Dozens of Kentucky lawmakers focused on entrepreneurship and tourism at a special committee meeting on June 18 in Covington, where local economic leaders updated the legislators on the resources these industries require to continue growing.
Dave Knox, executive director of Blue North, Northern Kentucky’s primary entrepreneurial support organization and advocacy group, briefed the committee on the state of the regional and statewide ecosystems.
“How do we give an unfair advantage to those entrepreneurs with crazy dreams, to change industries, drive growth, and to call Kentucky home?” Knox asked.
Knox emphasized that sustained investment in several key areas is crucial for the growth of the state’s entrepreneurial sector, including ecosystem infrastructure, regional entrepreneurial hubs, workforce development and attracting venture capital.
Knox briefed the committee on the status of Northern Kentucky’s flagship entrepreneurial hub: SparkHaus, which is currently under construction. Slated to open in late summer, SparkHaus aims to bring Northern Kentucky-based startups, investment firms and entrepreneurial support organizations in one centrally located office hub.
The hub will be located inside the former Simms Furniture building at 727 Madison Ave. in Covington.
Knox advocated for more funding for statewide entrepreneurial hubs. For the fiscal year 2024-2025, Kentucky allocated $3 million in funding to six regional innovation hubs. Blue North, specifically, received $424,800. In comparison, neighboring states like Tennessee poured more money into their statewide entrepreneurial ecosystem, Knox said. In turn, Kentucky is playing from behind.
“We are lagging in our support of entrepreneurship,” he said.
Another area Knox highlighted was the need for more venture capital investment in Kentucky startups. He said neighboring states, like Indiana, are investing more in venture capital growth, creating a more favorable environment for startups and founders to secure funding on a localized level.
“Venture capital has grown 3X over the last decade, but our amount of attraction of that venture capital is at the exact same level that it was in 2014,” he said.
Some suggestions Knox made included courting venture capital investments from beyond the state’s borders. He cited Michigan’s Renaissance Venture Capital initiative as a potential model. The fund invests in venture capital firms across the United States, provided that those firms engage with and invest in Michigan startups.
“How can Kentucky follow those models and get those same responses?” he asked.
Another suggestion was that the state should broaden the scope of businesses that can receive venture capital investments, rather than primarily focusing on technology companies.
“We have to support these broad industries and not just limit ourselves to thinking about tech and venture capital, it’s the only way to do it,” said Knox.
Following Knox, meetNKY, NKY’s regional tourism bureau, CEO Julie Kirkpatrick, and B.B. Riverboats co-owner Terri Bernstein updated the committee on the status of one of Northern Kentucky’s most anticipated upcoming events, America’s River Roots Festival.
The festival is a dual celebration of the United States’ semiquintennial–250th birthday–and Greater Cincinnati’s cultural heritage. The event, which will take place from Oct. 8 through 12, will be held along the Ohio Riverfronts of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, and organizers hope it boosts tourism to the region.
“It takes advantage of what we think is one of our top assets here, not just in Northern Kentucky, but from Ashland to Paducah, the Ohio River,” she said.
The spiritual predecessor to America’s River Roots is Tall Stacks, a now-defunct music, Arts, and heritage festival held intermittently from 1988 to 2009. Tall Stacks celebrated Cincinnati’s riverboat heritage, heavily incorporating the boats into the event and its marketing.
“America’s River Roots, at its core, is a new riff on an old event that we used to host in this region,” she said.
State Senator Shelley Funke Frommeyer, who represents Kentucky’s 24th District, which comprises Bracken, Campbell, Pendleton and part of Kenton counties, stated that state investment in Northern Kentucky is boosting economic growth in the region. Funke Frommeyer serves as the vice chair of the Senate’s Economic Development, Tourism & Labor Committee.
“We’re continuing to see some very interesting, meaningful growth, and as we saw with Blue North, we’re going to continue to lean into that entrepreneurial spirit,” she said.
