As April wraps up, the St. Louis innovation community keeps the momentum rolling the week of April 27 – May 3, 2026. Entrepreneurs, technologists, and marketers will find a wealth of events designed to spark ideas and build connections. Our Founder, Erik Lutenegger, has assembled this week’s top picks for networking, professional growth, business resources, and enjoyment.
ESO, Accelerator, and Funding Opportunities
Due May 4 // Most Influential Business Women Awards 2026 | St. Louis Business Journal
This recognition celebrates standout women shaping business and community impact across St. Louis. Selected leaders are honored for measurable career success, leadership, and influence, with winners featured in a major publication and recognized at a high-profile awards event. (Community Awards)
Due May 6 // Techstars Accelerators
A three-month, sector-agnostic accelerator is committed to advancing world-class startups from Japan and abroad, focused on emerging technologies across industries. Participants receive mentorship, funding, and access to a global network to scale their businesses. Applications are now open for Techstars Tokyo Accelerator. (Accelerator)
Startup, Tech, and Marketing Events
April 27
April 27-30 // Web Agency Summit | Atarim
Venture into themed tracks: Build, Expand, Scale, Thrive. Featuring practical guidance on craft and delivery, SOP-driven operations, predictable growth strategies, and long-term visioning, expect intimate firechats, panels, case studies, and actionable takeaways to move your agency forward without guesswork. (Virtual)
Conducting Industry Research | NY Public Library, Thomas Yoseloff Business Center
Thrive in a focused, instructor-led online session showing how to navigate major industry research tools, learn to locate market data, trends, and company information across EMIS, Statista, Plunkett, and library databases, and apply findings to inform business strategy and career decisions. (Virtual)
Turn Your Expertise Into an Audience on LinkedIn | Founder Institute
Elevate your personal brand by following Daniel Francavilla’s clear content strategy: define one focused angle, master three proven post types, and adopt a weekly content rhythm designed for busy professionals to grow authority, audience, and pre-launch validation for entrepreneurial ideas. (Virtual)
Build Your Own Executive Assistant With OpenClaw | DataCamp
Explore a developer-focused look at building an executive-style AI assistant that balances productivity with control. Real-world examples show how thoughtful architecture, platform setup, and risk mitigation can turn agent concepts into practical tools for daily work. (Virtual)
AI Secrets Challenge: Build an AI-Powered One-Person Business | ClickFunnels
Dive into daily, actionable training that teaches building an AI Chief of Staff, integrating specialist agents for traffic and sales, accelerating creative output, uncovering monetization opportunities most overlook, and producing a no-code software product you can use to grow or monetize your business. (Virtual)
Deep Research for Nonprofits & Founders | SCORE Silicon Valley
Gain hands-on guidance for accessing and activating Deep Research inside major LLMs, with a proven prompt template, step-by-step workflow, and tips to vet partners and analyze market signals so attendees leave ready to accelerate fundraising and growth with reliable intelligence. (Virtual)
Marketing in a Digital World | Urban League – Center for Entrepreneurship
Ignite confidence in your marketing approach through instructor-led exercises that define your distinct value, pinpoint where prospects connect, and outline measurable outreach strategies. Expect collaborative activities, peer feedback, and practical templates to streamline digital efforts and accelerate early customer acquisition. (Virtual)
April 28
How to break free from overthinking and people-pleasing | Enterprise Nation
Uncover straightforward techniques to disrupt overthinking cycles and people-pleasing tendencies, gaining clear steps for shifting mental patterns, protecting emotional energy, and practicing small but effective behaviours that support greater self-trust and inner calm. (Virtual)
Strategies That Distinguish “Genius” Digital Marketing Brands | Gartner
Gain insight into the internal capabilities that set top digital marketing performers apart, drawing from benchmark research across major industries. The session highlights shared practices among leading brands and connects those findings to stronger maturity, smarter investment, and measurable marketing impact. (Virtual)
BuildIT: AI Bootcamp for Businesses & Nonprofits | TechSTL
Kick off a focused monthly workshop where attendees learn to move beyond basic tools and build AI into everyday processes. Through MetisOS examples, Christian Johnson walks participants through automating decisions, surfacing insights, and deploying a Digital Operator without needing a dedicated IT team. (In-Person | CIC St. Louis)
What Is Yours to Control? A Three Bucket Approach to Leadership | Enterprise University
Participate in a practical leadership session centered on separating what can be managed, influenced, or released. The framework helps reduce over-responsibility, ease reactions to chaos, and create a more focused approach to challenges in work and life. (Virtual)
Food Production Automation Starts With AI Vision, Not Robotics | Association for Advancing Automation
Elevate understanding of how Visual AI supports smarter, more resilient production lines by improving inspection consistency and coverage. Comparative insights into today’s AI landscape link early adoption of AI vision with stronger automation outcomes, efficiency gains, and long-term operational value. (Virtual)
How AI Is Redefining Brand Strategy | Adweek
Soak up practical insights from experienced brand and AI practitioners who demonstrate where human judgment still matters, detail how machines read data versus stories, and outline actionable ways to build distinctive, empathetic brand systems for an AI-inflected customer journey. (Virtual)
2026 Event Trends | American Marketing Association
Attend a concise, insight-driven webinar from Cvent that translates data and industry research into pragmatic recommendations, guiding event professionals through emerging trends, marketing approaches, and operational shifts so they can create more engaging, measurable, and future-proof events. (Virtual)
Let’s Talk Business | St. Louis County Library
Take part in open drop-in appointments with a business librarian to discuss entrepreneurial ideas and small-business challenges, collaboratively develop next steps, and obtain practical guidance, curated resources, and clearer direction to help translate plans into tangible progress. (In-Person | Clark Family Branch)
Network – A – Thon
Engage with fellow professionals at a no-cost, three-hour evening event focused on relationship-building through structured mingling and open conversation, offering recurring regional opportunities to meet new contacts, exchange referrals, and cultivate meaningful connections for future collaboration. (In-Person | Dave & Busters)
Procurement & The Buyer Behind The Brand | Urban League – Center for Entrepreneurship
Ignite your approach to selling into larger accounts through a concise, in-person program that explores how buyers rank brands, what procurement teams truly value, and how to structure offers and terms to secure contracts, plus tips for building long-term, trust-based supplier relationships. (In-Person | Urban League HQ)
OWASP St. Louis – Secure Code Training Tournament
Explore practical application security through timed, competitive coding rounds where developers and security pros work through realistic vulnerability scenarios, track standings on the live leaderboard, and vie for prizes while learning hands-on techniques, no expert experience required, just bring a laptop. (In-Person | RubinBrown)
April 29
April 29-30 // Midwest Digital Marketing Conference
Experience a collaborative environment where marketers and communicators examine emerging tools, shifting consumer behavior, and measurable strategy. Sessions highlight actionable ideas across analytics, automation, influencer marketing, and content development, while conversations connect professionals from established companies and growing ventures. (In-Person | Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel)
BOSS BIA Brew & Biz Tour | April Networking at Star Cafe | Nicole Ingram
Soak up intentional networking in a laid-back format: arrive, grab a beverage, and ease into conversation before a concise welcome outlining the host’s goals. The event includes an easy giveaway entry, guided interactions, and practical details to keep the morning streamlined and productive. (In-Person | Star Cafe)
How to Build a Brand That Can’t Be Replicated by AI | CreativeMornings
Engage in a guided, hands-on exploration of branding evolution and AI’s influence, learning three concrete keys to make your brand unmistakable. The workshop includes actionable exercises, a recording shared after the event, and a suggestion to bring something to write on and with. (Virtual)
GRIT April Luncheon | Jennifer Bardot, G.R.I.T Founder
Kickstart your leadership momentum at a curated gathering that examines the psychology of hesitation, presents frameworks to translate perfectionism into capability, and provides actionable strategies to strengthen your voice and presence while fostering authentic professional connections and organizational readiness for real development. (In-Person | The Lodge)
Intellectual Property and Copyright for Artists & Creatives | Freelancers Union
Transform your understanding of artist rights through a guided discussion on copyright law, what may or may not be copyrighted, real-world indicators of infringement, and step-by-step precautions and documentation practices to help prevent unauthorized use of your creations. (Virtual)
Now That You Filed? How to Pay Less Next Year | Urban League STL Women’s Business Center
Venture into a focused, hour-long training with Dawn Dahmer that outlines concrete ways to pay less next year by identifying overlooked deductions, implementing audit-ready recordkeeping, timing estimated tax payments, evaluating entity changes when appropriate, and maximizing retirement contribution benefits. (Virtual)
FOCUS Women In Leadership Informational Session | Focus St. Louis
Partake in an interactive online session that introduces the program’s goals and participant gains, showcases recent alumnae stories about their journeys, explains application logistics and selection criteria, outlines how to approach employers about sponsorship, reviews funding options, and opens the floor for questions. (Virtual)
ChatGPT for Work 101: A guide to your AI superassistant | OpenAI Academy
Dive into a concise tutorial on how ChatGPT works, learning effective prompt strategies accompanied by real-time demos of generating content, analyzing data, and producing images, with supporting slides and resource links to explore and validate workplace applications and ideas. (Virtual)
ArcGIS AI Assistants | Esri
Be part of an interactive meetup focused on ArcGIS AI Assistants, featuring demonstrations of natural-language mapping tools, peer-led discussions about real-world use cases, and opportunities to exchange best practices for implementing and supporting GIS solutions across state and local government teams. (Virtual)
Funding Growth with Brad Feld and Marshall Hawks | Techstars
Experience a candid fireside exchange that dives into venture debt strategies, common pitfalls, and lender-founder dynamics, offering concrete advice on structuring deals and choosing when to pursue debt, capped by an opportunity to pose your own funding questions. (Virtual)
Fast Pitch Networking | PitchSTL
Ignite connections at a fast-format event that pairs social networking with a brief pitch competition for vetted for-profit startups, offering two-minute presentations and one-minute feedback, strict application limits and no decks, judges’ decisions are final, and non-cash prizes celebrate top performers. (In-Person | Northside Economic Empowerment Center)
Build & Protect: Small Business Protection & Opportunity Overview | Porscha Anderson
Cherish this concise, interactive workshop focused on safeguarding your venture with clear contract practices, trademark basics, and tax support while exploring supplemental income options, delivering pragmatic advice, and simple next steps to help entrepreneurs protect assets and grow financial resilience. (In-Person | Cortex @ 20 S Sarah)
Digital Marketing Clinic: Leverage AI in All of Your Marketing | Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship at Houston Community College NW & SCORE
Uncover actionable AI strategies during an experience-led digital marketing clinic that spans social channels, web design, video production, SEO, and analytics. The open discussion format encourages participant questions and provides practical recommendations to transform routine marketing tasks into high-impact activities. (Virtual)
April 30
Advance STL: How to tackle the biggest challenges | St. Louis Business Journal
Take in a leadership-focused discussion on tackling large-scale regional challenges through housing, education, and equitable growth. Panelists share how they approach complex reform, build cross-sector momentum, and move big ideas toward practical progress across the community. (In-Person | St. Louis County Library – Clark Family Branch)
Entrepreneurs: Profit in a Tariff Economy + How to Claim Your Refund | Gearhart Law
Elevate your understanding of tariff-driven business challenges as speakers demonstrate how they preserved margins, retooled supply chains, and pursued federal remedies; expect candid company case studies, legal perspectives on claims, practical steps, and time to connect with peers before the presentation. (Virtual)
AI Systems Masterclass | Network After Work
Ignite change in your company with a hands-on session delivering a complete blueprint for operational AI, live demonstrations of repeatable workflows, explanations of the tools driving efficiency, and practical steps founders can use the same day to free up high-leverage time. (Virtual)
How To Fight Webinar Fatigue | MarketingProfs
Soak up concrete guidance on turning in-person and virtual events into sustained content engines: start with strategy tied to product and market needs, craft events for multi-quarter content reuse, and implement video-first workflows that keep brands top of mind while driving demand and ROI. (Virtual)
Turn Clicks into Customers: Improve Your Website & Increase Sales | Start Small Think Big
Transform your website approach through an expert-led presentation emphasizing measurable improvements in traffic and conversions, enjoy a live Q&A to tackle specific pain points, and join breakout rooms for peer-driven networking, idea exchange, and clear, actionable follow-up steps. (Virtual)
Founders Lounge Global | Powered by Metis Analytics
Unite with founders, creators, and operators in weekly meetups that blend networking, shared learning, and hands-on insight, enabling participants to exchange experiences, explore practical AI system design, and translate conceptual ideas into workflows and tangible product improvements. (In-Person | Spark Coworking St. Louis)
Innovators Hour: Speakers – Susan Martino-Catt & Martha Schlicher, Impetus Ag & Solis Agrosciences | Biogenerator
Immerse in a thoughtful conversation exploring how bioscience founders turn research, experimentation, and market needs into innovative companies. The discussion offers a perspective on startup growth, technology development, and the regional support networks helping life science ventures advance. (In-Person | BioSTL)
11th Annual Koch Center Family Enterprise Symposium | WashU Olin Business
Marvel at the ways enterprise and investment influence technological renewal, regional competitiveness, and shared economic progress. Speakers examine American dynamism, geospatial growth, and venture strategies that support both industry advancement and broader access to prosperity. (In-Person | Knight Hall)
May 1
M365 Community Day St. Louis | Microsoft
Soak up real-world demos and sessions that demystify AI agents and Copilot, demonstrate Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI implementations, and review security and compliance best practices with Purview and Defender, all during a free, in-person day of learning and networking. (In-Person | Microsoft Innovation Hub)
New Skills for Work Topic: Unlock Creative Thinking | Filament
Revel in interactive workshops that model divergent thinking, rapid prototyping, and storytelling approaches, combining short instructional segments with group activities to help attendees practice idea generation, refine concepts, and translate imaginative thinking into practical workplace projects and measurable outcomes. (In-Person | Filament)
Bourbon Friday | Sponsored by Tenacity
Connect in a casual atmosphere shaped by shared experiences, honest conversations, and a taste of bourbon. The gathering brings together startup-minded professionals to swap insights, celebrate progress, and build relationships through an easygoing social tradition. (In-Person | Techartista CWE)
STL2600
Unveil an informal monthly gathering where technologists and curious minds share short talks, demos, and collaborative problem-solving; agenda slots remain open for volunteers to present. Expect casual networking, lively Q&A, and opportunities to propose topics or hands-on mini-sessions. (In-Person | Arch Reactor)
May 2
STL Tech Lunch | St. Louis ACM Chapter
Savor casual conversations with other programmers during a lunchtime meetup designed for relaxed networking and tech dialogue, hosted by local organizers; rotating restaurant choices—from regional specialties to global flavors—encourage diverse perspectives and approachable career and industry discussions over a shared meal. (In-Person | Sando Shack)
Rosé Day in the CWE | 50 Roses Foundation
Attend a curated rosé-focused walking wine festival that takes participants through multiple Central West End tasting locations, offering casual sips and socializing between noon and 5 PM. This in-person, 21+ event is hosted by the 50 Roses Foundation with doors at 11:45. (In-Person | CWE)
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What’s making waves for you this week? Share your thoughts in the comments! We thrive on your feedback as we continue to grow the St. Louis Startup, Tech, and Marketing Ecosystem. If you have an event or important deadline, please email us at [email protected].
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