LOUISVILLE, KY

Render Capital Receives Almost 200 Applications For Startup Competition

28 May 2020

Applicants Now Compete for $100,000 and Support from Render Capital

Render Capital’s $100,000 Render Competition closed applications on May 15th with 191 startups applying to receive funding and support from the Render Capital team and its partners. The inaugural Render Competition was launched on February 11th with the focus of supporting innovative and scalable startups who want to grow their company in the Greater Louisville region. Eight businesses will win an investment of $100,000.

We were overwhelmed by the number of applications that we received for this year’s competition. It is exciting to see applicants from all across the country, which is truly a testament to the entire startup community that these founders are interested in moving their companies to Louisville.

Marigrace Ragsdale, Senior Associate, Render Capital

Applications by the Numbers

191 Total Applications
18 Different States
4 Different Continents
5 Different Countries

Not only did interest come from all over the country, but also from innovations within various industries including healthcare, logistics, artificial intelligence, broad technology solutions, among others. “We are working towards creating access to capital for entrepreneurs who might not normally have it. Entrepreneurs come from a diverse group of backgrounds and locations and we were happy to see this diversity reflected in our applications,” said Marigrace.

52% of applicants are people of color
28% of applicants are female
54% of applicants are from outside Greater Louisville

The next phase of the Render Competition is the judging round. Judging began on May 22nd and will continue throughout the summer, inviting top candidates to advance to subsequent rounds of review. Our community of local and national judges will narrow down the initial pool of applicants into a group of 16 finalists who will compete in September for a chance to win one of the eight investments. This next step in the process would not be possible without the generous support of our volunteer judges and Render Competition sponsors UPS, Samtec, Microsoft Future of Work Initiative, and GLI.

About Render Capital | Render Capital is working to create an environment where entrepreneurs build businesses and thrive. We envision a robust and thriving regional economy where entrepreneurs see Louisville and Southern Indiana as a place they can find appropriate risk capital necessary for them to start and grow. Render Capital is a regional fund of Access Ventures.