Johnson Pledges $2 Million for Launch South Dakota
Initiative Shifts Economic Development Focus Toward Startups
Mitchell, S.D. – Today, gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Dusty Johnson announced that, as Governor, he will invest $2 million from the Future Fund into Launch South Dakota, a new initiative to grow the state’s economy from the ground up by helping more South Dakotans to turn their ideas into thriving local businesses.
“Chasing huge companies like TikTok grabs headlines, but building South Dakota means investing in South Dakotans,” said Johnson. “We’re going to back the people who already call this place home, folks who know their industries inside and out and are ready to build businesses right here where they live.”
Launch South Dakota includes a variety of pro-entrepreneurship policies, including:
- Expanding Proof of Concept Awards: The existing proof of concept programs assist a small number of early-stage entrepreneurs in limited fields with $25,000. Johnson will increase both the number and size of these awards, including the creation of a second $25,000 follow-on grant once key milestones are met. The program will be broadened to better support software, technology, and artificial intelligence startups, which will help South Dakota play a larger role in the growing knowledge economy.
- Investing in Startup Coaching and Mentoring: A Johnson administration will expand support for venture development organizations that provide startup coaching and mentoring for high-growth South Dakota startups. Existing organizations, such as the Enterprise Institute, Startup Sioux Falls, and Wildfire Labs, help South Dakota founders move from concept to customer, often in less than a year. Launch South Dakota will use a competitive process to select both existing and new accelerator programs to expand these services and support more founders statewide.
- Strengthening “Giant Visions” Competition: South Dakota’s long-running Giant Vision Business Plan Competition gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to compete in a “Shark Tank”-style competition, where finalists pitch their business for a chance to win $20,000 in startup funding. Johnson will increase the prize pool and significantly expand the event’s marketing to attract more participants and spark greater entrepreneurial interest across the state.
- Leveraging Federal Funding for South Dakota Startups: South Dakota put its entire $60 million federal State Small Business Credit Initiative allocation into a loan program, missing the opportunity to give high-growth startups the equity capital and technical assistance they need to launch and scale. Most states used at least some of those dollars for venture development for founders. For example, Wyoming used all $58 million of its allocation for venture activities. Johnson will ensure current and future federal funds allocated to South Dakota under these programs will be utilized to their full potential.
Johnson will fund the Launch South Dakota efforts with a $2 million grant from the state’s Future Fund. The Future Fund is a flexible funding source under the control of the Governor with oversight by the State Legislature. The investment would represent the largest one-time commitment to entrepreneurship in state government history.<
“Launch South Dakota will help aspiring founders build the next Docutap, MarketBeat, or Property Meld,” Johnson added. “By unleashing South Dakota ingenuity, we’ll keep our kids here, create higher-paying jobs, and make sure our rural communities don’t just survive, but thrive.”
Support for Launch South Dakota:
“This is an innovative plan that modernizes the state’s approach to supporting South Dakota’s homegrown entrepreneurs. It provides needed capital to startup companies at the earliest stages and makes it easier for founders to build great companies in South Dakota,” said Matt Paulson, Founder and CEO of MarketBeat.
“This plan gives our state an opportunity to keep more of our entrepreneurial efforts in state, stop the brain drain, and create more economic opportunity for our young people,” said Darren Haar, Entrepreneur-in-residence at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
“The State of South Dakota’s approach to business development is antiquated. Launch South Dakota provides an opportunity for the state to take a huge step forward,” said Tom Johnson, Former CEO of Elevate Rapid City.
To learn more about Launch South Dakota, please click here.
We’re going to see the broad strokes and fine details of top-shelf governmental vision and leadership come out, beginning now with this kind of initiative, tackling economic development head-on. I’m excited to see more of Dusty’s views and ideas, and what leadership will look like.
It will be good to have a someone with a brain, energy and direction. Now it looks like some of the bafoons are leaving the legislature so hopefully us regular common sense folks can get in and get SD on the right track again. At least keep some of the free dumb tinfoil hats in obscurity.
True economic development plan, not this “open for business” but reject every opportunity plan.
Here’s the problem.
Tony has run this state into the dustbin on opportunity. Don’t mistake that Larry made these decisions before Tony told him what he should do. Tony did this because he was triangulating the politics of the opposition and believed he could big brain his way to a work around. Thus delivering on the pipeline and data centers and opportunity. Until oops!
Dusty is cut from the exact cloth. When things get tough he will think he can outsmart everyone but in the end will walk away and convince himself nothing was his fault. A bus will come from McPherson county of angry folk or Smithfield is referred out by forces based in Lincoln county and the self professed smartest amongst us will see a way to win by confusing the opposition. Unfortunately it won’t work and they are not capable of standing up for what’s best for all because that involves having a spine.
Dustbin
That little fairy tale runs directly counter to Dusty’s record of performance in office. You should write for Fox News Channel. You’re that good, with things that didn’t happen.
We can hope that in the upcoming primary we can replace a fair number of NIMBYS who currently hold office. As for that bus load of McPherson county crazies you reference, for the 1st time in 5 years since they have started this madness, a group of true republicans attended the March commission mtg and told them to very politely “sit down and shut up”. They were shocked and truly looked defeated. Their house of cards is starting to collapse. I hope other counties can take the same approach and show that the silent majority still rules.