Startup backers pushing for more state cash

A state-run venture capital fund for startup investments is in line to receive $2 million more than last year, according to the fiscal 2015 budget Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon proposed last week.

The Missouri Technology Corp. would receive nearly $8.4 million, should the governor’s budget meet approval, giving entrepreneurs a much needed shot in the arm if they are to grow the emerging startup scene.

According to McClatchy-Tribune, the MTC was established in 1994 as a quasi-governmental arm of the state Department of Economic Development. With investments in roughly 70 companies, including social media startup LockerDome and blood-test-maker Kypha, the bulk of funding – in the form of a $16.9 million Commerce Department grant issued in 2011 – is coming to an end.

The state appropriated $6.36 million to MTC last year, McClatchy-Tribune said.

Missouri legislators say there’s a $300 million gap between their budget estimates and Nixon’s proposal, which puts in question the extra funding for MTC.

"If we end up having to cut $300 million out of the budget, I'm not sure that [$2 million for MTC] makes it through," Sen. Ryan Silvey, a Kansas City-area Republican, told the newspaper.

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