Courtesy of STL Startup Week
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Group of people having drinks at a bar and looking very happy - night out concepts
A resource fair with more than 60 St. Louis startups attending. A live recording of the Something Extra podcast. Tours of some of the more than 25 co-working spaces that call St. Louis home. A pitch competition for kids grades kindergarten through 12. These are just a few of the events that entrepreneurs can participate in during the first-ever STL Startup Week, happening November 1–9.
For years, startup support organizations in St. Louis have been plotting a way to connect entrepreneurs in the region. STL Startup Week, which will take place at various locations in the Cortex Innovation Community, is that planning coming to fruition, says Phyllis Ellison, the vice president of partnerships and program development at CIC and organizer for STL Startup Week. But the startup week won’t be your typical conference, lectures and panels where “participants” come and listen to speakers. “This is much more about, how do you experience and connect with the St. Louis startup community,” Ellison says. "So whether it's connecting with the co-working spaces, or coming to events, it's designed to get people out and involved in a real way. ... This is more about establishing some long-term connectivity for people that they can take advantage of moving into the rest of 2019 and into 2020.”
Ellison, who has been working with the startup community here for 15 years, says that many times, people don’t understand what an impact startups have on the economy—job creation, wages, revenue, and taxes. According to a recent report by the nonprofit MOSourceLink, 44,535 new jobs were created by startups in 2018 in Missouri. Forbes ranked St. Louis in the top 10 of rising cities for startups. FitSmallBusiness.com ranked the city the second-best city in the country for entrepreneurs. In 2018, the region saw $378 million in venture capital investment. And entrepreneurs are not, Ellison says, unicorns who come up with one-off ideas. “More often,” Ellison says, “the entrepreneurs in our community are your neighbor next door, the person down the street, your in-laws who have a great idea. And they are trying to bring it into the marketplace.”
So where should entrepreneurs-to-be start? Those familiar with the startup scene might be interested in the Arch Grants Gala or Venture Cafe gathering. But on November 6 at 4:30 p.m., more than 60 startups will gather at The Globe Building (701 N. Tucker) for Startup Connection, a resource fair and opportunity to network. Those looking for a home for their fledgling business can test-drive a number of co-working spaces—there are more than 25 between St. Charles and the Illinois side of the river—including RISE Collaborative, STL Foodworks, and the soon-to-open WeWork at 1 Metropolitan Square. There will also be events focused on women and entrepreneurs of color.
“People can find their community, their circle that can help them grow and find other people that are going through the same challenges that they are,” Ellison says. For more on STL Startup Week and to see the full schedule of events, visit its website here.
