Great ideas are already being built across Western Kentucky. They are taking shape in small towns, around kitchen tables, inside existing businesses, and in the minds of people who may not even think of themselves as entrepreneurs yet. What is often missing is not ambition or creativity. It is access to the right people, resources, and next steps. That is exactly what Sprocket’s Regional Roadshow is designed to address.
This fall, Sprocket is taking its entrepreneurial resources directly into communities across the region with four free Roadshow stops in Ballard County, Hopkinsville, Murray, and Fulton. The goal is simple: meet entrepreneurs where they are, help them understand what support is available, and connect them with opportunities that can help move an idea or business forward.
The Roadshow is part of Sprocket’s broader Regional Innovation Initiative, a connected effort to discover promising ideas, develop entrepreneurs through hands-on support, and create opportunities for them to keep growing.
What to Expect at a Roadshow Stop
Each event is designed to be practical, local, and approachable. Attendees will hear from an entrepreneur from their own community about the realities of building a business, learn more about Sprocket’s resources, and get a clearer sense of where they may fit within Sprocket’s four pathways: Start, Build, Grow, and Scale.
Those pathways reflect the different stages entrepreneurs move through over time. Some people are still exploring an idea. Others are testing demand or refining a business model. Some are building stronger systems and traction, while others are preparing for larger opportunities, capital, or expansion.
You do not need to know exactly where you fit before you attend. In fact, that is part of the point. The Roadshow is meant to help entrepreneurs, business owners, innovators, and aspiring founders understand what their next step could be and who can help them take it.
At each stop, attendees will also hear directly from local founders about what they are building, what they have learned, and what the entrepreneurial journey has looked like for them. Featured speakers include Eric Oldham of Oldham Machine Works in Ballard County; Patrick Samuels of Sunnyside Egg Co. and Luci Wells of Weller Co. in Hopkinsville; Tyler Cope of The Mocktail Guy in Murray; and Paige Dennis of Joanns Prom & Pageant Gowns, who is also the new owner of The Meadows Hotel, in Fulton.
The Roadshow Can Be the Beginning
For some attendees, that next step may be Sprocket’s seven-week Innovation Challenge. The fully online program is designed for people ready to do deeper work on an idea or early-stage business. Participants will focus on customer discovery, business-model development, testing assumptions, and building a clearer path forward with the support of coaching, training, and a cohort of fellow entrepreneurs. Applications for this fall’s Innovation Challenge close October 2, and spots are limited.
The Roadshow gives potential applicants a chance to learn more before deciding whether the program is the right fit. It also creates a broader connection to Sprocket for people who may not be ready for the Challenge yet but still want access to resources, mentors, programs, and community.
That broader relationship matters. Sprocket’s goal is not to bring innovation into Western Kentucky. Innovation is already here. The goal is to help uncover it, support it, and make sure entrepreneurs across the region know where to turn when they are ready to move forward.
Find a Roadshow Stop Near You
The Regional Roadshow will visit four Western Kentucky communities:
Ballard County
Tuesday, September 22
5–6 PM
Fort Jefferson Memorial Cross
In partnership with the Ballard County Chamber of Commerce
Hopkinsville
Thursday, September 24
8–9 AM
Murray State University Hopkinsville Regional Campus
In partnership with the Christian County Chamber of Commerce and South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council
Murray
Wednesday, September 30
3–4 PM
CFSB Community Room
In partnership with CFSB
Fulton
Thursday, October 1
5–6 PM
The Meadows Hotel
In partnership with the Fulton-Hickman Counties Economic Development Partnership
Each stop is free to attend.
If you have an idea, a business, a problem worth solving, or simply a sense that you are ready to take the next step, Sprocket would like to meet you.
Register for the Regional Roadshow and learn more about the Regional Innovation Initiative at: https://regionalinnovation.sprocketinc.org/