LaunchKC to ignite national scene at SxSW

LaunchKC, the Kansas City-based grants competition for tech startup businesses, will step into the national spotlight on Monday, March 16 at the SxSW Interactive conference and forum in Austin, TX.

LaunchKC will be the focus of an evening-long reception at the SxSW Interactive from 6-9 p.m. Monday. SXSW attendees and guests are invited to the reception to learn more about the grants competition which begins on March 31 and to meet leaders of LaunchKC, along with tech and business leaders in Kansas City.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to introduce LaunchKC to the tech world at SxSW Interactive,” said Mike Hurd, chief marketing officer for LaunchKC and the Downtown Council. “We are looking for the best and brightest to enter the grants competition and compete to bring their business models to Kansas City.”

LaunchKC is grants competition for tech entrepreneurs to apply and compete for one of 10 (ten) $50,000 grants and a leg up in growing their business enterprises in Kansas City, Missouri, that was unveiled in January by the Downtown Council of Kansas City.

LaunchKC is an initiative of the Downtown Council of Kansas City, Missouri, working in partnership with the Economic Development Corporation. It stems from Kansas City Mayor Sly James’ bi-state innovation initiative that was established in 2013. Representatives of the DTC and EDC will be in Austin for “The Launch Party.”

Monday’s reception is sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and powered by Techweek. The Kauffman Foundation works to help individuals attain economic independence by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success. Techweek is the nation’s largest series of tech conferences and festivals, and will stage its first Techweek Kansas City conference in September. The LaunchKC competition will be a cornerstone of the Techweek Kansas City event.

Each LaunchKC grant recipient will receive a $50,000 non-dilutive grant and a web of support, including 12 months of free office space in Downtown; 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 Kansas City.

“LaunchKC will contribute to a more robust startup culture and infrastructure in Kansas City, Missouri,” said Bill Dietrich, president and CEO of the Downtown Council and chief administrative office of LaunchKC. “This will strengthen our growing Innovation District in Downtown, where investors, inventors and entrepreneurs collaborate within a livable, walkable and transit-connected urban center.

The grants application window opens on March 31, and closes on July 2, 2015. Following an extended application review process, the eventual grant recipients will be selected by a LaunchKC judging panel consisting of Kansas City business leaders and national venture capitalists at Techweek Kansas City on Sept. 18, 2015.

Dietrich said the bottom is line for LaunchKC is crystal clear:

To grow jobs and build new businesses in Kansas City:

• To grow jobs and build new businesses in Kansas City
• To engage venture capitalists and equity investors in KC tech scene
• To elevate Kansas City’s brand as an innovation center across the country
• To serve as an engine for regional and national tech talent recruitment

“LaunchKC will search locally and nationally to indentify innovative entrepreneurs – the ‘real drivers,’ like mid-career professionals with expertise in existing industries to be uniquely qualified to spin off new businesses,” Dietrich said.