Matt Macinkowski
Danish Nagda
Across St. Louis, changemakers are propelling the region forward. From award-winning startups to longstanding companies, the region’s best and brightest agree that the metro area is seeing major breakthroughs.
In separate conversations, some of those leaders weighed in on St. Louis’ most attractive qualities for professionals. The experts included:
Sisi Beltrán, Build-A-Bear Workshop
Lashanda Barnes, Citibank
Steven Harris, RubinBrown
Darren Jackson, All Black Creatives
Alex Lee, TKC Holdings
Danish Nagda, Rezilient Health
am Zink, KBosh Food
They reflected on the changes, challenges, and champions that the community has to offer.
WHAT STRENGTHS DOES THE ST. LOUIS METRO AREA OFFER?
Jackson: The value of living in St. Louis is unmatchable. Any other city, you can’t get this type of community. St. Louis is so small in the best way.
Harris: One of the strengths of the region is the close personal network [including the Regional Business Council’s Young Professionals Network, in which Harris has participated since its inception, in 2008]. Having that network shows a commitment to wanting excellence and wanting more for our city.
Beltrán: St. Louis wants folks to stay and be successful, so there’s a lot of development opportunities. There were moments around the time I did Leadership St. Louis where what I was doing in the community was outpacing what I was doing professionally. I was 27 and having conversations with CEOs of banks. I wouldn’t have those conversations in my job. But I was able to have conversations about community development, volunteerism, even racial inequality with folks who had incredible experience.
Matt Marcinkowski
Lashanda Barnes
HOW DID LOCAL NETWORKING GROUPS HELP ADVANCE YOUR CAREER?
The Regional Business Council was an incredible supporter. When they heard we were starting the Asian Chamber of Commerce, [RBC president and CEO] Kathy Osborn said, “We want to support you. We believe this is an excellent venture for St. Louis.” We are the organization we are today in large part because of the RBC.
Nagda: The first time I met [Rezilient Health co-founder] Jeff [Gamble] was while we were pitching at Cortex. We then ended up in the same lab at Washington University. He was working on his startup, and I was trying to figure out what my startup would look like. We both entered an incubator at Cortex, Square One Center for Emerging Technology. We later joined forces, and I was caring for my father. Caring for an aging parent can be a very difficult experience, and Jeff was like a brother. That’s how we got close and then started Rezilient Health.
HOW IS ST. LOUIS STRIVING TO BE MORE EQUITABLE?
Zink: St. Louis has a great talent pool full of people who want to work.
Jackson: There are so many changes that are grassroots, community-led, and that to me, that is so St. Louis. We are the most passionate people I’ve ever met. Everybody’s creativity comes out in the way we work. Instead of trying to do something first, we can be the first ones to do it right. And in St. Louis, the city and the people are ready for that. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, but I think St. Louis is in a prime position to model what it could look like for creative and innovative communities to be diverse and live together.
Beltrán: When I think of young professionals and their involvement, I see female leadership. I see lots of women leading within the United Way. In many organizations, if they have an under-45 group, it’s mostly women in those leadership positions.
Nagda: When you have representation at the top, the culture of the company becomes more inclusive. I’ve heard [people] say that one of the hardest parts of their journey was that the mentorship never looked like them. So our staff is very, very diverse, and we’re proud of that. When people come to interview, they see somebody who looks like them.
Harris: There’s a true willingness and urge. We have a bright future, and the talent bridge is there to take us to the next generation of leadership. The darkest moments in the city have brought the brightest people working together.
Barnes: I do feel like doors have opened around the region, and there’s a changing perspective. But the truth is that there are systemic issues built into policies, procedures, and practices that people might not be aware of. I think we also have to be honest about that, because until we tell the truth, we cannot heal. At the same time, a lot of the organizations around town have done a good job of saying, “I think I need to diversify my board,” and making people aware of the vast pool of talent here.
Matt Marcinkowski
Steven Harris
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY?
Zink: The local places have been so good to us. Dierbergs, Fresh Thyme, B&H Market, Johnny’s—all those places took a chance [to stock our products]. What you have here is a community that takes a chance on the locals.
Beltrán: [Build-a-Bear founder] Maxine Clark chose to start her business here and make her community stronger. Despite successes that were happening, she was always focused here.
Jackson: We have the ears of everyone. When we launched Create a Loop [a computer science and coding education for children in North City], one of our first investors was David Karandish, who started Answers.com. That’s St. Louis for you. You can get a quarter of a million dollars from somebody who started one of the biggest companies in the world at the time, because you can literally go to his office and pitch.
Nagda: Phyllis Ellison, Lisa Nichols, and others have decided to invest in this community and startups like mine— and then I invest in others here. I think we are very early in the entrepreneurial journey. Entrepreneurship is here to stay, and we have this incredible amount of talent that is untapped. A lot of the startups being built here are purpose-driven.
Barnes: St. Louis has great companies. When we bring clients in, these professionals help people lock in so they stay. You need community to stay.
