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
KCSourceLink to pandemic-prompted entrepreneurs: 8 no-cost, low-cost classes to help start a dream business
As Kansas Citians reel from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many are turning to entrepreneurship, reports ecosystem builder KCSourceLink, citing a 367 percent increase in the number of people who reported starting a business. The nonprofit, which helps new and seasoned entrepreneurs start and grow businesses by connecting them to more than 240 business-building resources in…
Newly-elected state school board rep Melanie Haas talks innovation (for more than just JoCo students)
Editor’s note: This article is underwritten by Plexpod — a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes — but was independently produced by Startland News. With a professional background in technology, Melanie Haas witnessed her industry empowering women to fill leadership roles, she said. So when it came…
Safe and sanitized: Cart Kings corral COVID threat with three dads’ protective solution
Three Kansas City dads’ community-first mindsets pushed the trio to develop a “first-of-its-kind” technique for making grocery and retail stores across the metro safer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Their mission: disinfect shopping carts and other well-used items via a sanitization trailer — bypassing the arduous, fallible and potentially dangerous process of cleaning by hand, said…
How Stick Figure Bully’s simple lines and shapes rewrite one woman’s childhood trauma as a cautionary tale
Editor’s note: This article is underwritten by Plexpod — a progressive coworking platform offering next generation workspace for entrepreneurs, startups, and growth-stage companies of all sizes — but was independently produced by Startland News. A creative spirit, Damika Clay recalled a white sweatshirt on which she loved to write and draw designs. The same item she proudly…