About a year ago, St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley and St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay invited about 40 business and civic leaders to develop a road map for strengthening the “entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
On June 13, these leaders laid out that map, called the Regional Entrepreneurial Initiative. The first part of the journey is raising money.
“A year ago, I asked what we needed to provide the best environment to help our best startups grow,” Dooley said. “The answer came back with a resounding, ‘Get them more money.’”
Through the initiative, St. Louis-area civic and business leaders said they will bring $100 million in venture capital funding to the region over the next five years to support high-growth startups. The initiative is part of a $1.5 million project funded by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“Today, we are saying we need the money,” Dooley said, “and we are putting an aggressive plan in place to raise that capital. This guarantees the best new companies will stay in St. Louis and thrive for years to come.”
One of the key components of the initiative is minority inclusion, said Ed Bryant, vice president of economic development collaborations at the St. Louis County Economic Council.
“Given that the St. Louis regional population includes 23 percent of people who are of diverse backgrounds, there should be more happening among this population in the entrepreneurial environment,” Byrant said. “St. Louis needs to start, identify and support high-potential startups among minorities, women, immigrants and veterans.”
In the report released on June 13, initiative leaders state that St. Louis has “no organized initiatives” to ensure that minority, women, veteran and immigrant entrepreneurs have access to resources for startup businesses.
“As is the case in most regions across the U.S., the region is not effectively reaching or leveraging the entrepreneurial talent in these disconnected communities in a meaningful, consistent and sustained manner,” the report states.
Only a small percentage of St. Louis regional “deal flow” comes from these marginalized entrepreneurs, though they represent significant portions of the regional population.
The solution begins with a commitment to inclusion, leaders concluded.
“The combination of this commitment and the measurement/metrics system is a powerful first step in understanding the dynamics and impact of including a much larger and more diverse population in the high growth potential entrepreneurial economy,” the report states.
Byrant said this commitment is shared by all of the initiative’s partners, including startup support systems, such as Arch Grants, BioSTL and St. Louis Arch Angels. It remains to be seen whether this commitment also means directing some of the initiative’s $100 million fund towards this population.
“We can do this; it’s achievable,” said Joe Reagan, president and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber. “We know we’ve got money sitting on the sidelines, and what we need to do is talk about the deal flow we have here right now. That’s how you raise the money.”
Already, as part of the initiative, the St. Louis Economic Council set up a “one-stop-shop” website, AccelerateStLouis.org, to connect entrepreneurs to resources, as well as to investors who can help them in launching and growing their businesses. Entrepreneurs can set up profiles as a way to connect with funders and with other resources.
The initiative’s goal overall is to make St. Louis a top 10 region for entrepreneurs. Mark Lewis is CFO of LockerDome, a St. Louis-based tech startup that is now the fastest-growing sports media company on the web.
“The formal commitment on the part of St. Louis civic leadership to the development of high-impact businesses is a game changer,” Lewis said. “The early-stage ecosystem is already thriving. Commitments such as that announced today will go a long way toward ensuring St. Louis is a top 10 global technology community by 2015.”
