Plenty of WashU alumni launch companies—though they commonly leave St. Louis to do it. Starting this week, there will be a potential perk to staying here.
On Thursday, WashU’s Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship will announce the inaugural winner(s) of “Venture Network Follow-on Investments.” Up to $150,000 will go each year to companies of WashU alumni who’ve already received money from Arch Grants and plan to stay in St. Louis.
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The Follow-on funds may go to one company or several, says II “Two” Luscri, managing director at Skandalaris, adding that it would be “pretty surprising” if the full amount weren’t awarded annually, given “how strong that pipeline of startups is.” He declined to say how many businesses applied or how many would win this year.
The contest is open to any WashU alumni companies who’ve ever won ArchGrants, which itself provides up to $100,000 in equity-free capital to startups who use St. Louis as a launchpad. As for the Follow-on selection process, Luscri says students had a hand in it: They reviewed materials, heard pitches from the startup founders, and made recommendations on how the investments might be distributed. Then the Skandalaris staff and the “In St. Louis, For St. Louis” office at WashU weighed in, too.
Why It Matters: While St. Louis already has several innovation districts—BioSTL, 39 North, Downtown North—the Follow-on investments add another incentive for entrepreneurs to start businesses here and keep them here. And that’s key to reversing St. Louis’ population decline and creating a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that will be attractive to non-WashU grads as well.
What’s Next: The inaugural investments will be announced Thursday, April 17 at 5 p.m. in the Crowder Courtyard at Anheuser-Busch Hall on WashU’s Danforth campus. You can RSVP here.
