Mary Scott knows just how hard it can be to get a business idea off the ground—from fine-tuning the concept to acquiring essential documentation and securing funding, there are seemingly countless tedious tasks to tackle. Mistakes along the way are simply inevitable.
“But we want startups to make mistakes, right?” Scott says. “You have to make mistakes to learn how to do better, but we want them to be constructive mistakes that have to do with your business, not stupid things like forgetting a permit.”
Keep up with local business news and trends
Subscribe to the St. Louis Business newsletter to get the latest insights sent to your inbox every morning.
That’s where PitchSTL comes in.
Founded by Scott in 2024, the idea-pitching platform provides coaching and constructive feedback for early-stage startups.
“We’re like a warm, fuzzy Shark Tank,” she says.
Scott, a New York native, moved to St. Louis more than a decade ago. While attending a networking event at the old Venture Cafe, Scott discovered that St. Louis was home to quite a few of her fellow transplants.
“About half of the people there didn’t grow up in St. Louis,” she says. “They were immigrants like me that came from other states and found this great little place to live and work.”
She dove into the St. Louis startup scene and used her background in video production to create presentations for local startup organizations like 1 Million Cups St. Louis, a supportive networking and problem-solving community for entrepreneurs, and House of Genius, a networking organization that helps founders navigate real business challenges. She also compiled the Startup Resources Guide for St. Louis, what she calls a “one-stop shop” of tools and connections for local entrepreneurs.
But after several founder-focused communities folded in recent years, Scott wanted to do something to keep the startup support scene alive.
“Early-stage startups had already lost Missouri Venture Forum. We had lost Venture Cafe. We had lost the House of Genius,” Scott says. “And I thought, ‘No way. We’re not going to lose the 1 Million Cups kind of project, too.’” Scott founded PitchSTL as a replacement.
PitchSTL helps founders who have a business that’s less than five years old fine-tune their idea. Interested participants start by submitting an application through PitchSTL’s website. Accepted entrepreneurs then meet with a pitch coach to discuss their idea, including what makes their company uniquely qualified to solve a problem. Finally, presenters share their ideas during one of PitchSTL’s weekly meetings, speaking for six minutes and receiving 20 minutes of feedback. Sessions take place every Wednesday at 9 a.m. at CIC St. Louis (20 S. Sarah).
Scott says PitchSTL has hosted startups in a wide range of industries and sectors, including the restaurant FUFU n’ Sauce—a West African food truck and brick-and-mortar restaurant that won “The Great American Recipe” on PBS. However, not all ideas turn into full-fledged businesses.
“One of the biggest things we help people do is not get so excited about their secret sauce, because most people don’t care about how you do your secret sauce,” Scott says. “They just want to know that you’re going to solve their problem.”
PitchSTL recently partnered with Founders Lounge and offered their first evening meeting at Spark (6 Cardinal Way) earlier this month. Going forward, the organization will meet from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. every third Thursday of the month—providing additional opportunities for business networking and feedback.
No matter the time or place, Scott wants to help startups thrive in the St. Louis region.
“My future hope is for PitchSTL to go on and have a life of its own and to continue to collaborate with the other startup resources in town,” she says.
