Bad Girl Ventures recently opened its third office location in Covington and will celebrate with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5 tonight at 114 W. Pike Street, Covington, Ky.
BGV, which welcomes its new launch class this evening, serves as a business educator, incubator and accelerator for female entrepreneurs, providing them with the resources they need to start their own business.
BGV works with a multitude of industries ranging from biologics to franchised pet food, bakeries to yoga studios, and food manufacturing to commercial and industrial flooring, striving to make its clients’ dreams a reality.
“BGV chose to open our 3rd office in Covington due to the rapid growth in Kenton County/Covington, as well as the close proximity to downtown Cincinnati,” Executive Director Nancy Aichholz said. “We cross all industries with the women entrepreneurs we serve; now we are excited to also be crossing the river!
“We have a number of Northern Kentucky businesses that we have helped launch and we have some great partnerships with Northern Kentucky University and their Small Business Development Center, and some very strong sponsors and foundation support in the region. Central Bank and the RC Durr Foundation have been very loyal to BGV.”
Founded in 2010, the company has served over 1000 women in the Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Cleveland area and looks forward to the company’s evolution.
Aichholz stated, “BGV was founded in order to help women access capital to fund their startup ventures. It quickly grew to a business education based model with coaching, mentoring and lending.”
Thanks to the Pike Star Phase II project, BGV was able to locate its new office to the renovated street-level commercial space, 114 W. Pike Street. Pike Star LLC is a partnership between Tony Kreutzjans of Orleans Development, Marc Tischbein of Tischbein Design and the Center for Great Neighborhoods.
About City of Covington, KY
The City of Covington offers small city charm and big city benefits. Covington exists to nurture a welcoming and innovative community where passionate people love to be. The opposite of a cookie-cutter, strip-mall city, Covington is rich in character with a deep sense of place and an energy you’ll crave. www.covingtonky.gov
About the Pike Star Project
Bad Girl Ventures relocated to Pike Street as a part of the ongoing revitalization of Covington’s Madison Avenue and Pike Street corridor, following landmark projects that include the Mutual Building, Hotel Covington, Braxton Brewing Company and the Duveneck Square project slated to break ground this fall.
This area has been called Covington’s Innovation District, due to the trend of tech and design-oriented businesses flocking to this vibrant neighborhood of rehabbed buildings and growing international food scene, just blocks from both Cincinnati’s CBD and I-71/75. Neighbors include UpTech, bioLOGIC, BLDG, Durham Brand Co., Connectic Ventures, and the Gateway Community and Technical College Urban Metro Campus.
The Bad Girl Ventures space is located at 114 West Pike Street in a 1900-era building that was a retail store for the A. L. Boehmer Paint Co for many years. Vacant for more than a decade, it’s the second-phase of a project called Pike Star, which has created street-level commercial space for first UpTech and now BGV, with upper-story apartments created in both phases.
Like many urban mixed-use projects, a number of partnerships were required to facilitate the execution of Pike Star, Phases I and II. Project partners for Pike Star, LLC Tony Kreutzjans, of Orleans Development, Marc Tischbein, of Tischbein Design, and The Center for Great Neighborhoods completed 108 – 112 Pike Street in 2013 (Phase 1). Pike Star Phase I is now home to 7 apartment dwellers and UpTech, Northern Kentucky’s informatics accelerator for entrepreneurs and small companies seeking growth opportunities.
A number of financing partners invested in the project, with a goal to bring more residents and daytime visitors to this part of the urban core. The Catalytic Fund, Duke Energy Foundation’s Urban Revitalization Grant Program and the City of Covington all invested in aspects of Phase I and II, in partnership with LISC, the primary source of financing for Pike Star Phase I. The Catalytic Fund provided gap financing in Phase I and construction financing for Phase II. Permanent financing will be provided by Citizens Deposit Bank of Northern Kentucky.
Add Comment