We recently closed the applications for this year’s Render Competition. We received more than 300 applications from across the world, which helps open the door for early-stage startups to gain access to capital to help them thrive.
The Render Competition launched on April 1 and closed applications on May 6, with 302 startups applying to receive funding and support from the Render Capital team and our partners. Companies from any industry could apply for the Render Competition, which aims to fund high-growth startups that are typically technology-forward, that can also grow quickly and significantly. 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. Eight businesses will win an investment of $100,000.
“This past year has been difficult for many startups as a result of the financial impact of COVID-19, and we are excited to be able to support some of them in a big way to help make their entrepreneurial vision a reality,” – Marigrace Ragsdale, Senior Associate
Applications by the Numbers
– 302 Total applications (up 58% from 2020)
– 22 Different states (up 22% from 2020)
– 6 Different continents (up 50% from 2020)
– 27 Different countries (up 440% from 2020)
– 61% of Founding teams include people of color (up 17% from 2020)
– 37% of Founding teams include females (up 32% from 2020)
“Supporting people of color and female business owners is very important to Render Capital, since these groups are proven to have more difficulty accessing capital. That’s why we are proud of our open application process which we intentionally designed for any interested startup to be able to apply.” – Patrick Henshaw, Managing Director
The next phase of the Render Competition is the judging round. Judging started on May 24th 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, including Amplify Louisville, Louisville Future of Work Initiative, UPS, Greater Louisville Inc., and Samtec.
To learn more about the Render Competition, visit https://render.capital/competition/.