AccelerateKY, Powered by MIT REAP

Co-founders Vijay and Sam have worked with colleagues to spearhead a set of projects through this nonprofit organization formed as a result of multiple Kentucky stakeholders teaming together to become the first U.S. mainland region to go through the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT REAP). Completing the program during the COVID-19 pandemic, and trying to figure out how to support and sustain a novel innovation approach in the state during an unprecedented time, Vijay, Sam, and their colleagues worked to pivot multiple times in creating a lean organization meant to inspire imagination, build repeatable models, and accelerate growth in the Bluegrass State’s innovation ecosystem. This was established in part through the creation of a “project block model,” where individual projects are built to be imagined, tested, iterated, and scaled efficiently and effectively. Since its launch in October 2021, AccelerateKY has helped support, test, and scale multiple projects in the region, including the Metals Innovation Initiative, the Civic Imagination Incubator for storytellers, and a range of pilot projects in Appalachian Kentucky aimed at connecting the acquisition of computational thinking skills to regional identity and imagination.