News

PNC Innovation Summit: “The State of Generative AI”

The University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics, Kentucky’s flagship business college, is pleased to announce its collaboration with PNC Bank to host the 2024 PNC Innovation Summit, “The State of Generative AI,” March 20, 2024.This year’s keynote will be presented by Sarah Sanders, co-founder of Native AI and vice chair of the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship.

Fall 2023 Winning Startups: Entrepreneurs Bootcamp 1.0 Accelerator

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE), in the Gatton College of Business and Economics, is excited to announce the Fall 2023 winning startups from the Bootcamp 1.0 online accelerator!  Each winning team received prize money to move their ideas forward and help build further momentum into the next phase of their entrepreneurial journeys. The Fall 2023 winning startups are represented by The University of Kentucky Colleges of Engineering, Medicine, Arts & Sciences, Communication & Information, UK Alumni, and Kentucky entrepreneurs based in Lexington. 

Governor's School for Entrepreneurs Collegiate Pitch Competition!

Governor's School for Entrepreneurs Collegiate Pitch Competition! Compete for Funds to Pursue Your Dreams! Through its Collegiate Pitch competition, The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) encourages innovation and entrepreneurship by engaging students from Kentucky’s colleges and universities with an opportunity to develop and pursue their business ideas.  The competition rewards business models judged by an independent panel as the most innovative and complete, and the most likely to result in successful ventures that create new jobs for Kentuckians.

Now Accepting Applications! Open Enrollment for Spring 2024 Bootcamp

Open Enrollment for The University of Kentucky's Premiere Online Accelerator Program! The University of Kentucky welcomes you to Entrepreneurs Bootcamp: an online accelerator designed to assess and validate the feasibility of a business concept, create a business model, and provide hands-on experience for entrepreneurs seeking to launch a startup for the first time in the state of Kentucky.

College of Communication and Information, Gatton College of Business and Economics empower entrepreneurial thinking

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 21, 2023) — The University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information (CI) and the Gatton College of Business and Economics are excited to announce collaborative initiatives related to entrepreneurial thinking.

CI is home to the Innovation Network for Entrepreneurial Thinking (iNet) certificate. This multidisciplinary certificate is geared towards students interested in an academic and entrepreneurial pathway at UK.

Now Accepting Applications - Fall 2023 Entrepreneurs Bootcamp Online Accelerator

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship and the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky is excited to announce open enrollment for the Fall 2023 Entrepreneurs Bootcamp 1.0: an online accelerator, designed to assess and validate the feasibility of a business concept, create a business model and provide hands-on experience for entrepreneurs seeking to launch a startup for the first time in the state of Kentucky. 

Congratulations Bootcamp Spring 2023 Winning Startups!

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE), in the Gatton College of Business & Economics, is proud to announce 16 winning early-stage startups that graduated from The Spring 2023 Entrepreneurs Bootcamp Online Accelerator Program! Congratulations to both sections for completing Bootcamp 2.0 and 1.0, while earning early stage capital to catapult their ventures!

Entrepreneurs Bootcamp Alum Wins 1st place and $15,000 at KY Pitch! 

Congratulations to Entrepreneurs Bootcamp alum, Katarina Midelfort, for winning first place and $15,000 in developed business track of the KY Pitch competition! In addition, Katarina placed second in the "Startup Storyteller" video competition, winning $500.  The KY Pitch competition is designed to inspire our innovators and entrepreneurs by providing an inclusive platform for our future leaders to develop and pursue their ideas.

CCTS / VACE 1-minute Poster Pitch Winners!

The 18th Annual Spring Conference of UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science, held March 27, drew nearly 1,000 participants. Clinicians, researchers, trainees, undergraduates, high school students, and community partners gathered to share research and foster collaborations.  The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship hosts its 6th annual poster pitch competition during the conference. 

Bootcamp Alum Destin George Bell Make Fitness Fun Again With His App Card.io

Destin George Bell was fresh out of college when he conceived the idea for Card.io, a movement app taking boring cardio and transforms it into a fun and social game of team turf war. Inspired by his athletic career, Destin came up with a brilliant idea to solve the biggest problems anyone faces when trying to accomplish their fitness goals — motivation and consistency.

Bootcamp Alum Camron Brown Helps Veterans with Grind Goods

A University of Kentucky alum is using the skills he learned in the classroom to give back to veterans. Camron Brown, a first-generation college graduate, graduated from UK in 2020 and is quickly making a name for himself in the professional world. In 2021 Brown was named to Forbes’ Next 1,000 list which shines a light on up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

​​​​​​​Lunch & Learn: From Student to Successful Entrepreneur

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship in the Gatton College of Business & Economics is excited to partner with the College of Communication and Information for this informative lunch and learn event. Our featured guest speaker is University of Kentucky graduate and entrepreneur, Meryum Siddiqi.

PNC Wildcat Pitch Competition

The PNC Wildcat Pitch Competition will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023 in the Gatton College of Business & Economics. This full day competition will allow student teams to pitch a business plan in their division, undergraduate or graduate, to compete for a spot in the final round. Perform your best pitch for a panel of prestigious judges for a chance to win seed money. $20,000 is up for grabs. Contact Warren Nash for all questions and application forms: warren.nash@uky.edu 

Open to All UK Students

Gatton Welcomes Leading Social Innovators to 2023 PNC Innovation Summit

The Gatton College of Business and Economics is pleased to announce its continued collaboration with PNC Bank to host the 2023 PNC Innovation Summit, a two-day event that includes the PNC Innovation Conference and PNC Wildcat Pitch Competition, April 21-22, 2023.

2023 CCTS Spring Conference: VACE Poster Pitch!

March 2023 (Lexington, Ky) - The 18th Annual CCTS Spring Conference will be held on March 27, 2023 in the Gatton Student Center (in-person).  The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship hosts its 6th annual poster pitch competition during the conference. Full conference agenda and registration details are forthcoming.  For questions, contact CCTS staff member, April Bridenbecker, at april.bridenbecker@uky.edu.

CCTS/VACE Poster Pitch Event Overview

Webinar: How to Start a Nonprofit: Creating Your Organizational Checklist

Are you inspired to help your community or a cause near and dear to your heart? Often the motivation in starting a nonprofit comes out of identifying a need. However, is launching your own nonprofit organization right for you, and really, how do you do it? The concept is exciting but it goes hand-in-hand with a lot of challenges and hard work in figuring out how to achieve your goals. Starting a nonprofit begins with building a strong vision for what it will do and how it will be accomplished.

2023 CCTS Spring Conference: VACE Poster Pitch!

March 2023 (Lexington, Ky) - The 18th Annual CCTS Spring Conference will be held on March 27, 2023 in the Gatton Student Center (in-person).  The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship hosts its 6th annual poster pitch competition during the conference. Full conference agenda and registration details are forthcoming.  For questions, contact CCTS staff member, April Bridenbecker, at april.bridenbecker@uky.edu.

Fall 2022 Winners of Bootcamp 1.0!

December 2022 (Lexington, Ky) - Congratulations to the Fall 2022 Entrepreneurs Bootcamp 1.0 teams! The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE), in the Gatton College of Business & Economics, is proud to announce the top 10 early-stage companies that will be receiving startup capital and moving on to Bootcamp 2.0 in the Spring 2023 semester. These awards are generously sponsored by The Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise.

Partnership with Keyhorse Capital

September 2022 (Lexington, Ky) - The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship is excited to partner with Keyhorse Capital in identifying new deal flow for The Kentucky Angel Investors Network.

Entrepreneur Bootcamp 1.0 and 2.0 Spring 2022 Winning Teams

May 2022 (Lexington, Ky) - The Spring 2022 Entrepreneurs Bootcamp 1.0 program finished the Monday section on April 25, 2022.  Fifteen teams pitched their final presentations to a panel of judges, and the top 5 teams received $1,000 each.  The Bootcamp 2.0 teams also finished strong with the top 5 teams receiving $2,000 each in startup funding. The Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise generously sponsored portions of the prize money for Bootcamp 1.0 and 2.0.