Kansas State University’s Launch a Business (LAB) program will award a prize valued at $50,000 to one of the 10 Kansas startups that are part of its first class.

Four of the startups are from the Kansas City metro area.

The public is invited to play a key role in the selection process at the LAB Launch Party from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan, Kan.

Each startup will deliver its pitch at the event, with everyone in attendance getting to cast a vote for a favorite. The top three businesses will then pitch to a panel of judges that will pick the winner.

Chad Jackson, director of the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship at K-State’s College of Business Administration, said in a release: “Each of the entrepreneurs is deserving of the grand prize, and no matter who wins, they all leave with new knowledge and connections to help them succeed in their venture. We couldn’t be happier with the outpouring of support from our alumni and friends for these entrepreneurs and this program.”

The 10 inaugural LAB program startups from Kansas are: Aphrodite Apparel and Tikitum Sensory Learning Lab, both from Overland Park; Impact Engineering, Jonah Ventures and Radiation Detection Technologies Inc., all from Manhattan; Ligosphere from Kansas City; MeltPoint Environmental from Caldwell; NMotion UAS from Hesston; Sidesinger Custom Cabinets from Topeka; and VeriQuik Consulting and Services from Shawnee.

The LAB program is sponsored by Kansas State Bank and K-State’s Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship. The program provides startups with five weeks of access to valuable resources, including faculty-led courses, hands-on student research teams and the university’s alumni mentor network.

Visit k-state.edu/lab for more information about the LAB program and its competing entrepreneurs, visit k-state.edu/lab.