Kentucky enables a sustainable and active entrepreneurial ecosystem throughout the Commonwealth that is designed to identify, develop, retain and attract talented entrepreneurs utilizing a #teamkentucky approach focusing on inclusivity, connectivity, positivity and a “give first” culture.

Join Venture Connectors on Wednesday, October 12, to hear from Monique Kuykendoll Quarterman, Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship & Small Business Innovation/KY Innovation with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. She will share how Kentucky is poised to become a go-to destination for entrepreneurs and investors who seek to build or grow a startup.

As Monique drives the entrepreneurial engine that’s pushing our state forward, she loves hearing about new startups that are forming statewide or spinning out of Kentucky’s colleges and universities. Her role with KY Innovation amplifies the value in Kentucky’s startup communities and aligns them with the catalogue of available resources.

A native of Hardin County, Monique has been supporting Kentucky’s founders since 2012 in the Office for Research & Innovation at the University of Louisville. She has been a Business Development Manager at MEMStim, a founder of a Louisville-based innovation consulting practice, and collaborated with the Cabinet for Economic Development and KY Innovation in 2020 as the Executive Director of Kentucky Commercialization Ventures within Kentucky Science and Technology Corp.

Monique’s extensive background of supporting Kentucky’s entrepreneurs uniquely qualifies her to understand the founders’ mentality and identify how KY Innovation can help. She is proud of how the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development contributed to a record-breaking year in our state, and is equally excited for the diversity of innovators and entrepreneurs who want to get in on the action including educators, veterans, women, students, rural-based, marginalized groups and more.

Venture Connectors is excited to share our monthly lunches have moved to Story Louisville! Join us for networking at 11:30 a.m., with the program to follow from noon to 1 p.m. Members attend free, and guests are $40. For questions, email us at contact@ventureconnectors.org.