How McKinney’s Innovation Fund Is Bolstering Local Startups

McKinney, Texas, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. Between 2017 and 2022, its population grew by more than 19% to 196,000 residents. 

With a strong local economy, bolstered by a young, educated workforce, the city’s population is expected to reach 284,000 by 2040.

Now, McKinney Economic Development Corp. is helping to nurture this growth through its Innovation Fund, which provides grants ranging from $50K to $500K to fund the development, expansion and recruitment of selected startups.

Mike Wilkes, project manager for the public-private entity created in 1993 to help develop, expand and relocate new and existing businesses, and at the forefront of the city’s growth, said the Innovation Fund has seen steady expansion since it began four years ago. 

“As more people have become interested, we've been more active in sponsoring events, building relationships and helping startups get the funding they need to succeed,” he said.

What started as a stepping stone for local businesses has expanded in influence far beyond McKinney’s boundaries, with more international brands potentially headquartering or expanding to McKinney, Wilkes said. 

MEDC Marketing Manager Luke Gajary said this became evident after the organization attended the Collision Conference in Toronto in June.

Gajary said the EDC took a more active role in its third year at the technology event, where it showcased the city of McKinney and spoke with a variety of startup companies about what it has to offer.

“Our EDC team had a booth this year, which allowed us to engage with hundreds of tech startups globally, emphasizing the benefits of expanding and relocating to McKinney and how they could gain support from our Innovation Fund,” Gajary said.

As a result of EDC’s participation, Wilkes said the organization has seen an all-time high in applications submitted. He added that the phone “hasn't stopped ringing” with calls from companies in Silicon Valley, New York City, Boston and other big regional hubs interested in McKinney.

The Innovation Fund also continues to help with job creation for the local community. While the program initially saw success adding 230 jobs in its first eight months of launching, Wilkes said it’s projected to create 614 new jobs with an average projected yearly salary of more than $80K in the next few years. 

This will only increase as more companies take advantage of local resources like the Innovation Fund and North Texas Angel Network, which links entrepreneurs to angel investors to gain early funding, he said. 

A core objective of the Innovation Fund is to help build a local workforce with future-ready skills. Wilkes said MEDC is working with nearby school districts to help nurture the talent for the city’s growing fintech sector, particularly in artificial intelligence. 

This year, MEDC is collaborating with the Mark Cuban Foundation to host a free AI bootcamp for McKinney students in grades 9-12 that presents a crash course in generative AI. 

Gajary said higher education institutions like Collin College, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Dallas also play an important role in talent development in tech roles, not just with McKinney but other surrounding cities in North Texas like Frisco and Allen. 

MEDC’s Innovation Fund in collaboration with global startup program Plug and Play continues to be an example of how to build a strong pipeline by finding young, talented entrepreneurs from North Texas’ local colleges and universities and giving them the tools they need to take things to the next level. 

With the rise of AI-driven companies like Providential Media Group and Intelligage headquartering in McKinney, the Innovation Fund can help startups get a leg up, Gajary said.  

“The Innovation fund provides grants for companies with an emphasis on early-stage startups, so companies that have AI-based technology and products can receive an extra boost of non-dilutive capital,” he said. 

The future looks bright for McKinney, and Wilkes predicted the Innovation Fund will continue to be a great tool to help build the city into a technology jobs hub. 

“For the past four-and-a-half years, we've gotten through the program’s initial growing pains and seen some success,” Wilkes said. “The Innovation Fund is primed for growth and I think we're fortunate enough to have this resource in place to not only meet the growing demand in McKinney but the North Texas community as a whole.”

This article was produced in collaboration between the McKinney Economic Development Corp. and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

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