Middle Tech

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 $12.99 - replacing $300 truck rolls and $3,000–$6,000 panel upgrade quotes.The conversation covers Jason's path from automating job site paperwork to building a full product with Claude, the moment a Mark Cuban reshare hit 800,000 views, and how he's expanding ChargeRight into a broader product suite called RightSuite (Inspect Right, Spa Right, and more). We also dig into the trades-vs-AI narrative, why Jason isn't trying to raise venture capital, and how he learned to code by mapping git and repos onto motor control circuits and smart switches.Jason's story is what AI-era entrepreneurship actually looks like outside Silicon Valley - domain expertise plus the right tools, built by a guy who's still going to work every morning.Hosted by Logan JonesMiddle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

Building a company isn't glamorous - it's brutal, uncertain, and rarely as fast as the headlines suggest. But it's also where real growth happens.In this Season 9 kickoff, Logan and Evan sit down to reflect on a pivotal 2025 and share what's ahead. Logan announces he's joined Valent full-time after months as a contractor and angel investor, while Evan shares updates on scaling the AI-powered RFP platform now landing major enterprise customers.The conversation covers the real cost of entrepreneurship, why Logan's attempt to launch DevelopLou didn't pan out, how AI is transforming B2B sales without replacing the fundamentals, and Logan's new "Mission Critical" content series focused on energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing. They also touch on DevelopLex's breakout partnerships with Commerce Lexington and Downtown Lexington Partnership, and why Middle Tech will keep going - even if it never becomes a big business.Hosted by Logan JonesMiddle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

A new digital marketplace is modernizing how bourbon barrels are bought, sold, and valued across Kentucky’s signature industry.In this episode, Hogshead co-founder and CEO Chris Wiedmar joins us to share how his company is bringing transparency and technology to the bourbon supply chain - transforming a relationship-driven trade into a data-driven market.From his early experience launching the NFT-powered brand Party Horses to building a two-sided platform used by distilleries, brokers, and investors, Chris explains how Hogshead is helping the industry adapt to a world where barrels are not just aging whiskey, but appreciating assets.The conversation explores how Hogshead is positioning Kentucky at the center of a global market for barrel-aged spirits - connecting tradition, technology, and entrepreneurship in one of the state’s most iconic sectors.Hosted by Logan JonesMiddle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

Steve Long is the CEO of Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) - a company bringing a multi-billion-dollar nuclear fuel facility to Paducah, Kentucky, marking one of the most significant energy investments in the state’s history. In this episode, we sit down with Steve to understand how GLE’s laser enrichment technology could reshape the U.S. nuclear supply chain and what it means for Kentucky’s evolving role in the energy economy.We discuss how the project builds on Paducah’s long history in uranium enrichment, how laser enrichment can convert legacy materials into usable fuel, and why reliable, carbon-free power is becoming increasingly important in the age of AI and advanced manufacturing. Steve also shares how the project could create new opportunities for Kentucky’s workforce and support long-term innovation in U.S. energy.Middle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

Tim Rausch is the soon-to-be-retired Chief Nuclear Officer for the Tennessee Valley Authority - the utility responsible for providing power to homes and businesses across the Tennessee Valley. In this episode, we sit down with Tim to explore the future of nuclear energy, TVA’s role in advancing next-generation reactor technologies, and what it looks like to build a long-term career in one of the country’s most critical industries.This episode goes beyond a single interview. Middle Tech was invited for a rare behind-the-scenes tour of TVA’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, led by Fire Marshal Jake Carroll. Alongside Alex Mercer of Able Construction, we explored the control room, turbine deck, and cooling towers, capturing audio along the way to give you an immersive look inside one of the nation’s largest sources of carbon-free power.We cover the surging demand for energy driven by AI and advanced manufacturing, why TVA believes in a diverse energy portfolio, how the Southeast is becoming a hub for innovation in energy production, and what makes nuclear energy so uniquely safe, scalable, and essential to America’s future.Also - we'd recommend watching this one on YouTube so you can see the actual facility in action.Chapters:02:33 - Intro06:14 - Interview with Tim38:56 - Nuclear Plant Tour44:02 - Turbine Room48:18 - Cooling Towers51:21 - Control Room01:03:14 - Final ThoughtsMiddle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.org

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 JonesChapters: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 BlueMiddle Tech is proudly supported by:KY Innovation → kyinnovation.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.orgDon'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 Knowles00:00 – 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.comAwesome Inc → awesomeinc.orgDon't miss Awesome Inc's September 5 Across → Free Ticket for Middle Tech listeners

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