LaunchKC earns honors of its own, must still keep hustling, KC eco devo leader says
October 13, 2018 | Elyssa Bezner
Receiving the Bronze Excellence in Economic Development Award proves the real market value for programs like LaunchKC, said Drew Solomon.
Drew Solomon, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City
The win has been energizing, said Solomon, senior vice president of business and job development at the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, which partners with the Downtown Council of Kansas City to make the program liftoff.
LaunchKC awards $500,000 to nine startups each year through its popular grant competition. Click here to read about this year’s winners — awarded Friday in Power & Light.
The program earned its own honor earlier this month from the International Economic Development Council, the world’s largest membership organization for economic development professionals, in Atlanta, Georgia.
“[The award is] validating, but there’s still a ton of work to do,” said Solomon. “We’ve got to keep hustling and doing all the things that we do.”
LaunchKC has awarded $1.5 million in funding to 29 startups to date, spanning a spectrum of tech-related industries, according to a press release.
“This year, our judges reviewed some extraordinary projects that advanced both communities and businesses,” said Craig Richard, 2018 IEDC board chair. “What we learn from each other helps us to grow and advance as a profession. We look forward to even greater participation from economic developers across the globe in the 2019 awards program.”
Click here to read more about how LaunchKC has impacted grant recipients.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Girls in ‘tough-boy’ jobs: Young welders torch outdated beads on what’s possible
Vanessa Bello and Adriana Figueroa feel a rush of adrenaline as they gear up in their welding uniforms and watch their blueprints come to life — it’s a feeling everyone deserves to experience, regardless of gender, they shared. “It’s all dark but you see this little light while welding; then when you take off your…
Menufy’s online ordering platform helped restaurants survive 2020; now the KC-built company is serving a scale up
The startup course has been cleared for Leawood-plated Menufy as the tech company emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic ready to serve its customers a new identity while doubling down on its decade-old mission to empower restaurateurs. “The pandemic initially complicated things, then accelerated things and kept things complicated. … We don’t really think of ourselves…
Clara Biotech hits $850K in seed funding roundup, preparing to launch first product
An emerging biotech startup in the region is reporting a busy spring with a significant seed round already raised and key steps under way to launch its product: a solution that removes manufacturing roadblocks for breakthrough drugs. “We’re in an exciting and growing space and currently have low regulatory hurdles in the research stage,” said…
KC pitmaster joins celebrity chefs in ‘BBQ Brawl’; how reality TV pulled Burnt Finger’s pork through 2020 smoke
When Megan Day hits the screen Monday on Food Network, the Lee’s Summit pitmaster, entrepreneur and veteran of TV appearances — from BBQ battles to morning talk shows — could face her greatest challenge to date, she said. “This was a completely different style of competition,” Day, co-founder and face of Burnt Finger BBQ, said of…