LaunchKC eyes startups building ‘a more prosperous and equitable future’; Social Venture Studio opens apps
January 5, 2023 | Startland News Staff
A program created in late 2021 to help boost promising social ventures as they create sustainable business models to tackle social, racial, or environmental issues is returning this spring for its second cohort.
LaunchKC’s Social Venture Studio is now accepting applications for its program, which aims to drive social impact and return on investment via socially-minded entrepreneurs selected for its four-month curriculum.
“Increasing access to capital, resources, and opportunities for BIPOC and female leaders is imperative to both solving social problems and having a robust business community,” said Jacqueline Erickson Russell, founder and CEO of Social Impact Advisory Group, a consulting agency that helps lead programming for the effort.
“Social Venture Studio will be empowering the next high-growth organizations who can lead the way to a more prosperous and equitable future,” she continued.
Click here to apply for LaunchKC’s Social Venture Studio. Applications close March 1.
Natasha Kirsch, Pawsperity, at the demo day for the 2022 LaunchKC Social Venture Studio; Photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
The Social Venture Studio is seeking a diverse group of leaders. The selected five to seven companies will participate in a cohort that receives professional support, grant awards ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, temporary office space at the Keystone CoLAB, mentoring, and network connections to strengthen their social venture business concepts, according to LaunchKC.
An information session is planned for Jan. 25 at the United Way of Greater Kansas City, where interested individuals may learn more about the Social Venture Studio, ask questions, and meet past cohort members.
Click here to register for the Jan. 25 information session.
“Last year’s program was a big success,” said Jim Erickson, director of strategic initiatives for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, which organizes LaunchKC efforts alongside the Downtown Council of Kansas City. “Headed into Year Two and beyond, we’re looking forward to scaling this effort in KC and across the region to drive generational economic change.”
RELATED: LaunchKC shines spotlight on founders as first social venture studio cohort takes the stage
Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant, The Prospect KC, at the demo day for the LaunchKC Social Venture Studio
Jacqueline Erickson Russell, Social Impact Advising Group, at the demo day for the LaunchKC Social Venture Studio
The inaugural program in 2022 supported seven Kansas City-based entrepreneurs with programming and grant funding to scale their businesses. The effort was also recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) with its Excellence in Economic Development Award for the program’s work in promoting economic equity and inclusion.
Similar to the 2022 program, Reconciliation Services, which owns a prominent KC social venture — Thelma’s Kitchen — will closely advise as a social venture industry expert. Keystone Innovation District will administer programming, with consulting from Social Impact Advisory Group.
LaunchKC continues to see momentum, wrapping up its seventh year, having invested more than $3.5 million in cash grants to 100 companies that have created more than 300 jobs in Missouri and attracted more than $60 million in follow-on capital.
Sixty-three percent of LaunchKC participant companies are minority or woman-owned businesses, according to the effort, which most recently wrapped its rebooted LaunchKC grants competition during Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City.
RELATED: Winners revealed: LaunchKC awards $300K in rebooted grants competition
Featured Business
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Call it ‘Swiftonomics’ in KC: Win or lose, Taylor Swift brought a smile to more than just Travis Kelce this season
Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. The Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City estimates that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour this summer had an economic impact of $200…
Combating fight or flight: KC nonprofit deploys horses for veterans struggling to get back in the civilian saddle
Horses taught Patrick Benson to feel again after serving in the military, he shared. Now he extends that experience to his fellow combat veterans through a nonprofit based on a rural Johnson County farm. “Working with challenging horses that are struggling with their purpose, too; to find direction; we needed the same thing,” Benson explained…
PBS docuseries puts KC creator at the intersection food and ‘transformational travel’
Food travel is about more than getting the most exotic or expensive social media-worthy photo of a meal to share for superficial clout, said Jim Kane, emphasizing the transformation power of connection when someone truly allows themselves to use food as a lens for understanding culture. “Before the pandemic, there were a lot of checklists…
A misstep ended their ‘Squid Game’ run together; the business of their friendship keeps moving
While not everything on reality TV is 100 percent … well, real, the bond between “Squid Game: The Challenge” competitors Stephen Lomas and Chase Higgins is anything but scripted, the Kansas City duo said. Longtime friends and business partners — the two previously co-founded Let’s Get Moving, a social media savvy moving company that gained…