Louisville, Kentucky
Assessing Market Readiness in America's Possibility City
Louisville is home to a behemoth of healthcare partners, top-tier universities, and the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council — an active group of CEOs committed to fostering collaboration in the sector to create jobs, spur innovation, and increase investment in Louisville’s healthcare economy. It’s also home to UPS Worldport, which is a massive automated facility that positions Louisville to move products to 80% of the world’s population within 24 hours.
The city’s healthcare expertise and top-tier distribution capabilities meant 50% of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine was shipped from there. All this was evidence that Louisville was fertile ground for a health tech accelerator, but was the market ready?
Challenge
In March 2022, the University of Louisville commissioned Waymaker Group to better understand the feasibility of a health tech accelerator as part of Louisville’s larger innovation initiative. City leaders were aligned in their vision. They needed Waymaker’s help to quantify the value of their tech resources, identify gaps, and recommend national accelerator partners to bring into the market.
Ask
After analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, Waymaker’s Innovation Ecosystem Study found that Louisville was well positioned to attract investors and implement a health tech accelerator that would enhance the region in health technology companies, innovation, entrepreneurship, job growth, and workforce development. The analysis also showed that Louisville ranked nationally in digital health and artificial intelligence.
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Innovation Ecosystem Study
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Stakeholder Interviews
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Market Demand Analysis
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Cluster Qualification & Quantification
Approach
& Findings
"Waymaker was an integral part of our funding application process. They were able to connect with the right Louisville leaders and CEOs quickly, to turn around an impactful feasibility study we were confident to present to funders in just weeks."
— William A. Metcalf, VP Research and Innovation, University of Louisville, KY