SQ1 TOOLKIT:
Ecosystem - Entrepreneur Support Organizations
Neighborhood Business Ecosystem
The St. Louis Mosaic Project has created a map of the neighborhood business ecosystem for immigrant entrepreneurs.
The Small Business Empowerment Center
The Small Business Empowerment Center is a Missouri 501c3 Nonprofit Organization sponsored by the Greater St. Louis Empowerment Zone to serve as is a one stop shop to help urban entrepreneurs start and grow their own business enterprise.
BALSA Grant
The BALSA Grant helps first time entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground. BALSA Grant finalists receive: Free (non-dilutive) cash grant of up to $5,000, In-kind professional services, Business workshops, One-on-one mentoring
East St. Louis Initiative
The East St. Louis Initiative engages local entrepreneurial leaders from East St. Louis with Washington University student teams and provides connections to make micro-enterprises sustainable.
GlobalHack
GlobalHack is building a better tech ecosystem through software competitions. Our events bring together developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and technologists to build innovative software solutions that solve real-world problems.
Digital Sandbox KC
Digital Sandbox KC broadly seeks new innovation in information technology. The Sandbox provides innovators with proof-of-concept resources to support early-stage commercialization processes.
OPO Startups
OPO Startups is a place where entrepreneurs can connect, work and collaborate.
Innovative Technology Enterprises at UMSL
ITE Innovative Technology Enterprises at University of Missouri – St. Louis has laboratory space, office space and data center services available to launch startups in chemistry, nanotechnology and Information Technology.
Peer 151
If you work from home, let Peer 151 help you Work Independently But Not Alone. If you run a small business, let Peer 151 be your Small Business Support Group. If you have an idea for a new business or product, let Peer 151 be your Innovation Incubator.
Entrepreneurship.org – Kauffman Foundation
We believe entrepreneurs are the key drivers of tomorrow’s innovations and integral to creating a thriving economy. The Kauffman Foundation created Entrepreneurship.org as an online resource to help entrepreneurs grow great ideas.
MedLaunch
The mission of MEDLaunch is 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.
IDEALabs
IDEA Labs™ is a student-run biotechnology incubator that provides resources, training, and mentorship to teams of students (medical, engineering, business, etc) tackling clinical problems by developing innovative solutions.
Inner City Capital Connections
The ICCC St. Louis program will provide you opportunities to connect to regional and local businesses, capital providers, expert practitioners, and award winning professors such as Harvard Business School Professor Stephen Rogers, who has received countless accolades and awards for his lectures on small business entrepreneurship and financial strategy.
Duree Center for Entrepreneurship at Lindenwood University
The Duree Center for Entrepreneurship is one of three focus centers of the John W. Hammond Institute for Free Enterprise. The Center inspires and supports the entrepreneurial spirit in Lindenwood students and the larger community by creating, nurturing, and advancing entrepreneurial endeavors through long-term mentorship, partnership, and internship.
Veterans Business Resource Center
The St. Louis Veterans Business Resource Center (VBRC) is dedicated to helping men and women, who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces achieve the American dream of owning and successfully operating their own businesses.
Better Family Life
The Better Family Life Cultural, Educational and Business Center serves as a central, welcoming resource and hub of activity where area residents and the region at large now have access to all of our programs, and join together as a community to enjoy artistic, cultural, educational, business and community activities – all under one roof.
Center for the Acceleration of African American Businesses (CAAAB)
The Center for the Acceleration of African-American Business (CAAAB) is a non-profit civic organization established to support the growth and development of businesses owned by minority populations, primarily African Americans.
Grace Hill Women’s Business Center
The Grace Hill Women’s Business Center is central to the Grace Hill mission, which is to develop the skills of residents, and to create opportunities for their personal advancement and for the economic well-being of their community
Prosper Women Entrepreneurs
Prosper Women Entrepreneurs (PWE) was created to advance women-led companies. PWE is comprised of two separate divisions: Prosper Institute, a non-profit organization that helps growth-seeking women entrepreneurs advance their businesses to create economic prosperity, and the Prosper Women Entrepreneurs Startup Accelerator, a for-profit organization focused on increasing women entrepreneurs’ access to growth capital and the number of women investing in early stage capital markets.
SCORE St. Louis Chapter
At SCORE St. Louis our mission is to “Start, grow, and build small businesses through education provided by experienced business professionals.” We offer free business counseling and resources, low-cost workshops, and free business scan services. Whether you’re starting a business, preparing for a loan, or have existing business issues or opportunities, SCORE mentors are ready help.
GVMS
GatewayVMS (GVMS) is a non-profit entrepreneur support organization (ESO) that provides pro bono team-based mentoring services to early-stage entrepreneurs to help them move forward in their journey.
Missouri Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
The Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers (MO SBTDC) help businesses in every stage. From concept to startup, growth to renewal, mature to succession. We are here to help you succeed at every point.
1 Million Cups
An event for local entrepreneurs to meet and present their startups to the innovation community in St. Louis.. The coffee is highly encouraged.
Arch Grants
Arch Grants is a nonprofit organization that accelerates economic development by providing $50,000 equity-free grants and pro bono support services to entrepreneurs who locate their early-stage businesses in St. Louis. Through its competitive Global Startup Competition, Arch Grants retains and attracts the most innovative entrepreneurs to the St. Louis region.
St. Louis Makes
St. Louis Makes’ mission is to grow manufacturing revenue and employment across the St. Louis region’s manufacturing supply chain.
BioSTL Fundamentals
BioSTL Fundamentals is a business-coaching program designed to support early, would-be entrepreneurs in the Life Sciences in St. Louis. The program provides a one-on-one, customized business learning experience for each participant.
Information Technology Entrepreneurs Network (ITEN)
ITEN was founded in April 2008 to be the catalyst of the St. Louis region’s IT startup ecosystem. We accelerate scalable tech startups with programs for rapid product development, connections to talent, essential networking, and access to funding.
St. Louis Entrepreneurial Ecosystem/Resources
Best viewed in conjunction with the presentation by Phyllis Ellison.
