The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development has awarded $100,000 in prize money to university students who developed plans for 18 new Kentucky companies.
The prizes awarded last weekend are intended to help identify and support Kentucky's next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. The largest cash awards went to students whose entries were more fully developed and more likely to succeed. Most of the money can only be claimed as reimbursements after the companies are legally formed.
The top award of $35,000 went to Southern Kentucky Sock Co., which was proposed by Western Kentucky University graduate student Kyle O'Donnell. He proposed sewing codes signifying sizes and styles into the socks to make reordering online simpler.
