Supporting Entrepreneurship
GLI provides help to entrepreneurs. Learn about our various programs by clicking one of the buttons above.
Vogt Awards
The Vogt Awards provide funding, resources and recognition to entrepreneurs with products in the early growth stage. Vogt Award recipients are chosen from early-stage entrepreneurs in the Louisville area, that have the potential to create a scalable business based on innovative, technology-based products that they develop themselves.
For more details on criteria and application information, visit VogtAwards.com
Vogt Awards Mission
Help start-up ideas and products develop into viable and successful businesses that will provide economic growth, stability and employment for the Greater Louisville area.
Vogt Partnership
The Community Foundation’s Vogt Invention and Innovation Fund has supported the Vogt Awards for more than 12 years. In that time almost $2.5 million has been given out to nearly 50 companies. GLI is the proud administrator of the Vogt Awards program.
“The Vogt Awards is made possible by the Vogt Invention and Innovation Fund at the Community Foundation of Louisville. The Fund was established by Mr. Henry Vogt Heuser Sr. in 1999 in order to help start-up ideas, products, and projects develop into viable and successful businesses that will provide economic growth, stability, and employment for the greater Louisville area (including Southern Indiana). Therefore, the Vogt Awards Selection Committee will select companies that offer the greatest potential for regional economic impact.” – Community Foundation of Louisville
2018 Vogt Award Winners:
Agent Ally builds tools for health insurance agents, who sell Medicare plans, that save time, create personalized recommendations and provide talking points tailored to their clients unique needs.
Dry Baby is the sole manufacturer of liquid and stain repellent, 100% cotton baby apparel. Babies are messy, but Dry Baby’s innovative apparel keeps children dry, comfortable, and clean all day. Dry Baby stands alone—we are where fashion meets function.
Our app guides young couples through must-have conversations about money to develop financial teamwork and richer relationships based on their personal values.
Pascal Tags is a first of its kind truly passive inventory tag. This patent pending battery-free inventory tag tells companies truly what is in their inventory and where it is located. Manufacturing is the entry market as the technology is the first technology to ever rival Barcode for easy of use and price.
sport.io is a registration and analytics platform for amateur sporting events. sport.io enables athletes to integrate their fitness data, results, and community in a central location, and provides organizers with tools and market insights to engage with athletes and grow their events.
Founded in 2013, TrueSecureScada (TSS) is helping utilities, manufacturing companies, and others defend against cyber-based attacks against the networked equipment that they use to manage and control physical systems. Our flagship product SCADA-Guard(™) is built on nearly a decade of research and patented technology to protect SCADA devices from cyber-security threats.
Mentor Louisville
Mentor Louisville connects startup founders and management with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).
Want to be a Mentor? Apply Here
Need an Expert? Apply Here
Often startup founders and management find themselves with titles that their years of experience do not match. Whether that be a first time CEO or a brand new salesperson quickly promoted to VP of Sales, growing startups rarely can pay the price of a full-blown expert in every area.
So you try to learn as quickly as you can, but sometimes you need the wisdom of living that role for years and years.
Knowledge comes from learning.
Wisdom comes from Living.
-Anthony Douglass Williams-
Program Format –
Matching
- 3-4 times a year in batches
- Cocktail party to meet your match
Meeting/ Relationship Requirements
- Two meetings in One month
- Continuing after two meetings is up to the match
- Suggested to continue once a month
Mentee Requirements –
- Manager or founder for a tech or tech-enabled startup in the Greater Louisville region
- Have significant management responsibilities over department(s) or people
- Have decision making power within the area of guidance you are seeking
- Make the mentor aware of any potential conflicts of interest
- Prepare in advance for the Mentor meeting.
- Provide 48-hour notice of cancellation of mentor meetings.
- Participate in a minimum of 2 one-hour mentor sessions
Mentor Requirements –
- 10+ years in field of mentorship or proof of subject matter expertise
- Extensive management experience
- Preferable knowledge of startup culture
- Make the entrepreneur aware of any potential conflicts of interest involving the Mentor’s own company.
- Prepare in advance for the Mentor meeting.
- Provide 48-hour notice of cancellation of mentor meetings
- Volunteer Time: 2 one-hour meetings with match
DOWNLOAD ALL INFORMATION COVERED IN INFO SESSION HERE
Sales Workshops
A two hour workshop that gives a high-level overview of sales processes, strategies, and tools. This workshop is intended for companies that are about to start or have just starting selling their products and services.
Next Workshop:
Date: April 30, 2019
Time: 11:30pm – 1:30pm
Location: Thrive Center, 204 E Market St, Louisville, KY 40202
Cost: $5 includes lunch
Sales Intensive
A half-day workshop that pulls together different types of Sales Professionals to help assess and guide a startup company to achieve rapid growth. This is a highly intense one-on-many approach where companies benefit not only from the advice of the professionals but also from observing the interactive discussion of the Sales Professionals as they discuss the best path forward for the company.
This Program requires that the company have an active sales process and sales people on their team. They must provide a sales funnel, conversion rates, and a mock sales pitch. Sales Intensive is intended for companies in late stage 3 with significant customer revenue month over month.
If you are interested in having a Sales Intensive workshop for your company please contact Ellie Puckett, Commercialization Director at [email protected]
Include…
- Startup Name and Description
- Website
- Last Year’s Revenue
- YTD Revenue
- Number of sales staff
- How many hours per week do each work for the startup?
- Why do you believe your startup could benefit from a Sales Intensive?