Midwest Moxie

Nina Jenkins' insect-killing fungal spores eliminate the need to fumigate, clean out cabinets and drawers.Nina Jenkins didn't start out thinking about bedbugs. The Penn State researcher was studying how insect-killing fungal spores could combat locusts, houseflies and Asian long-horned beetles. But that all changed when a graduate student asked Nina if her fungal spores would work on bedbugs. Sure enough, they were the perfect target. So in 2017 Nina founded ConidioTec to deliver a novel, non-toxic bedbug-fighting product to pest management companies. Eight years later, in 2025, the Pennsylvania company sold its flagship product to Kansas City, Missouri-based Rockwell Labs for an undisclosed, eight-digit price.Midwest Moxie's executive producer is Audrey Nowakowski. She produced this episode. Subscribe to Midwest Moxie wherever you get your podcasts. And if you love Midwest Moxie as much as we do, help us out by posting a review.

After stints at the White House, Air Force Academy and Amazon, Nick Mastronardi set out to help the public sector make data-driven decisions and improve performance.Nick Mastronardi had the realization while writing his dissertation about applying game theory to public finance. In game theory, each person's outcome depends upon all the participants' strategies and decisions. It was the fact that everyone wasn't participating, Nick reasoned the outsized influence of the vocal few that made the public sector underperform. If someone could help officials harness the collective intelligence, it could improve local governments' performance. Six years after finishing his Ph.D., in 2015, Nick co-founded Madison-based Polco to act on that realization. Its platform helps local governments engage residents, analyze data and measure and track their performance.Midwest Moxie's executive producer is Audrey Nowakowski. She produced this episode. Subscribe to Midwest Moxie wherever you get your podcasts. And if you love Midwest Moxie as much as we do, help us out by posting a review.

Louisville-based GoodMaps, hatched at the American Printing House for the Blind, provides turn-by-turn directions in train stations, airports and other indoor spaces. Theresa Reno-Weber saw right away that GoodMaps, which had been developed to help blind and low sighted people navigate indoor spaces, had enormous potential for sighted people as well. So, she jumped in, first as Chief Operating Officer, then as CEO, and has been expanding its reach ever since. The expansion is no surprise to Anne Lancaster, Chief Officer for Innovation and Strategy at the American Printing House for the Blind. Like curb cuts, closed captions, and 33-⅓ records, ideas developed to serve one special group often grow to be used by many others. Midwest Moxie's executive producer is Audrey Nowakowski. She produced this episode. Subscribe to Midwest Moxie wherever you get your podcasts. And if you love Midwest Moxie as much as we do, help us out by posting a review.

Johnny Park has been an academic, startup founder and now non-profit CEO.

KaliVir Immunotherapeutics is developing immunotherapy programs for treating cancer.

EmpowerU's online program delivers resilience training with 1on1 counseling support.

BiomeSense's technology platform enables at-home monitoring of the human microbiome.

UpDown nightlife app helped users find events and deals and provided consumer data insights to entertainment venues.

Gentel Biosciences and Millipore Sigma both provide life science products.

Capita3 invests in women-led startups operating in the health sector.

7SIGNAL helps customers monitor and optimize their Wi-Fi network performance.

Hummingbirds connects brands with hyperlocal content creators and influencers.

eBlu Solutions makes prior authorization software for high-cost medicines.

Atzeyo Biosensors' platform helps doctors diagnose cancer in their offices.

Olio Health provides healthcare software.

Setex Technologies' material is used for nose pads and other consumer products

LIfeLoop developed software for senior living communities.

Genomenon provides genome interpretation software.

Eden Park Illumination's light fixtures disinfect air.

Unify Medical makes a surgical microscope.

Realta Fusion is developing fusion energy systems.

Cultured Decadence was aiming to grow meat from lobster cells.

Gripp's mobile software helps farmers.

iotaMotion's miniature robotic system helps surgeons

DeepSight Technology's unique capabilities are improving medical imaging.

Neurable sells a smart headphone that helps people with focus.

Diamond Kinetics' technology helps baseball and softball players.

Mycocycle Inc. uses fungi to remove harmful toxins.

Marathon Health provides advanced primary care at health centers across the U.S.

Marani's ECG- and AI-enabled garments monitor moms during pregnancy.

Eric Apfelbach turned around two companies and led a publicly traded company.

Synbiotic Health makes clinically tested ingredients for gut and overall health.

Sifter Solutions' AI-powered platform helps people find groceries.

Quantified Ag created ear tags to monitor cattle's body temperature and movement for illness.

Disarm Therapeutics' discoveries may yield breakthrough treatments.

Sesame Solar makes renewable, mobile nanogrids for emissions-free disaster response and off-grid power.

Stratus Materials creates novel materials for next gen batteries for electric vehicles.

SPR Therapeutics provides patients with a non-opioid, non-surgical, minimally-invasive pain treatment option.

How Claros Technologies is aims to rid the world of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

NutriSense was first to provide continuous glucose monitors to consumers.

Improve the health and performance of specialty crops around the world through advanced tech.

Connecting manufacturers with live data for faster decision-making and improved processes and products.