Ahead of its annual Reconstruct Challenge, Access Ventures has awarded two student-led teams for their socially-minded business ideas.
The Reconstruct Challenge is built on the belief that innovation has the power to solve some of our biggest challenges and have a positive impact on our communities, according to a news release. This summer, Access Ventures partnered with the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) to train students in a design workshop to build businesses that solve community challenges.
This marks the second year the design workshop was led by Render during each cohort in June and July. Students formed teams and competed in a pitch competition that included the Reconstruct Challenge Award.
“Thanks to the Reconstruct Challenge Award, our students learned about building businesses that can make a profit and also help their neighbors in need," said Anne Jewell, president and CEO of GSE, in the release. "Entrepreneurship is all about problem solving, and we want our GSE graduates to understand that some of our communities’ greatest challenges need their entrepreneurial minds to unlock new solutions to those challenges.”
The two teams awarded the Reconstruct Challenge Award for their respective cohorts of the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs demonstrated their ability to apply entrepreneurship with a positive impact on the world around them, the release said. The teams created an innovation with a Social Entrepreneurship lens that demonstrates feasibility, scalability, endurance and impact, the release said.
“We love working with young people and it was exciting to see the many great ideas they were able to develop in such a short period of time," said Rebecca Brown Rice, director of product at Render, in the release. "Unfortunately, many of these community challenges will still be very much present as they graduate and move into the workforce and we desperately need their leadership in helping to identify new approaches to some of these seemingly intractable problems.”
For the June GSE cohort, Access Ventures awarded the Reconstruct Challenge Award to Sprout Space.
Sprout Space was a GSE Summer Startup with the mission to supply healthy produce options for people living in food deserts. One of the team members is a native of Martinsville, Kentucky, where the geographic and ecological characteristics of the area are inhibitive to growing produce, the release said.
Sprout Space is a vertical gardening product that provides consumers with all the necessary supplies and directions to grow produce indoors. Sprout Space marketed itself towards traditional garden enthusiasts in the upper middle-class market. The team devised a number of ways customers could participate in helping to provide access to healthy food options for people living in food deserts.
The Sprout Space team members are: Howra Al Garawi, Jefferson County, Fairdale High School; Keaton Carr, Madison County, Model High School; Kassidy Evans, Boone County, Walton-Verona High School; Hannah Pittman, Oldham County, Oldham County High School; and Dakota Ward, Martin County, Martin County High School.
Sprout Space pledged to donate 25% of profit generated from each product sold towards populations in food deserts — including offering free vertical gardens to citizens in communities like Martinsville.
For the July GSE cohort, the Reconstruct Challenge Award went to Artlet.
Artlet, an all-female group, tackled the problem of teen mental health by making an art-based community for adolescents to express themselves creatively, the release said. Artlet will serve teenagers after school at least once a week, and the program will offer multiple art forms, such as dance, painting and music.
The Artlet team members are: Allison Lopez, Boone County, Ryle High School; Kirshika Lungani, Jefferson County, Ballard High School; Gabriella Ostrander, Leslie County, Leslie County High School; Jordan Puitz, Kenton County, Dixie Heights High School; and Ruby Robinson, Daviess County, Daviess County High School.
Each winning team was awarded $500.
“Access Ventures conceived of the Reconstruct Challenge as a new way to identify and support solutions at scale that have not yet had the funding or support to really see if they could move the needle," said Bryce Butler, managing director of Access Ventures, in the release. "We are excited to be a part of the three Challenges this year and were excited to include the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs again in this process. We need to be thinking of more intergenerational solutions to these challenges our communities face because they don’t seem to be getting much better and we need these young minds in helping to create a better future.”
The Reconstruct Challenge will soon celebrate 15 innovations addressing food insecurity, maternal health and non-emergency medical transportation with three separate showcase events on Sept. 18, 19 and 20 during Louisville Startup Week. Each event will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Mellwood Arts Center.
