Marquette Tech District Foundation awards $50,000 to two startups as Techfest reaches conclusion

Both a braille-teaching tool and a social network for real-world culinary meetups were named 1st50K winners Friday night after the startup competition organizers announced an extra $50,000 endowment.

The awards were presented during the Techfest Gala at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, marking the finale of the Marquette Tech District Foundation's annual celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.

James Stapleton, executive director of the Marquette Tech District Foundation and co-founder of the startup incubator Codefi, said the winners were especially deserving and even the losing teams would likely have been winners in past years' competitions.

"This was the highest-quality pool we've been able to attract thus far," Stapleton said.

Seven teams entered this round of the 1st50K competition.

Alex Tavares, left, founder of T-var EdTech, accepts a check from Carnell after winning Codefi's 1st50K startup competition Friday.TYLER GRAEF

The first winner, T-var EdTech, is based in Columbus, Ohio, and was represented by founder Alex Tavares.

Its flagship product, designed at Harvard University, is an educational module called The Read Read that is tailored to teach individuals classified as "non-readers" to read braille and, in some cases, text.

The second winner, Homecooked, is based in New Haven, Connecticut, and was represented by two of a larger group of founders, Hojung King and Gabriel Oviawe.

Homecooked allows individuals, especially younger people or those prone to loneliness, to organize and participate in real-world cooking events and dinners at the homes of local chefs or other culinary enthusiasts.

"This is something that is really prevalent -- loneliness," King said. "It's something I've had to deal with; something a lot of people in my generation do. We're geared toward helping remedy that."

From left, Stacey Dohogne Lane, James Stapleton and Chris Carnell address the crowd Friday during the Techfest Gala at Isle Casino Cape Girardeau.TYLER GRAEF

At 21, King is only a year younger than Oviawe, the oldest member of the Homecooked team.

"We had no idea we were going to win," said King after the event. "We were happy just to be here and to participate."

As part of the prize, the contest winners are now scheduled to relocate to Cape Girardeau where they will receive professional guidance from mentors at Codefi. King said he is looking forward to three things: the sort of focused, individualized mentorship provided at Codefi; bringing to fruition an independent vision of what their young company could be; and living in Cape Girardeau.

When Homecooked and T-var EdTech eventually join, the Codefi startup roster will represent more than 40 startups, according to statistics cited during the awards ceremony by Stacey Dohogne Lane, Marquette Tech District Foundation community director. She also said those entrepreneurial ventures are responsible for more than 130 jobs created, the vast majority of which are in Cape Girardeau. Additionally, about $14 million in private equity investments has been directed into Codefi-associated ventures, she said.

"Those are some big numbers, right?" she said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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