Central Kentucky’s entrepreneurial community created 270 new jobs and raised $57.1 million in capital funds in fiscal year 2017, according to survey results released at the annual Entrepreneurial Celebration of SPARK, formerly known as the Lexington Venture Club.
The annual survey, which was conducted by the Lexington office of the Kentucky Innovation Network, reported that entrepreneurial businesses employed a total of 928 people, with an average salary of $68,383 for full-time jobs. Entrepreneurial companies in the Bluegrass area represent industry sectors in biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, e-commerce, independent game development, IT and software development, energy technologies and business services.
“Lexington’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is a catalyst for the region,” said Eric Hartman, the director of the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network. “We are fortunate in Lexington to enjoy an active and engaged entrepreneurial community, a strong angel investment organization to capitalize and mentor startup entrepreneurs, and an excellent relationship with entrepreneurial knowledge-based innovators at the University of Kentucky.”
At its celebration event, SPARK also recognized recipients of the Lexington eAchievers Award for excellence in entrepreneurship. A total of 23 startup companies in the Bluegrass region were honored with the eAchiever award for receiving at least $1 million in funding and/or creating five new full-time jobs in fiscal year 2017, based on self-reported data.
Companies honored with the eAchiever award include: 451 Tech; Acceleration Systems; Fooji; Fusioncorp; Gun Media Holdings; Hera BioLabs; Hippo Manager Software Inc.; Identify3D; Lumenari, Inc.; MakeTime; Medmyne; Nexeon MedSystems Inc.; nanoRANCH; nGimat, LLC; NX Development Corp; Orthopeutics, LP; Piramal Pharma Solutions; Post Time Studios; Smart Farm Systems, Inc.; SIS; Summit Biosciences Inc.; VeBridge and Xooker.
In addition to the eAchiever awards, the BBDP named Dr. Mahendra Jain as the winner of the 2017 Harvey Award, which is given annually to an individual or organization that has made a significant impact on the entrepreneurial community. Jain, who retired in 2017 from his position as executive director of the Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation (KSEF) and senior vice president of the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC).
Under Jain’s leadership, Kentucky rose to a position of national prominence in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) support programs. Jain’s Phase Zero and Phase Double Zero SBIR programs have been emulated in other states and by federal funding agencies. Today, Kentucky is nationally known for its capstone SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program, a program that Jain helped to create and administered for 10 years. Collectively, these programs have affected more than 100 Kentucky-based, high-tech startups and hundreds of young scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs.
SPARK’s mission is to provide a forum that fosters sharing between entrepreneurs, businesses, investors and professional services providers. The group is managed by the City of Lexington, Commerce Lexington Inc. and the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network, which is a part of University of Kentucky’s Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship within the Gatton College of Business and Economics.
Results of the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network’s annual survey of early-stage companies are based on self-reported data for July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017. This year, 113 companies responded to the survey, offering a 72 percent response rate from the BBDP clients.
For information on SPARK, please visit sparklex.org.