San Francisco might see a minor outbreak of St. Louis flag scarves this week. The two-day World Agritech Innovation Summit is underway, and the St. Louis delegation has a booth at which any conferencegoer who explains how they’re “STLMade” (that is, have been educated or employed here) can get a free scarf. This could result in hundreds of giveaways: Emily Lohse-Busch, executive director of the plant science innovation district 39 North, reports hearing the estimate that roughly 30 percent of the 2,500 or so attendees have had some career nexus with St. Louis.
The idea is to illustrate the sector’s strength back in the Gateway City. “The message this year,” she says, “is that you don’t realize how much of what’s changing the face of agtech is happening right there in St. Louis.” And indeed, this year, the local delegation at the conference includes about 18 startups, 14 “ecosystem partners,” and a handful of large companies and law firms, according to Greater St. Louis Inc.
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Lohse-Busch was set to moderate a St. Louis–focused panel discussion, joined by Charlie Bolten, the CEO of Solis Agrisciences; Larry Page, the managing director of Lewis & Clark AgriFood; Nick Reinke, the CEO of HabiTerre; and Tania Seger, CEO, Plastomics. Lohse-Busch planned to discuss how the St. Louis ecosystem gives these companies “an unfair advantage,” thanks to the density of talent and support here.
The delegation’s goals, Lohse-Busch says, are to help local companies shine on an international stage and also to plant seeds with attendees who might be considering relocating, so that if they visit or follow up, someone in St. Louis can serve as a point of contact. “Once we do that,” she says, “we tend to have a high success rate.”
Why It Matters: The population of the St. Louis metro area stalled out about 15 years ago, but it could grow again if the region bolsters its reputation as a fertile place for business creation in the life-sciences space.
What’s Next: Lohse-Busch says “there’s always something happening for building out this awareness.” For example, she says, St. Louis will host the Association for Corporate Growth’s annual agtech conference in October.
