Business Notebook: Startup competition to award innovation, scalable ventures

Applications for this year's 1ST50K startup competition, conducted by Codefi and the Marquette Tech District in Cape Girardeau, are being accepted now through May 31. This year, the focus is on Southeast Missouri entrepreneurs.

The program, which helps turn innovative startup ideas into scalable ventures, has been awarding $50,000 grants to entrepreneurs since the program's first round in 2015. Individuals and teams of entrepreneurs have been chosen for the startup funding and have been judged on a variety of criteria, including the quality and coachability of each team, the business opportunity they identified, product-market fit, scalability of the business model and the impact the 1ST50K program would have on the venture.

In 2019, the 1ST50K competition committee selected Nathan Holmes, creator of Pumptrakr, and Sho Rust, who founded Sho.AI, to receive startup funding. As part of their award, both receive regular mentorship from entrepreneurs and investors, additional opportunities for fundraising and Codefi membership.

Entrepreneurs interested in applying for this year's competition can do so online at www.MarquetteTech.org/launch. Those who apply by April 30 will receive additional feedback to improve their applications ahead of the final entry deadline of May 31.

Finalists will be invited to Cape Girardeau in late July for "Pitch Day" to meet other participants before making their case to the competition committee to be selected for an award.

The 1ST50K competition is funded through the Missouri Technology Corp.'s Missouri Building Entrepreneurial Capacity program. The grant awards are matched dollar for dollar by local private donations.

Discounts offered to military, medical and emergency personnel

Starting last week, Dollar General began providing medical personnel, first-responders and activated members of the National Guard with a 10% discount on qualifying purchases. Discounts are valid at any of Dollar General's 16,300 locations, including those in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area.

The discounts will be offered through April 30 and will possibly be extended based on the evolution and status of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All Dollar General stores are also reserving the first hour of each business day to elderly customers with the goal of providing customers who are more "at risk" from the coronavirus an opportunity to shop for essential items in a less crowded environment. Stores are also closing an hour earlier than normal to allow for restocking and additional cleaning.

Area McDonald's offering beverages to frontline workers

McDonald's restaurants throughout Southeast Missouri are offering free beverages to first-responders and health care workers who can show their employee badges or other valid employment identifications.

"We want to thank them for their commitment to our communities and hope this small gesture spreads a bit of happiness at this time," said Shannon Davis, owner/operator of the McDonald's locations throughout the region.

The free beverages are available through April 30 in the drive-through windows at McDonald's restaurants in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Malden, Advance, Benton, Sikeston, Charleston, Dexter, Doniphan, Marble Hill, Miner, Piedmont, Poplar Bluff and Van Buren in Missouri.

No additional purchase is necessary.

Schnucks raising funds for COVID-19 relief

Schnuck markets has launched a "Round Up at the Register" campaign to allow customers to donate to the United Way and support those experiencing hardships due to COVID-19.

Customers who choose to donate may round up the price of their groceries to the next dollar. All funds raised through the program will go directly to the United Way and will stay in the communities in which they are donated. The program began Friday and will run through April 19.

Last week, the St. Louis-based grocery chain, which has a location in Cape Girardeau, announced a $605,000 corporate donation to support COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts.

Grant to hire workers displaced by virus

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Missouri Foundation for Health has awarded a grant of nearly $200,000 to the Southeast Missouri Food Bank to hire several workers displaced by the coronavirus outbreak. The new hires will help pack and distribute food in the Southeast Missouri region.

The $198,720 grant will allow the food bank to hire 12 temporary employees who will work full-time for the next 10 weeks. They will sort, package and distribute food at the food bank's Sikeston distribution center and at mobile food distributions held throughout the food bank's 16-county service area.

The food bank is working with the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce and Sikeston Regional Chamber and Area Economic Development Corp. to promote the employment opportunity among their members who may have employees who are temporarily furloughed due to COVID-19-related layoffs. Manpower, a recruitment firm with offices in Cape Girardeau and Sikeston, will screen qualified applicants and conduct hirings.

In addition to paying wages to the temporary employees, a portion of the grant will also be used to purchase additional food to meet the increased need for food assistance.

People on the Move

Hahn Oh

Hahn Oh, plant manager of the baby care division at Procter & Gamble's Cape Girardeau production facility, has been appointed to the SoutheastHEALTH board of directors.

Oh oversees production of approximately half of the Pampers and Luvs brand diapers made for the North America region. He began his P&G career at the Cape Girardeau plant in 1995, before transferring in 2006 to P&G's headquarters in Cincinnati, where he served in various positions until 2018, when he returned to the Cape Girardeau facility.

Oh grew up in the Springfield, Missouri, area and graduated with an engineering degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now known as Missouri University of Science and Technology).

In addition to his service on the SoutheastHEALTH board, Oh is also a member of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

SoutheastHEALTH's board officers are Steve Green, chairman; Frank Kinder, immediate past chairman; James Dufek, vice chairman; Charles Kruse, secretary; and Stanley Crader, treasurer. Also serving on the board are Donny Beasley, Kevin Ford, Chris Hutson, Michael Kohlfeld, Ben Lewis, Christine Mackey-Ross, Dr. Gabe Soto, Albert M. Spradling III and Angie Umfleet.

Chamber notes

Virtually all activities sponsored by the chambers of commerce in both Cape Girardeau and Jackson in the coming weeks have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and directives from health care authorities and government officials asking people to stay home.

Both chambers have recently held "virtual" programs by livestreaming the events on their Facebook pages and will continue to do so until the coronavirus outbreak subsides, meeting schedules return to normal and face-to-face meetings resume.

In the meantime, the leadership of both chambers remind their membership and the general public that COVID-19 resources can be found on their websites, Facebook pages and elsewhere, such as www.KeepCapeStrong.com.

Business license applications

Brian Joseph Fisher of Greer, South Carolina, has filed a business license application with the City of Cape Girardeau to open Regional Finance Company of Missouri LLC at 3047 William St., Suite 104. The consumer lending business has a projected opening date of May 11.

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A business license application has been submitted by Claudia Renee Thompson of Sikeston, Missouri, to open SHEDding Southeast at 806 William St. in Cape Girardeau. The business will sell portable storage buildings. A projected opening date was not listed on the application.

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