TK Business Magazine - May 2021 Issue

JA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME | CHEF LAMONA’S FOOD TRUCK | MADE IN TOPEKA | BUILDING ON GOOD BONES MAY/JUNE 2021

TWO HIGH FLYING EVENTS

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CONTENTS TK BUSINESS MAGAZINE | MAY/JUNE 2021

ON THE COVER JA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME | CHEF LAMONA’S FOOD TRUCK | MADE IN TOPEKA | BUILDING ON GOOD BONES

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TWO HIGH FLYING EVENTS

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MADE IN TOPEKA

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BUILDING ON GOOD BONES

Learn how Topekans collaborated to bring Plug and Play to the capital city and meet two startup founders.

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Meet the 2021 Laureates.

Meet three local companies that are making business a family affair.

Three local businesses have found global success through the Etsy Marketplace.

JA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

FAMILY BUSINESSES

MADE IN TOPEKA SOLD WORLDWIDE

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Succession planning may not be a priority for the business owner, but Jeremy Graber, business and tax attorney, explains why it should be.

GreatLIFE Topeka brings a Topgolf experience to its GreatLIFE North facility with Toptracer.

SUCCESSION PLANNING

TOPTRACER

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An inside look at Junior Achievement and its partnership with Washburn University School of Business.

Chef LaMona went from the kitchen to the food truck, offering gourmet delights to a loyal customer base.

Local real estate investors renovate buildings to meet the needs of tomorrow’s workforce.

PARTNERING IN ECONOMIC SUCCESS

@tk_business_

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TOPEKA PLUG AND PLAY

Wayne Rouse and Brooks Pettit (on the cover) team up to create two high flying events.

May/june 2021

HEART OF THE ENTREPRENEUR

@TK Business

TK Business Magazine

@TKBusinessMag

BUILDING ON GOOD BONES

@TK...Topeka's Business Magazine

Photo by BRADEN DIMICK

Photo By JOHN BURNS

TWO HIGH FLYING EVENTS

Photo By JOHN BURNS

HEART OF THE ENTREPRENEUR

Photo By JOHN BURNS

MAY/JUNE 2021

LISTEN. DESIGN. INSPIRE. Deutscher Rottinghaus Oxandale Optometrists Topeka, KS

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN MASTER PLANNING & SITE DESIGN SPACE PLANNING & INTERIOR DESIGN

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FROM THE EDITOR

PHOTO SUBMITTED

OPTIMISM ABOUNDS

Lisa Loewen Editor-In-Chief TK Business Magazine

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Something about spring just makes me feel refreshed. The leaves budding out on the trees, new flowers showing their vibrant colors, the smell of freshly mowed lawns, all suggest a time to start anew and leave those doldrums in the past. I guess I really just feel optimistic about the days ahead.

I get that same feeling when I turn the pages of this issue of TK Business Magazine.

After all, it’s pretty hard not to feel optimistic when you hear about fun and exciting things coming to Topeka, such as Thunder Over the Heartland and Kicker Country Stampede at the Heartland, or a new Topgolf-like experience with GreatLIFE North’s Toptracer addition.

Or find a burst of entrepreneurial spirit when you hear the stories of local people doing what they love and turning a profit. I mean, who would have thought a love for bugs could turn into a booming business? Or that a chef would offer lobster and crab out of a food truck?

Seeing the investment pouring into renovating commercial real estate across Topeka makes me realize how much people love this community and their commitment to improving quality of life here.

That same drive to put Topeka on the global map is evident in the Plug and Play startup accelerator that pairs innovative startups from around the world with our animal health corridor expertise.

And the business leaders who have been recognized in this year’s Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame inspire me because without their vision and optimism over the years, Topeka would not be where it is today.

What a great place to be.

TK Business Magazine

PUBLISHER Tara Dimick EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lisa Loewen CREATIVE DIRECTOR & DESIGNER Janet Faust MANAGING PARTNER & SALES DIRECTOR Braden Dimick braden@tkmagazine.com 785.438.7773 MARKETING ASSISTANT Hope Dimick COVER PHOTOGRAPHER John Burns CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Samantha Egan Miranda Ericsson Kim Gronniger Lisa Loewen Adam Vlach Kathy Webber CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS John Burns Emma Highfill Rachel Lock CONTRIBUTING EXPERTS Ashley Charest Jeremy Graber David Sollars, Ph.D.

PUBLISHING COMPANY E2 Communications 7512 SW Falcon St. Topeka, KS 66610 785.438.7773

FOUNDER ǀ Kevin Doel

tkmagazine.com 2021 TK Business Magazine is published by E2 Communications, Inc. Reproduction or use of this publication in any manner without written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Every effort was made to ensure accuracy of the information in this publication as of press time. The publisher assumes no responsibility of any part for the content of any advertisement in this publication, including any errors and omissions therein. E2 Communications, Inc. makes no endorsement, representation or warranty regarding any goods or services advertised or listed in this publication.

Listings and advertisements are provided by the subject company. E2 Communications, Inc. shall not be responsible or liable for any inaccuracy, omission or infringement of any third party's right therein, or for personal injury or any other damage or injury whatsoever. By placing an order for an advertisement, the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher against any claims relating to the advertisement.

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TWO HIGH FLYING EVENTS After more than a year of staying at home and canceling large events, people in Topeka are getting the chance to celebrate with Kicker Country Stampede at the Heartland and Thunder Over the Heartland.

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Country music fans will once again enjoy a funfilled weekend of headliner acts in June at Kicker Country Stampede at the Heartland.

By LISA LOEWEN

Much to the dismay of diehard Stampede fans, last year’s event was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Stampede founder and president Wayne Rouse said the time off was actually a blessing because it allowed them to make some much needed improvements to give Stampede goers an even better experience.

“We used the time to change the layout of the Stampede,” Rouse said. “We moved the festival footprint to a much nicer area. The ground was leveled and drains added, so standing water will no longer be an issue.”

They also added more campgrounds, moved the RV camping area and are installing roads and walkways from the camping area to the main festival grounds. Rouse hopes the improvements will help the Stampede continue to grow.

“We have tripled in size since we first started. My hope is that with this expansion, we do it again,” Rouse said.

“We overbuilt on purpose so we would have room to grow.”

This will be the 25th Stampede, but only the second one held in Topeka.

Rouse, who has been bringing big name headliners to the festival since its inception, says he is excited to once again welcome country music fans to the festival.

“This is going to be such an exciting weekend,” Rouse said. “I think people are ready to get out and have a great time.

Ticket sales are going really well, and I expect big crowds to turn out to see the talent we are bringing in this year.”

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The “Tora Tora Tora” re-enactment is the oldest running civilian air show act in North America and is scheduled to be performed at Thunder Over the Heartland.

Headliners for the 2021 Heartland Stampede include: Riley Green on Thursday, Sam Hunt on Friday and Luke Combs on Saturday.

Heartland Motorsports Park owner Chris Payne, who partnered with Jeff Engroff to purchase the Stampede festival from Rouse when it moved to Topeka three years ago, says their overall plan is to give the Stampede the space and tools to grow into the largest music festival in the Midwest.

“In order to do so, it was obvious we needed to utilize the entire facility at Heartland,” Payne said. “This year’s festival has expanded from 100 acres to almost 400 acres. This includes the use of many the facilities’ permanent pavilions, buildings, restrooms and concessions buildings.”

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After the muddy mess resulting from the deluge of rain in 2019, they also invested in proactive measures to keep fans out of the muck. Payne says much of the camping area is on solid ground now, and the festival area where the main stage is located is on an area with proper water drainage and surrounded by all the needed amenities.

Having much of the RV camping now on asphalt inside the facility allowed for the largest camp grounds, known as Rustic Camping, to remain in the grass field out front of the facility where the 2019 festival took place. The Rustic Camping area by itself is now almost 100 acres. Interior roadways and a small stage for the after parties are planned for the Rustic Camping area.

In 2021 the Stampede will also have a larger midway area for sponsor displays and fan interaction. Corporate and group outings will be able secure private hospitality functions with amenities including tent, tables, chairs, along with food and beverage catering.

“It’s great to hear concert fans referring to the facility as the County Stampede Festival Grounds,” Payne said. “For Heartland to be financially successful, the facility needs to lend itself to more than just racing venues.

With that said, we have our sights set on bringing other events to Heartland.”

Those lofty ideas are helping bring a historic tradition back to town: The Great Topeka Airshow. After a 20-year hiatus, military and civilian planes will take to the skies over Forbes Field to

once again inspire awe in the watchers below.

Brooks Pettit, the organizer of the airshow and president of Vaerus Aviation, partnered with Country Stampede to bring a two-day airshow to the Topeka Regional Airport.

“Thunder Over the Heartland” will take flight on Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27 and will feature a special night show on Saturday.

Thunder Over the Heartland will include a wide variety of military performers, a huge display of military airplanes, both on the ground and performing fly overs, as well as a variety of acrobatic and stunt performances.

Other groups performing at the airshow include the Aeroschell Aerobatic Team that fly WWII

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formations and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Parachute Demonstration Team, which will do two jumps each day. The F-16 Viper demo team will do a flyover complete with afterburners to close out the show.

Pettit says bringing an airshow back to Topeka has been an idea years in the making. His father was chairman of the Great Topeka Airshow for a number of years in the late 80s to early 90s, so he has fond memories of growing up being part of that experience.

“This used to be a staple event in our community. It was an annual event that everyone marked on their calendars and planned for. It also brought in a significant amount of tourism dollars,” Pettit said.

While Pettit’s dreams of reincarnating the airshow in Topeka seemed viable, the actual logistics required to produce an airshow of that scale grounded his high flying plans.

“The timing just wasn’t right,” Pettit said. “I needed to be at a point in my own company where I could take a six-month sabbatical to put in the horsepower and time required to execute this airshow right.”

But finally, this year, the timing is perfect. Pettit, in collaboration with Payne and Engroff, will see his dream of a Topeka airshow take off.

“With Stampede having relocated in Topeka, it just made sense to package these events into a weekend full of spectacular entertainment,” Pettit said.

While Country Stampede and Thunder Over the Heartland are taking place over the same weekend, they are still separate events. People can purchase tickets for just the airshow, but Stampede wristband holders will be able to attend the air show for free.

“Between the Stampede and the airshow going on, it will be an amazing weekend,” Rouse said.

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A variety of acrobatic and stunt performances will be a thrill to experience at the Thunder Over the Heartland show.

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JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF KANSAS

By LISA LOEWEN

This year’s JA Business Hall of Fame Laureates are a diverse set of individuals whose contributions to business growth in Topeka vary as much as their involvement in bettering our community. Whether it is the innovator who moved to Topeka to help a local company usher in unprecedented growth; the problem solver who not only honored his father’s legacy but is now preparing to pass the torch to the next generation; the trailblazer who shattered the glass ceiling as a woman attorney and judge; or the visionaries whose combined expertise launched a whole new living experience for seniors, these honorees share a common trait: belief in possibilities.

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TOPEKA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

Dan

CHAVEZ

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Photo by EMMA HIGHFILL

TK Business Magazine

PROBLEM SOLVER Dan Chavez understands the meaning behind the saying, “Good things come to those who work.”

Growing up in a family business means you roll up your sleeves and help, even before you are supposed to.

“I officially started working for my dad when I was 19,” Dan said.

“Unofficially, it was more like 12.”

At Chavez Restoration and Cleaning, it also means you finish the job, no matter what your friends are doing.

“My friends spent weekends going to ball games,” Dan said. “I spent most of mine finishing a job.”

While as a kid he sometimes resented the responsibility he was given,

Dan says that work ethic helped shape him into the business leader he is today.

But he is the first to admit that he didn’t truly appreciate the business his father had built until he left it behind.

“I moved out to California and got a job in a clothing warehouse, stapling price tags onto merchandise all day,” Dan said. “It was mind numbing work, but hey, I was in California!”

Dan settled into the monotony of a dead-end job, until, one day, he got a phone call from his dad.

“My dad asked me to come back and help him with the company,” Dan said. “He told me I could earn a better living back in Topeka and that he could use my help. So, I came back.”

FINDING PASSION That decision turned out to be the best one Dan ever made; however, it didn’t mean there weren’t struggles along the way.

“Family businesses can be rough.

It is hard when you are a grown man to have your father and your older brother telling you what to do,” Dan said.

Power struggles aside, Dan soon found himself loving the business and what they do for customers. Seeing how something as simple as cleaning a carpet can improve someone’s quality of life made Dan realize the impact he could make every day.

“We deal with people in their lowest moments, whether it is

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TOPEKA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

problem solver water damage, mold, trauma or even infectious disease,” Dan said. “Whether it is a mobile home or a mansion, we do the best job we can to help improve a person’s life.”

A true family business, Chavez siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins have worked together through five decades to build the business Dan’s father, Trinidad Chavez, started in 1967.

ADAPTING TO CHANGE Trinidad started Chavez Restoration and Cleaning when he saw a need for good carpet cleaning services in Topeka. In the 1970s, the company expanded into janitorial cleaning and other types of cleaning, including restoration services.

Growing Chavez Cleaning and Restoration into a thriving business was one thing. Keeping it that way in a world of competition is another. Dan says the company has had to adapt with changes in consumer demand and technology. However, being early adopters of new technology has often brought its own set of challenges.

“Sometimes we have to fight insurance companies that won’t allow us to charge for a special piece of equipment because no one has ever done it that way before,” Dan said.

He recalled trying to convince an insurance company of the value of thermal image scanners to map out moisture issues.

“The adjuster was trying to determine the extent of the water damage at one location,” Dan said.

“They were planning to just start cutting into drywall on an exploratory mission.

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I told them my thermal imaging equipment could find the exact source of the moisture problem. It wasn’t until they actually saw what that equipment could do that they understood the value and why we should be able to bill for those services.”

The company has also adapted to changing market demands over the years. At first, it was carpet cleaning.

Then it was water removal and restoration. Then mold remediation.

Now it is all forms of cleaning and restoration, even disinfecting from infectious disease.

“We try to stay ahead of trends and technology. We are continually going to classes, training on new equipment and educating ourselves on additional ways we can improve our existing services and offer new ones,” Dan said.

THE TRADITION CONTINUES Two of Dan’s four children now work with him in the business, continuing the tradition their grandfather began more than five decades ago.

Dan says passing the business on to the next generation has always been his dream but letting go can be easier said than done. He finds he often has a different perspective on things than his kids do, and while he wants them to question him and push him out of his comfort zone, he wants them to understand his point of view as well.

“I’m that dad that looks over their shoulder,” Dan said. “I remember my dad telling me things I didn’t always agree with. Years later, I found myself wishing I had listened.”

TK Business Magazine

Dan says the beauty of a family business is everyone pushing and working toward a common goal. He loves to see the energy his children bring to the business and their push to put their own stamp on things.

“I remember pushing my dad to try new things or find better ways, changing some of the things he started with. Now, I’m on the other side of that,” Dan said.

BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT Chavez Restoration and Cleaning has one underlying mission: To leave it better than they found it. Dan feels that way about Topeka as well.

“The values I grew up with are still here,” Dan said. “The people here are Topeka’s bright spot.”

Dan says understanding the value of people is the true reason for his company’s success. Giving people the services they need, and treating them like neighbors, goes a long way to building lasting relationships.

“A lot of our customers are into the second and third generations now. That relationship comes from doing what you say you are going to do and treating people with integrity and respect,” Dan said.

That integrity and respect carries through in all aspects of Dan’s life. While he is honored to receive this recognition from Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, he doesn’t see himself as anything special.

“I am not here because of something I did,” Dan said. “I am here because of something I am a part of. After all, we are just trying to leave things better than we found it.”

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TOPEKA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

Mike KILEY

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INNOVATOR Mike Kiley has spent his entire career helping people save for retirement. Lucky for them, he didn’t follow his high school dream of becoming a lawyer.

Attending Holy Cross College on a football scholarship, his first aspiration was to go to law school. However, when the time came to decide what direction he wanted his life to go, he found himself too impatient to spend three more years in school.

“I was raring to light the world on fire,” Kiley said.

His first job out of college was with a financial services company that specialized in retirement options for school teachers.

After three years working as an account executive, Kiley found himself frustrated with the limitations restricting his ability to help his clients. So, at the green young age of 25, he started his own company in the hopes of finding the freedom to pursue additional products and services for his clients.

Unfortunately, that endeavor came with a whole new set of obstacles.

“I found my age was a real liability in the financial services sector,” Kiley said. “I was simply too young at the time for anyone to take me seriously. If I had known then what I know now, I would have told myself to be a little more patient and let things play out.”

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INNOVATOR “I have a lot of respect for what others know. I learned a long time ago to listen to the experts.”

Mike Kiley CEO Security Benefit

CREATING A NICHE Not one to stay on a sinking ship, Kiley joined Guardian Life, where he spent the next 11 years building a successful third party distribution program. AXA Equitable took notice of his success and snatched him up to help them create their own third-party life insurance distribution marketing channel.

Travelers Portfolio Group brought him on three years later as president to accomplish the exact same thing.

A pattern seemed to be emerging in Kiley’s career trajectory.

“If you wanted to take a product into a new market, I was the guy,” Kiley said. “I liked the research and work that came with developing a solution. It made success all the more rewarding. I found my best plans were the ones I had to fight for.”

Kiley made the transition out of insurance and into financial services when he joined Morgan Stanley. Working his way up the corporate ladder, he became president and CEO of Morgan Stanley Funds Distributors and the CEO of Van Kampen Investments, a division of Morgan Stanley.

But career change came calling again in 2009 when he met Todd Boehly, managing partner at Guggenheim Partners at the time.

Boehly was negotiating the purchase of Security Benefit in Topeka in an effort to revitalize the company after it hit a rough patch during the financial crisis of 2008.

With its purchase of Security Benefit in 2010, Guggenheim infused much needed capital into the 129-year-old company but needed to take action to stimulate further growth in order to build it once again into a powerhouse. It was time to bring in Mike Kiley.

RIGHTING THE SHIP Kiley was charged with developing new products and strategies that would capitalize on the intersection of insurance and asset management—two industries where Kiley had extensive knowledge and experience. He

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needed to expand both the product line and the distribution reach.

With the help of some new annuities, including an exclusive indexed annuity through Advisors Excel, Kiley helped Security Benefit become a major national player—with market share in multiple segments of the retirement space, reaching nearly $50 billion in assets this year. Security Benefit’s success was built on four pillars that Kiley put in place: innovative product design, top investment performance, cost-efficient administration and a nimble, targeted distribution strategy focused on a dedicated set of key partners.

But Kiley is not one to sing his own praises. He attributes his success at Security Benefit to the quality people he works with who remain loyal to the company mission.

“I am in the happy position of being the face of 2,000 fantastic employees. I have a lot of respect for what others know,” Kiley said.

“I learned a long time ago to listen to the experts.”

But listening isn’t always enough. Good leaders must know when to separate critical from subcritical and understand when triage is necessary for survival. Kiley’s ability to act when necessary to achieve results is what allowed him to build on his success stories.

“Three times in my career, I came into a place where I left it better than I found it,” Kiley said. “Good leaders give others the opportunity to shine. We did that at Security Benefit by allowing our existing people the chance to step up—and they did.”

As Kiley looks back at his accomplishments, he can smile with the satisfaction of knowing he has made a difference not only in the companies he has led but also in his community. That smile only grows larger as he looks to the future.

“I am playing on the back nine of my career right now,” Kiley said. “I see a lot of sun and lot of golf in my future. And I never thought I would be as thrilled as I am to be a grandfather.”

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A Legacy of Helping Security Benefit has been a proud supporter of Junior Achievement of Kansas since its founding.

Few organizations have the kind of impact that Junior Achievement has delivered in changing the lives of America’s youth and helping prepare them for the future. For decades, Security Benefit and our associates have supported Junior Achievement’s efforts by serving as Board members, providing annual financial support, and volunteering in classrooms.

Today, we congratulate Security Benefit Chief Executive Officer Mike Kiley, on being named a 2021 Junior Achievement Topeka Business Hall of Fame Laureate!

Your leadership, and contributions to the community, have made us one of the premier U.S. retirement

“Junior Achievement provides an invaluable educational service by preparing kids for their future careers with a solid understanding of market-based economics and entrepreneurship through hands-on learning.”

— Mike Kiley, Chief Executive Officer, Security Benefit

companies, and continued our legacy of helping people To and Through Retirement®.

One Security Benefit Place | Topeka, KS 66636 | SecurityBenefit.com SB-10008-23

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TOPEKA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

Christel

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Photo by RACHEL LOCK

TRAILBLAZER In an era where a woman’s place was in the home, Christel Marquardt not only broke the glass ceiling—she shattered it.

As a dedicated mother to four boys, she waited until her youngest son started school and then set out to follow her own dream: becoming an attorney. Somehow she managed to juggle raising her boys, taking care of the home and the rigors of law school.

“It never felt like she was doing something out of the ordinary,” recalls her son, Andrew Marquardt.

“We watched her come home from class, make dinner, check our homework, and then spend

time studying. She never made law school seem that hard given how she juggled everything in her life.

Of course it was hard, and as one of three women in her class it was nice she graduated high in her class.”

As trailblazers know, paving the way for others often means hard work and struggle for those clearing the path. After graduating from Washburn School of Law in 1974, Christel found that female attorneys weren’t exactly in high demand in the male dominated profession.

Her case load consisted mostly of domestic issues, and it wasn’t long before she developed a thriving practice in domestic law.

“She was a pit bull for women who needed someone to look out for their interests and protect their rights,” Andrew said.

Suffering emotional trauma from the death of her oldest child, who was only 21 at the time, coupled with dealing with her marriage ending, Christel maintained her resolve and dedicated herself to her practice, women’s causes, and making a difference in her community, Topeka.

CRACKS IN THE GLASS She transitioned from her role as local domestic attorney to a resounding voice for women on a

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TRAILBLAZER

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national level. She became a mentor for women business owners and pioneered several women’s organizations that sought to combat discrimination in the workplace.

As her practice grew, so did her reputation for advancing social justice for women. And recognition started pouring in. Christel received the Kansas Bar Association’s President’s Outstanding Service Award in 1980.

She was designated as Topeka’s Woman of the Year in 1982 and was named one of the 10 top businesswomen from throughout the United States by the American Business Women’s Association in 1985.

In 1986, Christel decided she wanted to take more of a leadership role and run for president of the Kansas Bar Association. The firm she was with at the time didn’t provide the support she knew she needed to be successful, so she left that firm and joined the firm of Palmer, Marquardt & Snyder.

She also became first woman president of the Kansas Bar Association that same year.

attorneys) Attorney of Achievement Award for professional excellence and commitment to service. In 2000, the Kansas Bar Association awarded Judge Marquardt the Phil Lewis Medal of Distinction which is the highest award given by the association. In 2002, Washburn University School of Law awarded Judge Marquardt the Distinguished Service Award.

Christel served on numerous committees and boards. She was a member of the American Bar Association Board of Governors and was State Delegate for several years.

She was a past chair of the Washburn University Board of Regents and past chair of the Washburn University School of Law Board of Governors. She served on the Board of Governors of the Topeka Symphony and many other civic organizations.

With each award, Christel only seemed to grow more appreciative of the journey that preceded.

“Every acceptance speech mom gave, she would start with the struggle,” Andrew said.

BREAKING THROUGH In 1994, Christel and Andrew formed Marquardt & Associates, L.L.C. in Fairway, Kansas. She only had a year to enjoy working with her son before she left the firm behind for a place on the bench. Governor Bill Graves appointed Christel as a judge with the Kansas Court of Appeals, a position she held for 17 years.

And the accolades kept piling up.

In 1999, she received the Jennie Mitchell Kellogg Circle’s (a statewide association of Kansas women

INNER STRENGTH The daughter of an immigrant father from Germany, Christel knew the meaning of struggle and hard work. Growing up on a farm, she didn’t have a choice to be anything but tough. Andrew notes that she always emphasized that it is the struggles in life that make you appreciate what you already have and drive you to become something better. That drive to make a difference in the world fueled her resolve to bridge the gap from the role of women in the 1950s to where they

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are today, fighting discrimination and advancing social justice for women.

“Here is a person who came from little, who was able to parlay a great attitude and hard work into a rewarding life that gave her purpose,” Andrew said.

As life seemed to hurl Christel from one struggle to the next, music grounded her. She was incredibly gifted and could play any number of instruments, but it is the piano that Andrew credits with bolstering everyone’s spirits in the home. In her early years, she led the church choir, sang, and played the church piano at services. She loved the Topeka Symphony, served on the board for several years, and introduced her love of classical music into the home.

“We always knew how much our mother loved classical music,” Andrew said.

LEGACY LEFT BEHIND Christel’s advocacy for women’s rights and social justice will go down in history. She was recognized as a force for change in workplace discrimination, equal pay and furthering women’s causes. While the accolades were nice, at the end of the day, Andrew says, that wasn’t why she did any of it.

“Mom appreciated what the struggle meant,” Andrew said. “She fought every day to help other women achieve their goals, whether it was business, law, education, or just mentoring them. Knowing she played a part in lifting other women into a better situation was the best reward of all.”

While she will always be hailed as a trailblazer, her most precious legacy lies in the family she adored.

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TOPEKA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

VISIONARIES

Jim KLAUSMAN PHOTO SUBMITTED

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Butch

PHOTO SUBMITTED

EATON

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TOPEKA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

“In looking at the landscape of Topeka and the progress we have made, their [Jim Klausman and Butch Eaton] vision is written all over what we have accomplished. Without their passion and commitment to Topeka we would be years behind where we are today.”

—Brent Boles Member of the JA Business Hall of Fame selection committee

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Jim Klausman and Butch Eaton, the founders of Midwest Health Management Inc., have been business partners and great friends since 1977 when they leased their first nursing home and created Midwest Health.

Jim grew up understanding the nursing home business. His grandfather owned a nursing home in Easton, Kansas, and his parents owned one in Valley Falls. Jim worked at that facility all through high school and then moved to Lawrence for two years to attend the University of Kansas. He transferred to Washburn University to finish his degree and began working at Sears Automotive part time, where he met Butch, also a student of a local university.

The two soon became the best of friends.

In early 1977, when Jim was offered the opportunity to lease Woodland Health Center in Topeka, he knew he needed a business partner to make it happen.

He immediately thought of Butch.

The two men grew the business slowly over the next several years.

But all of that changed with the introduction of assisted living in the 1990s. Seeing assisted living as a better alternative to skilled nursing facilities, Jim and Butch built their first facility: Rolling Hills Assisted Living at 24th & Urish Road. Midwest Health now has 65 facilities in five states.

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EXPANDING THE VISION In addition to Midwest Health, Jim and Butch embarked on a variety of other business ventures together. They opened Breathe Oxygen & Medical Supply in 2002, which provides oxygen and respiratory equipment and supplies and durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, rollators and medical beds. They created Caregivers Home Health, a home care provider that allows seniors to remain safely in their own home while receiving medical care or assistance with personal care and other daily tasks.

Other ancillary business ventures include a partnership with Grace Hospice and SeniorRx Care Pharmacy, which provides medications for the Midwest Health facilities and other medical facilities.

That pharmacy venture opened up an entirely different aspect of business for Jim and Butch. To house the new pharmacy, in 2008 they renovated the old Dibble’s grocery building at 121 SE 6th St. in downtown Topeka. That led to expanded interest in other areas within the Topeka community.

In addition to several properties downtown and restaurants in Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City, Jim and Butch are the driving force behind Wheatfield Village at SW 29th and Fairlawn.

The development is home to

VISIONARIES The Wheatfield 9 Theater by B&B Theaters, Johnny’s Tavern, PT’s Coffee and SPIN! Pizza. The new Springhill Suites by Marriott opened the first of the year, and Wheatfield Village is in talks to add multi-family apartments to the complex. And that is just what they are doing in Topeka.

In May, Midwest Health is opening Homestead Estates of Wichita, a new senior living community that offers independent living, assisted living, and memory care on one campus. They are also renovating existing properties including Homestead Estates in Leawood, Kansas. The project will open this fall and offer Leawood seniors an upscale assisted living option.

Jim and Butch are also welcoming a new Chiefs Fit location in Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.

The new facility, which will be housed in the Jack Henry building that Jim and Butch own, will offer group

fitness classes, personal training services, cryotherapy treatment, hydromassage machines, Normatec recovery systems, spray tan booths, a sauna, fuel bar and a retail shop.

A COMMUNITY VIEW Successful entrepreneurs understand the importance of giving back to the communities where they do business. Jim and Butch each have organizations and causes that they care about and support.

Jim served as president of the Kansas Health Care Association, the industry’s largest trade association, in 1979 and again in 2007-2008. He is a past chairman of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce. He served as the president of Northeast Kansas Junior Achievement and is currently on the board. In addition, Jim serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, and GO Topeka.

Butch is a proud supporter of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Topeka Inc., Junior League of Topeka, The Arthritis Foundation, The American Heart Association, The Alzheimer’s Association, Topeka Civic Theatre & Academy, Capper Foundation, Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Foundation, and the Ronald McDonald House.

Jim and Butch don’t seek out the spotlight, but it is hard to avoid it when you are making such a difference in your community.

“In looking at the landscape of Topeka and the progress we have made, their vision is written all over what we have accomplished. Without their passion and commitment to Topeka we would be years behind where we are today,” said Brent Boles, member of the JA Business Hall of Fame selection committee.

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TOPEKA ER & HOSPITAL

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JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF KANSAS

laureates 2021 Dan Chavez Butch Eaton Mike Kiley Jim Klausman Christel Marquardt

2016 Andrew C. Corbin Neil Dobler James Richard (Dick) Pratt Eugene Williams

2011 Dr. Mark Morris, Jr. Dr. Kent Palmberg Jerry McElroy Ren Newcomer

2006 Anderson Chandler Jack Dicus Howard Fricke Balfour Jeffrey

2020 Dr. Shekhar Challa Ken Daniel David Porterfield

2015 Patti (Bossert) Mellard Steve Briman John B. Dicus Greg Schwerdt

2010 Charles Bennett Tim Etzel Linda Lee Jim Parrish

2005 J.H. “Ham” Abrahams Edwin “Train” Hughes Frank Sabatini Tom Schwartz Bob Wheeler

2019 Beth Anne Branden Rob Briman Patrick Gideon Michael Wilson

2014 Terry Bettis Jack McGivern Mary E. Turkington Lonnie Williams

2009 Sam Barham Kent Garlinghouse Maynard Oliverius Nancy Perry

2004 Cyrus K. Holliday Velma Pollock Henry Bubb Dr. Jerry Farley Emery Fager

2018 Brent Boles Debra and Randy Clayton Susan Garlinghouse Charles Morse

2013 Robert Brock Eldon Danenhauer Frances Dudley Terry Kimes

2008 Alonzo Harrison Georgia Neese Gray Kris Robbins Oscar, Stan & John Stauffer

2003 Lou Falley Dean Ferrell Ruth Fink Louis Pozez

2017 Randy Austin Martha Bartlett Piland Duane & Beth Fager DeWitt Harkness Don Landoll Mike Worswick

2012 Arthur C. Capper Dr. Robert Cotton Mark Heitz Mike & Bruce McPherson Dr. Robert O’Neil

2007 Sister Loretto Marie Colwell Harry Craig, Jr. Charles Marling Rosa Mendoza

Inspirational videos about each of the past laureates can be found on the JA of Kansas YouTube page, @KansasJA following the induction ceremony that will be held June 9.

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WASHBURN UNIVERSITY INDOOR ATHLETIC FACILITY “Schwerdt Design Group was a pleasure to work with. They truly listened to our ideas, then turned those ideas into a state of the art facility within budget that exceeded our wildest dreams.”

-LOREN FERRÉ DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS FOR WASHBURN UNIVERSITY

785.273.7540 sdgarch.com

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Partnering to Encourage Smart Choices & Entrepreneurship

By DAVID SOLLARS & ASHLEY CHAREST

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An understanding of consumer finance, making wise education and career decisions, and the effective use of financial tools are often the hallmark of financial and personal success; their absence can explain anxiety, financial hardship and lack of opportunity. Education and smart-money skills learned at an early age pay dividends for an entire lifetime.

Two organizations in our community work together to help students learn the ins-and-outs of money and how they can develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

PARTNERING IN ECONOMIC SUCCESS The Washburn University School of Business (B-School) has long partnered with Junior Achievement (JA) of Kansas. JA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.

Each year, JA of Kansas reaches over 28,000 students throughout the state of Kansas with nearly 12,000 of those students from Topeka and Shawnee County. These programs are provided through hands-on learning experiences that focus on financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness.

JA programs supplement schools’ curricula by providing important life skills, such as how to manage money, succeed in the workplace, or start a business that creates jobs. Working with schoolteachers, the JA classes are staffed by community volunteers who serve as mentors and provide relevant, hands-on experiences

that give students from kindergarten through 8th grade knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. Over the years the B-School has provided numerous classroom volunteers to support the JA programs.

PREPARING FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER JA programs aren’t just limited to K-8. For the last two years the B-School has participated in the JA Personal Finance Symposium, an event that was offered to all 11 area high schools.

The symposium focuses on five areas: income, budgeting, savings, credit and debt, and consumer protection and will have over 500 students enrolled this year. Being exposed to smart financial decision-making skills at a young age will plant seeds that hopefully will result in positive outcomes as young people become adults and are faced with so many opportunities to make either good or bad choices about education, careers, and their personal finances.

JA has set up a Virtual Career Fair that allows students and community members to interact with local businesses, view educational videos on career subjects such as interviewing and resume writing, and explore college opportunities. Each year, JA also publishes and distributes the “College and Career Guide” that provides information about careers, wages and salaries, and options for education beyond high school, including costs, scholarships and financial aid.

HONORING TODAY’S LEADERS The B-School has also longserved as the home of the Topeka Business Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame, started in 2003, now has over 80 laureates, many of them Ichabod Alumni or leaders in our community, such as Washburn President Jerry Farley.

This year’s class features both Jim Klausman and the late Christel Marquardt, both Washburn alumni, former Washburn Board of Regents members and long-time supporters of the institution. The laureate class also includes business leaders Butch Eaton, Dan Chavez, and Mike Kiley.

SUPPORTING YOUTH In our new, ever-changing economy, JA programs and volunteer role models will be needed more than ever to help our young people navigate through the many challenges they will face in a different economic environment. Our students are resilient and ready to take on these challenges. JA of Kansas, along with our volunteer role models, will be there to help provide them with the tools and skills they will need to prepare to succeed in a global economy.

JA is supported by private organizations, businesses and individual donors who sponsor events or make a donation. JA financial supporters and the hundreds of classroom volunteers make these programs happen.

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David Sollars is Dean and Professor of Economics at the Washburn University School of Business. He has also served on the JA Kansas Board since 2003, and is a program volunteer.

Ashley Charest is President of Junior Achievement of Kansas.

If you are interested in volunteering or supporting Junior Achievement of Kansas with a donation, visit www.kansasja.org.

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Topeka PLUG AND PLAY

By KIM GRONNIGER Photos by JOHN BURNS

Topeka is located in the heart of the Animal Health Corridor, which spans from Manhattan, Kansas, to Columbia, Missouri. Within the corridor, 300 companies account for 56 percent of total animal health, diagnostics technology and pet food sales worldwide.

Topeka’s new Plug and Play program is the first accelerator dedicated specifically to animal health and agricultural technology and is designed to capitalize not only on regional strengths but also to facilitate global innovation and interaction.

Learn how Topekans collaborated to bring Plug and Play to the capital city and meet two startup founders, a former advertising professional using microbial fermentation to create a new pet protein and a former chemist who is developing biodegradable packaging for the food and beverage industry.

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Don’t just join a Club

Join a Family

The Topeka CounTry Club

TO

.

P E K A C.C EST. 1905

love where you

play

“I’m going to play at home.

I love to be at Topeka Country Club.

It’s where I grew up. That’s one - Gary Woodland course I’d play every day.”

2019 U.S. Open Champion The Topeka CounTry Club www.topekacc.org may/june 2021

TK Business Magazine

2700 Sw buchanan, Topeka, kansas 66611 | (785) 354-8561

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The Catalyst John Keddy

Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer Security Benefit

Photo by JOHN BURNS

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John Keddy, chief technology officer and chief information security officer for Security Benefit, first became familiar with Plug and Play four years ago when his employer became a partner in its insurance tech vertical.

Security Benefit participates in pitches on data analytics, cybersecurity and consumer engagement initiatives while building relationships within the global tech community.

Keddy, who serves on the GO Topeka Innovation Advisory Board, participated in the hiring process for Katrin Bridges, senior vice president of innovation, and suggested she accompany him to Plug and Play’s Sunnyvale, California, headquarters to show her “how people who are the best in the world at financing and supporting startups do what they do.”

In April 2019, Keddy and Bridges, accompanied by Dan Foltz, KBS Constructors and an Innovation Advisory Board member, and Lindsay Lebahn, executive director of Forge, visited the facility. Lebahn has since been named Plug and Play’s program manager in Topeka.

“Visiting Plug and Play is a fascinating experience,” said Keddy.

“It’s a hive of activity with some of the smartest, most creative people going full speed to change the world by launching the next billion dollar business.

Investors and startups are located all over the globe with industries that range from a retail tech track in Paris to an automotive tech track in Germany and other accelerator programs in Tokyo and New York City and beyond.

While we were still on campus, Katrin was already determined to get Topeka involved.”

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Bridges accompanied Keddy to a meeting of insurance tech entrepreneurs and the discussion veered into ag tech possibilities for Topeka, given its location along the Animal Health Corridor and proximity to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan. Keddy said subsequent conversations coincided with Plug and Play Founder and CEO Saeed Amidi’s interest in creating a safer food supply and alternative sources of protein for people and pets.

When the pandemic prompted cancellation of Amidi’s March 2020 trip to Asia, his colleagues persuaded him to join them for an ag tech summit hosted

by Security Benefit in Topeka instead.

“We had 150 attendees representing startups, school districts, universities, and corporations, all of them passionate about making Topeka another Plug and Play outpost,” said Keddy. “Amidi sat on the front row the whole time. I felt like his eyes bored into me whenever I spoke. Speaker after speaker, he never looked at his phone once. When I walked out with him, he shook my hand three times and told me he was really impressed and thought we could do something.”

Keddy said he believes Topeka is well-positioned to reap economic development advantages from its Plug and Play partnership because of its location in the middle of the country and in the heart of the Animal Health Corridor.

“We have an affordable cost of living and no traffic, which means entrepreneurs can spend more time building their business,” he said.

“Flights to either coast are affordable and manageable, and if you’re looking for amazing talent, you can get it from University of Kansas and Kansas State University engineering students willing to work for $15-an-hour internships for the opportunity to learn and be part of something special. All of these factors absolutely play in our favor.”

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Oakland Wastewater Treatment Plant: Producing renewable fuel to drive city revenue and environmental sustainability “Bartlett & West helped us understand the long-term potential in biogas.

By producing energy and selling to the power grid, we avoid flaring and expect to cut down on our operating costs. It’s rare to find a municipal project that generates revenue. This is a huge win for the City of Topeka.”

Sylvia Davis, Deputy Director of Operations

Driving community and industry forward, together.

www.bartlettwest.com

City of Topeka Utilities Department

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

THE CLOSER Katrin Bridges

Senior Vice President of Innovation GO Topeka In the summer of 2018, GO Topeka hired Katrin Bridges to enhance the area’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with a particular focus on animal and ag tech startups. A native of Germany, Bridges arrived in the United States in 2000 to attend graduate school in Philadelphia and was familiar with the opportunities and risks inherent with startups through firsthand experience, having led a Boston bio-tech business for four years.

When the Topeka contingent returned to the Plug and Play campus to make its pitch on April Fool’s Day, 2019, Bridges opened her presentation with a title slide touting Topeka as an opportunity with “No Joke” in a big font front and center. After a six-hour meeting, Bridges invited Plug and Play representatives to visit Topeka to learn more.

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During a three-day event in June 2019, Bridges said the community gave guests “the reception of their lives. We have so many assets here—potential corporate partners, great universities pumping out research all day long and hardworking Midwesterners. Our guests were blown away.”

In spring 2020, Plug and Play committed to Topeka.

“Before our interactions, Topeka was not on their radar,” said Bridges, “but the more we told our story and shared our vision, the more believable the Plug and Play possibility became.”

The first ag tech cohort pilot launched virtually in October 2020 with 10 participants from Australia, Colorado, Florida, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

“We started small not only because of the pandemic but also because we wanted to become comfortable with our process and finetune things,” Bridges said. “At the end of the day, startups want to be successful and ahead of the curve, so we’re creating an environment that facilitates that with our own Topeka spin.”

The program is designed to pair startups with partners who can assist with funding, access, talent, space, product development, research and other needs. Construction work for a new innovation campus is seeking approval from the Joint Economic Development Organization in the upcoming months and will be underway by the end of 2021.

“The space will complement other incubator and entrepreneurial endeavors and be a hub of innovation,” she said. “In addition to offices, we’ll also incorporate flex lab and wet lab areas.”

Two firms specializing in life science buildings explored options in outlying areas but both determined the ideal spot for the campus should be downtown.

“They independently concluded that the many amenities available downtown would be really attractive to

TK Business Magazine

an innovative entrepreneur who wants to feel connected to cool places and creatives spaces,” Bridges said.

Noting that “entrepreneurs see opportunities where others see problems,” Bridges is enthusiastic about the collaborations, discoveries and economic enhancements the Plug and Play partnership will yield not only for the cohort participants but also for the program’s corporate partners—Cargill, Evergy and Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. so far—and the region as a whole.

“Our corporate partners have access to a Plug and Play vertical and have been provided with an elite list of 60 startups working on issues that our corporate partners have previously identified as opportunities to enhance their operations and improve customer experiences,” said Bridges. “Our job at GO Topeka is to take all of this activity and make an economic impact.”

A second cohort launched March 24 with 10 participants from New York, Singapore, Canada, Massachusetts, Iowa, Missouri, California and Alabama.

Each cohort is set for three months, but Bridges said Topeka will provide incubator space for up to 12 months once the cohorts meet in person, allowing participating entrepreneurs “to embed themselves in our ecosystem.”

Noting the regional significance of Topeka’s Plug and Play partnership, Bridges said the entrepreneurial and economic development activities taking place “are more collaborative than competitive.”

She perceives community engagement as a key complement to the capital city’s cohort culture and structure.

On June 10, Plug and Play, in collaboration with GO Topeka, will host Expo Day, a virtual event open to the public. Members of both cohorts will share their aspirations and the knowledge and networking opportunities gained through their Plug and Play participation.

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WE DO I.T. CLOUD • INFRASTRUCTURE • MANAGED IT • SECURITY nex-tech.com/business • may/june 800.588.6649 2021 TK Business Magazine

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CORPORATE FOUNDERS

Photo by JOHN BURNS

Jeff Martin Vice President of Customer Operations Evergy

EVERGY

Evergy has long recognized the potential advantages that startups can bring to the company and the community.

The energy provider established an affiliate, Evergy Ventures, in 2015 to discover and support startups, and quickly recognized the benefits of a local Plug and Play partnership not only to encourage the development of entrepreneurial animal science and ag tech enterprises to fuel economic development but also to further facilitate its own interaction with startups working on service and distribution delivery enhancements for the energy industry.

“Through our Plug and Play partnership, we’re able to help bring new animal science and ag tech businesses to the region while also enhancing our engagement with startups looking at new solutions that could benefit our customers through a dedicated energy sector,” said Jeff Martin, vice president of customer operations.

Martin said the company recently established its five-year Sustainability Transformation Plan,

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which encompasses clean energy, grid modernization, an improved customer experience and cost competitiveness.

“Most of our customers want reliability and to know the lights will come on each day,” said Martin. “It’s our job to constantly assess the logic and logistics behind how we’re doing things and determine how we can perform better. The startups we’ll interact with will help Evergy employees think through new strategies and technologies developed by some of the brightest minds to support our plans to become a sustainable energy company and still maintain affordability and reliability.”

Martin, who participated in the first round of Plug and Play pitches last October and again in March, said the partnership provides an efficient avenue for discovering business enhancement opportunities, freeing up employees’ time.

“I’ve been very inspired by what I’ve seen and encouraged that we’ve already been able to introduce our employees to Plug and Play contacts,” he said. “We have people on our operations, engineering, IT, smart cities, community support and economic development teams and Evergy Ventures working closely to utilize what we’ve paid for as a founding member and dig deeper into new technologies that can help our customers. At any given time, Plug and Play can connect our business units with startups working on an opportunity we’ve already identified so we can move forward much more quickly.”

Martin said Plug and Play’s implementation in conjunction with Evergy’s five-year Sustainability Transformation Plan “will drive the goals and vision of the company. It’s a perfect time. I’m excited to see what happens next.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Dave Baloga (pictured with Arlo) Vice President of Science and Technology Hill’s Pet Nutrition Jesper Nordengaard President Hill’s Pet Nutrition

HILL’S PET NUTRITION

Jesper Nordengaard, president of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, said Plug and Play offers significant opportunity.

“As a leader in companion animals and companion health, we have great innovation and robust pipelines, but this program will allow us to expand and work with this ecosystem and have new discoveries,” he said.

Dave Baloga, vice president of science and technology for Hill’s and a member of the GO Topeka Innovation Advisory Board, said the company’s fundamental belief that “the right nutrition can change everything” fuels an interest in collaborating with startups that can accelerate the delivery of breakthroughs in pet nutrition, pet genetics, gut microbiome health, connected health and sustainability.

“The program is extremely responsive to our business goals and the needs of our pet parents,” Baloga

said. “At the outset, we provided Plug and Play our wish list of various technologies, business models, practices and products. The quality of our sourced companies has exceeded our expectations. We would have never found these potential partners so quickly on our own.”

Hill’s has continued conversations with three companies that participated in the first cohort and Baloga said the company is looking forward to further interactions with other participating startups.

“We anticipate that if collaboration creates value for companies, they will want to stay in the area and grow their business and the innovation ecosystem to spur further economic growth,” Baloga said. “We look forward to these mutually beneficial partnerships to continue to provide animals with the best care humanly possible.”

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PHOTO SUBMITTED

COhort participants

John Brown Founder and CEO STENCo

STENCo

March 2021 Cohort A career chemist, John Brown has always enjoyed tinkering. Growing up in Selma, Alabama, the amateur photographer developed his own film and negatives. In college, he studied chemistry, physics and anthropology and worked in an artifact preservation lab.

Following a career developing drug delivery systems and working with biodegradable polymers for the pharmaceutical industry, Brown worked with a biodiesel technology company that designed two plants in China.

In 2019, he left the company and moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he’s founded STENCo, LLC, which stands for Save the Earth Now. Brown is focusing his expertise on creating biodegradable packaging for the food and beverage market that would be cost effective and home compostable.

Eventually, Brown hopes to develop packaging that could accommodate products with a longer shelf life.

“When I started, it looked like I had a meth lab in my garage,” said Brown. “I didn’t leave my garage door open very

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often because I was afraid the neighbors would talk.”

He leveraged his contacts in the field and began getting encouraging results for his efforts to create a sustainable, economical biodegradable barrier product that potentially could replace 13 billion coffee pods, 150 billion straws and 500 billion cups.

“Single-use plastics are going through a societal revolution and a legislative revolution,” said Brown.

“There isn’t a good alternative right now, so this is a massive opportunity.”

Brown said the STENCo material, comprising proteins, cellulose and polysaccharides, forms “a protective bubble” that can withstand environmental factors and then fully degrade when conditions are right. In addition to its biodegradable properties, the material is microwavable and grease and water resistant.

“Some things will be more compatible with our approach than others,” he said. “You won’t see a biodegradable Coke bottle any time soon.”

TK Business Magazine

Brown said STENCo, which has five employees, is primarily working with consumer-facing organizations interested in shelf-ready solutions and their suppliers.

“The material already competes favorably with plastics, a surprising outcome we didn’t anticipate would happen in less than geological time,” said Brown, who filed his first patent in 2019. Later that year, he established the LLC, transferred patents to raise money for the venture and met with major players to discuss his plans.

“A few people who know me and my background were very supportive and believed in what I was doing from the start,” said Brown. “When we met with larger companies, they were more incredulous. Most were skeptical that a guy in his garage could come up with this concept when their R&D teams hadn’t. Fortunately, we’ve been able to share solid science behind our testing and have gained credibility.”

Brown participated in three previous Plug and Play opportunities before joining the Topeka cohort last fall.

“Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Cargill were already of interest to us because of their sustainability commitments, and we now have direct access to those companies to see if there’s a good fit for working together,” said Brown.

Brown said Plug and Play participation has resulted in initial investments that have enabled the company to outfit a lab and the team continues to capitalize on opportunities.

“The attention we’ve received for our biodegradable packaging effort has exceeded all of our expectations,” he said. “We’re not revenue positive yet, so we have to remain hungry, lean and aggressive. We spend every investment dollar like it’s our own. Fortunately, I’m notoriously cheap. We want to be good stewards with the people who’ve put faith in us and reward them well when success comes.”

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PHOTO SUBMITTED

Rich Kelleman (right) Founder and CEO Bond Pet Foods

BOND PET FOODS October 2020 Cohort

For 25 years, Rich Kelleman worked for the biggest advertising agencies in the world. In 2010, a position with Burger King brought him to Boulder, Colorado, to help the fast food company compete more effectively against fresh casual chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera.

“That experience really opened my eyes to the challenges of sourcing ingredients and coincided with a personal interest in sustainable agriculture and farm animal welfare,” said Kelleman, founder and CEO of Bond Pet Foods.

A “voracious carnivore” before adopting a vegan diet, Kelleman became mindful of how meat is sourced and raised and his growing knowledge played a bigger role in his food choices and entrepreneurial aspirations.

Citing a 2017 UCLA white paper on the impact of meat production for pet consumption, Kelleman said, “One of the high-level conclusions was that cats and dogs are the fifth largest consumers of meat in the world, and the production of food and byproducts accounts for 20% to 30% of all greenhouse emissions.”

Kelleman is borrowing on biotech breakthroughs used to brew beer and

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make cheese to “crack the code” for pet protein now and potentially human food consumption later.

In August 2020, the company announced strides in creating an animalfree chicken protein expected to debut in the market in 2023.

“Commercially, it’s easier to replicate meat protein properties for pets because it’s not about the taste or the texture or the sizzle that humans require,” Kelleman said. “For pets, the end product needs to be nutritious but it doesn’t have to look like a steak or a pork chop.”

But it does have to taste good. His dog Rumples is the company’s taste tester and chief dog officer, “a sweet and adorable pit bull, Rottweiler and Shar Pei mix that will lick you face off,” said Kelleman. “We don’t carry something forward if she doesn’t like it.”

Kelleman spent a year outlining a potential process, recruiting a co-founder and building veterinary and biotech teams to look at new approaches, ultimately landing on microbial fermentation.

“We can brew the protein, gently dry and grind it into a fine powder, and then use the ingredient as a primary source of nutrition in a pet food product, be it extruded, freeze-dried, dehydrated or baked,” he said. “We’re using a microbial fermentation process that’s been around for 50 years to brew beer and generate

TK Business Magazine

enzymes that separate curds and whey in about 80% of cheese production.”

Kelleman’s team uses DNA from a chicken, couples it with yeast, ferments it with sugar, salt and minerals, and then grows the protein in a tank.

To help demystify the process, Kelleman and his science team drove to a heritage chicken farm in Lindsborg, Kansas, and selected Inga, a Heritage hen, to serve as the source of Bond Pet Foods’ cultured protein product.

“We could have downloaded the genetic sequence of the chicken muscle protein from an online database in a matter of seconds, but we wanted to show people where our company’s meat will eventually come from and create a connection,” said Kelleman. “With that, we took a harmless blood sample from these happy hens to start the process.”

When Kelleman first began sharing his startup plans with family and friends, he said reactions typically skewed toward “amazing and curious served up with a side of crazy.”

Convinced of the viability of his vision, Kelleman said the ensuing challenges of “turning a napkin sketch into reality” entailed considerable financial sacrifice as he and the team experimented with their processes.

Though still in the “skinny years” of entrepreneurship, Kelleman said his company’s Plug and Play participation, both through San Francisco and Topeka’s first pilot cohort, has been a critical factor in the company’s progress.

“Fundraising isn’t easy, but Plug and Play offers beneficial workshops and facilitates networking opportunities and introductions to help us find potential partners,” he said. “The program also creates camaraderie. I can call on another startup that’s further along in the process and get insights that can help mitigate mistakes.”

The company has raised more than $2.2 million in seed funding to date with investors that include Plug and Play Ventures, Lever VC, KBW Ventures and Agronomics.

Bond Pet Foods currently has six employees who are “busting at the seams” in its Boulder lab, but “day by day, week by week, we’re getting closer to our goal,” Kelleman said.

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PLUG AND PLAY

Snapshot

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California Programs: 60+ Locations: 36 on three continents

Industry Verticals: 19 Topeka Cohort 1 Participants: 10 from 3 states and 5 countries Topeka Cohort 2 Participants: 10 from 6 states and 3 countries

GO Topeka Innovation Advisory Board Duane Cantrell, Chair Fulcrum Global Capital Dave Baloga Hill’s Pet Nutrition David Callanan Advisors Excel Dan Foltz KBS Constructors

John Keddy Security Benefit Mary Martell Stormont Vail Dr. Dan Richardson KSU College of Veterinary Medicine Mark Ruelle Evergy

2021 Inaugural Cohort Ampcontrol (New York, New York) Artificial-intelligence-powered software to optimize charging electric vehicles for fleet operators and charging networks.

BIOPSIN (Singapore) Biosensor device to empower industries to detect pathogens in real time GBatteries (Ottawa, Canada) Enablement for electric vehicles to charge as fast as it takes to fill up a tank of gas

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Nutrivert (St. Louis, Missouri) Non-antibiotic replacements for antibiotic growth Obe, Inc. (San Francisco, California) Digital platform for veterinarians and pet parents to keep pets healthier and happier with real-time behavioral data to facilitate preventive care and early diagnosis of potential problems before conditions become acute Resilient Biotics (Berkeley, California) Platform microbiome therapeutics company developing solutions to combat respiratory infectious diseases in animal and human health

Heila (Somerville, Massachusetts) Accelerated adoption of clean and distributed energy with the Heila to simplify the installation and operation of small-scale power generation and storage technologies

STENCo (Birmingham, Alabama) Biodegradable oxygen barrier properties for food and beverage industry

NanoSpy (Ames, Iowa) Rapid detection biosensors for economical in-field, point-of-use diagnostics without the need for sample labeling/pre-enrichment, laboratories or environmentally hazardous reagents.

Veloce Energy (Los Angeles, California) Electrification of transportation by reducing installation and operating cost for EV charging stations for fleets, multifamily and TK public use

May/june 2021

TK Business Magazine

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Family-owned businesses, ones where private life and work life are intertwined, may be the oldest form of business organization. In rural areas, farms were family businesses passed down through generations.

In urban settings, it was normal for a shopkeeper to live in the same building in which he or she worked and family members often helped with the business.

These businesses may include numerous combinations of family members in various business roles, including husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings, and in-laws playing the roles of working partners, stockholders, advisors and employees. Meet three local companies that are making business a family affair.

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MOTHER/DAUGHTER Coldwell Banker American Home of Topeka

Photo by JOHN BURNS

By MIRANDA ERICSSON & LISA LOEWEN Photos by JOHN BURNS

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SIBLINGS Thiessen Design + Construction

Photo by JOHN BURNS

FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES

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EXTENDED FAMILY CWC Electric

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

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SIBLINGS

Thiessen Design + Construction

Photo by JOHN BURNS

DANIEL CARLSON TAMMY THIESSEN THIESSEN DESIGN + CONSTRUCTION

Going into business with any family member can be a challenge, but siblings in business together can pose a unique set of hurdles. After all, sibling rivalry begins almost at birth. Fortunately for brother and sister pair, Daniel Carlson and Tammy Thiessen, childhood rivalry turned into adult collaboration— Thiessen Design + Construction.

Thiessen Design + Construction is a design-focused remodeling and construction company that offers a turnkey approach to designing homes from concept to completion.

They are known for their clean and bright aesthetic and concierge approach to the entire process, including design, remodel and furnishing.

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There’s no place like

home.

Decor, Furniture, Home Fragrances Gifts & Custom Faux Florals

Fairlawn Plaza Shopping Center 2131 SW Fairlawn Plaza Drive Topeka, Kansas 66614

reddoorhomestore.com 785.250.7720

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

Daniel Carlson and Tammy Thiessen, owners of Thiessen Design + Construction, say their sibling bond has grown stronger through their collaboration toward mutual success.

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“We take what has been a fragmented and overwhelming process and make it a customerfocused, comprehensive and enjoyable experience,” Tammy said. “I provide the vision and Daniel executes the plan.”

THIESSEN DESIGN When Tammy founded her interior design business, she quickly realized that the fragmented way the construction industry functioned wasn’t the best for homeowners. Starting with a general contractor and then backing into the design of the project didn’t make sense. As a designer, Tammy understood that project design needed to come first and then feed into the build process.

“Historically, the role of a general contractor or builder is to execute against what you, as the homeowner, want. But, you have to know WHAT you want, and that is typically what people need help with,” Tammy said. “We help them reimagine their space, advise on what walls should and can be removed. Determine where the focal point of the space should be, and what is even possible in each situation. That is why the traditional contractorcentric approach to remodeling or building isn’t the ideal process for the homeowner.” + CONSTRUCTION Daniel, a licensed general contractor, was building custom carpentry pieces for Tammy’s designs at the time. The two of

them began brainstorming ideas for a new type of company that could serve the needs of their clients better. One that had design at the forefront and whose purpose was to make the process enjoyable for homeowners.

When Thiessen Design + Construction takes on a new project, the first step is to advise clients on what should be done.

Tammy owns the first phase of these projects. She meets with clients for initial consults, bids the project and takes it through the design phase.

After that, Tammy and Daniel are fully integrated.

Once the construction starts Daniel takes over the process and manages the project. He works directly with the design team throughout to alleviate the demand on the client. Most of the time he can go to the design team to get answers on job specific questions, rather than making last minute calls to the homeowner.

The combination of design plus construction lets projects stay under the same umbrella from start to finish, cutting through unnecessary red tape and keeping communication channels constantly open.

“Our top priority is to make the experience easy and enjoyable for our homeowners. When we finish a space it is 100% done, all the way down to hanging art on the walls,” Tammy said.

SIBLING BONDS Tammy says she and Daniel have a great relationship, so being

in business together is just an extension of an already tight-knit relationship.

“Our families have always been close. We’ve lived in the same town for over 10 years now and have dinner together every Monday night, virtually without exception,” Tammy said. “I can’t imagine having that level of rapport with another person.”

That sibling bond has grown stronger through their collaboration toward mutual success and is what keeps them aligned in their business relationship; however, it can make the separation between work and family harder to delineate.

Sometimes it is hard to separate work and family—our family conversations often weave in and out between business and non-business topics,” Daniel said.

“Sometimes it would be nice to turn it off at the end of the work day but it is also really great to be able to share this exciting company we are growing with our family.”

Tammy says that while they do end up talking shop a lot when they are together, as the business has matured, they have worked hard to create space to talk about other things. As they have matured, so has their relationship.

“It’s been incredible to be on the same team together,” Tammy said. “I certainly don’t think working together is ideal for all family members, but if you do work well together, it’s such a solid foundation to work from.”

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

AMANDA LEWIS MICHELLE LEWIS COLDWELL BANKER AMERICAN HOME OF TOPEKA

MOTHER/DAUGHTER

Coldwell Banker American Home of Topeka Michelle Lewis and Amanda Lewis are co-owners of Coldwell Banker American Home of Topeka.

Originally founded in 1954, it is one of the longest standing real estate brokerages in Northeast Kansas.

Michelle serves as the company’s CEO, while Amanda is the President.

Michelle also happens to be Amanda’s mom. Together, the two run a fullservice and fully staffed brokerage.

“It is incredibly special to get to work together on a daily basis,” Amanda said. “Some days are easy, others are hard, but at the end of the day, as family, we have the ultimate faith and trust in each other.”

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E TH

RECO

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RTING

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Your business may be eligible for the

JEDO Small Business Grant Relief Program The JEDO Small Business Grant Relief Program is a grant program of GO Topeka and JEDO to provide relief to businesses suffering from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To learn more and apply online, go to: supporttopeka.com/small-business-relief

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TK Business Magazine

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Coldwell Banker American Home of Topeka employs 70 agents and more than 50 of them work full time.

30-YEAR FAMILY LEGACY Coldwell Banker American Home has been part of the Lewis family for the last 30 years. From January of 1990 until July of 2020, Michelle was the Chief Financial Officer, and over the years, the entire family has devoted their time to enhancing the success of the brokerage. Amanda officially joined Coldwell Banker American Home as an accounting assistant right after graduating from the University of Kansas in 2014.

Over the next six years, Amanda stepped into a leadership role, so when the company’s franchise came up for renewal in 2020, they decided to purchase the company.

“As a mother and daughter team, we felt this was our opportunity to build and leave a family legacy,” Michelle said.

Photo by JOHN BURNS

LEVERAGING STRENGTHS Amanda and Michelle each tackle different aspects of the business based on their experience. Michelle is in charge of the financial and operations side of the company, a natural fit after her long tenure as a manager and the Chief Financial Officer.

She has been through several recessions and has a good eye for a volatile market. Amanda is in charge of company growth, retention and education, drawing on her real estate experience and relationship with the Coldwell Banker corporate office. Coldwell Banker American Home employs 70 agents, and more than 50 of them work full time.

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Michelle said. “We actually came out better in 2020 than in 2019.

We had a bit of an increase, and it was because of our amazing team.”

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY The pandemic nudged Coldwell Banker American Home to move forward with innovative ways to best serve their clients, with a focus on paperless service that makes the process faster and easier. Clients can even sign digitally from wherever they are.

Moving forward, the company is committed to embracing new innovative technology, so that they can continue to empower

people to make the best real estate decisions possible.

Both women attribute their passion for real estate and the foundation of their company’s success to the previous owners, Ben Blair and Bryon Schlosser.

Both Blair and Schlosser were instrumental in mentoring Amanda and Michelle over the years and remain their biggest supporters and “go-to” individuals when seeking advice.

Amanda and Michelle are proud of the legacy that they are building together, and they hope that others in the family will eventually be interested in carrying on the company.

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

“Our agents are putting in 110% every day, it is not a weekend hustle,” Amanda said.

Coldwell Banker also employs nine full time staff members including transaction coordinators, non-competing supervising broker, in-house attorney, a relocation director and marketing directors, so the company offers full service for agents and clients in-house.

The Coldwell Banker American Home approach also means a lot of individualized support and training for new agents. The company employs many veteran agents who are among the top producing in Kansas, giving agents newer to the field an opportunity to learn from their experience. Amanda points out that the average age of realtors is around age 56, so it is an aging workforce with a lot of opportunity for up-and-coming agents.

“Real estate will continue to thrive,” Amanda said. “There is always someone that needs to move. It is up to agents to find those people. The more work you put in; the better potential you have to be successful.”

Amanda and Michelle love that their work is always changing. The two went into their first year as business owners in a difficult year, but they are always prepared for the unexpected, and their ability to adapt helped them rise to the challenge.

“We came together as a team, all of us, and got through it,”

Coldwell Banker American Home of Topeka showed an increase in 2020 over 2019.

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

JOEL HOGAN • BRIAN RUSSELL • CHUCK HOGAN • NATALIE HOGAN | CWC ELECTRIC

EXTENDED FAMILY CWC Electric

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CWC Electric is truly a family business. What started as a husband and wife team in 2012 has grown into an extended family endeavor.

The company, which specializes in commercial and residential electrical installation, repair and troubleshooting, was actually a second career for both Chuck and Natalie Hogan. Chuck was a firefighter for over 20 years but worked as an electrician on his days off from the department. Natalie was a Special Agent with the Kansas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

While they each enjoyed their jobs, both of them had grown up in families who owned small businesses,

so they shared an entrepreneurial spirit and the willingness to tolerate taking calculated risks. Making the decision to leave well-established careers was both terrifying and exhilarating.

“We convinced our son-in-law, Brian Russell, to make the move with us. Without his help and support, we would not be where we are today,” Chuck said.

LEAP OF FAITH Initially, they started the business with Castlewood Construction owner Mike Kennedy, who shared a similar vision for how to better serve customers.

“Knowing things would be tight for a while, we cut our personal budget and found ways to live on less money,” Natalie said. “That first year was half of the income we’d had before, but we knew it would be worth it.”

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

A few years later, Mike offered to sell his share of the business and Chuck and Natalie became the sole owners. Along with son-inlaw Brian, they started to grow the business. But real growth came after their son, Joel Hogan, moved back to Topeka to raise his family.

“Hiring Joel as our third master electrician was the fuel that fired substantial growth for the business,” Chuck said.

“We are a close-knit company who care about each other and our customers.”

—Chuck Hogan Co-owner CWC Electric

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FAMILY MATTERS Each family member’s work is very specific, without a lot of overlap in responsibilities. Chuck primarily meets with customers and provides estimates on larger projects, schedules the work and orders inventory. Natalie is in charge of all office duties and accounting. Both Joel and Brian are Field Supervisors, responsible for overseeing projects and training employees.

“I could not have done it without Natalie,” Chuck said. “I do nothing with the numbers side, the accounting. She does all of the hard work. She’s as invested in this as I am, so I have that trust.”

Chuck says the key to their success has really been excellent customer service and great communication internally. He believes having family working in the same business improves that communication.

“I fully trust Joel and Brian to be honest and treat my customers well because they have a vested interest in the company. My customers will become their customers when I retire. I personally trained both my son and son-in-law, so my high standards are their high standards,” Chuck said.

Working with family has some other benefits as well. When a bicycle accident in 2018 left Brian clinging for life in the hospital, the entire business shut down that day and phones went unanswered as

TK Business Magazine

everyone gathered at the hospital to support one another.

“For several days we didn’t know if he would survive or how severe his disabilities would be if he did live,” Natalie said. “If you want to talk about the stresses small family-owned businesses face, this would be the most severe you can imagine.”

The next day, the company was back up running, family members cycling through responsibilities at work and spending time at the hospital.

Other employees stepped up to fill in the gap while Brian was off work for several months as he recovered.

And despite such an extreme setback, the business continued to grow and flourish.

“Though me, my wife, son-inlaw and son are all related, we have been blessed to hire many others who we consider family,” Chuck said. “We are a close-knit company who care about each other and our customers.”

The story has a happy ending in that Brian is back riding a bike (though modified to accommodate his range of motion) and working.

MUTUAL RESPECT Chuck says the advantages of working with family greatly outweigh the disadvantages.

“My wife and daughters all complain we talk too much about work at family gatherings,” Chuck said. “At times, we might have differences of opinion but because of our mutual respect we are always able to reach satisfactory resolutions.”

Married 38 years, Chuck and Natalie have three grown children and seven grandchildren, five boys and two girls, ranging from 1 to 12.

“I have seven grandchildren.

It is my hope that at least some of them will follow in my, and their father’s, footsteps,” Chuck said. TK

congratulations KANSAS FINANCIAL RESOURCES congratulates

ERIC HUNSICKER

on earning the Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation.

This honor is achieved only upon completion of extensive course work, demonstrated practical skill and advanced product knowledge. Further, it reflects the goal of KFR to offer all clients the utmost in professional service. Eric will concentrate on wealth management and specialized planning for his clients.

Join us in congratulating Eric on his accomplishment. He may be reached at:

3311 SW Van Buren | Topeka, KS 66611 785.266.1200 | www.KFRtopeka.com | eric@kfrtopeka.com ERIC HUNSICKER, CFP , CLU ®

®

Registered representatives offer securities through Securities America, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Financial advisors offer advisory services through Securities America Advisors, Inc. Kansas Financial Resources, Inc. and the Securities America companies are separate entities.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING

BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLANNING:

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Reduce Taxes & Prepare for the Future

Jeremy Graber Partner-in-Charge Foulston Siefkin LLP Topeka

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For the business owner, there is no right time to start succession planning.

But there is certainly a wrong time, and that’s when it is too late, often after a significant life event. Regular business matters often take precedence over longer-term planning for an issue with an uncertain timeframe.

But as gift and estate tax limits roll back in 2026, and possibly earlier if Washington acts, now may be the time to start a business succession plan and position yourself for tax benefits.

Succession planning is developing a plan to transfer ownership and/ or management of your business.

Decisions about the economic benefits, control and timeframe do not have to be implemented all at once. You can transfer some or even most of the economic benefits to your children now, while retaining full control until later.

Similarly, perhaps you can transfer dayto-day management to another person but maintain an economic interest in your company.

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CORPORATE SERVICES  AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION  WEDDINGS & EVENTS may/june 2021

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SUCCESSION PLANNING

TAXES ESTATES WORTH MORE THAN $11,700,000 Currently, the estate tax exemption is $11,700,000. If your estate’s total value at your death plus prior taxable gifts is less than that amount, you owe no estate tax. Your estate will pay 40% of any amount over $11.7 million. The exemption doubled in 2018, but sunsets at the end of 2025, dropping to roughly $5.5 million.

Of course, Congress could accelerate the sunset or change it altogether. Most practitioners do not believe this “bonus exemption” will continue past 2025, so if your taxable estate exceeds $5.5 million at that time, 40% goes to Uncle Sam. Those who have a taxable estate should take advantage of the bonus exemption by making gifts and taking steps now to reduce future estate tax exposure.

PLAN NOW FOR ESTATES OF ALL SIZES Even if you think your estate won’t be taxable, here are two reasons to act now: 1) everyone should have a plan, regardless of taxes; 2) the value of your company will likely grow. By gifting some of the economic interest now, the future growth avoids estate tax.

For example, what if your $4 million company doubled in value over the next seven years? Or tripled in 10? Now you have a taxable estate with significant taxes due (assuming the sunset goes into effect). What if, instead, you gifted $2 million of the economic value (non-voting interest) to your children or an

irrevocable trust now, and then the company’s value doubled? Your estate would be worth $4 million, and the $2 million previously gifted would be worth $4 million as well, but because it is outside of your estate, no estate tax is due. As shown in the chart below, even small transfers now can pay off in large dividends down the road.

PLANNING IDEAS Where to start? Consider who receives company interests (voting or non-voting) and when.

GIFTING Let’s say Maria owns 100% of a $4 million company. Of her three children, only Brylen works in the business. Maria doesn’t plan to retire in the next 10 years, but she wants to move some assets out of her estate, treat the kids equally and ultimately leave control to Brylen.

First, Maria may convert her 100 voting shares to 98 non-voting shares and 2 voting shares. She then creates an irrevocable trust for her three children with her spouse or trusted business partner as the trustee and immediately gifts 51 non-voting shares to the trust. This leaves her with 47 non-voting shares and 2 voting shares (49% of the economic value but 100% of the vote). On her death, this trust would distribute these shares to the three children equally.

While maintaining full control, she has shifted the majority of the economic value out

NOT ACTING

GIFTING

YEAR

COMPANY VALUE

TAX EFFECT

GIFTED VALUE

RETAINED VALUE

1

$4,000,000

$0

$2,000,000

$2,000,000

$0

$0

7

$8,000,000

$1,000,000

$4,000,000

$4,000,000

$0

$1,000,000

10

$12,000,000

$2,600,000

$6,000,000

$6,000,000

$200,000

$2,400,000

* Assumes tax rate is 40% for amounts over $5,500,000.

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TAX TAX SAVINGS EFFECT VIA GIFTING

of her estate. In the upcoming 10 years, she may consider gifting additional, smaller shares to the trust. Her 2 voting shares retain company control now and create a vehicle to hand management to Brylen later. In five years, perhaps she gives one voting share to Brylen, and the other when she retires, then equalizes the economic interest among her other children with non-voting shares.

Another key piece of Maria’s plan would be a robust buy-sell (or shareholder) agreement.

It would include provisions keeping the noninvolved children from being shut out of economic interests and allowing them to sell out if they wanted to liquidate their interest (presumably after her retirement or death). But this right might be accompanied with a payment term over 10 years to avoid forcing Brylen to distribute immediate cash that may cripple the business. The buy-sell agreement would also keep anyone from selling outside the family without first offering it to the others and other rights that ensure all shares stay together if the company is sold to a third party.

Plan ahead for tax savings and business succession.

JEREMY L. GRABER jgraber@foulston.com 785.354.9412

Foulston’s Topeka partner-in-charge Jeremy Graber enjoys the challenge of helping business leaders and individuals solve problems and meet their goals.

As a business and tax lawyer, Jeremy focuses on wealth transfer and

SELLING Selling part of the company is a succession planning option too. Some parents want the next generation to have “skin in the game” just as they did when they were building the business. With interest rates extremely low, now is a great time for intra-family loans. Selling part of the business over an extended period with low interest can be a way to transfer part of the company’s interest and lock in the value but still maintain control and have the transfer restrictions through the buy-sell agreement discussed earlier. Some owners also use loans for their future cash flow even though the next generation is now the owner and management.

business succession, estate planning,

START NOW Succession planning options are nearly boundless. But keep in mind the old saying: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Starting a succession plan – even a simple or imperfect one – is better than no plan at all.

TK

graduate of Leadership Greater

employee benefits, and real estate.

Jeremy offers business succession planning commentary in this month’s issue of TK Magazine.

Committed to downtown Topeka, Jeremy recently oversaw relocation of Foulston’s new office to a renovated historic building at 822 S. Topeka. He is a member of the Junior Achievement of Topeka Board of Directors and a Topeka’s Class of 2016.

FOULSTON.COM may/june 2021

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LAMONA SCROGGINS Partner & Executive Chef Chef LaMona LLC

Photo by JOHN BURNS

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Chef LaMona

TK Business Magazine

By KATHY WEBBER Photos by JOHN BURNS

On the east side of Topeka, in the Harbor Freights Tools parking lot located at 230 SE 29th Street, a food truck serves a line of cars that sometimes stretches out of view all the way up the street. This isn’t your ordinary food truck, serving typical food truck dishes; this is Chef LaMona’s food truck, serving chef-prepared gourmet meals such as lobster or crab.

DISCOVERING A LOVE LaMona Scroggins never cared much for cooking, in fact she didn’t even like it. It wasn’t until she had her first child that her interest in cooking surfaced.

“My oldest daughter is disabled, and when my kids were little, it was hard to take them to restaurants,” Scroggins said. “But I wanted them to eat good quality food, so I began to teach myself how to make all kinds of food that they might have if we were at a restaurant. That’s when I found out I was really good at it and that I love it.”

Part of that love of cooking was making her creations eye appealing as well as delicious. She would take pictures of her creations and post them on social media for others to see. Many of her friends noticed how beautiful her dishes looked and they wanted to try them.

“I took a lot of food porn pics—pictures of food that you drool over and want to taste—and have been posting them for years,”

Scroggins said. “People were all, ‘Ooh... I want to taste it; how can I try it? Are you selling these plates?’

So, I decided why not start cooking for people.”

COOKING FOR OTHERS She opened a personal chef business where she would go into customers’ homes and prepare a gourmet meal. The business was going well for Scroggins until Covid-19 came into the picture and changed things.

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“The first day we had 300 people at the food truck.

I didn’t anticipate that we would be this busy.”

—LaMona Scroggins, Partner & Executive Chef| Chef LaMona, LLC

“When Covid-19 came, I wasn’t able to go into people’s homes and cook for them, so I had to change what I was doing,” Scroggins said. “That’s when the idea of the food truck started to make sense to me. I enjoyed the personal chef experiences, but it was expensive.

The food truck is less expensive and allows me to serve more people. It was a good decision for me.”

Scroggins partnered with her friend Nicole Malone and the two began the Chef LaMona LLC food truck business in September 2020. On the first day that Chef LaMona’s food truck opened, Scroggins was surprised by the support that the people in Topeka gave her.

“I didn’t realize how big it was going to be. The first day we had 300 people at the food truck. I didn’t

anticipate that we would be this busy! Topeka really showed up and supported us, and I am very grateful for that,” Scroggins said.

GOURMET FROM A TRUCK Chef LaMona’s food truck serves a variety of gourmet food plates.

“We offer everything from mac and cheese, fried fish, king crab, spaghetti, and Korean beef ribs. We switch it up just like I would at my house. I might keep a menu for a couple of weeks so that everybody has the opportunity to get a plate,” Scroggins said.

Scroggins loves the food truck because it allows her to share her talent with Topeka and not just her family.

“I love when someone tastes my food and I see their reaction when they taste the love that I put into it,” Scroggins said. “I will stare at you while you try it because I want to know that you feel what I just did. I know what I’m doing; this is something I can do in my sleep. To me, cooking is easy. It’s almost like I’m cheating.”

Chef LaMona’s food truck is open Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. or until they run out of food. Scroggins has plans to add additional days and locations.

“I’m going to eventually move around, but I’m on the east side now because that is where Chef LaMona’s food truck serves a varied menu that changes every few weeks.

Photo by JOHN BURNS

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I live, “ Scroggins said, “I tend to take the safe road on everything because of my kids, but eventually, I will move around. Once it gets warm, I plan to move to the west side.”

NOT JUST A ONE TRUCK SHOW Customers can track the food truck and see the list of food plates— with a few good food porn pics to tease you—at cheflamona.com. In addition to serving gourmet plates from the truck, Chef LaMona offers cooking classes, caters for large groups and still does the personal chef experience, just not as often because of Covid-19.

Scroggins is always changing her menu and trying something new.

“I like over-the-top everything. I’ll be bored and I will experiment with the food until it comes out perfect,” Scroggins said, “I cook every day so that I can perfect my dishes. You can go to school and learn something, but if you are not doing it constantly, you are not going to perfect it.”

Scroggins has created enough of her own recipes to compile her very own cookbook, “Cooking on a Different Level,” that will be coming out soon.

“I only hope to get better. There is a big difference serving a large number of people rather than one on one. But I love it! I love the challenge, and I like the food truck because I can work smarter not harder, and I can spend more time with my kids. I am very blessed to do what I love,” Scroggins said.

Photo by JOHN BURNS

Chef LaMona’s team from L to R: FRONT—Kyla, LaMona, Kiana BACK—Nicole, Kamani, Xavian

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KELLI HIGGINS Elevated Agent

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LINDSAY KOOSER Veil Events

Photo by JOHN BURNS

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KATIE VANBLARICUM InsectArt

MADE IN TOPEKA SOLD WORLDWIDE

By SAMANTHA EGAN Photos by JOHN BURNS

You have a great product but want to skip the part where you figure out how to set up an online store? For millions of creators, Etsy is the answer.

Known as the global marketplace for creative goods and vintage finds, the platform supports creators of all kinds in their pursuit to turn their passion into a paycheck. While setting up shop on the e-commerce giant has its perks, being on the platform means

giving up some control. Advertising volume, complete customer data and even competitor items that get promoted in their shop are all things that are out of Etsy sellers’ hands.

Three Topeka entrepreneurs shared the highs and lows of selling on Etsy. While they put varying amounts of time into their stores, each has learned valuable business lessons that have helped them succeed in one of the most powerful marketplaces in the world.

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InsectArt

KATIE VANBLARICUM

CRAWL BEFORE YOU FLY VanBlaricum’s insect career started as a hobby. When shopping for butterfly art, she couldn’t find much besides single butterflies mounted on white backgrounds.

“I thought they were all boring,” VanBlaricum said. “I wanted more of a piece of art than a science specimen.”

VanBlaricum decided to make her own butterfly art. Soon enough, her work created a buzz, and her friends urged her to sell her colorful creations. In 2006, InsectArt made its Etsy debut.

InsectArt started as a side hustle for VanBlaricum, who worked full time as an office manager at a construction company. But when the 2008 economy caused her to lose her job, VanBlaricum turned her focus to InsectArt. While her Etsy store now brings VanBlaricum more income than she had as a full-time employee, InsectArt was not an instant success.

It took over four years for her to make a livable wage. Luckily, her husband was able to support them both.

“I don’t know if I would have been able to become successful without a second wage earner in house,” VanBlaricum said. “It takes a long time to build up a customer base, figure out what people want to buy and get your name out there.”

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Some people step on bugs.

Others wear them as jewelry. Katie VanBlaricum caters to the latter. As the owner of the Etsy shop InsectArt, VanBlaricum sells dried insects and things made out of dried insects.

Browsing her shop, you’ll find earrings, necklaces and DIY kits.

But, mostly, you’ll find pages and pages of exotic bugs.

TK Business Magazine

Photo by JOHN BURNS

THE COST OF FREE ADVERTISING InsectArt got an unexpected boost thanks to the Wes Anderson film “Moonrise Kingdom.” Inspired by one of the main character’s green beetle earrings, customers swarmed VanBlaricum’s stock of Real Flower Beetle Earrings.

Etsy rewarded InsectArt’s spike in demand with more off-site ad placements. While those ads have helped VanBlaricum gain and maintain sales momentum, the choice to run them is outside of her control.

VanBlaricum explained sellers like her who sell over $10,000 of goods in a year are what Etsy considers “successful shops.” Successful shops are required to have offsite ads run by Etsy. While sellers only pay for the ad if customers click through to make a purchase, for each sale generated by an off-site ad, Etsy boosts its share of the profits to 20 percent of the sale, rather than the usual 5 percent.

“It forces me to do more work for less money,” VanBlaricum said.

VanBlaricum said the higher fees keep her from offering coupons since a discount on top of Etsy’s 20 percent cut would cause her to lose money. If given the choice, VanBlaricum said she would advertise less.

“Because I’m successful, I don’t feel like I want to run extra ads,” said VanBlaricum. “I’m only one person and maybe I don’t want more business right now.”

Yet, after 14 years, VanBlaricum said to leave Etsy would mean starting from the bottom of the search engine dregs.

“I’m not an expert on how analytics work, but I know it would be a high uphill climb,” VanBlaricum said.

CRUCIAL CONNECTIONS The plus side of leaving her advertising to Etsy? VanBlaricum has more time to spend talking to customers and sourcing insects.

As an online seller, VanBlaricum said engaging with her buyers is crucial.

“When you have an Etsy shop, you want to have a relationship with your customers,” VanBlaricum said.

VanBlaricum said her short response times (she usually answers inquiries in minutes) have helped her build credibility with her customers, who often want her advice on their insect projects.

“I try to keep an eye on what people are doing with my bugs and ask what other kinds of bugs they would like to see,” she said.

It was through those interactions that VanBlaricum came to a crucial revelation: Most customers didn’t want to buy framed insect art; they wanted to make it themselves.

The discovery prompted VanBlaricum to shift her model from framed art to do-it-yourself kits that walk customers through how to delicately spread insects’ wings and legs to mount their own creations.

“All they need to do is apply some glue and stick it in a frame and say that they made it,” VanBlaricum said.

Katie VanBlaricum’s hobby turned into a business when her friends urged her to sell her colorful creations.

FREE TO FLUTTER Over 70,000 sales later, VanBlaricum’s side hustle has metamorphosized into a profitable career.

Her next goal is to simply keep at it.

“If I can just stay the course and continue to be successful, then I’m happy,” she said.

VanBlaricum plans to continue the freedom and flexibility of being her own boss while getting to exercise her creativity.

“It’s my shop, and I don’t have to answer to a boss,” she said. “It gives me something new to do every day.”

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Elevated Agent KELLI HIGGINS

A SELLER’S MARKETPLACE Elevated Agent is stocked with over 100 branding pieces for real estate agents, from client presentations to social media posts.

She sells between 25 and 50 items a day.

While much of Higgins’ income is considered passive, meaning she doesn’t need to be present to make the sale, getting her shop off the ground was anything but hands-off. Her first year in business, Higgins purposely took a financial hit as she turned her full attention to growing Elevated Agent.

“It was definitely scary,” she said.

“But it was an awesome opportunity to combine two passions.”

A big part of getting set up was turning Higgins’ branding pieces into Canva templates, so customers

Photo by JOHN BURNS

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Kelli Higgins knows what real estate agents want: more time. She also knows what they need: unique branding. Through her Etsy shop, Elevated Agent, Higgins offers both.

Higgins has been a real estate agent for over 13 years but has been a graphic designer for longer. It was her eye for branding that made her unsatisfied with the materials she received from her brokerage.

“There really weren’t any good marketing pieces I felt were individual to me but also broad enough for any client,” Higgins said.

Higgins started designing her own materials. Her custom branding not only attracted clients but also other agents. Soon, she started designing pieces for her peers.

The demand eventually led Higgins to open her Etsy shop in 2019. Sales started coming in as soon as her first month, until, eventually, it became her primary source of income.

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could customize her materials after they purchase and download them.

Higgins set an initial goal to stock her shop with 20 products. Once sellers reach 20 products, Higgins explained that Etsy rewards them with more advertising dollars. Once sellers hit 100 items, their advertising budget maxes out at $100 a month. Higgins hit that milestone within six months.

“I felt like, ‘OK, my shelves are full, and now I need to fluff it,’” Higgins said.

In the virtual world, “fluffing” meant tweaking her product photos and beefing up her descriptions to better address frequent customer questions.

Those interactions proved to be one of the most valuable parts of her product development.

“I think that really helped me build good-selling products because it’s really what people want,” she said. “I know because they told me.”

Once her inventory hit 50 items, Higgins started bundling products.

“It’s a good idea to bundle items you often see people purchasing together or that they should purchase together,” Higgins said.

While templates are a huge part of her business, Higgins also has listings for custom work, which starts at $2,500.

Higgins limits this part of her business to two projects a month so she can keep her turnarounds quick, while also staying focused on the passive side of her business.

“I’m choosing to try to build more passive than custom,” Higgins said. “I want that flexibility and the freedom instead of being tied to my computer.”

PROS AND CONS Now in her third year as an Etsy seller, Higgins said there are some cons to selling on Etsy. For one, Etsy keeps customer information close to the vest.

That became a bigger bone of contention as Elevated Agent continued to evolve.

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“The longer I’m in business, the more I want to know about my customers,” she said.

To get that information, Higgins built her own email list by offering a free template to customers who joined her list. Her freebie helped her grow her list from 0 to 2,000.

As for other cons, there’s also the issue of Etsy promoting other sellers on Higgins’ shop under the “You may also like” header.

“I don’t love the idea that I could be losing a customer to one of my competitors just because they’re on Etsy,” Higgins said.

As for the volume of competition, that doesn’t deter Higgins, who sees it as a sign of demand.

“If you think of something and no one else is doing it, either you’re the first person who ever thought of that idea—and that’s pretty rare—or nobody needs it.”

That said, Higgins said aspiring Etsy sellers do need to research their competitors and take note of how they’re selling the product, how much they’re selling it for and how are they delivering it.

But Higgins’ most important advice for sellers who want to make a living through Etsy?

Treat it like a business.

“Passive doesn’t mean it’s 100 percent handsoff. I’m still tweaking and updating and asking people what they want,” Higgins said. “It’s not overnight or always easy, but it’s definitely worth it.”

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Photo by JOHN BURNS

Kelli Higgins stocks over 100 unique branding pieces through Elevated Agent, her Etsy shop for real estate agents.

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Veil Events

LINDSAY KOOSER

SOMETHING GREEN While Kooser and her team spend countless hours planning weddings, Kooser admits she doesn’t spend much time on her shop. Right now, she gets a few orders a week and periodically updates her shop with

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Could a file on your laptop be making you money?

Lindsay Kooser, owner of Veil Events, populates her Etsy shop (of the same name) with the planning tools her team uses to pull off expertly organized weddings in Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City. Thanks to her initial efforts to perfect and brand her forms, today, her online shop practically runs itself.

“It’s making money while you sleep,” Kooser said.

Kooser’s background in design has been key to her success. Before Veil Events won The Knot magazine’s “Best of Weddings” award for being a top-rated planning company, Kooser started as a stationery designer. Back then, her Etsy shop was stocked with wedding invitation suites. But when her career shifted to wedding planning, her shop did the same.

Populated with checklists, itineraries, timelines and spreadsheets, Kooser’s virtual shelves are filled with digital downloads customers can instantly access upon purchase, then customize in Canva.

Her customer base is evenly split between coordinators and brides. A large portion is from the Missouri area, but Kooser has sold products all over the United States. Through her tried-and-true documents and consistent branding, all customers get to experience the Veil Events brand.

“We’re still able to help them with their planning, even though we’re not talking to them directly,” Kooser said.

TK Business Magazine

PERFECTING HER PRODUCTS Getting her shop to the point where it was generating passive income took Kooser many hours of gathering files, perfecting them and making them pretty (This is the bridal industry, after all.).

“It does take a lot of time to set up your shop, and you want to do it right,” Kooser said. “But it’s definitely worth it in the end.”

Kooser’s mostly digital inventory is a big change from her days as a stationery designer when she had to not only design invites, but edit, print and ship them. Now, the only physical product she ships is “My Wedding Planner.”

“Digital files are definitely the way to go,” Kooser said.

Even though Kooser generates more sales from Amazon, she said she still feels Etsy is a valuable channel.

“It’s a great avenue. I could easily sell these things on my website, but Etsy helps you generate

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new templates she’s using in her business.

“I’d love for it to be bigger and get more orders,” Kooser said. “But for the amount of time I spend on it, it’s just extra income for things I’ve already designed.”

While Kooser doesn’t market her Etsy shop, she does actively promote one of her most popular items, “My Wedding Planner,” a physical book she created that comes with supplemental digital resources, on Etsy, Amazon and her own website. Kooser’s advertising efforts of the book gave her shop a boost, since customers who find “My Wedding Planner” often discover her Etsy shop.

views to your page,” she said. “I think your products get out there easier when you’re on Etsy.”

HAPPILY ETSY AFTER For those dreaming about passive income, Kooser’s advice is to consider everything you’ve created, even the simpler items.

“Be creative in thinking about what you have that you could sell to others in your industry,” she said.

“Maybe something is just sitting on your laptop doing nothing. With Etsy, you could turn that into a product someone out there is looking for.” TK

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Lindsay Kooser’s virtual shelves are filled with digital downloads customers can instantly access upon purchase, then customize in Canva.

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COMING TO TOPEKA

By KATHY WEBBER Photos by JOHN BURNS

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GreatLIFE has several locations in Topeka and each location has its own personality. Some locations offer a full golf course with driving ranges, some have swimming pools and fitness centers, while others, like GreatPLAY, are a family entertainment center offering an array of activities for the whole family that includes paintball, trampolines, arcade rooms, two story laser tag, FootGolf, disc golf, bike trails, swimming, fitness classes and miniature golf.

Always looking for ways to provide opportunities and activities for their members, the GreatLIFE North facility, located at 350 HWY-24, will be adding another fun activity for the whole family to do together: Toptracer.

Toptracer is a golf computer game that allows the player to experience golf like the pros by using a ball tracking mechanism that displays the flight of your golf ball on a computer screen.

Players can see how far or how fast the ball traveled and how high of a curve the ball had.

With this real-time data, players can compete in a variety of games, such as Angry Birds, or longest drive, or hitting targets. Toptracer can also be used to help improve skills and even let

people play golf virtually on courses all over the world.

GreatLIFE owner Rick Farrant wanted to add a new golf experience to his club and was leaning toward bringing in golf simulators when he heard about a Toptracer facility in Springfield, Missouri. Farrant has three locations there, so he decided to visit and give it a try.

“After experiencing Toptracer, I was just ecstatic because it was just like being at Topgolf. The experience was the same, the games were the same, it’s the same software, only it’s a version you can easily take to any existing range,” Farrant said. “I signed up on the way home.”

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Instead of a traditional driving range, GreatLIFE North will have several Toptracer bays that track balls hit out to visible targets on the range via a gaming computer.

BEFORE

AFTER

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Farrant plans to have several bays that can serve up to 10 people. Each bay will have its own Toptracer gaming computer that tracks the balls hit from each bay out to visible targets on the range. In addition to Toptracer Range games, players can order food and drinks from the onsite kitchen while they play.

Toptracer is for all ages and all skill levels, and does not require knowledge of how to play golf, so Farrant sees it as a great way to bring in new golfers.

“You can be really self-conscious going out on the golf course as a beginner, but this is just the opposite. Toptracer is not the foursome of guys that you see at the golf course. It’s more diverse, and everybody has a good time,” Farrant said. “I took my grandsons, who aren’t big golfers, and even they had a good time. It’s for everybody.”

People wanting to play Toptracer will pay an additional fee, but all GreatLIFE members will get to play at a discounted rate.

“We are always adding something new to get people engaged with our facilities,” Farrant said. “We want to involve our members as much as we can and try not to classify a person as a golfer or fitness person.

We aim more for lifestyle so everyone feels included. The more the member is interacting with us, the happier they will be.”

When Toptracer Range opens Memorial Day Weekend at GreatLIFE North, it will be the first one to open in Kansas. Farrant could have brought Toptracer to any of its current golf ranges, but he chose Topeka because that is where he was born and raised.

“We are trying to be pro-Topeka right now and I think this will bring people to town,” Farrant said. “Everybody goes to Kansas City on a regular basis to play Topgolf, and we are excited to bring this experience to Topeka. It will be worth your time to stay here and play instead of driving to Kansas City.”

Toptracer will be offered seven days a week, year round.

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BUILDING ON GOOD BONES

INVESTING IN THE WORKPLACES OF TOMORROW

By ADAM VLACH Photos by RACHEL LOCK

Photo by BRADEN DIMICK

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It has been just over a year since the world as we knew it came to a grinding halt. Our institutions, our infrastructure, our very way of life severely disrupted.

Across the board, businesses and companies shifted how they operated out of necessity for survival. From video calls, to empty offices, to the adoption of brandnew technologies, everyone from antique booksellers to cutting-edge software firms changed how, when and even where they did business. Now, with a year under their belts, companies are beginning to witness the long-awaited “new normal” as our economy moves out of survival mode and begins to look for opportunities to thrive again, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in the commercial real estate industry.

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TOWNSITE KEN SCHMANKE | OWNER | K1 REALTY

Ken Schmanke got his start in commercial real estate in 1988, while still in school, and has been involved with the market ever since. A textbook success story of someone who’s worked their way up through the ranks, Schmanke accumulated a wide array of experiences in the industry before capstoning his career with the launch of his own real estate firm.

“I’ve done a variety of things such as leasing, selling, managing and investing in commercial real estate, and some development work as well. It’s been a fun ride,” Schmanke said.

Schmanke says that it wasn’t until he opened K1 Reality that he began investing in commercial real estate for his own benefit.

“We’d always worked with other owners and investors, and I didn’t want to have a conflict of interest, but eventually we decided it was time to get on the other side of the fence and do some investing of our own,” he said.

While K1 Realty still works with several loyal clients, its own portfolio is growing with a number of locally recognizable properties, the most well-known of which being Townsite Tower in downtown Topeka (formerly known as Topeka Tower, and prior to that, the Bank of America building).

“We’ve rebranded the property as ‘Townsite Tower,’” Schmanke said of the 16-story building. “The plaza has always been known as Townsite Plaza, and then we’ve created a connecting corridor we call the Townsite Commons.”

Photo by RACHEL LOCK

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A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD The acquisition and rebranding of the tower commenced less than a year ago—just a few months after the Covid-19 pandemic upended the economy. This timing, from Schmanke’s point of view, was a double-edged sword.

“We purchased the building in July 2020, and it’s been interesting because it’s given us time to do some things with the property to get ready for people to decide what they’re going to do next with their office space,” he said. “It’s been a blessing and curse that activities have been down a bit, but we’ve signed

four or five pretty good leases in that time and several others are pending.”

With tenants beginning to sign leases and with renovation projects underway, Schmanke and team are doing their best to anticipate what might come next.

“I think we’ll see a lot of movement in the commercial real estate market with the net result of less square footage in some areas, like office and retail, and more square footage needed in others, like industrial.”

UNPREDICTABLE FUTURE Schmanke would be the first to admit that the events

of the past year have been like something out of a fiction story, and that trying to predict the future is an endeavor quite limited in its benefits.

“It’s been a time like no other,” Schmanke said. “There’s a lot of indecision, people not knowing for sure when to come back to work, or whether it’s safe to come back to work. Some people are enjoying the ability to work from home. Others hate it and can’t wait to get back into the office. It’s a wide variety within this building. We have some offices where everybody’s at work and other tenants who have nobody in the building.”

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At Townsite Tower, K1 Realty is offering a new, more modern office space with places where people can mingle in common areas.

Instead of trying to predict the future, Schmanke and K1 Realty are focusing on preparing for the most probable eventualities the future might throw at them.

“Covid-19 has forced upon some people things they didn’t want to do before. Well, now they are going to come back in the office and say, ‘We need something different.’ So, one of the things we’re trying to do is provide a new, more modern office space with places where people can mingle with other people in the common areas of the building,” Schmanke said.

In addition to offering larger, shared common spaces, K1 has at least a dozen renovation and improvement projects underway at Townsite Tower, including the transformation of the top floor into a large event space (to be known as Townsite 16); reimagining the former lobby as an upscale event

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venue (to be known as Townsite Avenue Ballroom); and bringing the in-house cafe under new management. Schmanke said his team is receiving a lot of positive feedback on their new direction.

LEARNING FROM EXPERIENCE Reflecting on the past year, Schmanke finds himself grateful to have had a long career full of experiences to draw from when making decisions that really count. Acquiring new and highprofile properties is a daunting undertaking in normal times, but in a year like 2020, even the smallest of decisions can be a critical one.

“One of the things that I have benefited from is experience and time,” Schmanke said. “I helped people for 25 years with their real estate before I bought my own, so I had a tremendous advantage in that

even though I still made mistakes, I was less likely to make mistakes that would be extremely costly.”

And to anyone who may feel at a loss with how best to move forward in commercial real estate after such a disruptive year, Schmanke’s words of wisdom focus on the fundamentals:

“Try not to grow too fast, and try to learn in everything you do,” he said. “One of two things is going to happen: either you’re going to be successful, or you’re going to learn from a failure. If you’re successful, then great. You can build on your momentum. And if you have a setback or a failure, you need to figure out what happened and make some corrective measures, and then get it right the next time. Failures are your best teachers. Don’t be afraid to fail, but don’t risk so much that you won’t be able to bounce back.”

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220 TOPEKA DAVE SANDIR | PRESIDENT & CEO | COMMERCIAL GROUP, INC.

FORMING A PARTNERSHIP Sandir met Cody Foster, cofounder of Advisors Excel and local investor, through their sons, who happened to be classmates at the same school. Not long after, the two investors had a chance to meet in a more formal setting when they were both involved in some projects with the City of Topeka. But it was at a social gathering when Sandir and Foster struck up a conversation about the myriad of business ventures taking root in downtown Topeka.

“We were talking about the exciting things happening in

Photo by RACHEL LOCK

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Just a few hundred feet from the Townsite Complex, another major real estate project is pressing ahead. Anyone who’s taken a stroll down 6th Avenue is likely familiar with the facility formerly known as the AT&T building. As of late 2019, however, this building has been under new ownership and has found itself at the same crossroads as so many others in the commercial real estate sector. Fortunately, the new owners are anything but new to the complex challenges that can arise without notice. In fact, judging by the breadth and depth of his global portfolio, complex problem-solving on the fly is likely a daily activity for Dave Sandir, president and CEO of Commercial Group, Inc. After graduating from the University of Kansas, Sandir originally started out on the hospitality side of real estate, partnering with the owner of Commercial Group, a development company that specializes in affordable housing and commercial buildings.

Sandir, who now owns Commercial Group, said the company owns and manages about 30 communities of multi-family housing, as well as several office buildings.

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RENDERING SUBMITTED

A bright and open lobby was a key component of Phase 2 for the renovation of the former AT&T building.

downtown and all the exciting things he was doing,” Sandir said. “I told Cody I was interested in doing some things downtown as well. I knew Cody was thinking about doing something with the AT&T building, and I was intrigued, so I said, ‘You know what? Why don’t we do it together?’”

The AT&T building had been on the market for around five years

before Sandir and Foster closed on their acquisition in September 2019.

“It was a good building, it had good bones. It just needed some commitment to it and some money to be put in, and that’s where Cody and I came together,” Sandir said.

With the property under new ownership—ownership with a vision—the future was looking

bright and full of possibilities. And then the calendar turned to 2020.

A SLOWDOWN, NOT A STOP “We had some really good momentum. The first thing we did was sign a lease with AT&T,” Sandir said. “They were spread all over the building and wanted to consolidate, so we were able to keep them in town and keep them

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RENDERING SUBMITTED

These architect renditions show how the former AT&T building will be renovated on the exterior during Phase 3 which is scheduled to start in May.

in the building. We signed that first lease and were working with quite a few potential tenants. We would have had 80% of the building full if everything had materialized, but with Covid, everything got put on hold.”

Like the seasoned entrepreneur that he is, Sandir was quick to pivot when reality forced his hand. Because of his swift action, the slowdown was mitigated to just that—a slowdown, not a stop—and now he sees signs pointing to a renewal of momentum.

“After taking over, we wanted to get our first tenant taken care of, so we gutted all the asbestos in the building and got that remediated,” Sandir said. “The second floor is completely finished, so we handed that space over to AT&T and they’ve consolidated on that floor.”

Once the AT&T team was resituated, an overhaul of the building

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lobby commenced in concurrence with additional internal demolition and reconstruction.

“Phase 1 was making sure AT&T was taken care of,” Sandir said. “Phase 2 was to continue with internal demolition, remove asbestos from floors one and three, and then finish the lobby. I’d say we’re 98% complete with Phase 2, and then our third phase is looking to start some things outside.”

With Phase 3 slated to begin in early May, and with much of the initial heavy lifting coming to a close, Sandir has more time to focus on what the future might look like for the building, its tenants and the market as a whole.

“I think the momentum will come back. Once we move forward and everyone is vaccinated and the market comes back, our real estate market should come back,” Sandir said.

RENDERING SUBMITTED

AN OPEN MIND Sandir says they may need to look at projects in real estate with more of an open mind, however.

“We were originally just thinking of doing office spaces, but we are exploring having a few floors of lofts. There’s so much demand in downtown. We’ve also started exploring possibly downsizing floors.

Every floor is 25,000 square feet, but maybe we can chop it up and make it into smaller suites between 1,500 square feet and 25,000 square feet.

The good thing about our project is that we’re starting from scratch, so we

can adapt to the tenant, and it can be designed up front with their needs in mind.”

Like any big-picture thinker or visionary, Sandir is never occupied with just one project at any given time. In fact, there are more local projects he hopes to bring to life sooner rather than later.

“I am currently looking at some more things in downtown. I’ve started an opportunity zone fund, and my ideal goal would be to invest that here in our hometown,” Sandir said.

While some people find themselves hesitant to make any

large investments following the uncertainty of the pandemic, Sandir believes the current environment can provide some golden opportunities for those with the right mindset and determination.

“I love real estate. There’s never a bad time to get into real estate,” Sandir said. “It’s exciting, it’s fun, and you can’t replace it. You’ve got to be cautious; you’ve got to have your ducks in a row, but I would not tell someone to walk away. In this kind of market, even bigger opportunities can come your way when you’re more creative.”

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BUSINESS NEWS

Giving Tree Donation to Two Other Non-Profits The Giving Tree is a non-profit thrift store that opened during the pandemic with a commitment to donate all quarterly profits to other local non-profit organizations.

The 1st Quarter check presentation totals $18,059.29, benefiting both the Jayhawk Theatre and I Care Food Pantry.

The support from The Giving Tree leveraged a total of nearly $58,059 in community donations due to generous matching dollars.

Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds & Palmer Celebrates 140 Years of Law Practice The law practice of Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds, and Palmer LLP (GSEP) is celebrating the firm’s 140th year in business.

GSEP was founded by Boston University graduate Bennett Wheeler. When Wheeler stepped off a train in Topeka in 1881, the city was only 20 years old. He established his law practice at 525 Kansas Avenue and soon forged a partnership with a mortgage loan company owned by Eli Chandler, which grew the firm’s attorneys to four.

ONE Gas and Vanguard Renewables Partner to Develop Farm-Based Renewable Natural Gas Solutions The joint effort delivers a sustainable, renewable energy option for ONE Gas customers to reduce emissions and achieve environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

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First All-Kansas Beer in Topeka Since Prohibition The Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant is celebrating the first beer in Topeka since Prohibition brewed with 100% Kansas ingredients. The new beer is called Kansas Grown IPA. It is 7.2 % ABV and has 45 IBUs.

Dr. Shekhar Challa Selected for Global, Publicly Traded Advisory Panel in Pursuit of Medical Advancement Kansas Medical Clinic’s (KMC) Dr. Shekhar Challa will join Medtronic’s six-member physician advisory panel. The panel will provide physician input towards Medtronic’s goal of advancing medical technology and biomedical engineering within the gastrointestinal and hepatology specialties. Medtronic is among the world’s largest medical technology, services and solutions companies.

Palliative Care Physician Babar Ahmed, M.D., FAAFP, joins Stormont Vail Health Babar Ahmed, M.D., FAAFP, has joined the Stormont Vail team to practice as a palliative care physician at Stormont Vail Palliative Medicine & Supportive Care.

WORKING CAPITAL is about local and regional businesses within the KTWU viewing area. WORKING CAPITAL showcases entrepreneurship and provides an atmosphere for sharing business concepts and practical business experiences.

Tune in to KTWU-HD, Digital Channel 11.1.

Reliant Apparel Adds Mobile Screen Printer Despite the pandemic, Reliant Apparel doubles down on another expansion with the addition of a mobile screen printer to enliven festivals, family activities and corporate events.

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