Why Louisville is on the cutting edge of Healthcare; UK/UL collaborate; cool places to work and more
| “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Today’s issue:
February 11, 2020  AGENTS OF CHANGE Q&A with XLerateHealth: A love letter to Louisville  Photo: Jackie Willmot, CEO and co-founder of XLH, stands with coaches, mentors and advisors for the startup accelerator program
XLerateHealth is an early-stage accelerator that is helping budding Louisville entrepreneurs in the healthcare market. We asked them a few questions about what they do and what they like about Louisville. Representative, Kellie Kopp responded below:
How did XLerateHealth come to be?
We support the development of healthcare innovation through our XLH Accelerator, an early-stage accelerator that helps startups commercialize and attract funding, and national initiatives, including the XLerator Network, an NIH-funded partnership with 24 academic institutions to support the commercialization of life science and healthcare innovation in the Southeast Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states.
We launched in 2013 and have worked with over 66 startup companies to-date, with more than 80 percent of those still operational.
What were the advantages of launching this accelerator in Louisville?
The Louisville market is a strategically positioned center of healthcare heritage, knowledge, and innovation. The city is well-connected, home to a major UPS international hub, and resides along the 1-71 / 65 corridor that connects several research universities. There is a strength in science research and rigor in the region, and the city is home to several major healthcare companies, such as Humana and Kindred Health, to support direct customer discovery.
Louisville is a very rich market for healthcare analytics and healthcare services activities but also has been a fertile ground for Life Sciences and Device Companies (Apellis Pharmaceuticals, US World Meds, Summit Bio Science, CreoSalus, and Med Ventures). There is an abundant supply of healthcare and life sciences talent in Louisville, and our leadership team is composed of experts, coaches, and mentors with over 40 years in business, clinical, and scientific practice.
Louisville is a welcoming city with an affordable cost of living and a history of being supportive of entrepreneurs. All of this is prime soil for entrepreneurs to pilot their programs, with the ability to fail fast and evolve without huge financial burden.
Can you describe the three types of pre-venture-funded portfolio companies you support?
XLerateHealth works with Life Science companies (drugs, diagnostics, and devices), digital health companies, and healthcare services companies. We support companies primarily through our Accelerator bootcamp and then continue to support these companies throughout their lifecycle. Our goal and a key theme of our program is that companies come back and remain involved in the accelerator through corporate support and mentorship.
We also support entrepreneurs nationally through our intersession work, which provides an outlet for developing companies in between accelerator cohort sessions, as well as the XLerator Network, which is an NIH-funded partnership with 24 universities across the Southeast to help bring innovation from lab to market.
We are currently accepting applications for our 2020 startup accelerator cohorts in both Louisville, KY, and Flint, MI. We aim to bring all of the entrepreneurs and companies we work with to a level where they are attractive to investors in the years following our program. We look for companies that are solving a large market pain point and focus on high-tech, high-growth opportunities. Apply online by visiting xleratehealth.com and choose “apply now.” UNIVERSITY RESEARCH UL and UK working together on manufacturing tech The UL/UK basketball rivalry could make you think that the two institutions would never associate with one another off the court. Thankfully, that assumption is wrong as the schools are joining up to research next generation manufacturing tech.
The Kentucky National Science Foundation’s (NSF) EPSCoR, or Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, has awarded a $24 million grant to the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky (with six other Kentucky institutions) to advance next generation manufacturing technology.
“This cooperative project will help bolster Kentucky’s economy, create jobs and put the Commonwealth at the forefront of automation and human-machine interaction,” said UofL president Neeli Bendapudi and UK president Eli Capilouto, in a joint statement.
The research results will have applications in the construction of components for robotic and autonomous systems in areas such as elder care, home service, health care, education and other collaborative human-robot interactions.
Fifteen UofL faculty and 15 to 20 students and staff will work on the project, according to computer engineering professor Dan Popa. He says the collaboration could also pave the way for a new robotics institute at UofL.
Here's a little trailer about the project to enjoy:  Video Via Youtube & UK Center for Applied Energy Research ON THE JOB Coworking spaces in Louisville grow
Freelancers, entrepreneurs, small teams and self-employed folks are looking for an official work environment outside of their homes that can provide them with stability, a way to cultivate community and nurture the growth of their businesses, and a reason to change out of their pajamas.
Jody Gilbert, an editing and writing freelancer, chose to go the coworking route because, “Working from home, especially as a freelancer, can be isolating. I’m hoping that being part of a coworking environment—even if we’re all just doing our own thing—will offset the tendency to become a home-office hermit.”
Coworking spaces offer affordable office space for those looking to separate their work life from their personal life or to escape the isolation of a home office or the noisiness of a coffee shop. They offer the ability to rent out only what you need instead of an entire private office space, which can be costly.
Coworking spaces offer a suite of office-like amenities such as hot-desks, private meeting rooms, kitchens, coffee and more. But they also offer a community and are a great place to build business relationships.
Today, the 10 largest providers of coworking and flexible office space comprise 36% of the U.S. market. Conservatively, an additional 250 providers of flex space were added over the past year in the U.S. According to Forbes, 2020 can expect to see even more growth.
If you want to check out the coworking spaces available in Louisville, you can click here. YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE What business deals had the biggest impact on the Louisville metro area? ACG Kentucky wants to know what business transaction had the biggest impact on the Louisville metro region. And they are seeking nominations from you.
Now in its fifth year, the annual ACG Kentucky Deal of the Year honors companies, private equity firms and investment groups for the merger, acquisition or capital markets transaction that made the biggest impact on Louisville in the past year.
A selection committee comprised of veteran M&A, capital markets and transaction professionals will evaluate each nomination and conduct additional research. The winner will be announced at a special ACG lunch event held at the Baird Conference Center at PNC Plaza (500 W. Jefferson St., Louisville, KY) on Wednesday, March 18. Leadership Louisville shares the line-up for its Best of Leadership summit
The Leadership Louisville Center has finalized the speaker line-up for its annual Best of Leadership Summit on March 4, 2020. Presented by sponsor PNC Bank, the annual day of learning will feature three nationally prominent keynote speakers and seven additional sessions focused on leading self, leading others, and leading for impact and inclusion. Over 500 attendees are expected, representing over 150 different companies of all sizes and from all sectors. They represent top leadership from Louisville and the surrounding region, ranging from high-potential emerging leaders to C-suite executives, with over 70% working at a director level or above.
The speaker line-up includes four-time New York Times bestselling author Dan Heath, the editor-in-chief of Fast Company, Harvard Business Review editor and author, and the global DE&I leader of EY – plus more! You can see the full event agenda here: https://bestsummit.org/agenda. THE SCRAPBOOK We publish Scrapbook each week because we believe the best way to envision our future is to have a good understanding of where we've been. We hope you enjoy our fascinating "look back!"
83 years ago this winter, our city was devastated by a record flood on the Ohio River. The top is Churchill Downs and the bottom one was taken at 3rd and Broadway.
Between January 9 to January 23 of 1937, our area was hit with torrential rain which raised the Ohio River to its highest recorded level. On January 23 the river at Louisville crested at 51.1 feet, and eventually reached 57.15 feet above flood stage on the upper gauge. Sixty percent of Louisville was flooded and two-thirds of the city’s population had to be evacuated. Smartly, we later installed flood walls that will hopefully overcome all future surges of the mighty Ohio.
For more historic images of the flood and the river, check out this link.   3rd and Broadway looking west: Both Images courtesy UofL Digital Archives
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KNOW YOUR CITY!  Have you checked your "Louis-Q" recently?
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