The Community Foundation of Louisville announced the recipients of its 22nd annual Vogt Invention and Innovation Awards on Monday.
The six early-stage companies will each receive $25,000 in non-dilutive grant funding, participation in a 10-week accelerator program, startup coaching, mentorship from industry veterans, strategic introductions and recognition, all designed to boost their growth and take their businesses to the next level, according to a news release.
The Vogt Awards will culminate with Demo Day on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 5 p.m. at The Speed Art Museum, where the founders will present their company pitches to the startup and investor community.
The recipients are:
- Arrow Health, founded by Erik Anderson and Waleed Bahouth, is a defined contribution (fixed budget) insurance product that allows small businesses to provide their employees' health insurance at a fraction of the cost of a traditional group health insurance plan.
- C2 Keep, founded by Roland Achenjang, is a hub for controlled substances inventory management and compliance. Read more about C2 in this May profile.
- LimitLess, founded by Tameka Bland, is a tech-based, on-demand delivery app allowing consumers to order fresh produce, groceries, food delivery and more. Here's more about the inspiration behind the company.
- Melanated Healthcare, founded by Lecresha Sewell, is a multidisciplinary, digital health platform that connects Black patients and other people of color to culturally congruent health professionals. The company is also one of KY Inno's Startups to Watch this year.
- TitleWise, founded by Chris Mason and Jennifer Mason, is a powerful, web-based tool for creating digital reports and databases specifically designed for real estate title abstractors.
- Xena Intelligence, founded by Akhil Suresh Nair, is an AI-powered, e-commerce platform that uses data intelligence to automate and optimize e-commerce growth on Amazon and Walmart. Last year, the company was one of eight startups that won $100,000 in the Render Competition.
The Vogt Awards are funded by the Vogt Invention and Innovation Fund at the Community Foundation, an endowment established in 1999 thanks to the generosity of businessman and philanthropist Henry Vogt Heuser Sr.
The Fund’s purpose is to strengthen Louisville’s economic health by supporting innovative startups and inspiring entrepreneurship. Its originating $5 million principal is still intact after providing non-dilutive grants to 102 startup companies totaling more than $3.8 million, with 38% of those funds going to women or founders of color.
"The Community Foundation is dedicated to mobilizing people, networks and capital to spark meaningful and measurable progress, and the Vogt Awards provide a critical mechanism for us to do just that,” says Ron Gallo, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville, in the release. “The Vogt Fund’s legacy is its lasting impact on Louisville’s economic health through the power of generosity. We think Mr. Heuser would be tremendously proud of the business and industry he continues to foster more than 20 years later, including the pioneering ideas of this newest group of award recipients.”
Awardees were carefully chosen by a selection committee made up of leading entrepreneurs and investors in the startup community and past Vogt Award recipients. The committee was led by Chair Monique Quarterman, deputy executive director of Kentucky Innovation at the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Committee members were: Buddy Bockweg, Vsimple; Michael Boone, yLoft; Tendai Charasika, Saling Wealth Advisors/UofL Entrepreneur-in-Residence; Demetrius Gray, Captain; Lydia Henshaw, Resolv; Angelique Johnson, MEMStim; Raffi Kayat, Borderless; Greg Langdon, startup advisor and investor; Christian Miller, Venture First; Jake Miller, Toggle Health; Brett Moreno, Anteriad; Steven Plappert, Forecastr; Mario Mazzone, KSTC-Keyhorse Capital; Chris Redd, Baptist Health/Network ‘N Chill; Alice Shade, 4 A Ventures/UofL Entrepreneur-in-Residence; Telpriore "Greg" Tucker, UofL Research & Innovation; and Phoebe Wood, CompaniesWood.
“The Vogt Awards program is very much a leader among philanthropy-based venture programs,” Quarterman said in the release. “By broadening the program’s eligibility requirements this year to be more inclusive to female founders and entrepreneurs of color — without diluting its competitiveness — we’re empowering more Louisvillians to share their ideas and drive real change. These six, outstanding recipients rose to the top as clear leaders in their fields. I’m excited to see how this diverse group of innovators changes the world."
This year’s recipients represent the program’s first majority minority cohort — 83% are minority/founders of color and 50% are women-founded.
For more information about the Vogt Awards program, click here. Demo Day is free and open to the public, but space is limited. To register, click here.
