It's Your Business

In this co-hosted episode, the Greater Topeka Partnership's Katrin Bridges and The Capital-Journal's India Yarborough talk with Darin Heisterkamp, president of NanoSpy. The Iowa-based startup was chosen earlier this year to participate in Topeka's Plug and Play accelerator program, and its innovative technology could change the way food-processing companies operate.

This week on the show, Capital-Journal reporter India Yarborough sits down with Todd Konkel, someone who is fairly new to the Topeka-development scene. Konkel made a couple big investments recently near downtown with the goal of creating an entertainment district. In this episode, he talks about those investments and his future plans.

In this co-hosted episode of "It's Your Business," Capital-Journal reporter India Yarborough and the Greater Topeka Partnership's Katrin Bridges sit down with Leslie Fleuranges, owner of Tender Loving Care Pet Nursing Hotel in Topeka. Fleuranges started her pet-care business because she saw a need that wasn't being met and wanted to fill the gap. Bridges and Yarborough talk with Fleuranges about her journey to becoming a small-business owner and how the idea of entrepreneurship has evolved for her over the years.

In this "It's Your Business" episode, Capital-Journal reporter India Yarborough talks with Michael Odupitan, founder and CEO of Omni Circle Group. Omni Circle, which has both a nonprofit and LLC presence, was founded in 2019 and aims to address disparities in Topeka by uniting and strengthening communities and meeting basic and professional needs of area residents. To read more about Omni Circle's recent activity before diving into the episode, check out the following story: https://www.cjonline.com/story/business/2021/02/13/topeka-nonprofit-llc-omni-circle-group-looks-open-co-working-space/4435798001/.

Get ready for the first co-hosted episode of "It's Your Business"! In this episode of the show, Capital-Journal reporter India Yarborough and Katrin Bridges, the Greater Topeka Partnership's SVP of innovation, sit down with Kansas entrepreneur Bobby Sloan. In 2020, Sloan stood up the online marketplace StayHomeKansas.com to give local artists and creators a virtual platform through which to sell their work. He talks with Bridges and Yarborough about his inspiration for the site, explains how it has evolved and offers some advice for budding entrepreneurs who have great ideas but may not know where to start. Yarborough and Bridges plan to co-host episodes of "It's Your Business" regularly to shine a light on startups and entrepreneurs in the Topeka area. Check it out!

In this episode, reporter India Yarborough sits down with Topeka business owners SJ Hazim and Thad Lockard, who own local apparel company Clad Astra. Clad Astra specializes in clothing and accessories meant to help individuals display their community pride. Yarborough talks with Hazim and Lockard about their efforts to increase Topekans love for their city and how such work intersects with local growth and development. That is all part of the latest installment of "It's Your Business," a new Capital-Journal podcast.

In this episode, reporter India Yarborough sits down with Barbara Stapleton, vice president of business retention and talent initiatives for the Greater Topeka Partnership, to talk about the capital city's Choose Topeka incentive program. How has the program evolved? Is there room for improvement? What about the other work Stapleton's doing to help businesses expand in the Topeka area? She answers those questions and more in this installment of "It's Your Business," a new Capital-Journal podcast.

In this first episode one, India Yarborough sits down with Katrin Bridges, vice president of innovation for the Greater Topeka Partnership, to talk about her efforts to enhance Topeka's emphasis on innovation.

Bridges was a key player in helping Topeka land its Plug and Play accelerator program — a partnership announced in August 2019 and which officially launched late last year.

Hosted by Topeka Capital-Journal reporter India Yarborough, It's Your Business aims to explore the business side of community growth through conversations with those in the Topeka area who are advocating for various improvements at the neighborhood, city-wide and regional levels. Whether it’s programs to help local entrepreneurs, relocation initiatives that aim to bring young talent to the area, small business owners trying to promote community pride or nonprofit leaders pushing for digital equity — Yarborough engages in conversation with movers and shakers in northeast Kansas who are invested in seeing their communities thrive.