Backing the Bold

Arch Grants is a driving force behind St. Louis’ thriving startup ecosystem — and 10 years in, it’s just getting started.

Mind Over Matter

Game Changing

Mona Jawad and Ayesha Kazi founded ASL Aspire to bring a game-based approach to teaching American Sign Language for STEM concepts through interactive lessons.

Scaling Up Startups

Jesse Winters joined T-REX because he believes in the power of tech innovation to guide the region’s evolution.

Scaling Up Startups

Success in the Making

Through its St. Louis Internship Program, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, along with partner companies and institutions, are investing in students and the future…

Rising to the Occasion

At its North American headquarters in St. Louis, AB Mauri drives innovative baking and fermentation solutions for bakeries across the country.

Fit for a Kid

With Lion+Owl, St. Louis entrepreneur Jeff Bender is bringing thoughtfully designed inclusive clothing to kids here and across the country.

Getting Up to Kode

With roots in St. Louis, Karlie Kloss’ Kode With Klossy nonprofit celebrates 10 years of working to close the gender equity gap in tech.

Engineering a Better Tomorrow

At LUZCO Technologies in Maplewood, founder and CEO Lusnail Haberberger has built a successful engineering consulting firm with a focus on recruiting a diverse team.

Seeding Solutions

As part of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, plant biologist Katie Murphy addresses global challenges through the meticulous study of plants and shares her life and work…

Good to Grow

With her line of self-watering planters, Posie Pots founder Kay Wells uses 3D printing technology to make good plant care easier.

Opening Doors

We Hear You makes spaces more accessible for people with disabilities — and with its Hero device, it’s literally opening doors across St. Louis and the U.S.

Connecting Care

With Rezilient Health, founders Danish Nagda and Jeff Gamble are hoping to improve health care experiences and outcomes for patients in the St. Louis metro and across the…

2024 Year In Review: 40+ Inspiring St. Louis Stories

From world-class artists and innovative entrepreneurs to culinary creatives and community trailblazers, take a look back at this year’s STLMade stories.

Pet Project

With its line of all-natural nutritional supplements hitting retail stores nationwide, St. Louis-based Native Pet is evolving pet nutrition for dogs.

From the Ground Up

St. Louis startup HabiTerre uses cutting-edge geospatial technologies to pave the way for agricultural solutions to climate challenges.

Generation
Geospatial

At Harris-Stowe State University, Dr. Freddie E. Wills, Jr., Ph.D., is training students from historically Black colleges and universities across the U.S. for futures in geospatial science.

A Latte of Love

With three successful cafes opened in four years, Latte Lounge owner and entrepreneur Nyshaun Harvey is bringing coffee and community to the St. Louis metro. And that’s only…

Seeds of Change

Founded in Argentina, agtech startup Seed Matriz is developing seed encapsulation technology so farmers can save and plant more seeds — and thanks to investment and support in…

Designed for Dialogue

Rooted in social responsibility found in Cuban-inspired posters, creative firm CARTEL uses design to drive conversations around inclusivity and urban development in St. Louis.

A Cut Above

At Homegrown Hair Co. in Tower Grove South, Caitlin Tyczka creates an inclusive, welcoming environment for all by offering gender-neutral hair services.

The Heart of Things

SentiAR's hands-free headset enables surgeons and physicians to see 3D, mixed-reality, real-time images of patients’ hearts.

Chain Reaction

A Visionary Idea

Saint Louis University scientist Jenna Gorlewicz’s team is building Inclusio, a groundbreaking digital tool to translate graphic information into accessible formats for people with blindness or low vision.

From Ranch to Rajma

Maaji’s Street Kitchen in St. Ann offers wholesome homestyle Northern Indian Cuisine cooked lovingly by chef, owner, and resident, Heena Chopra.

Empowering
Entrepreneurs

By supporting first-time entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities, Cortex’s Square One programs, led by Ben Molina and Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano, is bringing inclusive economic growth to the St. Louis metro.

A World of Possibilities

Founded at Vashon High School, Show Me the World Project provides transformative education in entrepreneurship, leadership, and STEM to students in under-resourced communities in St. Louis.

Mother of Invention

With Bask & Bloom Essentials, Candera Thompson has created hair-care products that empower women and help with postpartum hair health.

Sunflower Power

At Edison Agrosciences, sunflowers could hold the key to producing the first sustainable natural rubber made in the U.S.

A New Leaf

From her home office in Wildwood, TeaVoila founder Souzan Gerami is revolutionizing an industry with plant-based, compostable to-go tea cups.

Mapping
Tomorrow

Through her nonprofit workforce development organization, Gateway Global, Zekita Armstrong Asuquo is training under-resourced high school students for entry-level jobs in the geospatial field.

Harnessing Talent

Entrepreneur and talent recruiter Anjie Sanford has launched a new program through BioSTL that offers minority college students internships at St. Louis bioscience companies and helps them thrive…

Inclusive Economic Growth

Foreign-Born St. Louisans
Making an Impact

St. Louis is made even better by residents of all backgrounds and cultures.

Shining Bright

Sisters Amanda Helman and Susan Logsdon founded Golden Gems to uplift, inspire and help people feel seen. Their products are now found in their three St. Louis-area locations…

Manufacturing the Future

Southwestern Illinois College leads the way in educating the next generation of manufacturing workers, helping to realize the vision of a thriving advanced manufacturing industry that will drive…

The Path Forward

Doug and Bill Mitchell’s startup ScholarPath helps graduating high school students figure out what’s next.

Trading Up

As part of the Missouri Works Initiative, the Building Union Diversity program is expanding access to careers in construction.

Bold Moves

Through Bold Xchange, co-founders Danielle Deavens and Doug Spencer aim to improve equity in entrepreneurship by helping large companies support smaller Black-owned businesses.

Stitching Vibes

Abbey Eilermann and her team at the Daily Disco bring fresh eyes and unique designs to the vintage art of chainstitching.

Taking Care of Business

Rebecca van Bergen’s nonprofit Nest aims to advance gender equity and economic inclusion through craft.

Free Spirits

St. Louis’ Switchgrass Spirits is carving its own path with its grain-to-glass whiskey and brandy.

Sustaining Style

With May’s Place, Katie May highlights the merits of shopping vintage – both for you and for the planet.

Hair Care

Rebundle’s CEO Ciara Imani May is revolutionizing the hair extension industry with the first U.S.-made, plant-based hair braiding brand.

Sew Crafty

First through a youth academy and now with a new online portal, Olivia Rae Davis wants to get more people into sewing.

Raised on Glazed

Syeeda Aziz-Morris is carrying on the family tradition of donut-making at Pharaoh's Donuts in Downtown and the Central West End.

Pumped Up

Babyation founders Samantha Rudolph and Jared Miller have redesigned the breast pump to meet the needs of parents today.

Life-Saving Science

Dr. Sarah George and other researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development are leading national efforts to find treatments for a wide range…

The Future of Farming

Creve Coeur-based Climate LLC is helping transform the possibilities, profits and precision of farming in the digital age.

Freedom Through Food

Urban farmer Tyrean “Heru” Lewis brings fresh produce to underserved communities and advocates for more equitable growing practices across St. Louis and the nation.

Beyond the Bag

Through her luxury handbag line Lux & Nyx, Lisa Hu seeks to empower women through functional, sustainable bags that marry style and substance.

Hive Mind – Part Two

A team of local scientists work together on how to improve produce yields in urban orchards and community gardens.

Hive Mind – Part One

With the goal of helping community gardens produce more fresh food, scientists from six different St. Louis institutions are collaborating to research pollination in urban orchards.

Space for STEM

With Black Girls Do STEM, chemist Cynthia Chapple and her team are carving out an inclusive space for young Black girls to engage with science, technology, engineering and…

More Than Skin Deep

Tiffany Wesley creates health and wellness products with the greater aim of cultivating community through her worker-owned co-op, Pure Vibes.

Raising the Bar

With ethically sourced cacao and local raw honey, Cam and Haley Loyet’s Honeymoon Chocolates makes bean-to-bar craft chocolate in its new Clayton factory, shop and cafe.

Cream of the Crop

Amy and Beth Marcoot are innovating and expanding their seventh generation dairy farming business in Greenville, Illinois.

Climbing High

With So iLL, the Chancellor family has created an aesthetically pleasing, environmentally conscious experience for the modern urban rock climber, all while cultivating the next generation of climbing…

Springboard for Success

A collaborative workspace and incubator founded by Betsy Blancett Nacrelli, MPWR is expanding to support even more women-owned businesses.

Snacking for Change

With Airly crackers, a team from Brentwood-based Post Holdings has created a tasty way for people to combat climate change.

Turning the Tables

David Stine crafts one-of-a-kind wood furniture for restaurants and homes around the country, all made from fallen trees on his fourth-generation family farm in Dow, Illinois.

Rethink and Refill

At her sustainable lifestyle shop, Dharma + Dwell in Webster Groves, Jordan Blackhurst helps consumers make more environmentally friendly choices.

Upping the Game

With Stonemaier Games, Jamey Stegmaier turned his favorite hobby into a St. Louis-based company that publishes beautifully designed board games with fans around the globe.

Celebrating St. Louis Startups

Learn more about the incredible organizations starting up in St. Louis.

Screening Startup

With Geneoscopy, Erica Barnell is looking to change the game of colon cancer screening and ultimately, save lives.

Building Space to Grow

Jason Deem opened St. Louis’ first coworking space, Nebula, more than 10 years ago, and continues to restore and develop Gravois Park through South Side Spaces.

Flavor Full

Charlene Lopez Young and Darren Young are bringing Filipino flavors to the region with their barbecue and smoked meats business, The Fattened Caf.

Be(er) Well

With WellBeing Brewing's craft nonalcoholic beers and waters, Jeff Stevens is helping reframe the stigma around sobriety.

Security Solution

Led by CEO Ron Indeck, Olivette-based Q-Net Security is protecting government organizations and businesses across the nation from online threats with its impenetrable hardware device.

Flipping the Script

Akeem Shannon is on a gravity-defying entrepreneurial rise with his creation, Flipstik.

Organic Growth

In Wright City, Maria Marshall leads certified organic Marshall Family Farms in practicing regenerative agriculture, raising heritage poultry and producing heirloom crops.

Ice Cream Queen

Opening her fifth location in six years, Clementine’s Creamery owner Tamara Keefe takes pride in the growing national buzz around her superb desserts.

Building Bridges

Natissia Small, Ed.D., reduces barriers for St. Louis youth to pursue and succeed in higher education.

Tap Into Talent

Led by Chief Operating Officer Sarah Bernard, Inclusively connects employees with disabilities with compatible jobs, and helps companies adapt to employees’ needs.

Exploring the Final Frontiers

At Impossible Sensing in St. Louis, Pablo Sobron leads a team of scientists and engineers in building sensors to explore and study the deep sea and deep space.

Transforming Tea

Lisa Govro, through her company Big Heart Tea Co., is not only revolutionizing how tea tastes, but ensuring it’s ethically sourced every step of the way.

A Conscious Cup of Joe

Inspired by the coffee they grew up drinking in their native Honduras, Patrick and Spencer Clapp are elevating the St. Louis coffee scene with Coffeestamp's ethically sourced beans.

Ready, Set, Launch

Je'Nell McCrary transitioned from radio to tech thanks to skills she gained through LaunchCode's CoderGirl program.

Solving Challenges

Biotech startup PercayAI and Washington University are collaborating to find treatments for COVID-19, through the work of people like computational biologist Allyson Mayer.

Starting Up

St. Louisans on why they chose to start their businesses here — and why they’ve flourished.

What is Geospatial?

Have you heard the term "Geospatial" bantered about in St. Louis lately. St Louis is an global leader in the industry. Find out more about how your life already interacts with this exciting technology every day.

In Full Bloom

At Oliver’s Coffee + Flower Bar in Maplewood, Olivia Ridgel's focus on creativity and inclusion have blossomed into a magical, uplifting space for fellowship and community.

Mapping Out The Future

St. Louis is positioned to become an international hub for the geospatial industry.

Mapping Inequities

Kemba Noel-London used geospatial data in her doctoral research to discover disparities in access to youth sports throughout the St. Louis region.

Flying High

Entrepreneur Bronwyn Morgan brings drones and geospatial tech together with her company, XEO Air.

Defining
Geospatial

Leaders in the region explain geospatial technology and the many ways it's being used in St. Louis.

Community Game Changer

Entrepreneur Julian Keaton aims to foster community engagement and move St. Louis forward through “Dimensions,” a new interactive geolocation mobile game.

Smooth Moves

Angela Zeng didn’t listen to critics who told her to start her line of superfood drinks, Karviva Beverages, elsewhere; after launching it from St. Louis four years ago,…

Bridging the Gap

The Foodshed.io app links small family farms to grocery stores so consumers can buy more local produce and farmers can do what they do best: grow food.

Full Circle

Okunsola M. Amadou is improving health outcomes for Black women with a wraparound model of care at Missouri's first equal access midwifery clinic.

Advocating for Others

Dwayne Smith's first job was with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and now, through education, he seeks to build up the geospatial workforce in St. Louis.

Kitchen Collaboration – Part 2

Gibron Jones starts a new model for healthy food in St. Louis.

Kitchen
Collaboration

In the COVID-19 crisis, Gibron Jones adapts his planned food incubator and co-op space to serve thousands of meals each week with the help of Niche Food Group…

Friends in Knead

At Knead Bakehouse + Provisions, AJ and Kirsten Brown Rise to Meet Changing Needs During the Pandemic.

Novel Tees

In St. Peters, Shirt Kong is Screenprinting T-Shirts to Support Small Businesses throughout the Metro Area.

Data for the Greater Good

Saint Louis University professor Enbal Shacham, Ph.D., uses geospatial techniques to track the spread of the coronavirus.

Coffee for a Cause

How Sump Coffee is Fueling Health Care Providers on the Front Lines.

Download, Dine, Donate

Washington University graduate Andrew Glantz is giving back to the St. Louis community with his app, GiftAMeal.

4 Hands For Hands

4 Hands Brewery adds a new product to its beer and spirit offerings – hand sanitizer.

A World of Knowledge

Attorney Nalini Mahadevan is helping St. Louis corporations attract and retain top international talent for the region's growing industries.

‘Round and ‘Round

For 50 years, Mathew and Niah Foggy have built community while circling the roller rink at Skate King.

Home(Town) Brew

Here in one of the nation's top beer cities, St. Louis brewers are shaping the industry's future.

Pump Up the Volume

Through their Tunespeak platform, St. Louis musicians Tom and Rick Pernikoff are connecting international performers with ardent fans.

A Global Community

As the St. Louis region recruits top international talent to its companies, Susan Gobbo is building a support system for the families that follow.

Spilling the Beans

Estie Cruz-Curoe’s Cuban-style black beans at del Carmen Foods are filling a delicious niche in the St. Louis food scene.

Road Trip

Brothers Nick and Irfan Sinanovic are innovating the trucking industry through their rapidly growing, St. Louis-based company Vega Transport.

Making a Mark

In creating custom wood pieces through Mwanzi Co., Jermain Todd is taking the St. Louis maker movement around the globe.

Call of the Wild

For Kari Musgrave, honing her veterinary skills at the world-class Saint Louis Zoo is a dream come true.

Shifting Gears

Mike Weiss believes that St. Louis could become one of the hottest cycling destinations in the country -- and the world.

Fresh From the Vine

Tony White’s locally grown tomatoes are the not-so-secret ingredients in many St. Louis chefs’ acclaimed dishes.

Rising Stars

Women business owners in St. Louis are drawing more funding and attention than ever before while giving other women a boost.

Career Center

New industries in St. Louis are helping to fuel Missouri’s rise in employment opportunities.

The Business of Basketball

Khalia Collier has transformed the St. Louis Surge into both a competitive team and an economic driver.

Shared Solutions

Through Odd Couples Housing, John Levis is tackling local lodging issues by pairing senior and millennial roommates.

Sweet Dreams

La Patisserie Chouquette co-owner and executive pastry chef Simone Faure has become the maven of macarons in St. Louis.

Masters of Light

Just as their great-great grandfather did, Aaron Frei and his siblings are coloring St. Louis with hand-crafted stained glass.

Cool Rider

Sump Motorcycle owner and mechanic Mike Henneberry just might love your bike even more than you do.

Innovation Destination

OPO Startups founder Randy Schilling boosts Main Street St. Charles by connecting local tech, retail and service communities.

Midwest Millennials

Post-grads are learning that St. Louis’s low cost of living means more money for business and leisure.

Education for All

Through EdHub STL, Sherita Love helps educators shake up their classrooms and eliminate barriers for students.

Planting Seeds

Angi Taylor found meaningful work in St. Louis’s growing agriculture industry.

Niche of Time

John Clark and Masterclock keep the world in sync.

Game On

With dozens of studios, courses and events, St. Louis is becoming the nation’s next video game development hot spot.

Open Invitation

The tech community in St. Louis is reaching out to diverse groups, and the nation is taking notice.

Speaking the Language

St. Louis is positioning job seekers for global opportunities.

Barrelling Along

Creating barrel-aged beard oils helped Jeremy Allen Stanton rediscover his fire.

Worldwide Pride

Julio Zegarra-Ballon’s colorful fair trade merchandise supports artisans around the globe with a living wage.