September Newsletter - Fall Events, VACE Yearbook, Wildcat Tailgating!

Click Here to View Newsletter as Webpage

Quick Links

VACE Yearbook Fall 2024 - Summer 2025

GSE Summer Grads Join Fall 2025 Bootcamp!

RSVP to Pitch Competition: 5Across in Lexington!

Network with Entrepreneurs at The Camel Club!

"The Art of The Pivot" Webinar

2025 Fall Hire Blue All Majors Career Fair

Fall 2025 Lee Webb Commercial Real Estate Workshop & Pitch Competition

Startup Breakfast Meetup

2025 Fall Expo: UNDRCVR Lex Tech, Entrepreneurship, and Creative Showcase

NAWBO Events: Kentucky Chapter

Lexington Strong Women Strong Coffee: RSVP!

Kentucky Angel Featured Company, Krew

Tailgate and Donate!

The VACE Yearbook provides an annual overview of the many programs, events, and partners needed to support entrepreneurs at the University of Kentucky, including community entrepreneurs. The Yearbook was initiated in 2023 to showcase the importance of partnerships and change makers needed to assist early stage startups on their entrepreneurial journey and outside the classroom. Entrepreneurship takes a village and VACE recognizes the stakeholders necessary to help founders as they have varying needs at different stages of growth. Click here to download a full copy!

The University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics is gearing up to welcome a new group of innovative startups to its Fall 2025 Entrepreneurs Bootcamp 1.0. This online accelerator, led by the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE), is designed to help Kentucky-based entrepreneurs transform their ideas into successful businesses. The program provides weekly training, networking opportunities, and a hands-on approach to launching new ventures.

This year, VACE is excited to feature a strong group of new startups from the 2025 Governor's School for Entrepreneurs Summer Startup program. These young ventures represent a new wave of innovation emerging from Kentucky, using technology to tackle critical societal challenges. The Entrepreneurs Bootcamp 1.0 offers a crucial platform for these promising high school startups to refine their ideas and make a lasting impact. Click here for the full article.

Take your lunch break and join us for a transformative hour with "The Art of the Pivot," a dynamic webinar taking place on September 17, 2025, from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST. This webinar will feature an exclusive look into the journey of PRLZ Packaging, a groundbreaking company led by three co-founders and University of Kentucky students, that not only successfully navigated the challenges of a rapidly evolving cannabis packaging market but also emerged as a standout graduate of the Bootcamp Accelerator through the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship. Click here to RSVP!

Kentucky Angel Featured Company: Krew

Film productions are like temporary startups - hundreds of people, dozens of tools, and every delay costing up to $350k an hour. Yet 75% of U.S. productions still use paper timecards, and “industry-standard” software has barely been updated in the last 30 years. The result: highly paid creative teams drowning in admin work and disconnected tools. Krew is solving this with the first AI agent workforce for film - digital “teammates" that take care of scheduling, travel, and coordination busywork.

Krew's team is uniquely qualified to build this: we’ve created tools used by Netflix and Disney on The Avengers, spearheaded creative strategy for the global TV phenomenon The Chosen, and built AI agents featured in Forbes. With no direct competitors, this is a chance to back the category-defining company bringing AI agents to the $297B global film production industry.

Come Cheer on the Cats and Tailgate With Us!

Gatton College of Business and Economics Alumni -- join us as we cheer the CATS to victory!

The Gatton College tailgating tent will be located inside the white fenced tailgate area in front of Kroger Field. All tailgates begin 1.5 hours prior to kickoff. Food and beverages will be provided.

Click here for details and tickets.

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE) is very thankful to all our donors, guest speakers, mentors, and incredible individuals in Kentucky's startup community for all you do! To help us continue our work, please contact our philanthropy staff team to make a donation.