Show-Me Network Launches Show-Me Founders: A Free Statewide Series to Get Missouri Entrepreneurs Investment-Ready — and Win Missouri Technology Corporation Funding

Cape Girardeau and Springfield, Mo. — [Month XX], 2026 — Missouri has capital set aside to invest in its early-stage tech companies. What too many founders lack — in every part of the state — is the preparation to access it. Today the Show-Me Network announced Show-Me Founders, a free series of workshops and webinars offered over the next 12 months to help Missouri entrepreneurs become genuinely investment-ready and apply successfully for equity from the Missouri Technology Corporation's (MTC) IDEA Fund, the state SSBCI-funded equity program.

The series is delivered by Codefi through the Show-Me Network under Missouri's federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Technical Assistance program — administered by Missouri State University's efactory with Codefi as a subawardee. SSBCI Technical Assistance provides founders the legal, accounting, and financial-readiness support they need to become ready to raise; Show-Me Founders turns that support into practical sessions any Missouri founder can join at no cost.

The workshops and webinars are scheduled across the year around MTC's quarterly IDEA Fund deadlines, so a founder's preparation lines up with real application windows. At the center is Codefi's flagship platform, Traction Studio AI — an AI-native operating system that helps founders prepare for the Ready to Raise program, which walks companies through deciding whether to raise, building the financials and the deck, rehearsing the pitch, and applying to MTC. Every session shows founders how to put Traction Studio AI to work getting ready. Legal and accounting workshops — led by contracted firms that specialize in venture law and finance and support founders across the country — round out the core categories SSBCI Technical Assistance is built to deliver.

"Missouri has done the hard part — it has put real capital on the table for its founders through MTC's IDEA Fund. The gap now is readiness, and that's exactly what SSBCI Technical Assistance is for. Show-Me Founders meets founders where they are: come to the one session you need, or follow the whole path to a funded MTC application. Either way, you leave knowing how to get investment-ready — no matter where in Missouri you're building." — Dr. James Stapleton, Founder, President & CEO, Codefi

Traction Studio AI is what makes that preparation practical. Where traditional programs give entrepreneurs a link to reading assignments or video presentations, Codefi's flagship platform gives them agentic, AI-powered tools that help them produce the real artifacts investors and MTC reviewers expect — a validated business model, strong market signals and customer funnel, product being sold, legitimate financial forecasts, a plan to grow — and help founders build traction on the path to capital. 

The series is delivered by Codefi through the Show-Me Network, the collaboration between Codefi and Missouri State University's efactory that connects entrepreneurs across Missouri to the programs and resources that help them grow. The network's vast partners and connectors ensure founders everywhere in Missouri can reach them.

How to take part

Registration is open now. Missouri founders can register for any session at               . Session reminders and registration links will also be shared through Show-Me Network connectors across the state.

About Codefi

Codefi Foundation is a nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that eliminates the skills and opportunity gaps preventing talent and entrepreneurs in rural and underserved regions from thriving in the digital economy. Since 2014, Codefi has supported 60+ startups, trained 600+ individuals, generated $100M+ in economic impact, and served 47+ Missouri counties. Codefi operates Traction Studio AI and is a co-founder of the Show-Me Network. Learn more at codefiworks.com.

About the Show-Me Network

The Show-Me Network is a statewide collective connecting Missouri entrepreneurs, small business owners, and communities to the resources and programs that help them grow — built on the principle of connection, not competition, so opportunity isn't limited to the state's metro areas. The network is a partnership between Codefi and Missouri State University's efactory.

About the efactory

Missouri State University's efactory is the front door to the university for businesses and employers. As a business and economic development hub, efactory offers a network of programs designed to support both large and small businesses throughout Missouri as they start, scale, and succeed, and it administers Missouri's SSBCI Technical Assistance program.

About the SSBCI Technical Assistance Program

The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is a federal program that strengthens small businesses and entrepreneurship across the United States by providing capital and technical assistance. In Missouri, the SSBCI Technical Assistance program is administered by Missouri State University's efactory, with Codefi as a subawardee, to prepare tech-based startups to access the state's SSBCI capital programs — including MTC's IDEA Fund for equity investment.

Media contact

Shana Burden · shana@codefiworks.com · codefiworks.com

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