LaunchIt program for entrepreneurs expands to Pikeville

Registration deadline Aug. 21

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2015) — LaunchIt, a 10-week program that teaches entrepreneurs how to introduce a product or start a business, is set to launch in a new market.

Nucleus: Kentucky’s Innovation Center is joining the University of Pikeville and its Kentucky Innovation Network office to offer access to LaunchIt to entrepreneurs in Eastern Kentucky. Nucleus is an arm of the University of Louisville Foundation.

The LaunchIt program, which has graduated more than 200 entrepreneurs, will be conducted in Louisville and made available to budding entrepreneurs at UPIKE via videoconference.

Classes will meet from 6-9 p.m. on Thursdays, starting Sept. 3. Applications for Pikeville entrepreneurs will be accepted through Aug. 21 to fill up to 10 openings.

Officials at the University of Louisville and UPIKE are targeting unemployed coal miners with the program.

“This expansion of the LaunchIt program fits well with the University of Louisville’s mission to help educate and train students and workers across the state,” said UofL President James Ramsey. “We’re delighted to partner with UPIKE on this entrepreneurial program that has helped dozens of Louisvillians launch new careers.”

The partnership with UPIKE marks the first time Nucleus has offered the LaunchIt program outside Louisville.

“We are thrilled with the partnership of Nucleus and our Kentucky Innovation Network office to offer the LaunchIt program to those wanting to start their own businesses,” said David Snow, D.M., director of the Kentucky Innovation Network Pikeville office and associate professor of business at UPIKE. “The Coleman College of Business and the Kentucky Innovation Network are working diligently to create services and offer comprehensive assistance to the aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners of Eastern Kentucky. This training is integral to improving a startup company’s potential for success and to greatly accelerating the learning curve.”

For more information, contact Justin Prater at [email protected]. To register for the Pikeville sessions visit www.ekystartup.com.