In this episode, we sit down with Raechele Smalls, Director of Invest Blue, and Eric Hartman, Senior Associate Director at UK Innovate, to explore how Invest Blue is building a mission-driven community of angel investors dedicated to backing Kentucky startups. Through a founder-friendly syndicate model, Invest Blue is making early-stage investing more accessible—connecting small checks with big ideas to fuel innovation across the Commonwealth.

Expect to learn why the real barrier to capital isn’t money but know-how and networks, how Invest Blue is helping first-time investors deploy smart capital alongside experienced operators, what role the University of Kentucky plays in commercializing deep tech and attracting follow-on funding, and how this syndicate is creating a pipeline of future fund managers, super angels, and ecosystem builders—all rooted in Kentucky.

🎙 Hosted by Logan Jones

Chapters:02:31 – Addressing the Capital Allocation Problem05:11 – Rochelle's Journey in Venture Capital12:55 – Eric's Background and Role at UK Innovate17:43 – The Mission and Vision of Invest Blue22:22 – UK's Involvement and Ecosystem Impact26:56 – Crowdsourcing Talent for Kentucky Startups27:26 – Criteria for Founders and Investors at Invest Blue31:00 – The Role of Accredited Investors38:09 – Collaborating with Other Investment Groups41:45 – The Macro Impact of Angel Investing48:07 – How to Get Involved with Invest Blue

Middle Tech is proudly supported by:

KY Innovation → kyinnovation.com

Awesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

Don't miss Awesome Inc's September 5 Across → ⁠⁠Free Ticket for Middle Tech listeners

Justin Maierhofer is the Senior Vice President of Government Relations at the Tennessee Valley Authority and serves as TVA’s representative on the newly formed Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority. With more than two decades of experience in public power and federal energy policy, he’s helping lead TVA through a landmark moment: becoming the first U.S. utility to advance a small modular reactor (SMR) construction permit through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s initial review phase.

What does this milestone mean for America’s energy future? Why are SMRs such a big deal - and why now? And how does Kentucky fit into this next-generation nuclear conversation?

Expect to learn why TVA’s Clinch River SMR project is seen as a blueprint for clean, scalable baseload power, how AI and data centers are reshaping electricity demand, the opportunity Kentucky has to repurpose coal infrastructure for nuclear, what the newly established Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority is working on, and how public-private partnerships are driving this new energy era forward.

If you'd like to stay up to date on all things Middle Tech subscribe to our newsletter at middletech.beehiiv.com.

🎙 Hosted by Logan Jones

00:20 - Intro

03:04 - Discussion on TVA's Nuclear Energy Initiatives

05:23 - Background of TVA and Its Mission

12:46 - Justin's Career Path and Experience

17:12 - Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority

20:33 - Potential of Repurposing Coal Plant Sites

27:17 - Future of Energy Demand and AI

28:31 - Clinch River SMR Project Details

37:06 - Public vs. Private Nuclear Energy Initiatives

41:17 - Future Vision for Energy Production

44:16 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

—

Middle Tech is proudly supported by:

KY Innovation → kyinnovation.com

Awesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

Don't miss Awesome Inc's September 5 Across → ⁠Free Ticket for Middle Tech listeners

In this special live recording from our Lexington AI Meetup, we sit down with Steve Crossan, a founding member of Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold team and former Google product leader. Steve helped launch groundbreaking AI research as part of the team that built AlphaFold, the model that cracked one of biology’s grand challenges.

AlphaFold can predict a protein’s 3D structure using only its amino acid sequence - a task that once took scientists months or years now completed in minutes. With the release of AlphaFold 3, the model now maps not just proteins, but how they interact with DNA, RNA, drugs, and antibodies - a huge leap for drug discovery and synthetic biology.

Steve breaks down the origin story of AlphaFold, the future of AI-powered science, and what’s next for healthcare, drug development, and beyond.

A special thank you to Brent Seales and Randall Stevens for helping us coordinate Steve's talk during his visit in Lexington!

If you'd like to stay up to date about upcoming Middle Tech events, subscribe to our newsletter at middletech.beehiiv.com.

🎙 Hosted by Logan Jones & Evan Knowles

00:00 – Welcome & meetup context

04:15 – Steve’s journey from Google to DeepMind & AlphaFold birth

15:24 – Hackathon origin story & early experiments

20:10 – Accuracy breakthroughs & “contact distance” insight

25:48 – AlphaFold 3, docking, and drug-design potential

30:30 – Preventative medicine & the doctor-in-your-pocket vision

39:00 – Democratizing AI: open source and startup opportunities

51:25 – Audience Q&A on data bottlenecks & engineering culture

—

Middle Tech is proudly supported by:

KY Innovation → kyinnovation.com

Awesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

Don't miss Awesome Inc's September 5 Across → Free Ticket for Middle Tech listeners

What happens when Cincinnati’s first nine-figure startup exit gets reinvested into the region’s next big opportunity?

In this episode, we’re joined by Adam Koehler, the Covington-based entrepreneur behind Content Credits. After being part of the Dotloop exit to Zillow for $108 million in 2015, Adam didn’t head for the coast. Instead, he reinvested his capital into Northern Kentucky, launching Content Credits to tackle one of publishing’s most pressing issues: the paywall.

Content Credits gives readers an alternative to subscriptions by letting them pay $0.25 to unlock a single article, helping publishers capture revenue from audiences they’re currently turning away.

We cover how Dotloop was built during the housing crash, what it was like selling to Zillow, how Content Credits is addressing broken media monetization models, and the role that large exits play in building a regional “startup flywheel”.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Adam’s early design career

02:00 – Building Dotloop during the housing crisis

06:30 – Selling Dotloop to Zillow for $108M

10:30 – Reinvesting in Northern Kentucky real estate and startups

12:00 – Why media is ready for disruption

14:00 – How Content Credits micropayments work

20:00 – Gamifying reader engagement through social layers

25:00 – Raising capital with KY Innovation & Keyhorse

28:00 – Thoughts on Kentucky’s startup ecosystem

🎙 Hosted by Logan Jones

🌐 Visit contentcredits.com

—

Middle Tech is proudly supported by:

KY Innovation → kyinnovation.com

Awesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

In this episode, we sit down with Wes Keltner, founder & CEO of Gun Interactive, to unpack how his Lexington-grown studio turned cult-classic horror IPs like Friday the 13th and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre into viral, multiplayer blockbusters. Wes walks us through his “make fear fun” philosophy, his jouney from Second Life storefronts to server-melting game launches, and how a network of Kentucky investors helped build a global horror-gaming powerhouse from Lexington.

Expect to learn why asymmetrical multiplayer makes horror so addictive, how Gun mixes Hollywood partnerships with Kickstarter-style funding to de-risk launches, what it takes to scale servers when 7x more players show up than expected, and how community-driven design keeps fans glued between updates.

Middle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.com

In this episode, we sit down with Valent co-founders Evan Knowles and Ryan Rudd to explore how their Lexington-based startup is transforming how teams respond to RFPs. Through a concept they call Decision Rooms, Valent empowers human teams to collaborate directly with AI agents - streamlining proposal workflows, unlocking collective intelligence, and accelerating revenue across RFP-driven industries like government contracting, IT, and engineering.

Expect to learn how teams are collaborating with AI agents to win government and enterprise contracts faster, why traditional software can’t handle the complexity of RFP workflows, how Valent's “Decision Rooms” are reimagining business collaboration from the ground up, and what it takes to build a lean AI startup tackling trillion-dollar workflows - right from Lexington, KY.

Check out Valent at getvalent.com

Middle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.com

This episode marks Part 3 of a special mini-series - produced by Middle Tech in collaboration with the GAME Change coalition. Over the course of three episodes, we’ll explore how Kentucky and Tennessee are working to become a national hub for circular economy innovation and sustainable manufacturing. This initiative is part of a regional effort to secure a $160 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Engines Program.Two years ago, a small group of visionaries began mapping out a bold idea: to build the U.S. innovation hub for circular economy technologies right here in the Southeast Commerce Corridor. That idea has grown into GAME Change - a 400+ member coalition of universities, national labs, policy leaders, and private industry partners reshaping the future of manufacturing in Kentucky and Tennessee.Middle Tech has been closely embedded in this journey from the start, documenting key moments, stakeholder voices, and the growing momentum behind a new vision for regional economic developmentGAME Change Website: https://gamechangeengine.org/NSF Regional Innovation Engines Program: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiativ...Attend GAME Change's 5th summit on September 17, 2025 at Lexmark International, Lexington, KY

This episode marks Part 2 of a special mini-series - produced by Middle Tech in collaboration with the GAME Change coalition. Over the course of three episodes, we’ll explore how Kentucky and Tennessee are working to become a national hub for circular economy innovation and sustainable manufacturing. This initiative is part of a regional effort to secure a $160 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Engines Program.Two years ago, a small group of visionaries began mapping out a bold idea: to build the U.S. innovation hub for circular economy technologies right here in the Southeast Commerce Corridor. That idea has grown into GAME Change - a 400+ member coalition of universities, national labs, policy leaders, and private industry partners reshaping the future of manufacturing in Kentucky and Tennessee.Middle Tech has been closely embedded in this journey from the start, documenting key moments, stakeholder voices, and the growing momentum behind a new vision for regional economic developmentGAME Change Website: https://gamechangeengine.org/NSF Regional Innovation Engines Program: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiativ...Attend GAME Change's 5th summit on September 17, 2025 at Lexmark International, Lexington, KY

Lepidext is a Lexington-based biotech company developing a natural, non-chemical solution to control one of agriculture’s most damaging pests - the corn earworm. Founded by Dr. Bruce Webb, a University of Kentucky professor emeritus and virus researcher, Lepidext uses a modified virus to sterilize pest populations without harming the environment.The technology originated from research into a major equine reproductive crisis in Kentucky and evolved into a scalable product with the potential to replace traditional pesticides in the field. With a regulatory decision pending from the EPA, Lepidext is preparing for commercial rollout with a focus on farmer partnerships and sustainable impact.In this episode, Bruce and research scientist Dr. Mary Wallace share the journey from university research to ag-tech startup, the science behind their approach, and what’s next for Lepidext as they bring biological pest control to market.Expect to learn how a virus discovered in nature became the foundation for a new kind of pest management, what the EPA approval process really looks like, and why timing, team structure, and field trials matter when scaling a startup in agriculture.Middle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.com

This episode marks Part 1 of a special mini-series - produced by Middle Tech in collaboration with the GAME Change coalition. Over the course of three episodes, we’ll explore how Kentucky and Tennessee are working to become a national hub for circular economy innovation and sustainable manufacturing. This initiative is part of a regional effort to secure a $160 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Engines Program.Two years ago, a small group of visionaries began mapping out a bold idea: to build the U.S. innovation hub for circular economy technologies right here in the Southeast Commerce Corridor. That idea has grown into GAME Change - a 400+ member coalition of universities, national labs, policy leaders, and private industry partners reshaping the future of manufacturing in Kentucky and Tennessee.Middle Tech has been closely embedded in this journey from the start, documenting key moments, stakeholder voices, and the growing momentum behind a new vision for regional economic developmentGAME Change WebsiteNSF Regional Innovation Engines ProgramAttend GAME Change's 5th summit on September 17, 2025 at Lexmark International, Lexington, KY