Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation (KSTC)

Join us and Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development / KY Innovation for a discussion with Brittain Skinner of Mucker Capital on Tuesday, August 20 at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT. Mucker Capital believes great companies can be built anywhere and leads an excellent startup resource, the virtual Mucker Growth Series, providing expertise for your startup clients as they think about and anticipate their company’s growth from formation to series A. Plus, hear an update from Northern Kentucky innovation hub Blue North. Register: https://lnkd.in/gYZ4Y2wW

🎉 Congratulations to our Kentucky APEX Accelerator team for being recognized with not one, but TWO awards from the Department of Defense for their work on the DOD Mentor-Protege Program. They are part of two winning mentor-protege teams among only six teams awarded nationally. Read more about their work helping both large and small businesses meet their government contracting goals: https://lnkd.in/gRD7_NFk

Did you miss last week's public update from the Kentucky Innovation Hubs? Watch the recording to catch up with the latest startup activity around the state, including updates from Victory Hemp Foods in Northern Kentucky and GYB in Western Kentucky. Plus, hear from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development / KY Innovation and hub leaders at Amplify Startups, Awesome Inc, Blue North, CREATE at WKU Innovation Campus: Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc. (SOAR), and Sprocket Innovation. 📆 Don't miss out on the next quarterly update, October 23 at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT: https://lnkd.in/gHvD_umt

Governor Andy Beshear announced today that the commonwealth is renewing its contract with six Innovation Hubs to support entrepreneurs throughout the state. The Innovation Hubs are a partnership between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Office of Entrepreneurship & Innovation (KY Innovation) and KSTC to drive economic development through entrepreneurship and innovation. Learn more about the six hubs and their service areas. And, be sure to register for the next public update from the hubs on July 24 at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT: https://lnkd.in/gW2NWQch Amplify Startups, Awesome Inc, Blue North, CREATE at WKU Innovation Campus: Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc. (SOAR), Sprocket Innovation

Anthony Mires, executive director of our AdvanceKentucky team, joined the Prichard Committee in presenting to the Interim Joint Committee on Education about automatic enrollment and incentives to increase student access to advanced coursework. As Anthony said, automatic enrollment "is way to change the conversation...all students should have every opportunity to step up when they are ready.” Learn more and watch the recorded presentation below 🔽

Kentucky's six regional Innovation Hubs are supporting startups across the commonwealth with coaching, connections and access to resources. Join us and Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development / KY Innovation for a public update from the Hubs as they share results and success stories from Q4 FY24 on Wednesday, July 24 at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT. You'll hear from: Amplify Startups Awesome Inc Blue North CREATE at WKU Innovation Campus: Central Region Ecosystem for Arts, Technology, and Entrepreneurship Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc. (SOAR) Sprocket Innovation

Join us for the monthly Startup Resources Series next Tuesday, July 16 at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT. We'll discuss how to extend entrepreneurial reach in Kentucky's rural counties with build_cities, an organization building startup communities with little to no existing infrastructure. We'll also hear from Shaping Our Appalachian Region, Inc. (SOAR)'s Sabrina McWhorter with the latest initiatives from the eastern Kentucky innovation hub. Register to join: https://lnkd.in/gCaNBfTt

Congratulations to our very own Lisa Bajorinas for being named as a finalist in this year's KY Inno on Fire Awards! Lisa oversees Kentucky's six regional Innovation Hubs dedicated to supporting founders in all 120 Kentucky counties. She's named as a finalist in the Ecosystem Builders category among the people working behind the scenes to move ecosystems forward and grow momentum for entrepreneurs. Award winners will be announced August 9. Please join us in congratulating Lisa and read the full list of honorees below. https://lnkd.in/e759PyK9

This month we welcome two new members to our Board of Directors. R Jonathan Raymon and Will Metcalf join an outstanding group of leaders from Kentucky’s business, education, innovation and economic development communities. Board Members represent all regions of Kentucky and support KSTC in advancing innovative economic development across the Commonwealth. We also send our sincerest thanks to outgoing Board Chair Mark Kristy and Board Member Angelica Sanchez Vega for their dedication and service. Read more about our new Board Members and our new Executive Committee: https://lnkd.in/gtYut72S

Yesterday our friends at Kentucky State University shared some incredible news - a historic $7M award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a soilless AgTech research hub here in Kentucky. This marks the largest standalone federal research grant in the institution's history. We're thrilled to play a part in this huge accomplishment. Our Kentucky Science & Engineering Foundation team will work with KSU and partners to engage our statewide community of researchers and industry partners in this new consortium. Learn more about the project below.