Hometown Glory: Get Startup Grants and Seed Investments From Your City

After earning an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Ashrit Kamireddi was prepared to go wherever he had to in order to raise seed money to grow VeryApt, his apartment-review platform. But thanks to a $100,000 angel investment from Philadelphia’s StartUp PHL program, which invests in local entrepreneurs, he didn’t have to leave town. This was good news for Kamireddi, who has hired four full-time employees since raising a total of $270,000 in seed funds, and expanded his operations to 10 other cities. Philly, which launched its $6 million startup fund in 2012, is among several major cities offering grants and seed investments for entrepreneurs. Among them, Detroit boasts two venture funds for early-stage companies, with a portfolio of nearly 80 startups; Denver awards $35,000 in annual grants to new companies.

Sam Kaplan Photography

So, what’s the best way to gain access to these funds? To identify opportunities, check with your city’s economic development office, incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, networking groups and anywhere else startup founders and advisors congregate. Begin building relationships long before you’re ready to raise capital—even a year or two in advance, advises Archna Sahay, Philadelphia’s manager of entrepreneurial investment, who regularly counsels entrepreneurs about pitching Startup PHL. “The minute you realize you want to take on the investment is when you need to start having that conversation,” she says.