Komfort Kruz, LLC of Cadiz, Kentucky awarded a $25,000 Kentucky Enterprise Fund Grant.

Komfort Kruz, LLC of Cadiz, Kentucky was awarded a Kentucky Enterprise Fund Rural Level One 1 grant of $25,000. Owners David and LaNell Bell have developed a very innovative product which has a huge market potential.

The Bell’s have created a motorcycle conversion kit. This kit will convert a traditional motorcycle into a “3-wheeler” or “trike” without altering the existing vehicle. The Bell’s received a patent on their design in 2003. The unique feature of their product is that it also serves as a trailer for the motorcycle.

Currently, they are working with Strategic Insight, LLC, a marketing firm, on their market feasibility analysis. They have also begun development of their business plan, and will possibly seek additional patents. David Bell, the inventor and founder, has been working with an engineer to ensure that his manufacturing process is cost effective and to further enhance the design of the product. Komfort Kruz is very excited about the potential to grow this business and create jobs right here.

TeraHive, of Murray, Kentucky awarded a $25,000 Kentucky Enterprise Fund Grant.

Chris Allen and TeraHive of Murray Kentucky was awarded a $25,000 Rural Innovation Level 1 grant. This grant is part of the Kentucky Enterprise Funds managed by the Kentucky Science and Technology Council (KSTC) of Lexington, KY. The Kentucky Enterprise fund is a series of pre-seed and seed stage capital funds that focus on the early state of commercialization of a product, technology or process. TeraHive is developing a website which provides users with topical social-networking based on music. Terahive is a client of the ICC and will use this grant to further develop his product and business model.

PRESS RELEASE

ICC CLIENT, YAYA’S ISLAND, HAS SUCCESSFULLY RECEIVED FUNDING AGREEMENT TO LAUNCH NEW BUSINESS IN PADUCAH

(Paducah, KY – January 14, 2008) – YaYa’s Island is announcing today its receipt of funding commitments to finance the business startup for their children’s entertainment center in Paducah, Kentucky. The location will be at Falconite Development Group’s Jordan’s Crossing, which is located next to the Cinemark movie theatres and across the street from Sam’s in the Kentucky Oaks Mall area.

YaYa’s Island is the business concept and property of Mr. Ben Dallas of Paducah. The investment source and details are not being disclosed by Mr. Dallas. The grand opening is tentatively scheduled for July 2008. The exact date will be determined as construction timetables allow.
Mr. Dallas anticipates employing 24 soon after its opening and by the end of 2008.

About YaYa’s Island

The business will be formed as a Kentucky LLC and plans for opening the first location of this Children’s Entertainment Center in July 2008. CEO, Ben Dallas, began working in 2006 on the business concept which is now the core creative content for YaYa’s Island. He started to work with the Innovation and Commercialization Center in Murray, Kentucky in March of 2007 to structure the busines offering and work through a plan to gain funding.

Mr. Dallas says “YaYa’s will offer families in the region a world class “fun” venue to get their “YaYa’s out” while experience a tropical island setting featuring many species of birds, fish and reptiles.” Ben says that there will be adequate facilities to host birthday parties and school field trips as well as other special occasions. The restaurant menu will feature classic pizza and many other items for health conscience patrons.

The YaYa’s Island experience is designed to provide parents with a comfortable environment, while kids explore, investigate and play in the various entertainment areas. There will be opportunity for passive entertainment by watching fish, boats traveling through a stream, and natural wildlife all in doors and all in a safe environment. Also YaYa’s plans to include ample areas for active play on play structures and a synthetic turf surface. Ben’s work with the ICC and his personal research led to a relationship with Lyle Hawkins of Strategic Insight, LLC out of Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Hawkins conducted extensive market research and feasibility for Ben. The work resulted in a combination of efforts from these service providers to its present successful business start.

About the Innovation & Commercialization Center and the Paducah Innovation and Small Business Center

The Western Region ICC office located in Murray, KY and is currently working with 35 high tech and/or high growth client companies. Pat Powell, ICC Director reports that clients have received a total exceeding $15 million in funding (mostly private) since the ICC started 4 ½ years ago. The Murray State University ICC services the 20 western-most counties of Kentucky. The ICC is part of the MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY REGIONAL BUSINESS & INNOVATION CENTER. Pat Powell and / or RBIC assistant director,

Loretta Daniels can be reached at 270-809-6070 or email ldaniel@kyinnovation.com.

The Paducah Innovation and Small Business Center is located in the Commerce Center downtown Paducah. Tom Hales, Manager of the center, worked with Mr. Dallas on financials and other business startup details. Tom can be reached at 270-443-2783 or thales@kyinnovation.com.

Visit the Western Region ICC via the Internet at www.msurbc.com.

PRESS RELEASE

TAPLOGIC, LLC A CLIENT OF THE MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION CENTER RECEIVES INVESTMENT FOR BUSINESS START-UP AND JOB CREATION

Murray, KY – Hoyt Choate, Founder and of TAPLOGIC, LLC. Located in Murray Kentucky has recently received investments totaling over $1.7 million dollars to expand their business and launch their FarmN technology. This Murray based expansion will create over 90 new full-time jobs with an average of over $50,000 annual compensation. The economic impact of these jobs to Calloway County Kentucky will be 195 jobs and $7.36 million dollars in local income according to David Shideler, Director of the Murray State University Bureau of Business and Economic Research. With this announcement, the ICC now has now raised over $13 million in investment capital for its 30+ clients who have added over 100 new jobs to the regional economy since June 2003.

TAPLOGIC LLC has received $600,000 from the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC). In addition, TAPLOGIC been approved for a loan of $500,000 from the State of Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, Department for Commercialization and Innovation (DCI). These awards were made possible when TAPLOGIC negotiated a private investment into their company which is being matched by the state’s GAP fund and other funds administered by (KSTC).

“Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation is pleased to have helped TapLogic through investments from the Kentucky Enterprise Fund.  We have confidence that our $600K investment will be put to great use by the company because of the strength of the leadership, the technology and the market.”  Kris Kimel, President.

“The Kentucky Enterprise Fund is a series of pre-seed and seed stage capital funds that focus on the early stage commercialization of a product, technology, or process.  The Kentucky Enterprise Fund is made available through an annual appropriation from the Commonwealth of Kentucky through the Council on Postsecondary Education.”

TAPLOGIC became a client of the Murray State University Innovation and Commercialization Center (ICC) in 2004. Since then they have worked closely together to develop the technology, conduct market research, develop the business model and raise this needed investment for FarmN technology to launch in to the marketplace.

TAPLOGIC’S patent pending FarmN software provides the agriculture market with an information technology tracking and reporting system. FarmN mimics the process of farming. Data is entered on a pocket PC via Taplogic’s Tap n’ Done user interface. This interface provides “tapable” buttons set on a background image (satellite photo) of the field the farming operation is performed on. The farmer taps his information into the handheld which then transfers wirelessly to a TapLogic Commbox. TapLogic is then able to prepare various reports needed by the farmer about his farm operation.

“The Innovation and Commercialization Center used the rigorous methodology of the Kentucky’s ICC Network in its work with TAPLOGIC to complete the development of their product, market research and business plan, then assist them with their search for the funding required to commercialize and begin production and sales of the new product.” says Patrick Powell, Director of the ICC.

The Murray State University Regional Business and Innovation Center which includes the ICC provides the region with a resource for technology and knowledge-based businesses. The primary objective of the Regional Business and Innovation Center is to encourage business development and to facilitate a change in the entrepreneurial culture and knowledge-based economy in rural and small communities throughout the western region of the Commonwealth creating job growth and wealth. Services are provided to the 20 western-most counties of Kentucky as well as a 23,000 square foot technology business incubator building in Murray that provides physical space for start-up knowledge-based companies.

“TAPLOGIC is cultivating the type of high-growth technology that the Regional Business and Innovation Center which includes the ICC was created by the state of Kentucky to assist. These types of companies create jobs and wealth as well as drive the knowledge-based economy of our region.” says Loretta Daniel, RBIC Assistant Director.

Business development services provided by the Murray State University Regional Business and Innovation Center include:

  • Business Incubator Facilities
  • Targeted assistance for technology businesses and patentable ideas
  • Funding Assistance including debt and equity financing
  • Financial Analysis and Review
  • Business Plan coaching and assessment
  • Business valuation training and review
  • Business Start-Up assistance for high growth and high tech companies
  • Marketing Assistance
  • Referrals for professional business services
  • Seminars and Workshop offerings
  • Application services for the Kentucky Enterprise Fund
  • Application services for the KY SBIR/STTR matching Fund

For more information contact:

Patrick Powell, Director
Innovation & Commercialization Center
MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY
926 North 16th Street
Murray, KY 42071-1524

Phone (270) 809-6070
Fax (270) 809-6075
Email: ppowell@kyinnovation.com

PRESS RELEASE

ICC client receives a “first” for True Value Company software certification

Posted: 03/27/06

Murray, Kentucky, ICC client, Profile Systems Design Group, Inc. of Madisonville, KY announced today that True Value Company has certified TransActPOS software to be a fully compliant interface for the True Value Company, Inc.’s Afaria communication software. TransActPOS software allows True Value Member stores to communicate seamlessly through the internet with True Value Company’s mainframe computer system. This functionality enables True Value Member stores to work more efficiently by streamlining the data flow between their stores and True Value Company Headquarters.

The Western Region ICC (Innovation and Commercialization Center) at Murray State University has worked with their technology client Profile Systems Design Group, Inc. to achieve their business and strategic plan. The ICC is part of a Commonwealth of Kentucky’s effort to develop a growing knowledge-based business economy in the sate.

TransActPOS is an affordable point of sale software solution that enables True Value Member Stores to become more efficient and profitable by receiving timely data from True Value Company headquarters. TransActPOS takes this data, sorts and displays it in user friendly formats, enabling True Value Store owner/managers to make better informed decisions in less time.

True Value Company, headquartered in Chicago, is one of the world’s largest member-owned wholesale hardware cooperatives with approximately 6,000 independent retail locations worldwide. True Value Company distributes over 70,000 stock keeping units and develops various store services to enable member stores to become better managed and more profitable businesses.

Profile System Design Group, Inc., located in Madisonville, KY, is the developer of a modular accounting system, TransActPOS, focused on inventory and customer management of a retail operation. Profile’s objective is to provide users with a comprehensive, easy to learn accounting system and provide users with the tools to educate their employees as to how appropriately use the system to better serve their customer. Additional information on Profile System Design Group, Inc. is available at www.psdg.com.

The Western Region ICC office located in Murray, KY is administrating a knowledge-based business accelerator initiative for the 20 western-most counties of Kentucky. The ICC is part of the MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY REGIONAL BUSINESS & INNOVATION CENTER.

CONTACT: Patrick Powell
Murray State University – RBIC
926 N 16th ST
Murray, KY 42071
Phone (270) 809-6070
Fax (270) 809-6075>

PRESS RELEASE (For Immediate Release)

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

The INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION CENTER (ICC) at MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY (Murray, KY) announces that its client STREAMERNET CORPORATION of Kuttawa, KY in Lyon County received a significant equity placement of $450,000 from a private investor. This is the third capital placement received by an ICC client since the office was opened in July 2003, which brings the total equity placements to $4,450,000. Of the total capital raised, just shy of $4,000,000 was placed within the last four months.

The Center’s director Patrick Powell said, “The ICC may have once been considered an experiment, but we now know that the process works. Clients receive meaningful business assistance and the tools needed to recruit capital and develop their high-growth businesses.” The ICC now serves sixteen (16) clients located in the western region of Kentucky. These clients are receiving business development guidance based on a commercialization model. These high growth companies are, in turn, providing jobs for workers at wages generally higher than service or manufacturing sector wage scales.

The MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY ICC is part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s ICC network which is administrated by Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation under contract from the Department of Commercialization and Innovation (part of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development).

Murray State University supports the ICC and it is organized under the University’s REGIONAL BUSINESS CENTER and it is a part of the REGIONAL CENTER FOR EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, INC. Also consistent with the University’s economic development mission, the MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY - ICC serves the twenty westernmost counties of the Commonwealth.

A key supporting role player in the ongoing StreamerNet success story, as well as several other clients, is the INNOVATION AND SMALL BUSINESS CENTER in Paducah, KY managed by Loretta Daniel. Ms. Daniel has been working clients to develop their business plans, market analysis and feasibility review, financial modeling and valuation.

In many cases, helping these companies is a matter of listening carefully to their needs and then connecting them with the appropriate resource.

Contact: Patrick Powell, Director
INNOVATION & COMMERCIALIZATION CENTER, MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY

Please note that the deadline for the next cycle of Rural Innovation Fund Level I and Level II applications is due by June 15, 2007. Please complete your application online. See the website http://www.startupkentucky.com and look for the paragraph in the left column with instructions about fund applications.

An initiative of the Murray State University Regional Business and Innovation Center
926 North 16th Street
Murray, Kentucky 42071
Phone: (270) 809-6070
Fax: (270) 809-6075

Copyright © 2006 Regional Business and Innovation Center . All Rights Reserved.