In the Spotlight: Raechele Smalls & Eric Hartman

Morning, friends – Logan here. I hope everyone’s enjoying August and maybe squeezing in a few more summer weekends before fall picks up.

This week, we’re digging into one of the most important (and misunderstood) elements of Kentucky’s startup ecosystem: early-stage capital. It’s something we’ve heard about for years from founders building in our region - the need for more capital, more deal flow, and more support at the pre-seed and seed stage.

To unpack this challenge, and the solution gaining real momentum, I sat down with Raechele Smalls, Director of Invest Blue, and Eric Hartman, Senior Associate Director at UK Innovate. Together, they’re helping lead a bold initiative to activate a new wave of mission-driven angel investors dedicated to supporting Kentucky startups.

Why is this so important?
Because without early-stage capital, companies don’t get off the ground - and they don’t stay here. Kentucky has brilliant founders, deep tech talent, and world-class research spinning out of institutions like UK. But without the follow-on capital to fuel that innovation, many of those companies go elsewhere.

Invest Blue is aiming to change that - not by launching a big fund, but by building a syndicate of small checks and big talent. They’re lowering the barrier to angel investing, educating new investors, and connecting them with high-potential companies tied to the Commonwealth.

What We Discussed:

Why capital isn’t the real barrier
Raechele explains how it’s not a lack of money that holds ecosystems back - it’s a lack of knowledge, networks, and confidence. Invest Blue is tackling that gap head-on.

The power of a founder-friendly syndicate
Unlike a pooled fund, Invest Blue’s model lets investors stay active, learn by doing, and write smaller checks that get pooled together into high-impact rounds.

How UK is fueling Kentucky startups
Eric walks us through the role UK Innovate plays in commercializing research and why early capital is the missing puzzle piece for many deep tech companies.

Who qualifies as an angel (hint: maybe you)
A lot more people qualify as accredited investors than realize it. We break down what that means and how Invest Blue makes it easy to get started.

The long play: building a new venture class
This isn’t just about writing checks. It’s about cultivating a future class of Kentucky-based investors, fund managers, and ecosystem leaders.

Listen to the episode on Spotify

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts

We hope you enjoy this episode! If you have any thoughts after listening, feel free to shoot me a message at [email protected]

Have a great week, friends!

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