In our fourth installment of An Introduction to Octane Foundation for Innovation (OFI), we’d like to give you a more in-depth look at our LaunchPad Accelerator, a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) supported by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).  LaunchPad was one of Octane’s earliest OFI initiatives, in that LaunchPad aims to create an economic impact through job creation and provide this service pro bono.  Today, our goal is to create 55,000+ jobs by 2030.

LaunchPad has four primary ways in which they can help a tech or medtech company looking for $500k-$10M in funding through:

• Strengthening a company’s capital funding strategy- the LaunchPad team will help improve an investor presentation and ensure that the company has all the components necessary for their round of investment capital
• Gaining Access to an Influential Network- Companies that go through LaunchPad gain exposure to our network of vetted advisors & professionals
• Actionable Feedback- the feedback comes from subject matter experts that include taking your product to market, your business plan and beyond.
• Predicative Analytics- Our proprietary analytics help a company gain an in depth understanding of fundability

Since 2010, LaunchPad has had over 600 successful Alumni and an 82% funding rate.  LaunchPad ranks in the top 5 out of over 900 SBDCs nationally. We partner not only with the SBA and SBDC, but other strategic organizations to reach out and support diverse, underserved communities through this pro bono service.

LaunchPad is dedicated to the creation and retention of high-paying jobs.  Since 2010, LaunchPad has created 13,830 jobs and on track to create 55,000+ by 2030.  In addition, LaunchPad companies have raised $2.4B in capital and $1.8B in LaunchPad M&A, infusing capital into the regional economy.  In 2019 we helped companies raise $338m, up 57% from the prior year and a record amount for any single year. These results demonstrate the high-quality investor relationship Octane has built which produce positive outcomes.

If you know a company interested in applying to LaunchPad, they can do so here