There are already 700 to 800 FDA-approved AI devices on the market, yet a busy oncologist still has nowhere trustworthy to learn which ones are worth their time. In this episode, Dr. Doug Flora joins us to share how he is closing that trust gap. He is the Executive Medical Director of Oncology at St. Elizabeth's Yung Family Cancer Center and co-founder of Tensor Black, a clinician-led education…
Your car has a dealership that knows every service it's ever had. Your house - usually the largest asset you'll ever own - has nothing. In this episode, Builder Backed co-founder and CEO Paul Koop joins us to share how his Covington, Kentucky startup is building what he calls the "Carfax for homes": a permanent, portable service record for a house, created from the day it's built. Paul traces the…
Small businesses represent nearly half of all American jobs and 45% of all technology spend, yet less than 5% of venture capital goes to building technology for them. In this episode, Tim Metzner joins us to share how Fireroad, his Cincinnati-based early-stage venture firm, is betting that AI is changing that math. A serial entrepreneur who co-founded Coterie Insurance ($70M+ raised) and…
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is the number one hospital-acquired infection in the United States — and it often starts with something as simple as a missed tooth brushing. After 37 years of consultations in Eastern Kentucky ICUs and nursing homes, one dentist decided to fix it. In this episode, Dr. Greg Baker and Dr. Brandon Wilde of Toothsure join us to share how they're building OralVac and…
A union electrician with zero coding experience built an AI tool that's stopping EV owners from getting upsold thousands of dollars in unnecessary panel upgrades - and then Mark Cuban reshared his post. In this episode, ChargeRight founder Jason Walls joins us to share how 15+ years pulling wire in Kentucky led him to build an app that puts the NEC code book directly in homeowners' hands for…
Kentucky has millions of acres of underutilized land, a shifting energy economy, and a generation of farmers looking for what's next. Sunflower Fuels is trying to answer all three with a single crop. In this episode, Sunflower Fuels CEO Gabrielle Blocher joins us to share how the company is building a Kentucky-rooted biomass business around Miscanthus — a perennial, "fire and forget" crop that can…
What is the current state of Lexington's startup ecosystem? Garrett Fahrbach (Awesome Inc) and Ben Strevy (Awesome Fund) give us their perspective from in the arena with founders. From idea inception to providing funding, Awesome Inc is providing the resources necessary for founders to find success in Lexington, Kentucky. Hosted by Logan Jones Middle Tech is proudly supported by: KY Innovation →…
99% of companies were built before AI became commercially available in 2023. Now every one of them must transform their operations or watch post-AI competitors do the same work with a fraction of the people. In this episode, Buddy Bockweg returns for his third Middle Tech appearance to explain why Vsimple raised $7 million and moved headquarters back to Louisville. Buddy breaks down the divide…
The U.S. generates 8 million metric tons of e-waste annually, yet ships nearly 100% of its valuable circuit boards overseas for processing. Export bans and tariffs won't solve that—they'd just create stockpiles. The real fence we need to build is one that keeps material in. In this episode, Matt Bedingfield joins Logan to share how Mint Innovation is building that domestic processing capacity…
A 21-year-old who failed all his classes freshman year just onboarded 23,000 students in a single month—and he built the company that did it.In this episode, Nate Royal joins us to share how he went from failing out of the University of Louisville and struggling with ADHD to co-founding Due Gooder, an AI-powered platform that turns syllabi into structured assignment schedules, calendar syncs, and…
A decommissioned coal plant in Clinton, Tennessee is on track to become the site of America's first commercial stellarator fusion reactor. In this episode, Tony Williams — Executive Sponsor of the Infinity Project at the Tennessee Valley Authority — joins us to share how TVA is partnering with Type One Energy to build a proof-of-concept fusion machine inside the retired Bull Run fossil plant, with…
