Congrats, Louisville. We were named 1 of the fastest-growing smaller cities for entrepreneurs by Linkedin News. Our city saw a 63% growth rate in startup businesses since the pandemic began, placing us in the top 3 on the list out of 11.

According to data from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, Kentucky has 360,756 small businesses as of 2021 with 11,238 new businesses opening between March 2019-20.

The top small business industries in Kentucky include other services (except public administration), construction + professional, technical + scientific services.

While the city has a whole ecosystem of well-established startups, we’re focusing on 4 local startups that launched in the last 2 years + resources for burgeoning founders.

🖥️ Climavision

Founded in 2020 by Chris Goode, Climavision focuses on climate technology to provide high-tech solutions to weather-related events. The company utilizes space-based GPS-RO data + a private network of high-resolution radars.

🖥️ BrainSTEM University

This educational tech startup, founded by Ricky Mason, provides in-person + online STEM education to inspire students K-12 to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

🖥️ RxLightning

Founded by Julia Regan, this health care-focused startup offers a single destination for health care providers to enroll patients for 900+ specialty medications at any speciality pharmacy.

🖥️ Unitonomy

The focus of this startup centers around cultivating high performing workplace cultures. Its main offering is OrgVitals.com, a people + culture analytics solution for leaders looking to cultivate culture changes.

Now that you’re inspired by some of Louisville’s best and brightest founders, here are some resources to jumpstart your business.

Startup Lou

This hub is you go-to for startup information in Louisville. It’s home to directories for accelerator programs, boot camps, co-working spaces, nonprofit organizations, networking, capital organizations + an events calendar.

Amplify Louisville

Head to Amplify when you want to bounce ideas off of other tech founders to explore ideas, build innovative solutions + launch products. Amplify also has a newsletter + job board you can check out, too.

Endeavor Louisville

A mainstay in the Louisville startup ecosystem, Endeavor selects, mentors + scales up high-growth entrepreneurs in 8 US markets and 37 countries.