LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Community Foundation of Louisville announced the recipients of its 23rd Vogt Invention and Innovation Awards. These six early-stage companies will receive $25,000 in non-dilutive grant funding and participation in a 10-week accelerator program.
The Vogt Awards will culminate with Demo Day on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at the Kentucky Derby Museum, where the founders will present their ideas and share how their companies impact the local, regional and national business community.
This year’s dynamic cohort is developing big ideas and innovative solutions in health care, media and entertainment, virtual reality, software and e-commerce. The recipients are:
- Affinna – An event ticketing and fan engagement platform that offers ticket booking and selling services for event organizers, creators and event hosts to build more meaningful relationships with their authenticated fans, enabling fans to book tickets at low, transparent fees. The founder is Dan Ross-Li.
- Feedcoyote – A business network platform that combines an integrated management tool with the lead generation business network that fosters better collaboration and closed deals augmented with CRM capabilities to help entrepreneurs, freelancers, independent contractors and small-business owners manage their gigs, automate their work, share skills and earn more. The founder is Stevens Bonhomme.
- Gamerabble – An online coaching platform that offers tutors for gamified e-sports coaching, training and development, enabling gamers to improve their gaming skills. The founders are Cecile Matthews and Chris Matthews.
- Immersive Hearing Technologies – An immersive, three-dimensional user experience in a virtual world for a hearing aid demonstration tool that improves patient outcomes and sells more hearing aids. The founders are Matthew Neal and Jeff Cummins.
- My Food My Choice – A digital platform that empowers people with neurodevelopmental disorders to plan and choose healthier food options, solving caregiver and client pain points of disagreements over food, client ownership of food choices, and health improvement through better nutrition. The founder is Terri Lykins.
- The Kentucky Hug – A web and mobile app that centralizes and showcases available distillery experiences and tickets across Kentucky, simplifying the process of booking bourbon tours and enabling businesses to get information about visitors. The founders are Eddie Fieldhouse and David Galownia.
The Vogt Invention and Innovation Fund funds the Vogt Awards at the Community Foundation, an endowment established in 1999 thanks to the generosity of businessman and philanthropist Henry Vogt Heuser Sr. The Fund aims to strengthen Louisville’s economic health by supporting innovative startups and inspiring entrepreneurship. The Fund’s originating $5 million principal is still intact after providing 108 grants totaling more than $3.9 million, with 38% of those funds going to women or founders of color. Past recipients have secured an additional $163 million in follow-on local investment.
This unique program allows founders to retain full ownership of their businesses and provides innumerable benefits beyond what traditional accelerators offer. This includes startup coaching from some of Louisville’s most experienced advisors; mentor matching with later-stage entrepreneurs and investors; high-caliber networking with Louisville’s startup community; investor pitch preparation; and strategic introductions to angel investors, venture funds, influencers, customers and partners.
A selection committee thoughtfully chose recipients of leading entrepreneurs, investors, and past Vogt Award recipients. For the second year, the committee was led by Chair Monique Quarterman, Executive Director of Kentucky Innovation at the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
