed during his time serving this region.

Failing to Fail

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 17:12:36 GMT

Failure is an inevitable part of life as a startup founder; you may fail to raise money from a certain investor, you may fail to acquire a certain enterprise customer, you may fail to make the key hire you thought would take your team to the next level, and, of course, your company may simply fail to survive. The best and biggest hotbeds for startups and innovation--namely Silicon Valley, New York City, and Boston--embrace this truth, and past failures are embraced as a sign of valiance, of someone who had the courage to shoot for the moon but didn’t quite make it. In the eyes of most venture investors, these are typically the best candidates for investment--second-time founders coming back with experience navigating the uncertainty of the earliest stages of a startup, and a chip on their shoulder.

In the Midwest, however, things are typically the opposite. In many delicate, budding Midwestern startup ecosystems, unqualified gatekeepers typically dictate what is an acceptable mark on a founder’s past and what is not. Failure is often unacceptable and is a mark of someone who simply doesn’t have it in them. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but if this trend were reversed, we’d see many more startups make it to venture scale as more second- or third-time founders would get access to a network of the local resources that would at least give them a better shot at being competitive companies on the regional--or even national--scale.

I’ve spoken to many, many founders in the Midwest who wonder when Columbus, Nashville, or Indianapolis will be the next Palo Alto or Austin. The truth is, likely never. But there’s no doubt that these low cost-of-living regions have incredible potential to be hotbeds for startups and innovation. The talent is there--many of these cities are home to offices of incredible companies like Salesforce, Experian, Comcast, and many more. The Midwest is still a long way off from attracting more of the best investors and founders, but a great first step to transforming the region is to begin embracing failure, and not just at the founder level--failure should be embraced at every level of the ecosystem, from startups to ecosystem initiatives to investments. By embracing failure, not only do we keep people engaged and ready to take the next big risk, but we also open the conversation on what needs to happen to make the ecosystem better.

Mo Sloan: Capitalizing on an Opportunity

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 17:49:59 GMT

A common motivation among entrepreneurs is wanting to be in a career position that enables them to live up to their full potential as they define it. They know, or at least believe, they have the ability to succeed in their environment, but they worry most about never having the opportunity to showcase that ability. Many entrepreneurs, and people considering entrepreneurship, learn that they have this fear when they go to work in medium to large company settings where their role in the company is defined. In these defined roles, your autonomy over the path you take to success is lessened, which can leave some feeling frustrated or held back. It is this frustration and desire to have full autonomy over one’s path to success that drives them out of the corporate world and into entrepreneurship. Mo Sloan, Founder of EZ-Chow, is a prime example of an entrepreneur who felt he could reach his potential outside the corporate world.

Before EZ-Chow, Mo had worked for many different Fortune 500 companies in Louisville, KY. In his roles at these massive companies, Mo was exposed to many different high-profile projects, where he learned many different valuable skills and life insights. He learned how to extract knowledge from the people and companies he worked with and how to maneuver through corporate politics. But the most important lesson he learned was about himself; he figured out that he feared not being able to reach success as he defined it while working for a large company. It wasn’t that he did not think he could be successful; it was that he feared not having the opportunity to do so. What he did next is something any entrepreneur, or person considering entrepreneurship, can learn a lot from.

In his mid-thirties, after realizing that his secure job left him feeling like he was missing something, he re-evaluated what options he had to reach the kind of success he envisioned for himself. He decided against going back to school for a graduate degree in order to make an opportunity for himself using his skills and knowledge of computer software. After surveying and testing the market for web development work with hair and spa salons, he decided that was not a scalable option. However, he considers the venture a success because of the lessons he learned. He began to develop his understanding of what worked and what did not work in the market he was pursuing. Looking at the experience as a positive is huge to maintain momentum as an entrepreneur. Few, if any, ever reach their definition of success on the first try, but it is those that learn and adapt from their experiences that eventually do reach success.

In 2015, continuing his pursuit for success, Mo reached out to the famous Louisville pizza joint, Boombozz, to offer an online ordering platform. The store agreed and Mo began working towards a solution that would solve not only this problem for Boombozz but also for the entire restaurant market. He knew that in order to reach the level of success he wanted for himself, it would be required that he created an easily modifiable and scalable solution to solve an industry wide problem. Figuring out whether or not your business idea is scalable is a key step in the early stages of a venture, without it, the business may fail to launch. For Mo, he recognized the online ordering platform was scalable because potential clients reached out to him asking for his services based on the success he had with Boombozz. For many, clients will not reach out, but instead you will have to go to clients based on market research. Figure out who needs what your business offers, offer it, and, if enough people accept, begin upscaling. If not enough people accept your offer, then modify your idea to better fit the feedback received from those people and try again.

Once Mo began scaling, he has done so with caution, care, and courage. He knew that EZ-Chow’s business value proposition was to help restaurants leverage technology in order to give the restaurant autonomy over its own ordering experience. He remained true to this value proposition as competition like Doordash and UberEATS entered the market. Despite the success the competitors have seen, Mo knows that restaurants will pay to take back and maintain the autonomy over their client’s ordering experience. COVID has highlighted, and sky-rocketed, the need for Mo’s service and he has remained true to the value he knew he could offer. Entrepreneurs must be cautious in the moves that they make; oftentimes haphazardly chasing a quick buck ruins an otherwise profitable idea.

In order to scale, Mo carefully chose the people he brought onto the EZ-Chow team. He ensured that the people he brought in not only shared the vision he had but also complimented his abilities. Using a multi-talented team equally driven towards a unified goal has a much higher likelihood of large scale success than one person working alone towards the same goal. The key lesson to be learned from this portion of Mo’s story is to use care in selecting teammates; make sure they are equally as driven as you, share your vision of the business, and bring complimenting talents.

Finally, and arguably most importantly, once Mo knew his idea was profitable on a large scale, he courageously went all in for it. He was not afraid to leverage what he had built in EZ-Chow in order to keep the business growing and moving forward. EZ-Chow raised over $1,000,000.00 in funding in its first round of funding and has recently began a second round of funding. At this stage, he has no hesitation in doing so. Time is of the essence, and dilly dallying can cost potential clients. Once you know it is a scalable and viable option, go for funding, go for growth, and go with confidence. If you have proceeded with caution and care while pursuing your passion and the opportunities are arising, then you have every right to be confident as you proceed.

There is so much value in Mo’s story, especially when you hear his story come from him. The lessons to be learned from his passion and drive towards cannot be summed up in this article alone. To hear more details of Mo Sloan’s story check out Middle Tech’s Episode 116 on every major platform and that link below.

Four Companies Helping Push Sustainability and AgTech Forward in Kentucky

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 16:46:30 GMT

While preparing for our episode with AppHarvest CMO Geof Rochester , I found a quote in a news article that really stuck out to me. It got me really excited for the future here in Kentucky. It is referencing Eastern Kentucky.

“The region which was previously known for its booming coal-mining industry that brought power to the nation is now helping to shape history once again.”

It is a well-known fact that the days of coal power are numbered. During Tesla’s recent “Battery Day,” Elon Musk proudly stated that power production from coal has fallen 50%. In 2010 coal production was 46% of our energy and today it is just 23%. That decline has hurt Kentucky in recent years and no one has been hurt more than Eastern Kentucky, but they aren’t going to just sit back and watch the world pass them by. They are going to fight back. That is why AppHarvest is such a special local story. They are working hard to help shape Kentucky’s future so we can once again shape our country’s history by prioritizing sustainability and healthy eating.

In all our interviews with AppHarvest, they have made it clear they want Kentucky to be the AgTech Capital of the World. A very exciting goal I think we all need to get behind because they can’t do it alone and they aren’t doing it alone. There are many players popping up in this space that deserve attention as well. We’ve spoken with several of them and wanted to highlight them. Here are four other startups helping build the future of AgTech and sustainability in Kentucky.

Land Betterment:

On episode 97, we sat down with the Land Betterment co-founders Kirk Taylor and Mark Jensen to discuss their work cleaning up Eastern Kentucky. As stated above, the coal industry has been decimated in recent years and that rapid decline has left quite a mess. Land Betterment is taking that mess in the form of abandoned coal mines, coal waste, polluted water, and trash and are turning it into something that can bring the region some sort of value. Their projects and the value those projects generate vary but they all have two common themes: sustainability and jobs. What were once coal mines are now being turned into recycling centers, sustainable housing, bee farms, distilleries, and entrepreneurship zones. Check out the episode below:

Silver Fern Group:

On episode 106, we interviewed Silver Fern Group co-founder and CEO Adam VanWingerden. He and his team are building software to help bring the horticulture and indoor farming industry into the future by providing them transparency using data. This data gives farms the ability to track their inventory, supply chain, and sales so they can grow more intelligently. The team is less than a year old but they have generations of experience behind them. Adam and his co-founder/brother Stephen VanWingerden come from a family of greenhouse farmers that have helped shape the industry for many years now. Take a listen to how Adam and his team are keeping the family tradition going into the future!

Stellar Plants:

Joe Cox of Stellar plants was interviewed on Episode 102. We discussed how indoor farming is the future and how his team is helping bring the technology to Kentucky. They are building a controlled farming system that is much like AppHarvest but on a much smaller scale… for now. Stellar Plant’s vertical farming technology is being used to grow leafy greens for local restaurants and stores using 97% less water and no harmful chemicals. Joe and his team are still very early in their development, but they have big dreams and a clear vision on how to accomplish them. Listen here to learn more.

Native:

On episode 111, we sat down with the co-founder of NATIVE, Sarah Sanders. Native is another agricultural software technology company that is focusing on bringing more data and transparency to the supply chain of produce. Their technology not only provides farmers with data to create more efficient farming practices but it also enables 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. Sarah and her team believe this kind of transparency is table stakes today during a time when consumers are so conscious of the purpose and values behind the brands they support. Learn more by listening to the full episode below:

AppHarvest Announces 2nd and 3rd Locations

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 16:57:56 GMT

AppHarvest has been on a spree of major announcements over the last several weeks and two of those announcements have been new locations. One in Richmond Kentucky that will basically be identical to the current Morehead facility and one in Berea Kentucky that will be 15 acres of leafy greens. Together, with all three facilities, AppHarvest will have 135 acres of production. They will be growing over 4,000 acres worth of tomatoes and leafy greens on just 135 acres with 90% less water and 80% less transportation costs due to the fact they will be located within a day’s drive of 70% of the US population.

When we first spoke to Jonathan Webb, we were convinced of what the future would look like here in Kentucky. Like many people that hear his pitch and see his passion, you quickly see the vision and the reasons AppHarvest exists. We understood the why. What we did not understand was how quickly he wanted that vision of making Kentucky the agtech capital of the world a reality. It takes generations to build up an economy and a new mindset centered around innovation; however, right now is a unique time in history. Big ideas have more access to massive amounts of capital than ever before (AppHarvest has raised well over $500 million in a little over 2 years) and there is a major focus on sustainability and climate change due to natural disasters and other events affecting our society so I’m becoming convinced that now is the time for a movement in sustainable technology that will take us into the future. Elon Musk has been leading the way to date but other people and industries will follow suit and the movement will progress very naturally based on people’s needs and the environment. The first wave was energy and the next wave seems to be agriculture. Both are essential to fuel a society.

Establishing a movement and making a vision come to life takes much more than large amounts of capital and a founder that has a good pitch. It takes an ecosystem of supporters that are in it for the long haul. That is why the locations AppHarvest has chosen are very strategic and that is why Governor Andy Beshear and the state of Kentucky are getting behind this so heavily. To date, all of AppHarvest’s locations have been in towns with a college and they have made it very clear that each location will rely heavily on these education systems for talent, research, and growth. Berea College for example is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review’s 11th annual Guide to Green Colleges so AppHarvest will build off of that green mindset to develop future talent. In return, AppHarvest immediately brings a sense of excitement and makes these colleges a destination for intelligent students studying fields like agriculture, biochemistry, sustainability, and automation. Students can look to AppHarvest as an example for what is the future of those fields. This is all to say that JOBS and opportunity will be created for these schools to feed and that is what it takes to build a sustainable healthy economy… visionaries like Jonathan, education, Innovation, and job opportunities.

AppHarvest Grand Opening Recap

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 16:55:58 GMT

We’ve been talking a lot about AppHarvest lately, but it is pretty hard not to. They just recently announced some major board additions like Martha Stewart, they are going public via a SPAC, they just opened their first project in Morehead, and they are planning new locations for additional greenhouses as we speak. Everyone in Kentucky should be talking about them!

Middle Tech has been covering them from the very beginning so Logan and I were just recently invited to their grand opening event in Morehead, KY. To say we were blown away is an understatement. Despite having several friends working there and doing three podcasts featuring AppHarvest team members, we still weren’t prepared for what we saw on Wednesday. It was inspirational, emotional, eye-opening, and just straight-up cool. We walked away from the event feeling extremely proud to be living in Kentucky at this time in history. With the rapid decline of the coal industry, Eastern Kentucky has been hurting badly, so to see something like AppHarvest rise out of the ashes and provide a sense of inspiration and hope to the community is a story for the ages.

I’ve been watching from afar in awe as Elon Musk constructs his Gigafactories around the world in record time to further their mission of building a sustainable future, and as I sat there at the grand opening, I couldn’t help but get the sense that we are doing something similar here in Kentucky. AppHarvest and Jonathan Webb still have a lot to prove but they are well on their way to helping build a sustainable future and a future where we are not so dependent on other nations like Mexico for our produce. That’s their mission. To sustainably grow produce for Americans while lifting up a region of the US so ironically hurt by the move to sustainability. Again, it’s a story for the ages and we are so excited to see it continue to play out.

The grand opening event was certainly what you would expect from a project like this. There was a flyover, swag bags, partnership announcements, powerful speeches, vegetarian lunch, and tours of the facility. We heard from Jonathan Webb, investors, government officials, community members, and board members. Everyone spoke with extreme pride and excitement for what has been accomplished and what is still yet to come. There was a consistent theme in everyone’s speech that I think is important to convey…. This is Kentucky’s future. That is the message, and again, after being there in person and seeing it up close, I couldn’t help but agree that AppHarvest is on the path to put us on the world’s stage and provide an example to the rest of the United States about what is possible.

Below are some videos and pictures of the Middle Tech Team at the event:

Kyle Green: Some Tips for Scaling Your Start-Up with Venture Capital

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 17:03:57 GMT

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you must be able to think of, and then execute, solutions to problems that others cannot. Entrepreneurs spend time educating themselves about the intricacies of an industry, whether through education, experience, or both, in an attempt to recognize a deficiency in an industry that needs to be solved. Once the problem is identified, possible solutions to that problem rush into their minds, a few will stick, but most will not. From that brainstorming session, the idea or couple ideas that have potential are then reviewed for viability and scalability. It is how the entrepreneur executes that one viable and scalable solution to the industry problem that will determine whether an entrepreneur is successful.

Kyle Green, a Louisville-based entrepreneur and founder of HANDLE Global, followed this path exactly and has created a solution that can solve a nation, or even global, wide deficiency. Kyle began his career in the healthcare industry in one of the most competitive hospital administration fellowships in the nation at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute in Baltimore, MD. His fellowship, where he was able to do deep dives into each facet of hospital administration, launched him right into a career in the C-Suite at Norton Healthcare, the premier hospital system in Louisville. It was during this time learning about hospital administration and operations that he noticed a massive deficiency in the turnover of hospitals' capital assets, such as beds, CT scanners, and other reusable medical equipment.

He noticed that there was no real system to track and then resell the hospital’s capital assets. He knew of some companies that attempted to solve this problem on a smaller scale but nothing from those companies could solve the magnitude of this problem, which is estimated to be a trillion-dollar issue. Kyle created the Healthcare Asset Network to begin to meet the hospitals’ demand to track and resell medical equipment. He then tested the scalability and viability by taking it to the market to see what clients would think. After a successful run with the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital, Kyle knew he had a viable, scalable solution to the problem. The steps he has taken since then are where the true value of his story comes into play.

Kyle stopped and made a very important decision about the path his company needed to take to reach his goals. He chose to pursue outside funding to enable the company to grow at a faster pace. As Kyle recognized, the decision to pursue funding is not for everyone and should not be a decision made without having a future plan in place. There are plenty of bootstrapped or lifestyle companies that have reached massive levels of success without ever taking a dime of outside funding, but those companies almost certainly grew at a slower pace. Kyle made the decision to seek funding because of the confidence he had in his company and of the recognition that there was a massive need for his company’s solution.

After Kyle took on funding, he did not squander it away on a super fancy, top of the line office space that would only temporarily boost employee morale. Instead, he hired top-tier employees that he considered to be the “Michael Jordan” of their specialty. People make up companies, so it makes perfect sense that hiring the best people will lead to having the best company, but so many entrepreneurs miss this point. HANDLE Global takes hiring about as serious as the FBI, requiring them to take aptitude and intelligence tests. Not only is it required that the people hired at HANDLE are among the most talented, they must also be competitors. This move is genius and so often missed. By hiring the most talented competitors, the company naturally is always looking to progress, improve, and grow.

With the rest of the funding available, it is important to have a flexible disposition plan and not nickel and dime your way through the remainder of the funding. A rigid plan is almost never the answer, but some sort of flexible understanding of the path and direction that needs to be taken is crucial for future success. Instead of trying to save money for upcoming expenses that may or may not arise by spreading funds across the board, pouring the remaining funding into a few strategic bets can be used to position the company for more funding or future big-time revenue makers. Also, in this financial plan, should be a decision of whether or not another round of funding will be necessary. Almost all businesses that undertake one round of funding will take on another, so do not be unrealistic with yourself in evaluating your company’s future needs.

Finally, don’t wait until the gettin’ is no longer good to begin your next round of funding, which almost all businesses who take on funding end up doing. Begin that second round of funding while your company is still moving in a positive direction. This timing will not only play on investor’s intrinsic need to hop on a wave before it is missed, but it will also keep your company from stalling at a crucial time.

Recognizing an issue, creating a solution to that issue, and then implementing that solution on an industry-wide scale is not something easily accomplished. To learn more about how Kyle Green identified a problem to begin building what could be a billion-dollar company tune into Middle Tech’s Episode 117.

Choose your preferred listening location here

4. Ryan Foster on Developing Lexington's Nightlife Offerings and Residential Investing

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 18:22:17 GMT

Ryan Foster is a Lexington, KY native who has become a very successful investor and owner of several Lexington bars and clubs. After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Ryan began a career in banking and then used his experience and insights from the bank to get started in real estate investing. He's since accumulated well over 100 residential units in the region as well as several well known commercial properties in downtown Lexington. In this conversation, we explored how he got to where he is today, his experience with the Lexington night life scene, and his outlook on the developments happening downtown.

DevelopLex is a new limited series from Middle Tech 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

Intro music by SmithTheMister

Mike Davis: A Big Data Giant in Kentucky

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 17:00:20 GMT

Kentucky is well known for several things like horses, bourbon, and basketball, but you probably would never guess that one of the most influential big data companies in the United States, and world for that matter, is right here in Kentucky. For Middle Tech’s 100th episode, Evan and Logan sat down with the Co-founder and CEO of Appriss, Mike Davis. Appriss, a Louisville-based big data company that describes their services as “Knowledge for Good”, utilizes big data to help everyday citizens all over the US by tracking drug trafficking, fraud, and other forms of criminal activity we see happen every day. They are also using big data to help healthcare and retail businesses become more efficient. Like every great startup story, it begins with recognizing and solving a problem. This one is “a story for our time.”

The story starts after Mike and his Co-founder Yung Nguyen - the details about how Yung got to America as a refugee is amazing, so take a listen to the episode for those details - met at a small company and realized they were both entrepreneurial. The two of them studied computer telephony which began putting telephones and computers together to enhance communication through the internet. After studying how this technology could be used, a shocking news story broke that inspired them to build a business. A young woman had been murdered by a man fresh out of jail with a history of abuse. The man had attacked her previously, and upon his release, decided to kill her on her 21st birthday. If she had known he had been released, she might have been able to take necessary precautions, but she didn’t.

To solve this problem and bring transparency to the criminal justice system, they built a solution that tracked criminals in and out of jail in order to notify the public and those concerned about the status of a criminal. The solution was to allow people concerned with their safety to receive a phone call that the person of interest has been released from jail. This powerful solution was just the beginning of Appriss' journey to use knowledge for good. They have since tracked 95% of all criminals in and out of the justice system, they have reduced methamphetamine use in the US by 87%, and they are tracking 85% of all opioid prescriptions and patients in order to decrease the illegal use of that drug. Amazing!

All of that data for good has led to some amazing business growth and success as well. Appriss is now a company with close to 400 employees and is on track to do over $200 million in revenue. Mike has gone on to be a two-time winner of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award; he was awarded the prestigious Paul H. Chapman Award by the Foundation for Improvement of Justice; he was awarded the US Congressional Crime Victims Award in recognition of his work on behalf of crime victims throughout the country; and, in 2019, Mike was inducted into the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.

For those interested in technology and entrepreneurship reading this, Mike shared some amazing advice. Some of that advice related to focusing on your core strengths, being adaptable, and raising capital.

To get the full story and details, take a listen to episode 100 on your preferred streaming service or listen below and then let us know what you think!

3. Phil Greer on Developing Kentucky's Restaurant Scene, City Center, and The Fountains at Palomar

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 18:25:13 GMT

Phil Greer is a high school coach turned massive Kentucky Real Estate Developer, as well as a scholarship football player for the University of Kentucky and former Tates Creek High School teacher & coach. After a few successful real estate deals, Greer dove head first into the restaurant industry by opening his first Shoney's, followed by a Fazoli’s, and his first Cheddar’s in ‘96 under the Greer Companies name. The Greer Companies developed and operated 45 Cheddar’s Casual Cafe Restaurants with operating revenues in excess of $200 million, and today they are working on two massive Lexington projects such as City Center & The Fountains at Palomar.

Hosted by Weston Lockhart & Evan Knowles

Intro music by SmithTheMister

Digital Media's Increasing Importance in a Growing Ecosystem

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 17:06:01 GMT

Middle Tech was created to elevate culture and advance the business ecosystem in Kentucky. We believe media is essential when creating a successful culture and business ecosystem because it is easily consumed, easily shared, and evergreen. Evan Knowles and Nate Antetomaso started Middle Tech when they noticed digital media around the business community was being done very poorly in Kentucky. At the time they were working at Fooji, one of the state's hottest tech startups, where they were able to gain first-hand experience with digital media by working directly with the world's top media brands like Twitter, Disney, Fox, Netflix, Viacom, and the NBA. Evan and Nate believed that if anyone was going to set an example by starting a new media brand in Kentucky, it had to be them.

If you look at the top brands in the world, they are thriving because of their strong digital media strategies. This is especially true during COVID when physical experiences are not an option. People can’t physically go shopping or eat at restaurants the way they are used to so they have increasingly turned to digital experiences. The same goes for members of the startup community where events and networking have gone digital. This has been a major shift and we believe it is for the best. It will be a shock to the system, but in the long run, this is going to help the ecosystem grow by showing what has been missing. We wanted to explore the importance of digital media in the startup ecosystem and contrast it with the in-person events we all know so well.

After being a part of the ecosystem for 5 years now and thinking extensively about ways it can improve, we believe it is impossible for the ecosystem to grow as fast as we want it to unless there is more digital media in this region. Here is our claim: in-person events do not grow the ecosystem. Media grows it. That isn’t to say in-person events don’t provide critical value, but robust digital media is essential.

Let us paint the picture… Someone outside the ecosystem might have a friend they didn’t know was a part of the startup ecosystem and that friend might share some content on Instagram or Facebook related to the ecosystem. That content might get them interested enough to explore some more. After exploring more, they might realize there is something for everyone in this community. They then notice there is an event like Awesome Inc’s 5 Across coming up that interests them. They sign up and have a great time. At the event, they meet some great founders and people supporting those founders, but that event ends after an hour or two… They go home and are back on Instagram consuming more content and see some startups and founders that interest them so at the next event they seek those people out and meet them in person. Next thing they know, they have developed several relationships and they are now an engaged member ecosystem.

The chances of the person above becoming engaged in the startup community without digital media are very slim, or even zero. Digital media attracted them and kept them engaged. The in-person events deepened their roots and helped them build stronger relationships.

So what does digital media look like? It's podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, and social content. It's content that tells a story, provides unique insights, inspires, and educates the audience. Anything that allows the person consuming that content to get a taste of what is going on in the ecosystem or get a taste of what it is like to be an entrepreneur is what this region needs. Right now, the vast majority of digital media is missing the mark. It has to be media that gets people intellectually vested in what is happening. Media for the sake of being media. We want to challenge more people to produce this kind of content! We have some major goals and plans to continue what we have been doing and so much more, so if you have questions or want to help, please reach out. We'd love to connect.

We hope this helps everyone realize the role media like Middle Tech plays in the community and we hope we can get back to in-person events soon because they are both essential!

Josh & Jared Ravenscraft: Branding Appalachia

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 17:08:32 GMT

On episode 113, Evan and Logan sat down with Josh and Jared Ravenscraft of New Frontier Outfitters to discuss building a brand that represents Appalachia in the same way that lifestyle brands represent the outdoors of the Western United States. Taking full advantage of the gorgeous outdoor scenes found in Kentucky, the episode was filmed overlooking a gorgeous Kentucky lake with the sound of cicadas faintly in the background. These two brothers from the Appalachia region of Kentucky are determined to show that small town does not mean small mind. Through their use of technology and dedicated hard work, they are making an impact that reaches much farther than the Appalachia Mountains.

From the grit and determination that was engraved in Josh and Jared by being raised in a region that was built by coal miners and lumberjacks, they were able to bootstrap together New Frontier from $200 and one laptop. Using the power of social media, online sales, and shop-to-shop sales, they have been able to not only sell products and generate revenue to grow their business but also have been able to create a following that is larger than their clothing brand. As their following grows, so does their voice for Appalachia and what the region has to offer. Having been born, raised, and educated in Eastern Kentucky, Josh and Jared know full and well the need the region has to be represented in a light that truly represents the area. The beauty and strength of Appalachia is often overlooked as non-productive or backwards, but people familiar with the area know that this if far from the truth. Appalachia has some of the prettiest and easily accessible nature scenes in the United States, and not to mention a massive music culture that has produced the likes of Tyler Childers and Chris Stapleton. New Frontier is meant to create a recognizable voice for the nature, the music and culture, and the people of this region in order to truly highlight the beauty and opportunity Appalachia has to offer.

They understand that responsibility comes with having such a voice, so they pride themselves on values of sustainability and regional loyalty. The two brothers are using technology and New Frontier’s success to bring opportunity to Appalachia through using local sustainable materials and partnering with local companies with common goals. This region, known for coal-mining, is not a staple piece in the topic of sustainability, but the Ravenscraft brothers truly believe that this idea should change. They understand that sustainability is a required value for every outdoor brand, not just those out West. Without following sustainable and eco-friendly practices now, there will be no outdoors for outdoor brands to represent and celebrate forty to fifty years from now. From a region inglorious for its eco-destructive coal mining, bringing a representation of sustainability to Appalachia will be crucial to changing people’s image of the region. New Frontier recognizes that they cannot bring this change alone, but one of the beautiful things about Kentucky’s entrepreneur, technology, and business eco-system is that a company will seldom have to bring that change alone.

Kentucky’s entrepreneur eco-system is driven by a common motivation – each company believes in this region’s ability to play a greater role in, and be more impactful on, the overall United States entrepreneur eco-system. A perfect example of this is New Frontier’s partnership with Appharvest, a company focused on using technology to create more sustainable agriculture practices. While not in the same market, they have been able to dovetail each other’s interests on the other’s efforts leading to great mutual, and regional, benefit. Appharvest has been able to expose New Frontier to new technology based products and services allowing New Frontier to expand into markets that otherwise would have been unavailable. New Frontier also has been able to help Appharvest by creating a brand for Appharvest that is used to show Silicon Valley entrepreneurs the true value of a company from the Appalachia region.

Both companies have seen great benefits and success in the partnership, and the Ravenscraft brothers truly believe that the culture of Kentuckians made that possible. The people of this region are not hyper-competitive like many other major entrepreneur eco-systems, but that is not to say that the people here are not dedicated to hard work and developing success. Instead, the roll-your-sleeves-up attitude of the people in this region tie the people together to promoting the common goal of promoting Kentucky’s success. The people of Kentucky not only want to see each other succeed, but they also are willing to help others reach that success. Ultimately, it was the people of Kentucky who were willing to help gave New Frontier the opportunity to grow to a point where New Frontier is able to help other Kentuckians grow.

Josh and Jaren Ravenscraft discuss the benefits of Appalachia’s nature, culture, and people as well as how they are changing the mantra of small towns means small minds through the use of technology in detail on episode 113.

Click the following link to access their podcast:

2. Chad Needham on Developing Greyline Station and Lexington's Northside

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 18:27:22 GMT

Chad Needham is a Lexington Real Estate Developer and had often been referred to as a staple of the North-side of Lexington. While on DevelopLex, Chad discusses his organic path from the corporate world into real estate investment and development, his niche of the North side of Lexington with the new “Greyline Station” in particular, and what he views as the next steps for Lexington. Chad’s most recent project, (Greyline Station) has quickly become one of Lexington’s most popular attractions and an integral part of the community. Chad discusses the the incredible new use of the 65,000 square foot building with a storied history that for almost 100 years was home to bus & transit companies in Lexington.

Hosted by Weston Lockhart & Evan Knowles

Intro music by SmithTheMister

AppHarvest Goes Public

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 17:14:52 GMT

What a morning in the Kentucky business ecosystem! It was announced around 8:30 this morning that AppHarvest, the sustainable agriculture startup founded in Eastern Kentucky, will be going public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). This news is very exciting for AppHarvest and the state of Kentucky. Middle Tech has had three interviews now with the AppHarvest team and we have been truly amazed by the project, their ambition, and the execution thus far. To give people an idea of what is happening here, Jonathan Webb and his team are working hard to make Appalachia the AgTech Capital of the World. This might sound like a lofty mission, but AppHarvest would argue it’s an urgent and necessary goal given the world’s projected food shortage and worsening climate. Let’s dive in…

On CNBC this morning, the CEO and Founder of AppHarvest was joined by new board member, Martha Stewart, to announce that AppHarvest would be taken public via SPAC (pronounced “Spack”). This is a relatively new financial innovation that allows a company to go public while bypassing the traditionally lengthy and expensive IPO process. SPACs have garnered a significant amount of both positive and negative press lately as the number of these entities has exploded to 112 in 2020 - more than 5 times the 2015 total of 20 and almost twice the 2019 total of 56. This increase occurred at the same time as the market for IPOs greatly expanded on the back of equity markets surging to all-time highs. A number of prominent names, including Nikola Motors, DraftKings, and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, have also gone public using SPACs.

A SPAC is essentially a shell company that issues common shares through a public offering for cash that will be used to find a private company to take public within what is typically a 2-year period. They are typically raised and managed by well-known investors who have large followings that can be leveraged to quickly raise the large dollar amounts needed to make these acquisitions - Chamath Palihapitiya and Bill Ackman being prime examples - and earn a fee known as a “promote” for their efforts upon a successful acquisition. During this search phase, SPAC entities have no operations other than searching for a willing target company. When a deal is struck, the SPAC acquires or merges with the company that intends to go public and uses the proceeds of the initial public offering to recapitalize said company. Once the deal is closed, the SPAC entity ceases to functionally exist, but the investor typically stays involved as a strategic advisor or board member. This process will provide value in several ways to AppHarvest’s stakeholders:

It allows Appharvest to acquire capital quickly and use that to grow the business.
The traditional IPO process is often lengthy, expensive, and is rife with principal-agent conflicts. Using a SPAC to go public allows AppHarvest to bypass this.
Because SPACs are popular in the media, it can provide a boost in AppHarvest’s publicity.
Being a public company provides AppHarvest stakeholders with greater transparency and provides a different sense of accountability.
The general public can now share in the success of the business as they have access to equity ownership through public markets.

Why is AppHarvest doing this now? Well previously, they had raised about $150 million dollars from venture capital firms. Well-known firms like Steve Case’s Middle America focused Rise of the Rest and sustainability-focused Equilibrium Capital got involved early to help fund the construction of the massive greenhouse. That capital was enough to get AppHarvest’s 2.76 million square foot indoor farm up and running with an expected grand opening in October. If you want to see the progress leading up to their October ribbon cutting, we encourage you to go to the AppHarvest Instagram to follow the facilities progress. This time around, the capital raise was not about the facilities. They have executed on that part of the equation thanks to Jonathan’s previous experience building some of the world’s largest solar projects. This time around it is about executing on their mission to make Indoor farming the norm in not only Kentucky but the United States and the world. Appharvest argues we need swing for the fences bets like this in order to survive on this planet. So this is fuel to save the planet given experts believe we need the equivalent of two planet earths to provide enough food for 9 billion people.

Why do we need two planets to feed the world? Simply put, we are not growing enough food and that’s because of current agricultural practices, climate change, and lack of innovation. Most of America's food is grown in the Southwest United States and Mexico. That region of the world is facing severe and worsening water shortages and the farming methods they utilize frequently involve chemicals. The world population is expected to rise to 9 Billion people within the next 25-30 years and we will need 60% more food to feed everyone so current practices won’t cut it. We need something new and that is where AppHarvest comes in.

If you want a glimpse into the future AppHarvest is creating, take a look at the work being done in the Netherlands around sustainable agriculture . The Netherlands is the second biggest agricultural exporter behind the US but produces these exports with only a tiny fraction of the amount of land in the USA. That is a result of their innovative growing practices, and by the way, AppHarvest has partnered with Netherland based companies to pull this Kentucky project off. When complete, the AppHarvest facility will be one of the largest buildings in the world at 60 acres of controlled indoor farming and it will produce 45 million pounds of produce using 90% less water. The 45 million pound yield is about 30 times more per acre than traditional open-field agriculture! The location of this project is also important given 70% of the US population is within a day’s drive of Eastern Kentucky meaning AppHarvest will cut transportation costs down by about 80%. This facility will employ more than 300 people in a region that is starving for jobs. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the state of Kentucky that hopes to move from coal production to now sustainable food production. What a story!

AppHarvest is truly changing the future of Kentucky and it doesn’t stop with the project outlined above… If all goes as planned, the company plans to build 8 more similar facilities in Kentucky cities like Berea, Richmond, Russell Springs, and others. That would without question put Kentucky on the world’s stage and play a major role in feeding the world far into the future. The plan to accomplish this will require strong financial growth and execution. We’ve shared slides from their investor deck below to give you an idea of the financial projections and their valuation.

We will continue to cover the Appharvest story as it develops. To date, we have done three interviews with the AppHarvest team including CEO Jonathan Webb, their Director of Community Outreach and People Programs Amy Samples, as well as their new CMO Geof Rochester. Those are great interviews and we encourage you to take a listen! Congrats to all our friends involved and we look forward to tracking the progress!

1. Pat Madden on Developing Hamburg and a Bourbon Company

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:28:36 GMT

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.

Hosted by Weston Lockhart & Evan Knowles

Intro music by SmithTheMister

Middle Tech Podcast Season 2 Recap

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 18:25:07 GMT

What a year! We’re 81 episodes in and we still feel like we are just getting started.

Almost two years ago, Evan and Nate started Middle Tech to help solve a major problem in our region - the lack of conversation about the startup and technology space. There was not a single person (that we could find) talking about startups and technology regularly in any form of media.

We first realized this was a huge problem when the Evan, Middle Tech co-founder, would tell people about Fooji and very few people had a clue what he was talking about. He would say Fooji and they would ask if he was talking about the bottled water…. which doesn’t even make sense…… These were people in the middle of the startup ecosystem that didn’t know Lexington’s fastest-growing and most exciting startup in recent history existed!

It bothered Evan and he couldn’t just let that happen. If we want to grow a healthy ecosystem, there has to be media supporting it. Without companies like ours spreading the word and inspiring people, the ecosystem can’t grow at the pace we all want it to.

So here we are two years later and we’ve helped 50+ entrepreneurs and thought leaders in Lexington, Louisville, and Cincinnati share their stories and wisdom for listeners to learn from and get inspired. As a result of helping solve this problem, we have seen tremendous growth in our audience (it doubled!) and we expect the same to happen in Season 3.

Beyond growing our audience, we also grew our team. This year we brought Logan Jones on as a producer and Nico Ferreyra on as a business development associate in Louisville. With their help, we have built better internal processes, improved our audio quality, created better social content, and made more relationships within the community. We expect the team to keep growing in Season 3!

As we plan for Season 3 and take a short break, check out these 5 episodes from Season 2 you can’t miss as well as three challenges we have for the ecosystem!

37. Chase Minnifield, Forbes 30 Under 30 Entrepreneur and NFL Player, on EZ Turn and Lexington

Chase Minnifield knew he always wanted to do his own thing, and the lessons he learned playing in the NFL translated perfectly to entrepreneurship. We sit down with the Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur to talk about his ventures and perspectives on Lexington's tech scene.

52. Truman's Alex Reed on Starting the Coolest Cleaning Company on the Internet in Lexington

Alex Reed, Co-Founder, and CMO of Truman's , joins the show to talk about his journey from the University of Kentucky to Big Ass Fans and then to Truman’s which was started in 2018. So far Alex and his team have raised $5 million and made cleaning much more convenient and exciting.

55. Demetrius Gray: WeatherCheck is Kentucky's First-Ever Y Combinator Company

WeatherCheck is Kentucky's first-ever YC company, and they're changing how consumers and insurance providers alike check for property damage and handle claims. We talk to Co-Founder and CEO Demetrius Gray in this episode to learn about his career journey and starting the Louisville-based company.

64. AppHarvest CEO, Jonathan Webb, is Making Kentucky the AgTech Capital of the World

AppHarvest just broke ground on what will be one of the world's largest greenhouse in Morehead, KY. With several environmental and political threats to our food supply, AppHarvest is hoping to make Kentucky the AgTech Capital of the World by creating fresh, quality produce that can be grown efficiently and safely within a day's drive of 75% of the US.

68. Drura Parrish on Entrepreneurship and How Xometry Can Change Everything

Drura Parrish is a staple in the Lexington entrepreneurship space. After founding MakeTime and getting acquired by Xometry , he has a ton of controversial thoughts on entrepreneurship in this region and a whole.

Three challenges for the region’s startup ecosystem:

More people need to get involved in spreading news, inspiration, and wisdom. This means more blogs, podcasts, and instagram accounts. Whatever helps the ecosystem get more exposure. If you’d like to help but don't know where to start, please reach out to us!
We need to do a better job connecting the ecosystems to our universities. Schools have to build more programs that get students out of the classroom and into the real world within the businesses growing our cities while startups and supporting organizations need to reach out to universities and offer to speak as guests in classes, clubs, and events.
Bring someone new to a startup event. Think about it… If there is someone that hasn’t had exposure to the ecosystem and there isn’t media spreading the word about it (until now ��) how do you expect them to find out and help the ecosystem to grow? We need to challenge our friends to get out of their comfort zones and attend more events. Their alternative is usually watching TV….

Thank You!

We wouldn’t be growing without your support. We do this for you and it means the world to us to see the response we’ve gotten thus far. Thank you so much for every DM, like, subscribe, rating, and share you have given us. You’re not just helping us grow, but your helping the ecosystem as a whole grow!

Brandon Johnson: Demystifying the Law’s Role in Start-Ups

Sat, 21 Sep 2019 17:21:27 GMT

Entrepreneurs are very familiar with the maxim “wearing different hats”. For most, it is one of the biggest draws to becoming an entrepreneur – an entrepreneur is able to dodge the mundaneness of monotony by having to act as a professional of a variety of different fields. During the early phases of a start-up, an entrepreneur is required to wear different hats to create marketing schemes, sales pitches, accounting records, product design, and much more. One hat, however, as Brandon Johnson of the Johnson Law Group will explain, should not be worn by the entrepreneur. That hat is the lawyer hat. Entrepreneurs at some point during the early phases of the start-up are required to create legal documents, agreements, and contracts that, if done improperly, could cost millions of dollars and mountains of time down the road. In this episode with Brandon, he explains the role a lawyer should play in the start-up process to avoid these expensive pitfalls. He attempts to de-mystify the confusing, but all important, legal process of a start-up.

Brandon Johnson is an experienced and enthusiastic business attorney with a passion for start-ups, business transactions, and estate planning. Brandon was born in Western Kentucky, Fordsville to be exact, he then attended Western Kentucky University for undergrad, and later graduated in 2013 from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. Going into law school, Brandon knew his career goal was to add intellectual capital directly to the entrepreneurs in Kentucky and those that may move to the region. He certainly did not and has not lost sight of that goal. While at Brandeis, he worked in the entrepreneurship clinic to represent a Kentucky healthcare start up. Since graduating, he worked with Papa Johns and Louisville Slugger before, in true entrepreneurial form, he founded his own law firm, The Johnson Law Group. The Johnson Law Group works with start-ups of any industry and has served big name clients like Weather Check, Valiant Construction LLC., and Hillerich & Bradsby Co. His firm truly believes that Kentucky is perfect for a start-up ecosystem because of Kentucky’s people and their hospitality, which his firm furthers by bringing integrity, entrepreneurism, wisdom, and excellence to each step of your start-up’s process.

Brandon advises that an entrepreneur should not attempt to wear the lawyer hat. Entrepreneurs are confident in their abilities, and most times, this is to their benefit, but with the law, this could be a major down fall. In most cases, it will be very time inefficient to attempt to play the role of the lawyer, and, even after all the time has been dedicated, there is no guarantee the best result will be achieved. Lawyers do not make the law complex to get hired – they get hired because the law is complex. A lawyer working for a start-up will be required to tackle varying issues of tax law, business organization law, employment law, contract law, and transaction law, but this is what they are trained to do. Lawyers, whether they admit it or not, are generally huge nerds – they study the law because they are passionate about it – they study businesses because they love business. This love of the law and business makes them proactive with the issues they are hired to prevent. While an entrepreneur may dread trying to untangle and interpret statutes and regulations, a lawyer lives for it, which makes them a crucial and integral part of the start-up team.

Next, Brandon explains the role a lawyer generally plays in the entrepreneur field, and the importance of this role cannot be stressed enough. The law can work for a company, but it can also work against them; it is the role of the lawyer to ensure that the law works for the company whenever possible and to prevent the law from working against the company as best as possible. The access to the internet has made it so much easier to get advice from attorneys; in fact, many lawyers, including Brandon, now will offer free consultations, which can be set up on their websites. The importance of taking advantage of this tool cannot be understated. The law is complex, complicated, and confusing, but a lawyer such as Brandon will be there to explain what actions your start-up needs to take to get the full benefit of the law for your start-up. Whether it be setting up preferable tax structures or employment agreements that plan for best and worst case scenarios, a lawyer will ensure that these steps are taken properly to avoid costly issues down the road.

Most entrepreneurs, however, recognize the importance of a lawyer and will eventually decide to bring one on when an issue arises. While the internet has many boilerplate resources for entrepreneurs that can be of great value, Brandon believes that deciding when a lawyer needs to be involved depends on a risk versus cost analysis. Although most entrepreneurs are capable of figuring out how to incorporate their business, register it with the Secretary of State, and receive their tax identification numbers, when deciding to undertake these tasks without a lawyer, an entrepreneur may miss benefits that a lawyer would have known were there. Further, as more money, more people, and more complex products are added to the mix, the risk involved with trying to play the role of the lawyer becomes greater and greater. Mistakes while bringing on multiple partners or shareholders, hiring employees, or seeking funding very likely could result in losses of millions of dollars down the line. Trained attorneys can foresee, and prevent, these issues from being so costly. Brandon emphasizes that most attorneys are happy to give a free consultation, so why not take advantage of such a meeting, especially when the cost of a misstep could be so high? From there, once you have a clearer and more obvious picture of the legal requirements, you can decide to hire the attorney or proceed on your own.

Next, Brandon gives the benefits of following these legal steps. Specifically, he notes that incorporating your business gives the massive benefit of personal liability protection. Personal liability protection prevents creditors of the start-up from being able to reach the personal assets of its owners, so long as the business owners actually operate the business as a business and not for their personal agenda. Maintaining this personal liability protection is massively important; operating agreements and incorporation documents, along with facts proving the business is being run as a legitimate business, can help maintain and prove that the liability protection should be provided. Involving a lawyer from the beginning, instead of the internet legal aid websites, can help in the legitimacy of those documents as they apply to your specific facts.

Issuance of stock is another complicated task that requires a case-by-case interpretation of the needs and purposes of the start-up. Brandon points out the all too common problem of a partner who is issued shares, but, as time has passed, the partner has stopped contributing their share of the effort; thus, the partner is benefiting from the start-up without adding anything to it. Depending on the situation, this result could have been prevented by issuing common or preferred stock or by vesting the stock in someone as they reach performance milestones. Another common missed benefit is that of the 83(b) election, which allows a person to pay income taxes on the shares while they are still worth little to nothing and later realize gains in the much more preferable form of capital gains. Brandon notes however that electing the 83(b) tax filing is situation specific and should be done with the supervision of an accountant or lawyer. An entrepreneur could waste weeks of their time attempting to decipher the complicated tax statutues, or, they could bite the bullet, and hire an attorney to ensure these steps are done correctly.

Finally, Brandon gives the advice that, when shopping for a lawyer, look for one who you can trust and has integrity. Beyond that, know that attorneys specialize in a way similar to doctors. The same way that a dermatologist would not fix a broken leg, a family or criminal attorney most times will not work with business law. An entrepreneur should look for a business or entrepreneur attorney for the in-depth legal process because their familiarity with the legal issues in a start-up will allow them to help you make a simple and straightforward plan to move forward.

An added benefit of a business attorney’s familiarity with the legal process of start-ups is that many of them charge flat-rate fees for these services. In Kentucky, a flat rate fee for a simple operating agreement and incorporation ranges from $1,000 to $2,500, depending on the situation. For those attorneys who do not offer a flat rate, or if the situation is deemed too complex for the flat rate, an hourly fee of $200 to $400 should be expected. With that said, in Brandon’s opinion, any of these fees or payment schedules are negotiable. Attorneys, most times, are happy to offer hourly services but not to exceed an agreed upon price. Others, although much less common now, may be willing to accept shares in the company in exchange for their services.

Entrepreneurs are successful often times because they understand that they don’t know everything, but through dedicated hard work, they can learn how to do the thing in front of them. Successful entrepreneurs are persistent and tenacious, but also humble and time-efficient. They are able to admit that they do not know something and that it would be an inefficient use of their time to attempt learn to do it without help of a professional. Most times, entrepreneurs understand that they do not know enough about the law to maximize its benefits and minimize its risk. Attorneys, especially those here in Kentucky, are a crucial part of the team that truly want to help you achieve your goals for your start-up. Involve the attorney early, plan for the risks with the attorney’s guidance, and remained focus on the passion that drove you to decide to create a start

-up.

Check out the episode here:

https://www.middletechpod.com/podcast/episode/f47a9483/108-johnson-law-group-brandon-johnson-on-the-legal-side-of-starting-a-business

Inspect: The Growing Tech Scene in Lexington

Mon, 26 Aug 2019 17:30:48 GMT

The following the transcript from this week's episode of Middle Tech: Inspect .

In this tourism ad for the City of Lexington, we see car after car drive through those famous Kentucky backroads:

“Look horses! I like horses but this is ridiculous!”

It kind of is. It’s true that Lexington, KY is synonymous with thoroughbred horse racing, world class bourbon, and elite college basketball, but many people still equate it almost exclusively with old money and established traditions. However, one industry that runs in the opposite direction of these entrenched norms has begun to emerge throughout the city: technology.

On this episode of Middle Tech we’re switching it up a bit, and exploring the history of the tech scene in Kentucky. I originally wrote this piece for my blog in 2017, and now this updated version is serving as the first in a new series of narrative deep dives into business subjects that impact your life. My name is Nate Antetomaso, and this is Middle Tech: Inspect.

When I worked in Lexington at the experiential marketing startup Fooji, I was lucky enough to be able to participate in multiple panels and speaking events on behalf of the company. One question that was continually asked at these things went along the lines of “what did your friends and family think when you told them you were accepting a job at a startup?” Luckily, my friends and family are extremely supportive so I had little reason to second guess my decision about how I wanted to start my career. It is a valid question, but the fact that we were so consistently asked it in the first place is what stuck with me. I live and I operate for hours each day in the tech and entrepreneurship world and, for better or for worse, it’s become the norm to me. But when I step back it’s clear that the culture, the mentality, and the possibilities that come along with a true tech company are still unknown by many in the Bluegrass. The opportunities that startups provide are generally accepted on the coasts, but generally viewed as insurmountable risks in Kentucky. And that’s understandable. Just like with anything else in this world, tech culture is hard to fully grasp from the outside looking in. But when thinking more about it I realized that many aren’t even looking in in the first place. Technology is here to stay in Lexington and it is already having a very real impact on the city, but many aren’t even aware.

Tech companies have popped up all over following the startup trend that began in the Bay Area years ago, slowly took over both coasts, and is now settling into the Midwest. There’s big players, little players, and supporters all over the industry, and Lexington is no different. The Bluegrass serves as a microcosm for the tech industry as a whole, and parallels can be drawn between our budding local scene and the overall national scene.

Silicon Valley emerged in the Bay Area decades ago for a myriad of factors including entrepreneurial support from Stanford who saw itself as an advocate for the region and also just so happened to have extremely strong STEM graduates. Silicon transistors and semiconductor production began to take over the area which brought venture capital along with it. As technology has improved and popular focuses have shifted from hardware to computer networking, to the internet, and now to software, Silicon Valley has remained at the center of it all.

Lexington has a less storied history in tech, but it still has its own roots in the past. In 1956 IBM came to Lexington to build a 386,000-square foot typewriter plant off New Circle Road and employ 1,800 people. The company did wonders for the growth of the city and as the operation employed more and more people it slowly evolved into laser printing. In 1990 a private equity firm scooped up the division and Lexmark, a company that still employees of 2,000 people locally, was born. Let’s just say their printers had some pretty high-tech features for the time.

With both Silicon Valley and Lexington’s historical factors playing a part in their modern tech scenes, the most obvious parallel between the two is their higher education institutions: Stanford and the University of Kentucky. In addition to being the top employer in the Bluegrass , UK pumps out thousands of graduates each year across 200 majors including those from the College of Engineering which ranks in the Top 100 nationally according to U.S. News & World Report . UK is the defining institution in the region, so it’s no surprise that it has a material impact on the burgeoning industries surrounding it. Additionally, in the same way that venture capital exploded the entrepreneurial possibilities in the Valley, it is now beginning to do the same in the Midwest. Steve Lohr, in an article for the New York Times , states “the idea is that the middle of America amounts to an undervalued asset, rich in markets, new business ideas and budding entrepreneurs. The Midwest, the thinking goes, is not only untapped, but also an antidote to the scalding-hot tech market on the West Coast.” Funds like Rise of the Rest notice this opportunity and are seeking to take advantage of it while providing new possibilities to underserved markets.

More and more venture capitalists are investing in the Midwest and, of course, when seeds are planted things start to grow. The top 50 VC firms in Midwest states represent over 42,000 investments . Chicago is obviously the regional leader but smaller urban hubs like Cleveland, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and others are pulling significant weight. Money is spreading inland for multiple reasons including cheaper labor, affordable operational costs, and the region’s established expertise in manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare: three industries just beginning to be disrupted by tech.

But Lexington has something unique that is invaluable to the startup community: government support. In 2013 the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government started the Jobs Fund under Mayor Jim Gray, a $1 million allocation to provide grants and loans to businesses with a priority to fund advanced manufacturing and technology endeavors. Of course businesses that apply to the Jobs Fund have to prove viability and meet certain criteria, but with a system creating relatively easy access to capital it’s clear to see how opportunities began to grow. Mayor Gray’s support of startups and technology went beyond the financial sector when he announced a strategic partnership with MetroNet to lay $100 million worth of fiber optic cables across the entirety of Lexington’s urban service area, making it the nation’s largest “Gigabit City.” Quick and reliable internet is obviously crucial to an up-and-coming tech company, and the affordability granted by a city partnership like this may just be strong enough to entice and attract entrepreneurs looking to do business online. Last August, former mayor Gray spoke at a ceremony commemorating the beginning of gigabit service.

Fast data speeds and accessible capital coupled with Lexington’s low cost of living and unique culture is a winning combo that is sure to keep the local tech sector growing. So what is the state of that sector right now?

While Lexington tech is obviously smaller when compared to bigger cities and still has a way to grow, the very real impact it’s producing on the city is nowhere near negligible. Upstarts like Fooji (a company that works with the biggest brands in the world like Disney, Viacom, and Amazon), Xometry (a company continuing to scale in value while it transforms the machining industry), Truman’s (an eco-friendly soap company taking over consumer’s hearts everywhere) and countless others are employing hundreds of skilled professionals while adolescent powerhouses like Big Ass Fans act as anchors to the community surrounding them.

The tech industry goes beyond established startups, of course, and arguably just as influential as those companies are the support organizations that breed interest in the industry as a whole. Awesome Inc. is an incubator/coworking-space/code-school/media-company/swiss-army-knife that helps grow local talent and accelerate the opportunities available to that talent. Base 110 is a coworking-space complete with conference rooms, a recording studio, and more amenities necessary in a modern office. Other, less physical organizations also exist to spur creation and growth like the Kentucky Innovation Network , LEAP, and UK’s very own Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship and Office of Technology Commercialization. These organizations all specialize in creating opportunities for potential and current entrepreneurs in their own unique ways.

With these systems in place it’s clear that Lexington is becoming a warm home for tech within the larger landscape of the Midwest. The potential for innovation and growth is no longer just for those on the coasts, and it’s exciting to see the city’s scene grow as it continues to promote entrepreneurship, technology, and skilled labor which will in turn grow the local economy and redefine the Bluegrass. After all, it’s not just about horses.

Thank you for listening to the first episode of Middle Tech: Inspect. Let us know what you think, we’re open to all feedback as we test out this new format. A special thanks to the providers of our media clips in this episode including VisitLex, LexMark, Rise of the Rest, and Lex TV. Make sure to visit our website at middletechpod.com and follow us on social @middletechpod. We’ll be back next week with a regular episode of the Middle Tech Podcast. See you then.

8 Kentucky Startups That Need to Be on Your Radar

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 17:38:05 GMT

The month of August is host to Startup Week Across America , a time “for senators and representatives to discover local startups and open up the conversation about the role that entrepreneurs play in the overall economy.” We couldn’t be more excited to continue to share the amazing startups in Kentucky that are transforming innovation in the state, to raise awareness not only among government officials but among you, the readers! So, in no particular order, here are the 8 Kentucky Startups That Need to Be on Your Radar:

Fooji

Fooji was founded in 2015 by Gregg Morton and and Erik Zamudio. We might be a little biased because our own Evan Knowles was the first to join the co-founders and Nate Antetomaso was a marketing manager for the company, but Fooji’s glowing logo lighting up Short Street at night may just be a symbol of the coolest brand in Lexington. The company has raised $3.6 million to date on its continual quest to change how consumers interact with brands. Fooji burst into the advertising space by scaling experiential marketing for the first time by connecting social media with on-demand delivery services. Fooji’s client list is as good as it gets with the likes of Disney, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and T-Mobile; proving they are without question on to something special. As Lexington’s tech scene continues to mature, Fooji is evolving along with it and continuing to prove the model of physical experiences delivered as a marketing channel.

Xometry

You could technically say that Xometry is a Maryland company, but since it has an office in Downtown Lexington employing about 40 people that began as local startup MakeTime, we’re going to count it here. In order to continue to scale its platform deemed the “Uber for Machining,” Xometry acquired MakeTime in 2018 to make 3D printing and custom machining more flexible and accessible than ever before. Their disruptive marketplace consists of thousands of manufacturers, instant quoting, and a ton of custom tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, injection molders, and more. With major investors like BMW, Foundry, and GE investing $118 million and growing partnerships with the likes of Alibaba , Xometry is sure to continue to disrupt the manufacturing space. Make sure to keep an ear open for our episode with MakeTime’s Founder, Drura, very soon!

El Toro

El Toro was founded in 2013 by Dan Kimball, Sean Stafford, and David Stadler. The Louisville, KY-based ad tech company recently announced a $2 million expansion into NuLu and the addition of 60 new jobs to its workforce. El Toro uses a one-to-one, 100% cookie-free IP targeting solution to target individual households with tailored ads and digital messages. Their technology has been used in over 2000 political campaigns, by Mercedes-Benz, Brown-Forman, and many other clients. El Toro has previously been ranked the No. 13 Fastest Growing Company on Deloitte’s 2017 Tech Fast 500, 2015 Emerging Company of the Year, and Best Place to Work in Louisville 2015, 2016, and 2017. It’s no surprise they’re on the up and up!

WeatherCheck

San Francisco's Y Combinator is quite possible the gold standard in startup accelerators. In fact, only 1% of all applicants make the program. Louisville’s WeatherCheck is the first and only of these applicants to get in from Kentucky. We recently had the company’s Co-Founder and CEO, Demetrius Gray, on an episode where he discussed WeatherCheck’s ability to report data to insurance firms and homeowners on potential damage due to weather related events, allowing for proactive action and improved customer service. WeatherCheck puts power in the hands of insurance providers to deliver exceptional knowledge to the customer, as opposed to the customer going through out-dated and clunky claims processes. In our discussion with Demertius, it was clear the company is growing very rapidly and will soon be one of Kentucky’s standout tech companies. We can’t wait to watch them transform the insurance space.

AppHarvest

If you’re in Kentucky, chances are you’ve heard of AppHarvest . The company founded in 2017 has now broken ground on their flagship project in Morehead: the world’s largest greenhouse. The greenhouse will provide hundreds of jobs to Appalachia while ensuring a year-round growing season for fresh fruits and vegetables in a location that is has 70% of the US population within a day’s drive (therefore cutting shipping costs and delivering fresh products). After raising 82M dollars from funds like Rise of the Rest, Equilibrium Capital, and ValueAct, the startup is bringing massive awareness to the US’s less than ideal food system and massive opportunity to a region that desperately needs it. Middle Tech will feature an episode with Jonathan Webb, the company’s Founder and CEO, this month.

Truman’s

After just launching in February of this year, Truman’s has already scooped up national press coverage and dedicated fans nationwide. Founded by two ex-Big Ass Fans executives, Truman’s flips the cleaning industry on its head by selling direct-to-consumer, online, and eco-friendly. As it stood before, 90% of typical home cleaning solutions are water, wasting untold energy in shipping across the world from factories to distributors to retailers. Because Truman’s customers add the water at home to their fully recyclable concentrate cartridges, Truman’s uses 96% less plastic and much more efficient supply chain practices than a typical cleaning product. As they say, they’re the “coolest cleaning company on the internet, probably.” Check out our episode with Co-Founder and CMO, Alex Reed.

Braidy Industries

Braidy Industries is primed to change the aluminum industry with its 2 million square foot aluminum rolling mill, Braidy Atlas , to be constructed just outside of Ashland, Kentucky. The company has discovered an aluminum technology that increases the strength of aluminum sheets by 20%, and its mill will produce up to 600 jobs once operational. Braidy has formed a strategic partnership with one of the largest global aluminum producers, Rusal , in order to secure funding needed for the $1.7 billion dollar investment. In addition to creating state-of-the-art low cost aluminum production, the partnership with Rusal will advance Braidy Atlas to have the lowest carbon footprint in the industry. If that wasn’t enough, Braidy Industries is also set to manufacture the strongest and lightest metal alloy in the world for use in everything from household goods to automobiles and rockets. We’re excited to watch them transform the region and the metallurgy world!

Space Tango

Founded in 2014 by Twyman Clements and Kris Kimel, Space Tango is exploring the next frontier for discovery and innovation in microgravity in order to eventually create new industries and improve life on Earth. Working directly with NASA, SpaceX, and others, Space Tango has been involved in at least 13 missions to the International Space Station. Most of the work revolves around “Exomedicine,” the study of any biological process in the absence of gravity. While this may seem theoretical in nature, Space Tango’s impact could become very real very soon: some experiments have shown evidence that cancer cells have a very hard time replicating in zero gravity. As one of only 8 private commercial firms in the country that have access to the International Space Station, Space Tango places Kentucky directly in the middle of the new space age.

Kentucky is clearly home to innovative companies in diverse industries and with varied focuses. These are only a handful of countless difference-makers in the area, but if you know a startup that should be on our radar let us know at middletechpodcast@gmail.com ! We’re excited to keep sharing the stories of entrepreneurs and innovators in the region!

Bourbon, Basketball, and Business: The Growing Technology Startup Scene in Lexington, KY

Thu, 30 May 2019 17:46:35 GMT

This article was originally written by Nate Antetomaso in November of 2017 and helped spur the creation of Middle Tech. It is reproduced here in its entirety.

Lexington, KY is synonymous with thoroughbred horse racing, top quality bourbon, and world class college basketball. In a town that many equate with old money and established traditions, one thing that runs completely counter to that is a budding industry beginning to emerge in the city: tech.

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky to be able to participate in a panel during Kentucky Innovation Network’s programming for Global Entrepreneurship Week . One question that was asked went along the lines of “what did your friends and family think when you told them you were accepting a job at a startup?” Luckily, my family is extremely supportive and my friends give me crap about everything (not just this) so I had no reason to second guess my decision. It’s a valid question, but the fact that we had to be asked it in the first place stuck with me. I live and operate for hours each day in the tech world and (for better or for worse) it’s become the norm to me. Just like with anything, tech culture is hard to fully get from the outside looking in. But when thinking more about it I realized that many aren’t even looking in. Technology is here in Lexington and is already having a very real impact on the city, but many aren’t even aware.

The Ingredie nts for Growth

Tech companies are popping up all over the city following the startup trend that began in the Bay Area years ago, slowly took over both coasts, and is now settling into the Midwest. There are big players, little players, and supporters all over the industry, and Lexington is no different. The Bluegrass serves as a microcosm for the tech industry as a whole, and parallels can be drawn between our budding local scene and the overall national scene.

Silicon Valley emerged in the Bay Area decades ago for a myriad of factors including entrepreneurial support from Stanford who saw itself as an advocate for the region and also just so happened to have extremely strong STEM graduates. Silicon transistor and semiconductor production began to take over the area which brought venture capital along with it. As technology has improved and popular focuses have shifted from hardware to networking, then to the internet, and now to software, Silicon Valley has remained to center of it all.

Lexington has a less storied history in tech but still has its own roots from the past. In 1956, IBM came to Lexington to build a 386,000-square foot typewriter plant off New Circle Road and employed 1,800 people. The company did wonders for the growth of the city as the operation employed more and more people and slowly evolved into a focus on laser printing. In 1990, a private equity firm scooped up the division and Lexmark, a company that still employees 2,000 people locally, was born.

With both regions’ historical factors playing a part in today’s tech scenes, the most obvious modern similarity between the two is Stanford and UK. In addition to being the top employer in the Bluegrass , the University of Kentucky pumps out thousands of graduates each year across 200+ majors including those from the College of Engineering which ranks in the Top 100 nationally according to U.S. News & World Report . UK is the defining institution in the region, so it’s no surprise that it has an impact on the burgeoning industries surrounding it.

Furthermore, in the same way that venture capital exploded the entrepreneurial possibilities in the Valley, it is now beginning to do the same in the Midwest.

The idea is “that the middle of America amounts to an undervalued asset, rich in markets, new business ideas and budding entrepreneurs. The Midwest, the thinking goes, is not only untapped, but also an antidote to the scalding-hot tech market on the West Coast.” - NYT

More and more venture capitalists are investing in the Midwest and when seeds are planted things start to grow. The top 50 VC firms in midwest states represent over 42,000 investments with Chicago being the obvious regional leader but smaller urban hubs like Cleveland, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and more pulling their own weight. The money is spreading inland for multiple reasons including cheaper labor and operational costs as well as the midwest’s expertise in manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare: three industries just beginning to be disrupted by tech.

But Lexington also has something unique that is invaluable to the startup community: government support. In 2013, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government started the Jobs Fund under Mayor Jim Gray, a $1 million allocation to provide grants and loans to local businesses (especially those headquartered in Lexington) with a priority to fund advanced manufacturing and technology endeavors. Business that apply to the Jobs Fund must prove viability and meet certain criteria, but with such relatively easy capital available it’s clear to see how opportunities begin to grow. Mayor Gray’s support of startups and technology goes beyond the financial sector as he just announced a strategic partnership with MetroNet to lay up to $100 million fiber optic cables across the entirety of Lexington’s urban service area, making it the nation’s largest “Gigabit City.” With fast data speeds, available money, and a low cost of living, Lexington’s tech sector is sure to keep growing. But where is it right now?

The State of the Sector

Lexington tech is obviously small in comparison to bigger cities and still has a long ways to grow, but the very real impact it’s producing on the city is nowhere near negligible. Companies like Fooji (a B2B company that provides brands with a scalable experiential marketing platform), MakeTime (a marketplace to utilize and sell unused machining time), Big Ass Solutions (an advanced fan and lighting manufacturer that just sold for half a billion dollars) and more are employing hundreds of skilled professionals. Besides these, not many other startups have large numbers of employees, but there are dozens that employ 10+ skilled professionals which add up to a large technical workforce that is able to live, spend, and flourish within the local economy.

The tech industry goes beyond established startups, of course, and arguably just as influential as those companies are the support organizations that breed interest in the industry as a whole. Awesome Inc. is an incubator/coworking space/code-school that helps grow local talent and accelerate the opportunities available to that talent. Base 110 is a new coworking space complete with conference rooms, a recording studio, and more amenities necessary in a modern office. Other, less physical organizations also exist to spur creation and growth like the Kentucky Innovation Network (an economic development agency focused on business creation), and UK’s own Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship. These organizations all focus on creating opportunities for potential and current entrepreneurs alike and their services range to cover all types of resources and aide needed when starting up.

With all of this in place it’s clear that Lexington is becoming a warm home for tech within the larger landscape of the Midwest. The potential for innovation and growth is no longer just for those on the coasts. It’ll be exciting to see what is in store for our city as we continue to promote entrepreneurship, technology, and skilled labor which will in turn grow the local economy and redefine what the Bluegrass is all about.

A Decentralized, Global Education System Makes Sense

Thu, 30 May 2019 17:41:49 GMT

This article was originally written by Evan Knowles in March of 2018. It is reproduced here in its entirety.

I don’t think people question the education system enough. We have been sold so well on the education system that people don’t look for alternatives, people go into debt before having any clue what they want to do, and if someone doesn’t fit in or get accepted into it, they feel like something is wrong with them. That is crazy and something must happen.

The future of education will move towards a decentralized and global network of educational experiences. It will be a system enhanced by technology so students get the education they want and need rather than the education shoved down their throat. Today’s society is moving too quickly and is too diverse to be sending kids through four year degree programs with rigid curriculums and bad teachers.

Why are student’s having to go through a school, in order to get to the teacher?Why not go directly to the teacher?If a teacher is really good at what they do and they are performing one of the most essential roles in a society, why should their pay be limited by a school system?Why should a teacher’s classroom be limited to a single school, city, or even nation?Why does it take four years to get through high school and college? It doesn’t need to take that long.Why are people that know nothing about you deciding what you are going to learn?Why do teachers get tenure? There should be nothing protecting a teacher other than their talent and care for their students.Why are’t teachers judged by a review system similar to restaurants and businesses? Let the market determine their employment.Why does it feel like students have to go to the same school four years?What’s wrong with going to a different school every semester?

The more you think about these questions, the more a decentralized education system makes sense.

WeWork + 2U

This vision of decentralization is already starting to take shape thanks to the recent partnership between WeWork and 2U.

“2U partners with great colleges and universities to build what we believe is the world’s best digital education. Our platform provides a comprehensive fusion of technology, services and data architecture to transform high-quality and rigorous campus-based universities into the best digital versions of themselves.” — 2U

“WeWork provides more than 175,000 members around the world with space, community, and services through both physical and virtual offerings. WeWork’s mission is to help create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living.” — WeWork

Through this partnership, WeWork will provide students in 2U-powered online programs global access to WeWork spaces. You can now have a place to work, study, or network wherever you are while taking online courses. This is just the beginning of the movement toward a Global Campus.

What does a Global Campus Look Like?

A global campus is a network of thousands of work spaces, student housing solutions, teachers, work shops, and much more connected together. People will be able to use this network to create very customized, global, and personal education experiences.

Imagine a world where the majority of lectures are online. Because the classes are online, the price of an education will decrease dramatically. People will also learn subjects much quicker on their own schedules. This decrease in the cost of lectures from a money and time perspective could be allocated to other experiences like travel, conferences, or hands on workshops.

Now, imagine a world where you travel the globe and get an education simultaneously.

What is it going to take to make this possible?

Massive online course adoption and recognition (Already happening thanks to 2U, Udemy, Coursera, and many others)Work communities where people can study, do projects, or conduct business. (WeWork)Network of for-profit work shops, conferences, and lectures. (Think cooking classes, TED Talks, AirBnB experiences, and one-on-one tutoring)Student living communities focused on affordability, flexibility, and community building.A technology platform connecting all of this together (Check out one of my previous blog posts called Education Needs to be a Guided Tour of the Mind to get what I am talking about.)

We have a long way to go, but I can tell this idea will become a reality for those willing to think outside the box and imagine what education could be.