Home-grown talent and home-grown solutions for social distancing
| “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change." - Brene Brown
Today’s issue:
March 24, 2020  FEATURED STARTUP: MOOLATHON Mac Wilkinson talks about his social fundraising platform  Photo courtesy Mac Wikinson
Louisville native Mac Wilkinson played basketball at the University of Louisville and Howard University before heading overseas to play for eight years. But he always had an entrepreneurial spirit, doing everything from creating flyers for campus events to designing logos for fellow pro athletes.
On March 20 of this year, Wilkinson, who moved back to Louisville in 2014, formally launched Moolathon, an online platform for conducting virtual walkathons and similar events. The startup, which has been in test mode since April 2019, earned him a Vogt Award last summer.
Louisville Future reached out recently to learn more.
What is Moolathon?
Wilkinson: Moolathon is a social fundraising platform that’s built on a fitness tracker. It gives businesses, charities, groups, teams and individuals the ability to raise money through the pursuit of a cause that we can all relate to, which is getting fit.
Basically, the app works in two ways. It works in one way for individuals who are looking to raise money for any personal or philanthropic calls, and it works in another way for groups, charities and organizations that are looking to expand their fundraising reach with virtual assistance.
How does it work for individuals?
Wilkinson : You create your campaign and share with friends and family via social media and email. Those people then pledge a dollar amount per mile, limited to a maximum number of miles they set.
As you gain contributors, you simply go out and track your miles with the Moolathon fitness app. And then every mile that you log with the app, it earns a bit more of that person’s pledge. At the end of your 7-, 14- or 30-day campaign, those people are charged for the amount of miles that you’ve run or the maximum number of miles that they’ve set if you’ve exceeded that amount.
How does it work for groups?
Wilkinson: Basically, a group or organization or school creates a virtual event. They share with their supporters via social media, text and email. People wishing to participate in their event pay a small entry fee of $3 to $10; anything above that minimum entry fee just becomes a donation.
They can use it as a virtual extension to an event that they’re already having. But also there are teams and schools and things that don’t have the option to do like an actual annual event every year because there’s a lot of overhead associated with it.
Why start Moolathon in Louisville?
Wilkinson: Being a proud Louisvillian I think there’s nothing greater you can do for your community than start a business and hire people from it. I’ve always, having my entrepreneurial mindset, thought that I would start a business in Kentucky.
What’s the best part of building a startup in Louisville?
Wilkinson: Everybody is pretty closely connected that’s in the tech community here. So any connection that we need is usually just a couple phone calls away.
How did you raise the money to start Moolathon?
Wilkinson: It was my money combined with a small friends-and-family round. And we’ve been lucky enough to be part of several pitch competitions and incubators, and those have been associated with prize money and grant money. We’ve just been bootstrapping and piecing it together along the way. Share this story!
TALENT INNOVATION Interapt takes on IT skills gap  Photo courtesy Interapt
Instead of recruiting for top-tier talent at Stanford, MIT, and other prestigious institutions, Interapt, a local software development and technology services firm, opted to develop talent in their own backyard.
They decided to “upskill” by piloting scholarship-based tech training programs to underserved members of our community.
In the last training program, students attended class full-time (8 hours per day, for 12 weeks straight) at the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute space in Portland.
To train the workers, Interapt worked with General Assembly, a national company referred to by its CEO Jake Schwartz as “The solution to the global skills gap.”
The instructors teach foundational programming languages, principles, and frameworks. (Side note: General Assembly is also working with Microsoft to close the skills gaps in the growing field of artificial intelligence.)
At the conclusion of the Interapt program, students enter a registered Apprenticeship Program that has been approved by the Department of Labor and are placed in year-long engagements with Interapt or other partner companies.
You can see some more of the success stories from Interapt's training program in this piece in the New York Times. TOGETHER WE STAND (APART) Social distancers can now schedule a "virtual" doctor's visit Aptiva Health has launched its new “TeleHealth” service, in response to the growing concerns regarding the COVID-19 virus and the need for people to limit their time in public environments.
TeleHealth allows acutely ill patients exhibiting fever, cough, or other symptoms to schedule a “virtual visit” with a board certified physician.
These virtual visits allow patients to get a medical diagnosis and treatment from the comfort of their home, eliminating possible exposure to the coronavirus or other illnesses.
“During these challenging times, many people are limiting public interaction, concerned about possible exposure to Coronavirus and other illnesses,” says Eric Lowe, chief executive officer of Aptiva Health. “With the introduction of TeleHealth, we are easing some of those concerns."
To schedule an appointment, patients simply need to call (844) 999-DOCS. Aptiva accepts most insurances, co-pays will be taken over the phone, and remaining charges will be billed to insurance as with a typical office visit. Virtual meeting schedule from LEAP Social distancing doesn't mean you have to stay out of the information loop. To help entrepreneurs stay safe and connected during the COVID-19 outbreak, LEAP is taking its workshops, events and programs virtual.
LEAP is a public-private partnership whose aim is to amplify the greater Louisville region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Here are the virtual events you can attend through the end of March. All events are free.
SCORE: Business Succession Planning—March 24, 1pm
This presentation by Teresa Meares, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) will explore the importance of succession planning. Register here.
Navigating the Financial Havoc Created by COVID-19—March 25, 10am
Perfect Your Pitch—March 25, 12pm
COVID-19: Considerations for the Government Contractor—March 26, 11am
Creative Mornings Presents: David Vawter—March 27, 9am
SCRAPBOOK We publish Scrapbook each week because we believe the best way to envision our future is with a good understanding of where we've been. We hope you enjoy our fascinating "look back!"  Old photo courtesy University of Louisville Digital Library; new photo from Louisville Then and Now Both pictures were taken looking south from the Clark Memorial Bridge (or, more commonly known, the 2nd Street Bridge). The first was taken during the 1937 flood; the second after the bridge had its soft buttercream makeover. And that wasn’t the other thing that has had a makeover.
A mere 83 years later, the waterfront area has been completely transformed. Gone is the LG&E building and its sign proclaiming Louisville as the Gateway to the South. Located at that site now, with some hotels and skyscrapers, is the KFC YUM! Center, which was completed in 2010. And, oh yeah, one other detail: the addition of the I64 interstate. (Trivia: The Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere is one of the only structures in the state built on top of an interstate.)
8664.org, a grassroots campaign, aimed to re-route and remove I-64 to enhance Louisville's waterfront but was unsuccessful.
First photo courtesy UofL Archives, RG Potter Collection, The U of L Library. Comparison photo compiled by Louisville Then and Now. KNOW YOUR CITY!  Have you checked your "Louis-Q" recently?
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