STL Startup Week 2022

Join us to celebrate the kickoff of STL Startup Week 2022 with a light breakfast and great networking! Thank you to Enterprise Bank & Trust for sponsoring our Kickoff Breakfast this year.

We do business in a world where a lot of our industries have become a "commodity" of sorts. Our prospects have endless options when it comes to hiring someone in today's world for what it is we do.

In an effort to separate myself and our business from everyone else, I've leveraged personal branding and content to highlight those differences. In turn it has allowed me to efficiently get in front of our ideal clients, without even leaving my home.

Over last 2 years, I've utilized all of the strategies I will be teaching you, to grow my digital marketing company from $0 to 7-figures and experience over 1000% growth during this time.

These strategies aren't complicated, and in fact, most people know exactly what to do, they just don't follow through. I'm going to walk through my personal branding process and show you step-by-step how you can leverage social media, content, and your brand to become the authority in your niche.

The best part of all: it will cost you $0.

Having an MVC for your business is an increasingly important piece of scaling great products. In this session you'll learn new strategies for building community around your big idea, and get real world examples where focusing on your minimum viable community can help you adapt new learnings and face big challenges as an entrepreneur.

In 1975 Saturday Night Live was an unproven, untested startup. Over the subsequent 47 years, they have developed and delivered small batches of comedy in weekly intervals to become a consistent innovator in comedy. But how do they do it? Turns out, the practices and principles they employ are quite entrepreneurial. From welcoming changing requirements to maintaining technical excellence, there’s a lot we can learn from how they deliver. Join us for a back stage and on stage view into the process SNL has developed over decades to get from concept to cash in one week. Along the way we’ll gain a new understanding of empirical process control, continuous delivery, the care and feeding of high performing teams, dependency and deadline management, what it means to deliver value continuously, and how to understand customers. We’ll look ash the tools they use to deliver on time, and how they keep work visible for the entire organization. And we’ll probably laugh a lot too.

What does accessible mean to you? In this workshop, you will get firsthand experience with some of the challenges of having a disability. You’ll also receive some practical ideas about creating inclusive products in today’s world.

Join us at TechArtista UCity for drinks, snacks, and networking after a day of amazing talks and sessions!

STL FIG is a coalition of likeminded female accredited investors who support female entrepreneurs with early round investing. We seek to grow the pool of diverse investors with education in startup financing, and exposure to vanguard investment opportunities. An open invitation is extended to attend a working meeting including our Education Corner and pitch presentations by female founders!

Monday November 14th 6pm to 7:30pm
Norton Rose Fulbright Law Office
Suite 2230
St Louis, MO 63105

Drinks and Appetizers with your RSVP: hello@stlfig.com

Visit us to learn more: STLFIG.com!

We are excited to debut STL FIG at STL Startup week and want to provide clarity to make the event a success.
For Parking: Enter the Centene Garage off Forsyth at Lyle Avenue. Use the gate on the right and push the button for a ticket. Visitor Parking is on the 2nd level and up. Take the garage elevators to the Lobby “L”
Please arrive a few minutes early to pass through Centene's security procedures in the lobby. A host will escort you to the offices of Norton Rose Fulbright.

Disco! is hosting a complimentary morning yoga session at Trust downtown. Stretch, connect and enjoy morning healthy snacks and beverages plus a beautiful arch view from the Trust balcony.

Join this fireside chat where Jesse Pujji answers questions about how he bootstrapped multiple companies to 8 figures. He'll cover how to get started, important metrics to pay attention to, how to manage cash flow and several other topics!

As a technical founder, it is tempting to focus on product and shy away from sales, leaving that to a "sales person". But selling should be the first thing you do, even if you have nothing. This is the story of how we got our first sale when there was no product at all. Why talking to your customers is the most important thing you can do to build something, how to get their attention, and how to navigate selling a product while you are building it at the same time.

Entrepreneurship does not favor the specialist who is only able to do one thing really well. It favors teams of generalists who are able to pivot from one role to the next on a shoestring budget. But the pressures that build while wearing so many hats are real and emotionally draining. George Bailey, president of Arch Grant recipient zPods, will talk about the many hats he has worn as an entrepreneur and practical methods he uses to move his business forward while avoiding burnout.

Objectives of presentation:
• Attendees will learn concrete coping methods for transitioning successfully between wildly different tasks.
• Attendees will learn communication and other skills that mitigate the effects of burnout.
• Attendees will receive an overview of some of the best books in time and project management.
• Attendees will learn skills for creating clarity for when the chaos of startup life peaks.

Every major innovation was borne out of conflict. Although conflict often has a negative reputation, we must learn to embrace conflict if we want to change and grow. In this session we'll explore some of the main ways to conceptualize conflict, examine our own default response when conflict arises, and how we can switch the script to embrace conflict, allowing us to unleash our change-making potential.

What's beyond the startup phase? SCALING. Most startups don't realize what it really takes to scale their business. This session will discuss 3 key factors that entrepreneurs need to take in order to scale your business effectively. Attendees can expect to take a hard look at their own business with immediate opportunity for feedback.

St. Louis is unique in so many ways. In order to paint both a vibrant and accurate picture of our city and region’s culture and history, one must embrace it holistically by championing all the reasons that make St. Louis shine as a great place to live, work, and expand one's business, while also acknowledging our issues as a city and thinking of them as opportunities to grow. Through a combination of storytelling-styled marketing, direct outreach and relationship building, we can tell a dynamic, promising and engaging story to those who may not quite be sold on St. Louis. Whether your goal is to draw startups, new team members, or other resources and talent here, learn how to showcase your city in both a convincing and authentic way.

After enjoying some talks on Tuesday at Spark Coworking, we'll head downstairs and grab a spot at Sports & Social St. Louis. Drink and food specials will be available for STL Startup Week attendees.

OPO Startups Demo Day is a competitive, live pitch competition for entrepreneur's in the tech industry. 4 finalists will pitch live in a “Shark Tank Style” format to judges and a live audience. There will be door prizes, local food vendors and adult beverages provided by OPO Startups Foundation.

St. Louis’ tech community has grown faster than the national average while the number of women employed and median wage for women has remained significantly lower.

Together, we will rally the entire community around women who are founders, freelancers, employed by or employing in the Start-Up and Tech industry.

Calling all recruiters, founders, freelancers and talent looking for great places to work!

Speed Networking for Hire is a free to attend event that will celebrate women in the tech industry and create pathways for job opportunities.

Come by to join businesses, freelancers, and tech women for hire to network and talk all about Women working in tech, equal pay, and how to build opportunity in tech enabled and tech developing companies.
We will have a cash bar and snacks!

For STL Startup Week, TechSTL is hosting a free concert with a live performance from Root Mod at 18 Rails in the City Foundry during STL Startup Week on November 15th from 7:30 - 9:00 PM. Celebrating a big night of St Louis tech opportunity, the All Access Pass is a fundraiser for the newly established TechSTL STEM Scholarship Fund, hosted in partnership with the St Louis Community Foundation.

What is the Fund?
Join us as we invest in the future of St. Louis technology! The TechSTL Scholarship Fund provides postsecondary scholarships to increase accessibility to computer science, data analytics, design, and IT business operations degree programs and certificates for diverse communities of the Metro. Eligible students will live in the 15-county St. Louis MSA and demonstrate unmet financial need at the postsecondary school they attend. Scholarships will be awarded to students who are members of historically excluded communities in the tech fields (women, BIPOC, foreign born, LGBTQIA, rural, and disabled). Each recipient will enroll full-time in an accredited, nonprofit, technical/trade school, two-year college, or four-year college/university in the Greater St. Louis Metro.

What's happening at the Event?
Not only will we have a live concert and networking, attendees will also have access to a lineup of the top tech companies in St Louis as they showcase their newest technology and share current hiring opportunities to join their team. Participating companies will be giving away raffle prizes for those who have donated to the TechSTL Scholarship Fund. Full list of participating companies coming soon.

All Access Pass is free thanks to the generous sponsorship from Block (formerly known as Square)

TechSTL is hosting the inaugural Pitch Breakfast where 5 Tech Startups will compete for $10,000. BIPOC Founders of technology or tech-enabled companies will each present a 5 minute pitch to a panel of investors, with one winning company taking home the entire cash prize.

Want to Pitch? Applications are due by October 26th at 11:59 PM, with the 5 selected presenters notified by October 30th of their acceptance. Considered Startups must:
- Have BIPOC Founders or Co-Founders
- Be tech-based or tech-enabled
- Have an MVP to show or demo upon request
- Have not received any equity investment prior (non-dilutive equity is allowed)

Pitch Breakfast will take place from 9-11 AM on Wednesday, November 16th as part of the STL Startup Week lineup of events. Coffee and light breakfast items will be available at the event, hosted at Cafebiz 618 in Fairview Heights, IL. The full lineup of judges will be shared soon.

Join us for a special STL Startup Week edition of Start & Manage a Small Business workshop. We'll cover the steps to start your own business in MO, and discuss how to start out strong! You'll walk away with a Start-Up Checklist with additional resource materials. We'll focus on the steps to register your business in Missouri, the pros and cons of business ownership, how to evaluate a business idea, and the importance of planning.

Intended audience: Entrepreneurs in idea, startup, or the early stages of business ownership.
Format: Virtual--Zoom link provided upon registration

Financing is the biggest challenge facing entrepreneurs when starting a business. Startup founders and small business owners in nearly every industry have trouble finding capital to grow their business. This session will provide an overview of various financing options with their pros and cons. Topic areas will include:

• Know your financing need
• Various financing options for your business
• Pros and cons of each financing option
• What investors look for

What are NFTs and why do they matter? At this onboarding series, you'll learn about projects from real artists that have done amazingly well! You'll learn in depth concepts, functionality and industries involved with NFTs. We'll also help you get set up with an exchange and wallet for your digital assets and crypto. NFTs offer the opportunity to collaborate across and between industries creating an exciting use for this new blockchain technology.

Our session is curated and led by NFT Educator Myrina Renaissance Otey-Myton. We are guided to provide equitable educational opportunities to encourage industry collaboration, restructuring of ecosystems, solve problems and make social impact utilizing blockchain technology. We have been studying and researching NFTs and Web 3 technology for over a year and half, traveling the country to attend virtual and in real life conferences and building global relationships.

Join us at Cafe Biz 618 for drinks, snacks, and networking after a day of amazing talks and sessions!

Come join us as we bring together experts, leaders, and community members to discuss all things Cyber! We will host workshops, panels, and a job fair for anyone interested in joining the Cybersecurity field. More information on our Eventbrite!

FULL EVENT LINE UP

8am: Registration Opens

9am: Welcome and Conference Opening – Josh Jaffe, GCC Board President

9:15 – 10:15 am: Workshops

-Workshop Option 1: Future Vision: The Impact of Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Other Emerging Technologies on the Cybersecurity Workforce - Presented by Kelvin Taylor and others

-Workshop Option 2: Health Care Critical Infrastructure Risks, Threats, and Solutions - Presented by Matt Modica (BJC Healthcare CISO) and Gary Chan (SSM Health CISO)

10:30 – 11:30am: Workshops

-Workshop Option 1: Emerging Cyber Forensics Methods - Presented by Rich Dipple (Webster University), Doug Menendez (Webster University), Pat Wilds (Police Detective), and others.

-Workshop Option 2: The Triad of Disruption: How Democracies will be Defeated - Presented by James Curtis (Webster University)

11:00 – 1:30pm - Career Fair - join us on the 1st floor of 4240 Duncan and meet GCC member employers who are looking for new Cyber talent for their organizations!

11:30 - 1pm - Lunch - join us for delicious lunch catered by Tony Marino's on the 2nd floor of 4240 Duncan

1:15 – 2:30pm - Panel: What Employers Need in Cyber Professionals – An All of the Above Approach; Moderated by Joe Scherrer (Washington University); Panel members include: Tom Schunk (Emerson), Luis Arzu (Urban1), Marc Ashworth (First Bank), Pat Origliasso (Spire), Heather Caban (Microsoft)

2:45 – 4:00pm - Panel: Best Practices for Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion in Cybersecurity; Moderated by Brian Gant (Maryville University), Erica Wilson, Lamont Orange (Netskope) and others.

PARKING:

There are four paid options for parking (as indicated in the attached parking map):

1. Street parking

2. Paid parking in the North Duncan lot across the street from 4240 on Duncan.

3. Paid parking in the Orange street garage

4. Paid parking in the Duncan/Sarah lot."

Andrew will share his experience of transforming a trauma that nearly took his life into his mission to change the face of trauma care and support others on their journey from surviving to thriving. As listeners join him on this journey, they'll experience the life-shattering effects of surviving trauma, the struggles of facing distress, pain, and disability during a long road to recovery, and the power of compassion and community for helping others thrive through difficult times. Andrew will also share how he is working to transform care for trauma survivors through his role as Executive Director of the Oberle Institute at Saint Louis University.

The panel will highlight 3 SLU entrepreneurship programs that provide experiential learning opportunities, advising and mentorship for SLU students through engagement with the STL entrepreneurship ecosystem. Each program will have 2 panelists, one representing the student experience and the other the community experience. These programs are built on the tenet to provide value to both the student and our community ecosystem partners. An overview of the programs and their engagement is below. 
MedLaunch
MEDLaunch is a student-driven, biomedical and entrepreneurship incubator in the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship at Saint Louis University. The program is the product of collaborative efforts between the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, School of Law, Chaifetz School of Business, School of Science and Engineering, and College for Public Health and Social Justice. MEDLaunch participants work in multidisciplinary teams under the guidance of clinical and industry mentors to develop innovations in areas including (but not limited to) surgical devices, health information technology, and medical diagnostics. MEDLaunch maintains its mission to improve the standard of healthcare through the engineering and design of creative solutions while also fostering a community of entrepreneurship and collaboration at Saint Louis University and other organizations in the greater St. Louis area.
SLU eMentor Program
The SLU eMentor Program provides students access to mentors and knowledge to address their challenges and prepare them for launching their careers.  The eMentor program is for students interested in thinking like entrepreneurs and developing social networks to engage and learn. The mentor program engages a ‘many-to-many’ approach to mentorship by developing a network of mentors and mentees who can then, as needed and as appropriate, engage in mentorship via one-on-one interactions as well as the group meetings. 

This program is built on the following tenets:
·     Value add for the student and the mentor
·     Mentorship cannot be forced and will form through long lasting relationships
·     Mentor and mentee relationships are formed over time through social engagement 

CCE Clinical Model
The CCE Clinical Model is a pedagogy for teaching and research to produce entrepreneurial-minded students. The innovation of the CCE Clinical Model comes from acting as a classroom for experiential learning, a physical space for students to execute on their ideas, a locus of interaction between the University and area startups, and a practical research lab for data collection. 
Much like a medical student observing and learning from a surgeon in the operating room, CCE Clinicians observe and learn from startup founders and entrepreneurs within St. Louis’ ecosystem.  The CCE Clinic will operate on campus in the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship located in Davis-Shaughnessy Hall and off campus in the COLLAB located in Cortex. 
The Entrepreneurship Clinic provides experience through classes, modules and workshops for both undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines. Students form diverse teams, based on the best mix of strengths, and act as consultants to partner companies. Partner companies, ranging from early-stage startups, to scaling businesses, to established companies apply to the Entrepreneurship Clinic with specific business issues that need attention. Student teams meet with company applicants, evaluate their strengths and opportunities, and develop and execute a strategic action plan to help them get from where they are not to where they need to be.

Moderator: Lewis Sheats
Panelists:
MedLaunch: Aakash Nagarapu (student) & Ed Bayham (advisor)
SLU eMentor Program: Lexxy Ahn (student) & Austin Smith (mentor)
CCE Clinical Model: Nick Finerock (student) & Tina Sappington (entrepreneur)

Large companies and startups often have different drivers and can operate very differently. Yet there is much that each can learn from the other. Employees at large corporations often know very little about how startups function and many start up founders and employees are similarly unaware of the pros and cons of working in a corporate setting. Our panelists have had a diverse set of experiences spanning both corporate and startup worlds and are uniquely positioned to offer insights into both. They will share the real-life experiences that have informed and helped them, what they wished they knew before they moved across these different settings and why it is important to have cross-pollination of talent between the two.

Experience a workshop alongside the current Capital Innovators Accelerator Cohort. GAN and Todd Embley will cover fundraising fundamentals and resources.

Event Location: Second Floor of CIC - Follows signs to room through co-working

Co-Hosted by Capital Innovators and GAN (Global Accelerator Network)

Fundraising is hard, but you can apply a method to the madness. By approaching a fundraise with a plan, including knowledge of what your potential investors are looking for, knowing where you fit into the fundraising spectrum, and creating some momentum, you can greatly increase your chances of receiving an investment. Learn about targeting and preparing for an early-stage fundraise from the VC-backed St. Louis startup founders of Mission Control.

Product development is hard. Even with so many frameworks out there like minimum viable product and agile development; Companies struggle in the first 2 years of development to build unique product offerings. Join this session to learn how to balance the tradeoffs of early product development to make unique products using these 3 principles that maximize your customers long term success.

Understanding the dynamics of international business and the broader economy will help your business navigate VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) environments to survive and even thrive. The world is interconnected and ever-changing, impacting enterprises at all stages through globalization, just as we experienced during the pandemic and the Ukraine-Russian conflict. The companies that outperform their peers in VUCA environments are generally proactive and agile and recognize the sensitivity and complexity of the global economy.

Juliana Scheidhauer, Founder & CEO of Reimagine Resources, a privately held global startup in St. Louis, will dive into building a business with a global mindset. A global mindset bolsters discernment of real-time market trends to make informed, critical, time-sensitive decisions. You will discover how international business impacts businesses and start-ups, learn what key indicators to watch for in the marketplace, know which valuable resources to pursue today, and create actionable items to implement now to mitigate global changes, diversify risk, and develop a worldwide expansion. Understanding the world around you and how it shapes your environment, business, and people is essential whether you are planning on building a massive global (or even galaxy-wide) corporation, a winning domestic company, or a successful hyper-localized business.

The STL Startup Showcase is THE signature event during STL Startup Week 2022. Highlighting 40+ emerging startups from a range of industries, this expo-style event allows entrepreneurs to connect with students, supporters, investors, and other members of the innovation community! 
This year's Startup Showcase will be held in partnership with Venture Café St. Louis on Thursday, November 17 from 4pm to 8pm in the Cortex Innovation District. Join us for a fun-filled, high-energy event with drinks, appetizers, music, and more! The STL Startup Showcase is free and open to the public; registration is required.

Schedule
4:00pm // Doors Open
6:00pm // Host & Sponsor Remarks
8:00pm // Event Closes

About STL Startup Week
Built by the community for the community, STL Startup Week is a five-day celebration and elevation of all things entrepreneurship in the St. Louis region. Featuring talks, panel discussions, workshops, networking events and more, STL Startup Week (STLSWK) has inspired hundreds of individuals to discover their potential as entrepreneurs, innovators, and change-makers. Learn more at STL Startup Week (stlouisstartupweek.com).

6th Annual Battle of the Saints Teen Pitch Competition
Presented by Masterclock, Inc. & goBRANDgo! | Hosted by Parkway Spark! & St. Louis CAPS
Cortex @4240 Building | Suite 240 - Thursday, November 17 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM

Battle of the Saints (St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and City of St. Louis) provides student entrepreneurs, ages 10-18, an opportunity to pitch a business concept to a panel of expert industry judges. The top business teams will be awarded a portion of the $2000.00 available start-up capital generously provided by our sponsors Masterclock, Inc. & goBRANDgo!. This is a fast, fun, and innovative way for students to engage with local entrepreneurs in conjunction with STL Startup Week!
Student business teams of no more than six (6) will have 3 minutes maximum to pitch their business concept without the aide of slide decks (e.g. PowerPoint, Google Slides, Prezi). Both the business team & the business concepts will be evaluated on a set of criteria which includes:

• Risk vs. Reward Planning, Thirst for Learning, Innovative Practices, Business Model, and Future Growth

Can't attend in-person? Register in advance to watch all the buiness teams pitch LIVE via Zoom Webinar: REGISTRATION LINK

Please contact Tim Luecke (tluecke@stlcaps.net) and Xanthe Meyer (xmeyer@parkwayschools.net) with any questions! 

What we want is not always what we get. As entrepreneurs, we do our best to follow all the proper protocols and principles to win the contract, to get the grant, or to secure the loan approval, only to find out, “NO, you didn’t get it.”

We have heard all the stories and we have seen all the pictures of entrepreneurial success:

· More time with family and friends doing the things we love
· Pictures of beautiful houses
· Expensive cars
· Exotic vacations

The images are so vivid we can almost see ourselves in them feeling the joy of success and reaping its rewards. Suddenly, we realize those things are NOT our experience AT ALL. Now what?

Everybody prepares to win, and we should. Everybody prepares for that “yes.” Yet the possibility of NO is always present. But who really prepares to lose? What do you do when you expected that “yes” and you got a NO? What do you do when you expected to win and instead you lost?

This session helps those on the journey to and through the “Land of Entrepreneurship” to sufficiently prepare for the unexpected by exposing the trip’s best-kept secret and equipping them with extraordinary tools to stay the course and increase momentum.

We share your passion for entrepreneurship.  Imagine an organization that helps you achieve your full potential in business and personal life through life-enhancing connections, shared experiences and collaborative learning. A community where you can be vulnerable or applauded. A fellowship that fuels your growth. We are EO, a global, peer-to-peer network of business founders and builders who gain the wisdom and support we need to realize our ambitions and move the world forward, together.  We are scaling our businesses using the experience we gain from peer learning, not outside capital.

Being a startup founder is hard work. From turning your idea into a viable business to managing employees and raising funding, entrepreneurship can at times seem overwhelming. But founders aren’t alone. Whether they are in agtech or software, the challenges and opportunities they face are often the same.

This event will feature a panel of St. Louis startup founders, all with their own unique path to becoming entrepreneurs, chatting about how they took an idea and turned it into a company. They’ll discuss how they’ve overcome common challenges startups face, including when to hire the first employees, if and when to secure funding, how best to differentiate themselves and much more.
 
Speakers 

• Moderator: Nathan Rubbelke, St. Louis Inno editor
• Panelist:  Allison Cousins, co-founder and CEO of Approach Dating
• Panelist: Dan Davis, co-founder and CEO of Arcadian Infracom
• Panelist: Sofi Seck, founder and head of operations of Expedition Subsahara

Delegate is hosting the second webinar in our Effective Management webinar series. This month we will talk about team goal support and how to navigate it as an effective manager. Delegate will present information and research and facilitate a conversation between professionals about their personal experience managing teams as well as any tips and tricks gained along the way.

RSVP Here: https://forms.gle/EbtF1r1iMpuRLFfb8

Rachel D’Souza-Siebert is the Founder and Chief Purpose Officer of Gladiator Consulting in St. Louis, Missouri. Born to immigrant parents, Rachel is a person of color, working mother, and entrepreneur. She spent nearly a decade in the nonprofit sector in fundraising roles before starting Gladiator Consulting in 2015. She was inspired to start her own boutique consultancy after recognizing the fundamental flaws in the system; she longed to create a company that served both herself, people that look like her, and people that had similar lived experiences to her.

In this presentation, Rachel will guide attendees through a roadmap of how to start a business that not only encompasses, but deeply aligns the founders’ passions and values. She will lead attendees through a core-value exercise and challenge them to think about the traditional work and experiences that haven’t served them– and our communities– thus far.

Join us on Friday, November 18th to celebrate the six startups completing the Capital Innovators Accelerator program. This event will be held in-person in the Ballroom at TechArtista Downtown. (401 Pine St, St. Louis, MO 63102). See below for details on the presenting companies:

ArcadeQuest | Vancouver, BC | arcadequest.app | CEO: Daniel Baraghoush
ArcadeQuest is a platform that gaming influencers use to monetize and interact with their audience by facilitating live-play between followers and the influencer. The platform unifies gameplay rewards across video games and platforms for subscribers. Gamers using ArcadeQuest either earn digital coins for in-game performance or directly purchase coins. They redeem coins to play live games with esports and gaming influencers or on ArcadeQuest's online store including gaming related products such as VBucks, amazon gift cards, Robux, and Razer gaming gear.

Farm to Flame Energy Inc. | Pittsburg, PA | ftfenergy.com | CEO: Kwaku Jyamfi
Farm to Flame Energy utilizes patented combustion technologies to build smokeless and odorless biomass generators. These generators are fueled by biomass waste (wood and plant waste) and operate with lower maintenance and higher efficiency than other biomass generators and are more cost effective than traditional diesel generators. Farm to Flame Energy provides a cost-effective and circular solution to bio-waste management for a variety of medium to large organizations.

Fazit | New York, NY | letsfazit.com | Co-founders: Nina LaBruna & Aliett Buttelman
Fazit is a dermal patch skincare brand that treats concerns such as acne, ingrown hairs, scars, stretch marks and cold sores. Skincare brands often market their products as a way to achieve “clear, glowing” skin, creating an unattainable beauty standard. Fazit offers accessible and effective products, while fostering a digital community that embraces and normalizes skin imperfections with over 30 million views on TikTok. Fazit is revolutionizing the dermal patch industry with its innovative products, while creating a more authentic and relatable space in beauty and social media.

Forij| Seattle, WA | forij.co | CEO: Parker Olson
Forij makes crave-worthy snacks and pantry staples infused with essential brain and bone nutrients derived from mushroom extracts. These mushroom extracts have zero impact on flavor and are sourced from the largest button mushroom producer in the United States. Forij’s first product to market, functional granola, is already on the shelves in retailers such as Kroger and Albertson Safeway. Their products are also available online.

Stock Swap| St. Louis, MO | stockswap.us | CEO: Blake Berg
StockSwap is like DraftKings’ Daily Fantasy but for the stock market. Instead of creating a team of players, users build a portfolio of stocks and enter cash prize contests to compete against others. StockSwap has hundreds of combinations of different games with varying entry fees, payout structures, rules, game types, and times periods. Users can also do social research by looking through other users’ real portfolios and scrolling through a social feed. StockSwap brings Wall Street to Main Street by gamifying finance through daily fantasy.

Veeper | Kansas City, MO | veeper.com | CEO: Jordan Williams
Veeper is a plug-in that optimizes the lowest discount that gets each customer to buy more - increasing average order value by net 14%. With Veeper, merchants will no longer have to think about, calculate or even create promo codes and discounts ever again. Veeper's discounts are dynamic, one-time use and personalized to each shopper based on their shopping behavior/habits. Each time a shopper adds an item to the cart, they’ll see their discount increase. Veeper is currently available to install by any ecommerce store supported by Shopify.

About Capital Innovators
Capital Innovators provides top-ranked accelerator programs, venture fund management, and corporate innovation. It manages funds focused on technology and consumer products, and sources cutting-edge startups from around the globe for investment and assists in scaling its companies to success. Capital Innovators Accelerator program is ranked as one of the top Accelerators in the United States. The firm has invested in 178 companies, which have gone on to raise over $400 MM in follow-on investment and created over 2,500 jobs.

Launching a tech company without a technical background is tough. In this behind-the-scenes interview, Landon Wiedenman shares what he learned as a non-technical founder of a healthtech startup. Now as the software architect at Elderberry Mgmt working on both startup and national government contracts, Landon details what he wish he knew as a non-technical founder and what he would have done differently.

Location: This presentation will take place in the Holekamp Classroom on the 5th floor of T-REX.

Made by DAS's Cameron Matthews knows how to compete in a local market through paid social, search, and email marketing. In this session, he'll teach the STL Startup community how to construct a simple ad funnel and how to avoid the biggest mistakes in self-managed paid social.

LIMITED CAPACITY! 
Join us at Techartista Downtown for an amazing evening of drinks, food and fun while we celebrate the close of this year's St. Louis Startup Week!

Schedule
4:00-5:15pm // Arrivals
5:15-5:30pm // Host & Speaker Remarks
5:30-7:00pm // Mix & Mingle
7:00pm - ? // After-Party

What's Bourbon Friday?
Bourbon Friday is the weekly social gathering celebrating startups, entrepreneurs, and changemakers in St. Louis and beyond. For the last 5 years we've come together to share our stories, struggles, experiences, and yes, a little bit of bourbon.

Parking & Transporation
We recommend that attendees use rideshare apps like Lyft & Uber. But Parking will be in the Keiner East & West Garage.

There is also limited street parking for Bourbon Friday.
Garage locations
Keiner Plaza East at 500 Pine Street
Keiner Plaza West at 604 Pine Street

Want Free Parking (Up to $10)? Volunteer for the event at bit.ly/stlswvolunteers22

JOIN US FROM 5 – 9 PM ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2022, AT THE HYATT REGENCY ST. LOUIS AT THE ARCH.

Since 2012, Arch Grants has awarded $11.6M to 200+ startups. Our Founders have created 2,600+ new jobs in Missouri, generated $517M in revenue and attracted $620M+ in follow-on capital.

Arch Grants Startups x You = Exponential Impact

Be a part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the St. Louis startup ecosystem by joining the Arch Grants 10X Event, a 10th-anniversary “gala” celebration that will feature:
– Connecting with the 2022 Arch Grants Cohort and dozens of Founders.
– The presentation of the 2022 Arch Grants Entrepreneur Award to Jim Eberlin,
Founder of TopOPPS, Gainsight and Host Analytics.