Categories: IndianaLouisvilleMain CategoriesMidwest RegionsStartups

Louisville entrepreneurial center expands across state lines

Louisville entrepreneur center, 1804, has expanded into Southern Indiana to reach more local startups thanks to a $2.5M investment from an Indianapolis-based firm and community partners. 1804 is Louisville, Kentucky’s newest entrepreneurship center which opened its doors earlier this year in NuLu. The center’s aim is to catalyze and empower the startup culture in the region by driving, growing and advocating the entrepreneurial community. The center has mainly been nurturing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Louisville, but has now facilitated a deal between Elevate Ventures, a private venture development organization based in Indianapolis, that has allowed the center to expand into neighboring Southern Indiana. The $2.5 million investment is specifically intended to support innovation and entrepreneurial workshops in Louisville and Southern Indiana as part of a long-term effort to encourage startup investments in the region.

Kent Lanum

“We are truly a bi-state economy,” said Kent Lanum, chairman of the 1804 board. “The great thing about Elevate and this partnership is that it brings our region closer into the Indiana startup ecosystem with a more advanced strategic approach towards fostering a better entrepreneurial environment.” The expansion into Indiana is fully underway, and as of this week, the new entrepreneurship center in Jeffersonville, called Maker13, is open to local startups. It will serve as a haven for anyone in the area wanting to start or expand a business from the smallest ideas all the way up to the “Next Big Thing.” Geared up with work-spaces, 3-D printers, welding equipment and support services, the sister center will house startups in need of development, connections and investors. With numerous individual startup accelerators pocketed around Indiana, having a center like Maker 13 is creating a tighter network, allowing for startups to receive centralized and professional support without having to reach out too far. Providing a jump-start in opportunities for entrepreneurs in the region, 1804 hopes it will also inspire would-be investors and service providers to shift their attention to the innovative startups born and raised in the bi-state area of Kentucky and Indiana.

Techli

Edward is the founder and CEO of Techli.com. He is a writer, U.S. Army veteran, serial entrepreneur and chronic early adopter. Having worked for startups in Silicon Valley and Chicago, he founded, grew and successfully exited his own previous startup and loves telling the stories of innovators. Email: Edward.Domain@techli.com | @EdwardDomain