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
iShare Medical working with VA, Medicare, Medicaid to improve patient outcomes, reduce cost of care
Medical errors shouldn’t be among the leading causes of death in a country as developed as the United States, said Linda Van Horn, especially when failure to communicate critical information across platforms is to blame. “It’s unacceptable to make mistakes, just because the information is not readily available to the provider, the doctor or the…
Railroad remedy: Fishtech-backed app could bring added efficiency to local transit system
What started out as a joke between coworkers at Fishtech Group, could solve a community-wide pain point in Martin City — and beyond, explained Michael Wilson. “Every single day there’d be a train come by, blowing its horn, interrupting us on conference calls and they would also make a lot of people late for meetings,”…
Q&A: Startup life isn’t all risk-taking and sexy, big-name investors, Kelly Sievers says
Investing doesn’t just hinge a dollar amount, said Kelly Sievers. “It’s also about finding the right kind of funding for your business,” the Women’s Capital Connection managing director told 26 small business owners at a recent Kansas City SCORE mentoring event. Sievers, an entrepreneurial advisor for the Women’s Business Center, has owned, operated and sold…
Perfect shots: KC lifestyle blogger launches Depalo app to guide users to Instagram hot spots
The perfect Instagram-worthy photo location could be within walking distance right now, said Kansas City-based lifestyle blogger Rebeeca Aneloski. A former Missouri representative on the Miss USA stage, Aneloski launched Depalo in June to help users locate picturesque locations across Kansas City — and eventually the globe, she said. “I [initially] started a blog to continue…