Inspiring Innovation: 2024 Vogt Awards Cohort
Kela Ivonye, founder of RiverGuide, remembers how difficult it was for him to find a mentor as a college student. He says there was no central location where students could go and be matched with an appropriate mentor – someone not only in the student’s chosen field but also interested and willing to be a mentor. That’s why Ivonye founded RiverGuide, a mentorship program platform for universities and entrepreneurial support organizations that uses AI to analyze the students’ goals and projects and makes the best mentor match from its existing pool of startup founders.
“RiverGuide is something I wanted while I was in college and it’s something that can help more students become more successful,” said Ivonye. “We’re focused on college students who want to build generational companies.”
Ivonye says he spent many tenuous hours attending community networking events and seeking professionals who could offer support and guidance, and since COVID, the task has gotten even harder as there are fewer networking events and organic opportunities to meet potential mentors.
Ivonye is no stranger to the Vogt Awards program. He was a member of the 2016 cohort with his early-stage business Mailhaven, which was acquired by Sacramento, California-based Luxer One in 2019.
“It (Vogt Awards) was such a transformative experience for me and Mailhaven that eight years later, I wanted to do it again. I saw firsthand the incredible signal it sent to outside accelerators, investors, and communities,” said Ivonye. “I also wanted our co-founder, Gautam Nain, to have the opportunity to experience and benefit from the stellar community of advisors that help shape and provide additional confidence to us founders building early.”
He says the duo is looks forward to the advice and counsel they’ll receive from experienced entrepreneurs, their feedback, and how they can improve RiverGuide’s user platform. They also want to make connections and deepen their network within the startup community in Louisville.
According to Ivonye, the company plans to use the $25,000 to enhance its platform design and help fund travel to educational conferences where it can showcase its product to potential customers.
Get Acquainted with EchoJobs
Pictured: Founder Morgan Gao.
Photo Credit: Abdul Sharif Photography
Finding the right job can be a challenge, even for software engineers. Morgan Gao founded EchoJobs to make the job search process easier and more efficient. The search platform matches job seekers with job openings by allowing candidates to filter opportunities based on their preferences.
He says EchoJobs was born from his own frustration while looking for an engineering job.
“There was no tool to just take my preferences and give me all the jobs that matched my search criteria, such as the type of technology I wanted to work with, geographic location, seniority, and the kind of company I wanted to work for. With EchoJobs, job seekers can do all this and more,” he said.
Gao says that unlike other job boards that focus on the companies looking to hire, EchoJobs is focused on the job seeker and improving his or her experience. EchoJobs wants to help connect those looking for work with the opportunities that best match their capabilities, interests, and personal preferences.
He says he chose to apply to the Vogt Awards program for networking opportunities, grant funding, mentorship, and the opportunity to learn from other early-stage entrepreneurs.
“I heard about the program from several friends, and it was an instant sell for a first-time entrepreneur like me. The program offers generous funding and the opportunity to connect with fellow startup founders. The 10-week training will give me skills I wouldn’t gain otherwise,” said Gao.
He says he hopes the Vogt Awards program experience will allow him to build strong connections with his fellow cohort founders, develop ways to scale his business, and learn the skills needed to be a successful business owner.
“I’m looking forward to receiving the business advice necessary to help grow my business. I’m also looking forward to getting involved in the Louisville startup community,” said Gao.
Gao plans to use the $25,000 Vogt Awards grant towards developing a marketing and advertising strategy to help scale EchoJobs and monthly operational costs.
Say Hello to Besti Co.
Pictured: Founder Amanda Miah. Not pictured: Founders Hannah Estes and Evan Payne.
Photo Credit: Abdul Sharif Photography
The genesis of Besti Co., a women’s period products and care company, came directly from Founder and CEO Amanda Miah’s own experience.
“Like your typical working mom, I was too busy to prioritize my own needs,” said Miah. “Most months I’d start my period without any supplies. One evening I asked my husband to get me night pads and chocolate from the store. He returned with adult diapers! I knew there had to be a better way. Why couldn’t I get everything I needed and wanted scheduled to arrive exactly when I needed it? And that’s when the lightbulb went off.”
She says the company’s goal is to help busy, tired women embrace their periods with the extra care and comfort they need. Besti Co. specially curates monthly period care kits with organic pads and tampons, and pampering products and snacks to satisfy cravings. The kits are shipped monthly.
Miah says she applied to the Vogt Awards program to gain valuable connections and learn from entrepreneurial experts whose advice and guidance she can use to move the company to the next level.
“We’re excited by everything the program offers. To have the opportunity to be in a room with excellent mentors and coaches who have walked the path we’re on and can help us enhance every area of our business is exceedingly valuable,” said Miah. “Our goal is to assess our current assumptions and go deeper into the plans and strategies we’re already working on. We’re also hoping to attract more investors and connect with the community and invite them to follow our journey, and even participate.”
The company plans to use the $25,000 Vogt Award to increase partnerships, create more awareness with target customers, and allow Besti Co. to get its name out and build brand recognition.
Value Buddy
Pictured: Founder Ace McGill. Not pictured: Founder Cameron Long
Photo Credit: Abdul Sharif Photography
Ace McGill, CEO and Co-Founder of Value Buddy, tapped into his 20 years of experience in valuation analysis in the corporate world to create his company, which delivers accurate business valuations and identifies potential lending risk factors to M&A bankers, SBA lenders, and business brokers.
While working for Procter & Gamble as the lead valuation analyst for the launch of Tide Pods and Gain Pods, he recognized how labor-intensive and time-consuming the valuation process was to perform. Value Buddy provides a streamlined valuation and risk management platform that’s more accurate and significantly reduces the time and cost of preparing valuation reports for business acquisition loans.
“We’ve built a terrific team of underwriting and lending leaders, consultants, fintech developers, and entrepreneurs. We discovered that small businesses and banks bear the burden of broken loan underwriting processes, with costly underwriting valuation fees and a five times higher default rate on SBA loans. Combined, this represents a $16 billion dollar problem,” said McGill.
McGill says he applied to the Vogt Awards program to grow his network in Louisville and around Kentucky. Although originally from the area, he’s only recently returned to Louisville and wants to get better acquainted with the Louisville startup ecosystem and all it has to offer new businesses.
“I’m interested in better understanding the regional network and improving my contacts, strategy, and mentors to build out our B2B platform,” said McGill. “By Demo Day I hope to have found my lead investor and finalize the $900K in hard and soft commitments we’ve received from investors. I also hope I can focus more on running my business and less on fundraising, which will improve my work-life balance.”
McGill says he plans to use the $25,000 Vogt Awards program grant on marketing, further development of Value Buddy’s document AI technology, and activating memberships in the National Association of Government Guaranteed Loans, Florida Association of Government Guaranteed Loans, and the International Business Broker Association.
Introducing Sofab Inks
Pictured from left to right: Founders Jack Manzella; Sashil Chapagain, PhD; Peter Armstrong, PhD; and Blake Martin, PhD.
Photo Credit: Abdul Sharif Photography
The leadership team at Sofab Inks, a chemical manufacturing company, is on a mission to make renewable energy, specifically solar energy, more accessible and efficient. Co-founders Jack Manzella, COO; Blake Martin, PhD, CEO; Peter Armstrong, PhD; and Sashil Chapagain, PhD are addressing a critical need in the renewable energy sector by creating innovative inks for use in next-generation solar cells, such as perovskite solar panels.
Manzella says the traditional inks used in solar technology are “often expensive and not optimized for high performance. Sofab Inks have the potential to increase the durability and lifespan of solar cells from about 10 years to 30 years.”
With a product that is half as expensive as existing solutions and offers greater durability and lifespan, Sofab Inks hopes to make solar energy a more viable, cost-effective option and advance the use of clean energy.
The Sofab Inks team applied to the Vogt Awards program because of its strong involvement with the local startup ecosystem, the opportunity for non-dilutive funding while retaining full ownership of the company, and the extensive support participants receive from the Louisville business community.
“We’re a young team with a lot to learn,” said Manzella.
He says they’ve met several mentors and advisors who have helped move the company forward.
“The Vogt [Awards] program’s focus on nurturing innovative startups aligns perfectly with our goals at Sofab Inks, as we work to bring our cutting-edge perovskite solar ink technology to market. We highly value the program’s commitment to fostering a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in Louisville and are excited to contribute to this vibrant community,” said Manzella.
He says the team plans to use the $25,000 Vogt Award to produce several liters of ink for sale to key industry players and to prepare samples for potential customers demonstrating the product’s value in the hopes of securing additional partnerships. A portion of the funds will also go toward advanced chemical analysis which will help the team refine their formulations.
Meet Nori
Pictured: Anora, Morton, JD
Photo Credit: Abdul Sharif Photography
Food deserts are a major public health issue facing many urban and rural communities. In these areas, residents find it challenging to eat a balanced diet which leads to diet-related health problems such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Nori and its founder Dr. Anora Morton, JD, are hoping to change that by providing fresh, healthy, locally sourced, affordable food options on demand through a modern vending machine design. The hot meals will be specially curated to be culturally relevant to residents and their unique tastes.
“My company is a product of innovation born out of my frustration with the limited healthy food options in West Louisville (a food desert) coupled with my international travel experience. I studied law in Japan in 2018 and was inspired by their food accessibility via vending machines,” said Morton. “At Nori, we believe that having healthy food is a basic human right. We are seeking to help those who are living in areas where access to healthy, fresh foods is challenging.”
Morton was encouraged to apply to the Vogt Awards program by Natalia Bishop, a 2020 Vogt Awards recipient and co-founder of Level Up. Bishop said the prestigious program had benefitted her and her new business by providing her with mentors, publicity, and help moving her business forward.
Morton plans to use the $25,000 Vogt Award to cover customer acquisition costs as Nori progresses through the MVP (minimum viable product) proof-of-concept stage. She hopes her participation in the Vogt Awards program will help her move successfully through this stage and allows her to raise additional seed money.
Want to meet this year’s cohort? Attend Demo Day on October 10 at the Kentucky Derby Museum.