Ribbon-cutting for Bad Girl Ventures’ new office in Covington.
By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
Bad Girl Ventures, a name that understates its “good girl outcomes,” has opened new offices in downtown Covington, thanks to its rapid growth in the area and the city’s Pike Star Phase II project.
Not to mention the strong private support of Central Bank and the RC Durr Foundation.
The new office, celebrated with a ribbon-cutting last week, is at 114 W. Pike Street — and has already been put to use for its new LAUNCH class.
BVG serves as a business educator, incubator and accelerator for female entrepreneurs, providing them with resources they need to start their own businesses and keep them viable.
BGV works with a multitude of industries ranging from biologics to franchised pet food, bakeries to yoga studios, and food manufacturing to commercial and industrial flooring, striving to make its clients’ dreams a reality.
Executive Director Nancy Aichholz explained why BGV chose Covington.
Tom Dibello of Center for Great Neighborhoods and BGV board chair Karen Finan at the grand opening (Photo provided)
“BGV chose to open our 3rd office in Covington due to the rapid growth in Kenton County/Covington, as well as the close proximity to downtown Cincinnati. We cross all industries with the women entrepreneurs we serve; now we are excited to also be crossing the river!
“We have a number of Northern Kentucky businesses that we have helped launch and we have some great partnerships with Northern Kentucky University and their Small Business Development Center, and some very strong sponsors and foundation support in the region. Central Bank and the RC Durr Foundation have been very loyal to BGV.”
Founded in 2010, the company has served over 1000 women in the Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Cleveland area.
“BGV was founded in order to help women access capital to fund their startup ventures. It quickly grew to a business education based model with coaching, mentoring and lending,” Aichholz said.
To date, BGV has directly awarded over $600,000 in low interest loans and secured more than $2.5m in funding through community partners and investors for female business owners.
Some notable projects include Wedding Bags by Meaghan, GrainwellFunctional Formularies ‘Liquid Hope,’ and Pet Wants, a healthy pet food enterprise.
Aichholz says, “Our formula really works,” and points to the fact that the nonprofit organization’s training program has 1000 alumni with 300 still actively in touch — and 80 percent still in business.
Board chair Karen Finan of Gilman Partners agrees.
“We are very serious about our strategic plan,” Finan says. “We are focusing on our mission and that is to help women start successful businesses.”
Nancy Aichholz
The organization focuses heavily on the “educational piece,” Aichholz says. “The magic is in education, coaching, one-on-one mentoring and an on-going connection.”
Finan says the board aims for the organization to be the “resource center for women entrepreneurs.”
Pike Star LLC is a partnership between Tony Kreutzjans of Orleans Development, Marc Tischbein of Tischbein Design and the Center for Great Neighborhoods.
The Pike Star Project is part of the ongoing revitalization of Covington’s Madison Avenue and Pike Street corridor, following landmark projects that include the Mutual Building, Hotel Covington, Braxton Brewing Company and the Duveneck Square project slated to break ground this fall.
This area has been called Covington’s Innovation District, due to the trend of tech and design-oriented businesses coming to the neighborhood. Neighbors include UpTech, bioLOGIC, BLDG, Durham Brand Co., Connectic Ventures, and the Gateway Community and Technical College Urban Metro Campus.
The Bad Girl Ventures space is in a 1900-era building that was a retail store for the A. L. Boehmer Paint Co for many years. Vacant for more than a decade, it’s the second-phase of a project called Pike Star, which has created street-level commercial space for first UpTech and now BGV, with upper-story apartments created in both phases.
Monica Beavers, public information officer of the City of Covington also contributed to this story.
