Incubator's startup competition gets $325K grant

A Cape Girardeau startup competition is receiving additional funding thanks to a grant announced Thursday by Gov. Jay Nixon.

1st50K will receive $325,000, part of a larger amount made available to support business startups. Another 350,000 grant went to Springfield Innovation Inc. through the Missouri Technology Corp., according to a news release from Nixon's office.

"The funding that the (governor) announced today is to provide additional nondiluted cap investment to startups locally" and to attract business to the area, said James Stapleton, director of 1st50K and cofounder of Codefi.

Stapleton said startup capital is the "hardest money to find sometimes, especially in a tech-based business." He said the grant will help potentially fast-growing companies get off to a good start.

He added the money matched private donations.

"It is going along with private money that has been raised and invested in the 1st50K program," Stapleton said.

"Small businesses are the future of our economy," Nixon said in the release. "By working together to make smart, fiscally responsible decisions, we have helped make Missouri a center of high-tech job creation and a launching pad for innovative companies looking to grow their businesses."

In July, Forbes ranked Missouri a top-ten state for startup funding, the release stated.

Stapleton said he was proud Codefi and 1st50K are one of four programs in the state to be recognized for work in tech-based entrepreneurial startups.

Codefi opened in Cape Girardeau in late 2014, bringing the concept of coworking to town from larger metropolitan areas. The idea behind coworking is to create new business, foster entrepreneurial growth and bring independent workers into a community.

Codefi is home to 14 startup companies, the release stated.

Today is the deadline for 1st50K entries. The winner of the last competition, the Los Angeles-based Nutlock, won $50,000. The bike-lock builder won the top prize from among 100 applicants from 13 countries and 23 states.

Codefi's second Startup Weekend is set for Nov. 13 through 15.

Stapleton said he appreciates the state's investment and the work of private individuals, and is looking forward to building more tech-based businesses in Cape Girardeau.

"We are please to help Cape continue to grow economically," he said.

kwebster@semissourian.com

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