Today we are excited to announce the opening of applications for our third annual Render Competition. The competition aims to make funding more accessible to local early-stage startups in the Greater Louisville region, and will also help attract new entrepreneurs to the area that, through Render Capital’s support, are positioned to grow locally. Eight winning startups will be selected and awarded an investment of $100,000 each to help them grow.
“The Render Competition has seen so much growth and momentum as we now enter our third straight year of unlocking capital that has traditionally been difficult to acquire for startups at this stage,” said Marigrace Ragsdale, Senior Platform Manager with Render Capital. “In addition to the investment the eight winning startups will receive from Render Capital, they also receive free office space, over fifteen hours of one-on-one pro bono consulting, and memberships, discounts, and perks valued at over $1 million dollars made possible through the support of our generous partners.”
Last year’s competition saw over 300 applicants from 22 states, 13 countries, and four continents, all from a variety of industries. The group was then narrowed down by over 100 individuals volunteering as judges before winners were decided by an expert panel of final judges including: Allie Burns (CEO, Village Capital), Vik Chadha (CEO, Scalable Ventures and General Partner, Unbridled Ventures), Kellie Kuzmuk (Growth Lead Product Manager, Rise Science), Jacob Schpok (Vice President of Entrepreneurial Services, Elevate Ventures) and Patrick Henshaw (Managing Director, Render Capital).
“In addition to the investment the eight winning startups will receive from Render Capital, they also receive free office space, over fifteen hours of one-on-one pro bono consulting, and memberships, discounts, and perks valued at over $1 million dollars made possible through the support of our generous partners.” Marigrace Ragsdale, Venture Platform Manager
The eight winners selected in 2021 were: Dining Tek, Innovative Therapeutix, Legal Gantt, Moolathon, Repaytient, Veeper, Symba, and Xena Intelligence. These winners were then celebrated and invited to pitch their ideas to an audience of over 200 people at the 2021 Render Competition Pitch Event last September at Lynn Family Stadium. While five winners were local to Louisville, the remaining three winners have since relocated their headquarters to the area.
“With the Render Competition, Render Capital has been able to continue to attract some of the best startups in the country to the Louisville and Southern Indiana region. Render Capital is successful and growing because of the amazing entrepreneurs in our portfolio, including the growing number of those who are Render Competition winners,” said Patrick Henshaw, Managing Director of Render Capital. “This competition is one of the many ways we are doing our part to support these entrepreneurs and make our city a top destination for the best startups to flourish.”
Companies from any industry can apply for the Render Competition, although they should identify as high-growth startups, meaning they want to aggressively scale and seek an exit. These are companies that will most likely seek venture capital funding in order to fuel their growth into other markets. Startups from any location can apply; however, winners who do not live in the Greater Louisville region must relocate their headquarters to this area.
Applications will be accepted through May 8.
Presenting Program Sponsors for the Render Competition include Amplify Louisville, the Health Equity Innovation Hub and Elevate Ventures. The Supporting Program Sponsor is Greater Louisville Inc.
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