With St. Louis being touted earlier this year as the fastest growing city for tech jobs, you might have been surprised… Well, only if you live outside of St. Louis. After all, St. Louis isn’t exactly New York or the Bay area. However, there is a strong commitment within the startup community that is putting St. Louis on the map as a great place for entrepreneurs, and that’s thanks in part to Arch Grants.
Arch Grants is a global startup competition providing $50,000 in non-dilutive grants to early stage ventures. Their mission is to create an entrepreneurial culture and infrastructure to build successful companies in St. Louis. In its second year, they are awarding $1,000,000 to 20 exciting new companies, who will all be located in St. Louis beginning in July. And, these 20 companies are very exciting for the community.
With 707 applicants from 15 countries and 40 states, the 20 that were chosen represent “the best of a terrific group, and are exciting young companies,” said Jerry Schlichter, Co-Founder and President of Arch Grants. “Arch Grants’ vision has become reality. We are building an entrepreneurial ecosystem and have great partners who through their support of Arch Grants, have put St. Louis on the international map as a great place for entrepreneurs.”
Sarah Spear, Executive Director of Arch Grants commented further, stating, “We are beyond thrilled with the number of applicants this year. St. Louis is becoming a prominent place for entrepreneurs from around the globe to start their business.”
The number of applicants has grown significantly this year for Arch Grants, jumping from 420 to 707. However, more than just monetary opportunities, St. Louis represents a unique ecosystem for entrepreneurs. Spear talked about this earlier at a Social Media Club St. Louis event. Startups here are genuinely willing to talk with each other, discuss their technology, and help each other grow right here in the heart of the Midwest. It’s a passionate community where people crave success, and if anything, startups need people who truly believe in them and have the talent to accomplish great things. St. Louis has both.
This will prove vital to the 20 new startups bursting on the scene this summer in St. Louis. Startups like TrakBill, which gives citizens and professionals the capability to track thousands of pieces of legislation. With the help of Arch Grants and the St. Louis community, TrakBill will be the first completely mobile legislative tracking tool with iOS and Android applications.
“We are honored to receive an Arch Grant and look forward to establishing TrakBill in St. Louis,” said Steven Marciniak, Founder of TrakBill. “We look forward to contributing to the entrepreneurial culture in St. Louis and increasing access to TrakBill’s legislative tracking services.”
Of course, TrakBill is just one example of the innovative new companies here in St. Louis. As a former winner of an Arch Grant, Techli is excited to welcome all of the new winners into the St. Louis community. We’ll be bringing you more coverage of these great new startups in the weeks ahead. See below for the full list of winners.
2013 Arch Grants Global Startup Competition Winners: