The mark of a steep competition is the overall talent and depth of the field. That was certainly the case for this year’s KY Inno Fire Awards.
In our second edition of the awards, we had many worthy nominations. Startups and members of the local entrepreneurial ecosystems in Kentucky and Southern Indiana have been, well, on fire when it comes to growing their companies and the startup community as a whole.
Our honorees this year represent one of five categories: Ecosystem Builders, Investors, CEOs, On the Rise and Disruptors. A description of each category can be found below. We’ve also included profiles of all 24 honorees.
Some of the winning names and companies have become well-known in the local startup community. Others, we predict, will achieve that status soon.
Our honorees came from nominations as well as our past reporting. Myself, along with LBF editors, chose this year’s honorees.
We asked each winner to share some information about their company/organization and some insights into the startup world as a whole. We were very impressed with their collective responses and hope that you will be as well.
On the Rise
The startups that have experienced a combination of client, revenue and funding growth.
Better Blend (Florence, Kentucky)
Forecastr (Louisville)
GoodMaps (Louisville)
RxLightning (New Albany)
Xena Intelligence (Louisville)
RxLightning
Based: New Albany, Indiana
Year founded: 2020
Capital raised to date: $20.5 million
Key investors: LRVHealth, McKesson Ventures, Novartis, Hearst Health, HealthX Ventures
Founder(s)/top executives: Julia Regan, CEO, Brad Allen, chief technology officer. Regan answers below.
Regan’s hometown: Dallas, Pennsylvania
Lives: Floyds Knobs, Indiana
Education: Bachelor of Arts in psychology, Temple University; MBA in health care management, Florida Institute of Technology.
Hobbies: I love to cook and wish I had more time to devote to it. I also enjoy reading. I’m also a mom and oftentimes my hobbies revolve around my kids’ hobbies.
What’s driving your growth?
Paperwork and manual processes have made it increasingly difficult for patients and providers to know where a specialty medication is on the path to fulfillment. This results in significant delays in getting patients on therapy — and declining health for our population. There is clearly demand for innovative solutions that solve challenges in the specialty medication access and affordability space.
RxLightning’s growth comes from the fact that we are approaching this problem in a unique way.
Do you expect to hire in 2024? If so, how many?
Yes, we expect to hire in 2024. As a lean startup, we hire specifically based on need, new clients that we sign on and products that we are developing.
Why scale your company from Southern Indiana?
The region is our home. But more importantly, this area has played a significant role in becoming a hub for healthtech innovation and collaboration — from the startup community and entrepreneurial spirit to the large healthcare institutions and research centers.
What’s been critical to your company’s success?
Our company’s success has been reliant on our fabulous team, our differentiated approach, our amazing partners and network and the unparalleled technology we have built.
First, we specifically hire and train the brightest in the industry, making our team a best-in-class resource as we continue to scale. With this team, we have built a leading technology infrastructure and differentiated approach to solving specialty medication challenges. As mentioned, nobody is solving medication access in the way that we are, making our unique approach a key driver of our success. Lastly, our network and partners are invaluable to us. We work with some of the leading health systems nationwide, as well as phenomenal manufacturers, pharmacies and investors who give us strategic guidance to evolve our approach and support our success.
