LaunchKC earns honors of its own, must still keep hustling, KC eco devo leader says

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.