The Forcht Center’s Entrepreneurial Adventures

The Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship offers students and community partners unique programming that promotes entrepreneurship as the enabler of equitable and prosperous future. Each semester, it offers engaging events that showcase the strength of our entrepreneurial ecosystem and support entrepreneurial talent in Kentucky.

Earlier this semester, the Forcht Center sponsored the ACC InVenture Preliminary Pitch Competition. The winner of the competition will represent the University of Louisville in the competition for the ACC InVenture Prize in Florida later this March, where teams from thirteen major national universities will pitch their venture ideas and compete for the grand prize of $15k.

On March 2, the Forcht Center will host The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs Annual Intercollegiate Business Pitch Competition, where dozens of teams will pitch their venture ideas to a distinguished panel of judges. This will be the first time for the Forcht Center to host this event, and it provides a unique opportunity to bring together several partners with the mission of promoting entrepreneurship in Kentucky.

On March 16, the Forcht Center will host the final pitch event for the participants of the Kids Boss program run by the Forcht faculty for the students at Fern Creek and Wheeler elementary schools. Through this program, future leaders of Kentucky get their first taste of entrepreneurship, learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur, and take first steps to mastering the art and science of developing their ideas and pitching them to the public.

The Forcht Center continues to partner with key players of the Kentucky entrepreneurial ecosystem. On May 1, it will welcome the annual Derby Tech Summit event by Render Capital, where high-potential startups from around the country compete for seed investment of $100,000 with multiple ventures receiving funding every year. The winners of the competition make a commitment to move or keep their operations to Louisville for a period of time thus further strengthening our entrepreneurial ecosystem.    

On July 25-26, the Forcht Center will run its signature Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge, a major entrepreneurship competition that draws participants from Louisville and beyond. The list of participants is wide, includes traditional startups and ventures with a social mission, and adds an international flavor to the competition as some of the participants come from Europe. For more information on the Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship and its programs, visit https://business.louisville.edu/about/learning-at-cob/entrepreneurship/forcht-center-for-entrepreneurship/.