LaunchKC is ready for liftoff on Friday

LaunchKC will take center stage at Techweek Kansas City on Friday. Judges will spend the morning hearing pitches and questioning the 20 finalists, as they work to narrow the pool to 10 grant recipients who will receive $50,000 each.

According to the Techweek KC schedule, the final round of judging will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Friday on the DSI Stage in the Sprint Festival Plaza at Union Station. The LaunchKC awards ceremony will occur from 3:30-5 p.m. Friday on the Sprint Stage at the Extreme Screen.

Friday will mark the conclusion of months of preparation for the first-annual LaunchKC grant awards. The finalists are competing for 10 (ten) $50,000 grants, and a leg up in building their businesses in Kansas City, Missouri.

The list of 20 finalists – which was announced on Sept. 2 – was amended by one this last week. AppBase (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has been replaced by an alternate, TapTeach (Kearney, Mo.).

Drew Solomon, who manages the grants competition for LaunchKC, explained that AppBase is currently fulfilling the terms of a startup grant issued by the ArchGrants program in St. Louis. The duration of the ArchGrants commitment extends beyond the start date for a LaunchKC grants recipient to begin work in Kansas City.

“We reached a mutual understanding with AppBase for them to stay focused on St. Louis for now,” Solomon said. “We wouldn’t want to do anything to conflict with their work with the ArchGrants program.

“AppBase is a terrific business model. We will welcome and encourage AppBase to pursue the LaunchKC grants program again next year.”

LaunchKC’s 20 final contenders include 13 from the Kansas City area; six from six U.S. states; and one from Santiago, Chile.

“We were looking for the best and brightest to compete in the LaunchKC grants competition. We were very fortunate to have outstanding applicants who exceeded even our high expectations,” Solomon said.

The 20 finalists (alphabetically, by company name) for the LaunchKC grants competition include:

• Alcohoot (also known as Vertisense), New York, N.Y.
• Blooom, Overland Park, Kan.
• CBG Technologies (also known as REI Hammer), Lee’s Summit, Mo.
• Edge Up Sports, Kansas City, Mo.
• HealthID, Cranston, R.I.
• Integrated Roadways, Kansas City, Mo.
• KC Drone Co., Kansas City, Mo.
• LaborChart, Overland Park, Kan.
• Loadlytics, Boston, Mass.
• Mobility Designed, LLC, Roeland Park, Kan.
• Nodal Security, Detroit, Mich.
• Ovatemp, Kansas City, Mo.
• PopBookings, Kansas City, Mo.
• Pycno, Santiago, Chile
• SkillGravity, San Francisco, Calif.
• SquareOffs, Kansas City, Kan.
• TapTeach, Kearney, Mo.
• Ulytic, Columbia, Mo.
• Video Fizz, Kearney, Mo.
• Virtutecture, Lee’s Summit, Mo.

In addition to $50,000 grants, the 10 winning applicants will receive a network of support, including 12 months of free office space in Downtown KC; industry-specific mentor teams for each grant recipient; and opportunities to meet and learn from industry and entrepreneurial leaders in and around Kansas City – all designed to elevate their efforts to build high-growth, tech sector businesses and jobs in Downtown KCMO.