The Vogt Invention and Innovation Awards will be accepting applications beginning on Friday, April 28, according to a press release from the Community Foundation of Louisville. They will be open until Tuesday, May 30.
Those startups who apply will be vying for up to six prizes of $25,000 each in non-dilutive grant funding and the opportunity to take part in a 10-week business accelerator program.
Other benefits that winners receive will include startup coaching, mentor matching with later-stage entrepreneurs and investors; strategic introductions to angel investors, venture funds, influencers, partners and customers; investor pitch preparation; networking opportunities with members of Louisville’s startup community and professional headshots. In addition, weekly business workshops will be led by subject matter experts on a variety of topics such as lead generation, product/market fit and financial modeling.
The program was initially established by an endowment in 1999 — the Vogt Invention and Innovation Fund — by Louisville businessman and philanthropist Henry Vogt Heuser, who is also the namesake of the Heuser Hearing Institute.
The fund, with a $5 million original principal, has provided 102 grants adding up to a collective $3.8 million, with 38% going to women or founders of color, according to the release. Previous recipients have gone on to secure approximately $163 million in additional funding from local investors.
“This prestigious program is one of the Community Foundation’s flagship initiatives to drive innovation and growth in the Louisville area,” said Ron Gallo, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville, in the release. “Mr. Heuser’s vision and passion for invention has built an incredible legacy, which continues to live on today through each and every founder who participates in the program — and then goes on to make their mark on our community and beyond.”
To be eligible, founders must be headquartered in the 13-county Louisville metro area, registered with either the Indiana or Kentucky Secretary of State and in good standing, and have developed a new idea or innovation that creates customer demand. Furthermore, founders should have no more than $250,000 in annual customer revenue, be funded no more than $500,000 since the beginning of the startup, and have at least one founder who is working on the business in part-time capacity at minimum.
Businesses that are leveraging technology will be given preference, as will products or services that have an intellectual asset in the market and business models capable of significant growth.
Last year's cohort was composed of Arrow Health, C2 Keep, Limitless, Melanated Healthcare, TitleWise and Xena Intelligence. Five out of six were named as our 2023 Startups to Watch.
“Last year, we expanded the Vogt program’s eligibility criteria to remove some of the most common barriers facing early-stage entrepreneurs. The results speak for themselves — the 2022 recipients represented the program’s first majority minority cohort — 83% were minority/founders of color and 50% were women. We look forward to welcoming another diverse group of trailblazers and industry disruptors in 2023,” said Lisa Bajorinas, in a release.
Bajorinas serves as the Vogt Awards program director and executive director of Kentucky Innovation Hubs at Kentucky Science & Technology Corp.
The award selection committee will be led by chairperson Monique Quarterman, executive director, Kentucky Innovation at the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Recipients will be announced in July, with the accelerator program taking place from August to October. The final pitch event will be at Demo Day on Oct. 12.
More information can be found at the Vogt Awards site.
