Kentucky is no Silicon Valley, but to its credit, it did launch 46,000 new businesses in 2022, according to the United States Census Bureau. Checking Employer Identification Number (EIN) applications, Jefferson County was the busiest place for start-ups with 12,082. Fayette County was second in the state with 4,412. Forming a new business reflects an entrepreneurial spirit and economic confidence among those starting up these companies.
A Lexington "studio," as it likes to be called, is launching a start-up company that actually builds start-up companies. Hunsicker is run by founder Wes Murry, who is CEO, and co-founder Becca Self, who is president. The unusual company name comes from the street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where Murry’s much-admired and business-savvy grandfather and father lived many years ago.
Wes Murry
Before planting the seeds that became Hunsicker, Murry co-founded Castle & Key Distillery, a spirits company and hospitality destination located in Frankfort. But he wanted to push into new areas. Self had 15 years of experience in the nonprofit world having run FoodChain, a nutritional food nonprofit, and Nourish Lexington, a program that prepared and distributed made-from-scratch meals for the needy. Last year, the two friends began discussing their business futures and what might lie ahead. Both decided it had to be about founding and funding purpose-driven start-ups.
Both liked starting from scratch. "It’s the experience of building something from zero," said Murry, who recently joined Self for an interview. "All the trials and tribulations that come with not knowing how it’s going to go or always knowing what to do next. It is sort of like feeling your way in the dark at times. That’s what building a start-up is like."
Murry believes that process requires an extra level of preparation and thinking because in addition to growing their own company and supporting their team members, they must firmly back the companies they will launch in the coming months.
Hunsicker has several areas of expertise, although it is always open to new ideas. Going with their strengths, they will focus on food, education, housing, finance, jobs, and health and wellness.
Speaking of why new purpose-driven companies are needed, Self wants to make a difference. "There is a certain layer of problems and challenges that many people face in this country," she said. "This is not a shade against the latest photo-sharing app or dog-walking platform. We are honed in on things that hopefully will uplift people’s lives. That’s in addition to providing profitable returns for investors."
Becca Self
Self has spent her career studying the beneficiaries of the programs she has provided. "It has given me insights into how those services can be utilized to really benefit the lives of the users. We think that is a value prop for people who will find our work enticing."
Murry was asked for comparisons between starting Castle & Key and co-founding Hunsicker. There are similarities and differences. "There’s a definite shift between starting your own company and starting a company that starts other companies. In starting Castle & Key, we had the advantage of buying a bourbon distillery, albeit completely run down, but understanding that we would get it open again. The end point was known. But in building Hunsicker, it is a mind shift. As much as I want to get in there and turn all the levers and gears, that’s not where I provide the most value. Our team must help somebody else do that and give them awareness to avoid pitfalls."
Hunsicker expects to launch its first start-up in the next month or so. Murry wouldn’t divulge the name but hinted it would be in the healthcare field and involve caregiving. There is a secondary company being primed, and it could kick off in the first quarter of 2024. "We are still a young company. The clock really started this year," Murry said. "There are many components — from building our team, our incubation, [writing] a playbook, and raising sufficient capital in order to launch these companies."
That playbook is really an entire venture creation process. The table of contents includes several key strategies. They include discovery of opportunities, matching founders with concepts, capitalizing for success, and de-risking and building. "Each one on the checklist is an umbrella over a whole set of finer-grain activities, deliverables, and tasks which we can directly support," Self explained. "Part of the model for a venture studio is knowing what pieces are more efficiently done by the studio team so you can free up the co-founders, the CEO, and president, to hone in on specifics of their project."
Murry agrees. One size does not fit all. "Hunsicker provides a much higher ‘touch’ than the usual venture capital firm that is allocating money and doing monthly or quarterly check-ins," he said. "We work right alongside our team daily. They are as much in our conversations as we are in theirs."
Kentucky and even Lexington have been chided about not being innovative, the co-founders say. But they believe there are many assets ripe for development and that people live up to or live down to expectations. "We are working on the shoulders of many entrepreneurs who have come before and are still grinding as we throw our hats into the ring and launch companies," Self said. "It doesn’t just come down to one passionate founder, one fabulous idea, or one insightful investor. It involves a lot of collaboration and orchestration."