Funding is one of the critical ingredients to a company’s early success. But, for many founders, it can prove elusive – particularly those located in Kentucky.
In 2023, Kentucky’s share of venture capital deals nationwide came in at just 0.38%, according to Pitchbook.
Community leaders are aiming to flip the script with SparkHaus, Northern Kentucky’s new home of entrepreneurship. To help kickoff that change, eGateway Capital, the Commonwealth’s largest venture capital firm, will relocate its headquarters to SparkHaus.
“From this project’s inception, we wanted eGateway at the table,” Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said. “Having eGateway sign the first lease at SparkHaus is a sign of good things to come. Managing Partner Chad Summe and the eGateway team are leaders in the Commonwealth, and we want the entrepreneurs who call SparkHaus home to benefit from their knowledge and resources.”
Rendering offers view of eGateway’s interior connection to main floor of SparkHaus.
eGateway will occupy roughly 4,000 square feet within SparkHaus, making it one of the project’s marquee tenants. In addition to interior connections within SparkHaus, eGateway’s space will feature its own entrance from Madison Avenue, the heart of Covington’s business district.
The lease comes on the heels of the firm closing a $94 million fund, which it will use to invest in growth-stage tech companies in the e-commerce and supply chain space. In total, eGateway has raised $120 million since 2021 and invested more than $60 million across 14 companies.
“SparkHaus addresses a few key needs that we believe will have an outsized impact on our region’s growth for decades to come,” Summe said. “It’s a hub for decision makers with financial capital, to meet local entrepreneurs and larger business owners and ultimately a space where our technology companies can hire and house their first local employees. We are thrilled to help make SparkHaus a catalyst to attract and cultivate more capital and entrepreneurs for years to come.”
“Capital comes in many forms and sizes,” Blue North Executive Director Dave Knox said. “Our goal with SparkHaus is to give our entrepreneurs unparalleled access to the funders who can help them at any stage of their growth story. It’s one thing to know someone who works at a VC; it’s an entirely different thing to work down the hall from them.”
Unveiled in January, SparkHaus is the result of a partnership between Kenton County, the Northern Kentucky Port Authority and Blue North to give Northern Kentucky’s entrepreneurs a one-stop shop where they can access the resources they need to create our next community-changing company. Once complete, it’s anticipated between 200 and 300 people will use the space daily, and, at more than 40,000 square feet, it will rank as the largest entrepreneurship hub within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Construction on the project began in late-September and is being spearheaded by Urban Sites. City Studios serves as the project’s architect.
The $16 million project has received financial support from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Catalytic Fund, the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile Foundation, the Drees Home Foundation, Ried Schott, Corporex Cos., the St. Elizabeth Foundation, the Milburn Family Foundation, the Duke Energy Urban Revitalization Initiative, Fischer Homes and John Cain.
SparkHaus is expected to open in late summer 2025.
Kenton County Fiscal Court
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