At our October lunch, Venture Connectors was pleased to feature Monique Kuykendoll Quarterman, Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Entrepreneurship & Small Business Innovation/KY Innovation with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. Monique is helping to drive the entrepreneurial engine that’s pushing our state forward, amplifying the value in Kentucky’s startup communities and aligning them with available resources. Her talk focused on transformation, and how the Cabinet is working to solidify Kentucky as a top destination for entrepreneurs and investors who seek to build or grow a startup.
She introduced her dynamic team and “super collaborations” with other organizations across the state, including the Kentucky Science & Technology Corp. (KSTC). She also shared ways KY Innovation is “throwing everything we have” at increasing access to growth and innovation opportunities, including federal funding. Read more in Business First here.
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.
