• Uncertain future of state angel tax credit worries venture capitalists, entrepreneurs

    By Boris Ladwig | Posted on June 8, 2017

    The uncertain future of a state angel tax credit threatens to undermine entrepreneurial activity in the commonwealth, which already has declined in the last few years, business insiders say. A local venture capitalist said the credit was critical to attracting investments in startups, and...

  • Taking the pulse of Louisville’s startup scene

    By Boris Ladwig | Posted on June 7, 2017

    The spark to start new businesses in Kentucky has dimmed the last few years, while other states have made strides in fostering entrepreneurs. Data from the Kauffman Foundation show that new entrepreneurs are more likely to start businesses on the coasts, in Texas and...

  • Boutique film processing company applies for $6,000 Kiva loan

    By Melissa Chipman | Posted on April 3, 2017

    Billy Grubbs has always been tech- and science-minded. Even when he was a wedding and portrait photographer for years, he recognized that other local photographers “were more artists at heart,” he said. He liked the technical aspects of working with film. So Grubbs opened...

  • Local businesses compete in UPS X-PORT Challenge

    By Boris Ladwig | Posted on November 11, 2016

    On Thursday, 10 small regional businesses, including four from Louisville, competed in a “Shark Tank”-style competition for the chance to win up to $10,000 in export shipping from UPS. The competition, held at Gheens Foundation Lodge, involved entrepreneurs stepping in front of six judges...

  • Local entrepreneurs combine banking expertise with love for community improvement

    By Boris Ladwig | Posted on December 7, 2015

    Thanks to a $250,000 investment, local startup findCRA has grown beyond Louisville in what company leaders hope is the beginning of a national expansion. FindCRA helps connect nonprofits seeking support with banks looking to invest in their communities. Co-founder Brian Waters generated the idea for the...

  • The Closing Bell: Local startups nab big money, Zanzabar expanding, Norton Commons B&B opening delayed, and more

    By Staff | Posted on December 4, 2015

    Welcome to The Closing Bell. This is your last stop for biz scoops and big news before the weekend — a roundup of stories that can’t wait till Monday. Three local startups get more than $1.4 million in funding It was a lucrative month...

  • Ale-8-One: Entrepreneurial lessons from a century-old company

    By Boris Ladwig | Posted on December 2, 2015

    Ellen McGeeney knew she had landed in a different kind of company when her boss at family-owned soft drink maker Ale-8-One told her to generate a 50-year plan. She said Fielding A. Rogers, the great great nephew of founder G. L. Wainscott, also told...

  • Kent Oyler: 2014 will be the year of the (en)TREP(reneur)

    By Guest Author | Posted on December 27, 2013

     By Kent Oyler, OPM Financial As the Far East winds down the Chinese Year of the SNAKE (really? a snake?) and ramps up for the Jan. 31 onset of the more formidable-sounding Year of the HORSE, the time has arrived to declare 2014 the...