It’s been said that three is the magic number. It may be hard to believe, but we here at KY Inno and Louisville Business First are getting ready to host our third annual Startups to Watch event in late January.
Before we do that, though, we need to announce the winners.
Below you will find a list of 20 companies from Kentucky and Southern Indiana that we are keeping in eye on next year based on what they have done in 2023 — in spite of a less than ideal climate for raising capital — and what we think they might do in 2024.
Like the first two times, we will honor all 20 companies in person at Noble Funk Brewing Co., located at 922. S. Second St. in Louisville, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30. At the event, a founder from all 20 companies will have 30 seconds to pitch their startup to the room.
We are aiming for brevity at the microphone to allocate more time to network, eat pizza and drink beer (in that order, I think). As you will see, we have selected startups from various parts of the commonwealth (and Southern Indiana), so it is our hope that those in attendance will be able to strike up conversations with people within the ecosystem that they never have before — so be sure to get your tickets now.
As in years past, our honorees also will be featured in the Louisville Business First print edition on Feb. 2 and online at KY Inno, with Q&As with each founder, similar to the format of our most recent KY Inno Fire winners earlier this month.
This is the third time we took nominations for the program. We were looking for companies that have raised less than $25 million in capital and were about five years old or less. Nominations were judged by Louisville Business First’s editors and the KY Inno team. Side note: We had more than double the amount of submissions we had the previous year, so keep it up!
One cool thing to note: Close to half of our honorees either were started solely by a female founder or have a female co-founder.
Lastly, here’s a reminder to be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Beat — in addition to visiting the KY Inno website — to keep up with all things happening in the local startup ecosystem. You can sign up for the free newsletter here.
And now, here are our 2024 Startups to Watch:
