Warsaw, Indiana is known as the “Orthopedic Capital of the World.”
In the early 20th century, inventor Revra DePuy designed a revolutionary fiber finger splint that would jump-start the first orthopedic manufacturing business in the world–
DePuy Manufacturing.
DePuy saw great success as his company dominated the up-and-coming orthopedic industry from Warsaw. But after DePuy’s death, a DePuy salesman named J.O. Zimmer broke off from the company and founded Zimmer, a rival orthopedic manufacturer. Years later, an engineer from Zimmer would start his own orthopedic manufacturing company, Biomet. Zimmer and Biomet merged into
Zimmer Biomet in the mid-2010s and celebrated their
97th anniversary earlier this year.
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CourtesyAn example of a product made by Zimmer Biomet.Since then, the medical technology industry has only continued to grow, making Warsaw the world’s leader in orthopedic manufacturing.
Its long history and dominance in the orthopedic manufacturing business made Warsaw the most logical spot for
Plug and Play’s newest location, which specializes in MedTech.
Plug and Play, a venture capital firm, partners with corporations, universities, government organizations and startups to create an innovation platform. By aligning large corporations with carefully selected startups, Plug and Play fosters innovation in over 25 industries, ranging from agriculture technologies to cryptocurrency. Medtech is Plug and Play’s newest addition.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play has 63 locations spanning 27 countries, including offices in Japan and Shanghai. Founded in 2006, the company’s “ecosystem” consists of more than 80,000 startups, 700 employees and 130 venture capitalist experts.
In 2023 alone, Plug and Play put 2,700 startups through their industry-specific programs and invested in over 200 companies, including companies like PayPal and Dropbox. Their investment portfolio includes more than 2,000 companies, and their in-house venture capital arm has helped them raise over $12 billion in additional funding.
Brandon Noll is in charge of the strategic expansion of Plug and Play across Indiana. His job includes ensuring the company is building something scalable and sustainable in Indiana, but also for Plug and Play in general.
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Brandon Noll, Plug and PlayHe’s also responsible for networking with local government officials, economic developers and Plug and Play’s ecosystem partners. Noll often works around the state of Indiana to bring Plug and Play to new organizations.
He says the decision to bring Plug and Play to Warsaw was an easy one.
“50 percent of the hips and knees that go into people come out of Warsaw, Indiana,” says Noll. “There was a cluster of corporations and innovation in the medtech industry that fit within what Plug and Play wanted to do.”
Apart from the corporations, Noll says there was a “resounding yes” from the medtech startups.
Elieen Alberding, program manager at Plug and Play’s Warsaw office, serves as the point of contact for start-ups as they go through the program and work with corporate partners and universities, as well as within the community. She says she focuses on learning the individual needs and goals of the startups.
“I’m there to make sure they’re getting those right connections, introductions [and] mentors–both people that are in our area or around the world.”
Alberding says they’ve been embraced by the community so far.
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Elieen Alberding, program manager at Plug and Play Warsaw“Everyone’s been excited and eager to bring this on and see how it has potential to really be such a benefit,” says Alberding. “To see something that’s warmly embraced on so many levels is really cool.”
Plug and Play’s main feature is its accelerator program, which partners companies with innovative startups. Corporations reach out to Plug and Play with challenges they’re facing, and Plug and Play puts its accelerator program into motion to help solve that problem. They source approximately 100 startups that undergo a rigorous four-step filtration and selection process.
“Step one is looking for a startup that has some kind of solution that would answer one of those needs,” says Alberding. The Plug and Play team checks the validity of the startups and chooses the best candidates. By the end, only ten to fifteen startups remain. These startups partner with large corporations on industry-specific projects.
Mentors work with the startups throughout the accelerator program on several topics, including refining their pitch deck and working with investors. In the medtech industry, startups may also learn how to work with the FDA or work through regulatory issues Alberding explains.
Alberding and Noll both stress the importance of bringing opportunities to Indiana startups. With Plug and Play’s help, startups can expand their company in Indiana instead of taking their ideas to California.
The Warsaw Plug and Play allows startups to get high-level mentorship and opportunities locally. In essence, they’re bringing Silicon Valley to Indiana.
Corporations and startups can enter the medtech industry through Warsaw, making the city a vital asset in the greater innovation community. Plug and Play provides Warsaw with a network of global industries and organizations.
Additionally, the startups have benefitted from Plug and Play’s arrival in Warsaw.
“There’s an introduction of startups to Warsaw that would never have happened if it wasn’t for Plug and Play,” says Noll.
As the first and only of its kind, Plug and Play Warsaw stands out across the company’s ecosystem. Nolls says the company has discussed modeling future offices after the Warsaw location due to its success in the MedTech industry and the city.
“There’s been a lot of buy-in from corporations, from the community [and] from political figures,” says Noll.
Alberding says that Warsaw’s success can be attributed to the community.
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Plug and Play's grand opening in Warsaw.“It's the local community that wants to continue to invest in companies like Plug and Play to be an innovation engine.”
Noll adds that there has been “a lot of positive confirmation that what we’re doing in Indiana is needed and wanted.”
On September 10,
Plug and Play is hosting a Medtech Expo for community members. The event will include presentations and demonstrations from startups, corporate partners, investors, venture capitalists and government officials. The event will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Miller Sunset Pavilion in Winona Lake, Indiana.
Registration is free but required.