LaunchKC awards 10 grants to tech startups at Techweek

LaunchKC’s goal to bring the best tech entrepreneurs to Downtown Kansas City became fully realized on Friday afternoon when its second class of 10 grant recipients was introduced before a packed house at Techweek Kansas City.

The 10 winners, which includes seven Kansas City area businesses and one international company were each awarded $50,000 in grants from LaunchKC.

Earlier in the day, 20 tech startups spent the morning pitching their business plans and making their case for the cash prizes to judges and Techweek attendees at Union Station.

More than 400 entrepreneurs from 19 states and seven countries applied to LaunchKC during a 90-day application window that closed in early July. LaunchKC is a startup grants program run by the Downtown Council of Kansas City in collaboration with the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City.

The 2016 class of LaunchKC grant recipients are:

• Big Bang – Kansas City, Missouri
• BLITAB – Vienna, Austria
• ConsultUS – Prairie Village, Kansas
• FEWDM – Kansas City, Missouri
• Forest Devices – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• LaborChart – Overland Park, Kansas
• Mobility Designed – Roeland Park, Kansas
• Mycroft AI – Lawrence, Kansas
• PerfectCube – Lenexa, Kansas
• Super Dispatch – Kansas City, Kansas

In addition to the $50,000 grants, the 10 selected startups will receive a year of free office space in the Crossroads Arts District of Downtown Kansas City; industry-specific mentor teams; and opportunities to meet and learn from industry and entrepreneurial leaders in Kansas City. In addition, LaunchKC will help the grant recipients identify follow-on capital and angel investments.