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
CBD startup: Young father sees Native Hemp Co. as the launch of a health revolution
At 21 years old, Rich Dunfield IV felt like an absentee father, he said. Struck in his prime with painful ailments after a tick bite — nerve and belly problems, anxiety and depression — he was home but not present. “My entire life was rooted in fatherhood. I started young, but I embraced it. Lyme…
New Lawrence Blade & Timber just the edge of Swell Spark’s ongoing brand evolution
A newly opened Lawrence Blade & Timber — well-positioned on the college town’s popular Massachusetts Street — features the axe-throwing brand’s first “retailtainment” concept. It’s a reflection of parent company Swell Spark’s ongoing push to keep Blade & Timber (as well as the Choir Bar and Breakout businesses) fresh amid an increasingly crowded experience-based entertainment…
25th anniversary: Roasterie founder Danny O’Neill recalls humble start with just ‘nickels and pickles’
Brewed in a recession, Danny O’Neill wasn’t sure The Roasterie would sell a single cup of coffee, let alone percolate into an iconic Kansas City brand, the founder said as he reflected on the regional coffee titan’s 25th anniversary. “The only idea I had was coffee,” O’Neill said of his decision to jump ship from…
KC Crew’s fall leagues set to be first players in overhauled Hy-Vee Arena
The newly renovated Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City’s West Bottoms is like a giant sports coworking space, said Luke Wade. Coffee shops, restaurants, chiropractors, physical therapists, and other offerings are joining his adult sports and events company in the revamped former Kemper Arena facility, said Wade, founder of KC Crew. And although the arena officially…