Photo gallery: Techweek’s LaunchKC Top 100 Expo
September 15, 2016 | Bobby Burch
Hundreds of Techweek Kansas City attendees converged on Union Station Thursday afternoon to explore dozens of startups part of the LaunchKC grants contest.
Now in its second year, the popular grants competition LaunchKC was again met with an enthusiastic response by applicants in 2016, drawing more than 400 applicants. The competition — which will distribute $500,000 via 10, $50,000 non-dilutive grants — will allow the top 20 applicants to pitch their firms Friday during a live presentation at Techweek KC. The grant competition is led by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City and the Downtown Council of Kansas City.
The expo Thursday featured the top 100 firms that applied in the contest. Below is a gallery from the event — enjoy!
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