Early-Stage Companies Funded by MTC Show This Upward Trend

Early-stage funding can be that vital foundation for startups, giving them a solid springboard for more fundraising wins down the road.

Case in point: Companies funded by the Missouri Technology Corporation IDEA equity investments raised five times more in additional funding than those companies that applied to MTC but were not funded, according to a recent MTC impact report.

We here at KCSourceLink conducted the research with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Zero Barriers grant program. The point of this study is to inform policy makers as they weigh public investment programs in early-stage entrepreneurial firms.

So what’s MTC? The Missouri Technology Corporation is a public-private partnership created by the Missouri General Assembly to promote entrepreneurship and foster the growth of new and emerging high-tech companies. MTC focuses on the life sciences and technology industries and builds on Missouri’s rich history in agriculture. Most of the early-stage funding MTC awards is used for product development and sales.

Here’s why all this matters: Most entrepreneurial ecosystem models include capital as a key pillar, with the amount of venture capital raised by companies as an indicator of the economic vitality of the communities in which those businesses are located.

Using investment data from 2009 through the first quarter of 2019 from CB Insights, the study found that the MTC-funded companies raised $1.1 billion in follow-on funds during that time frame versus $224 million for non MTC-funded companies.

In addition, more than twice as many MTC-funded companies actually raised follow-on funds: 77 compared with 36.

Read the complete MTC impact report here.

If you’re interested about the funding vehicles the Missouri Technology Corporation provides, these are the two early-stage investment opportunities you can explore:

1. The Missouri TechLaunch program helps support early-stage, Missouri life science and tech startups develop technologies, build businesses and create jobs across Missouri.

2. The Missouri SEED Capital Co-Investment program helps early-stage, Missouri entrepreneurs develop technologies, create jobs across Missouri and position companies for venture capital investment.

Learn more about these funds at the MTC website.