The OneNKY Alliance hosted its annual summit last week, where it highlighted its 2030 Strategic Plan. The Horizon Community Foundation also partnered in organizing the event. The alliance is an advocacy group that focuses on regional unity, health and education. The 2030 plan lays out the organization’s goals for the region, including ways to attract […]
Category: Entrepreneurship
Posted inBusiness
From near collapse to a vodka venture: PatientPoint’s Mike Collette reflects on the pivots that shaped his career
PatientPoint founder Mike Collette’s entrepreneurial journey took him from nearly losing the company he built to rescuing a struggling premium vodka brand. By any measure, Collette has succeeded as an entrepreneur. PatientPoint is a healthcare technology and advertising firm that operates a network of digital screens in doctors’ offices, waiting rooms and examination rooms, providing […]
Posted inBusiness
AI won’t replace the plumber. This venture capitalist wants to make their business better.
We often hear that artificial intelligence will replace white-collar workers. Less frequently discussed is how AI will affect blue-collar workers. Discussions about AI-driven job displacement in the skilled trades often conjure science-fiction images of humanoid robots performing household chores and manual labor. However, many blue-collar jobs remain relatively insulated from AI displacement, and workers in […]
Posted inBusiness
What 80 Acres’ Mike Zelkind learned from building, and losing, a unicorn
At its height, 80 Acres was considered a “unicorn” by startup analysts, a designation reserved for privately held companies valued at more than $1 billion. The Hamilton, Ohio-based vertical farming startup had expanded into multiple states and was supplying fresh produce to major grocery retailers like Kroger. Then, on Aug. 3, the company abruptly announced […]
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Why biotech founders are now betting on Kentucky
After spending much of her life on the U.S. coasts, Clareo Biosciences co-founder Melissa Smith felt Kentucky was the best place to grow her life sciences company. Smith co-founded Clareo Biosciences in Louisville in 2024. The company uses technology developed at the University of Louisville to analyze the immune system’s genetic characteristics, helping researchers better […]
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Hebron-based startup debuts highly anticipated modular people mover
Brothers John and Matine Yuksel want to make traditional people movers obsolete. Monday, their company, Beltways, moved one step closer to realizing that vision with the public debut of its modular accelerating people mover, which they hope can eventually become a primary mode of transportation for the “last mile.” The Beltways team unveiled the “M5 […]
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NKY oncologist looks to help doctors navigate AI through TensorBlack
Dr. Douglas Flora lost his mother to cancer when she was 38. Eight years later, Flora was diagnosed with kidney cancer, throwing his own life into flux as he fought the disease. Those experiences would eventually help shape Flora’s work not only as an oncologist, but as an entrepreneur exploring how artificial intelligence could impact […]
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Who to watch from Kentucky at StartupCincy Week
StartupCincy Week is celebrating a decade of bringing together founders, investors and entrepreneurial support organizations from across Greater Cincinnati. Serving both Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, StartupCincy Week was launched in 2016 with the intention of showcasing Greater Cincinnati’s most promising founders and companies. Its programming generally includes keynote speakers, upskilling seminars and networking events designed […]
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Incubator Kitchen founder retiring after 13 years
The executive director of Northern Kentucky’s top culinary startup incubator is retiring after 13 years at the helm. Incubator Kitchen Collective was founded by Rachel Desrochers in 2013 to provide entrepreneurs in the food and hospitality space with a facility to grow their businesses. Located at 517 W. 7th St. in Newport, the incubator offers […]
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One year in, SparkHaus is full and looking to the future
What you need to know SparkHaus originally opened with a promise: to give Northern Kentucky entrepreneurs a dedicated space to pursue their ideas to the fullest. The curated environment would be tailored to entrepreneurs, with meeting spaces, private offices, collaborative co-working spaces and access to many of the region’s leading founders. SparkHaus was envisioned to […]
