Arch Grants, the global startup competition that provides $50,000 grants to early stage ventures with no equity in return, received 707 application for the 2nd Annual Global Startup Competition – a 67 percent increase in entries from 2012. The number of applicants from outside the U.S. jumped 245 percent from last year.
“The huge increase in international applications speaks to the appeal of the global competition as well as to the attractive entrepreneurial climate in St. Louis and to the passionate support of the community,” said Arch Grants President and Co-founder Jerry Schlichter.
Entrepreneurs from Missouri and 39 other states, including California, New York, Florida and Texas, applied for one of the 20 Arch Grants. International entries came from 15 countries across the globe including India, Australia, Bolivia, Poland and Israel.
Judges will narrow applicants to 100 startups to the semi-final stage, from which 20 startups will be awarded $50,000 each. For more information, go to www.archgrants.org.