The St. Louis region has opportunities for entrepreneurs, tech experts, and marketers to connect, learn, and have fun. Our ecosystem offers networking events, business assistance, skill development, and enjoyable experiences. Check out this overview of events and opportunities shared by our Founder, Erik Lutenegger, happening in St. Louis during the week of April 3-7, 2023!
Funding, Accelerator, and ESO Opportunities
Are you looking for Accelerators, Incubators, or Funding? Here’s an excellent place to start!
Apply Now // Free WordPress Speed Optimizations from SwingSpan
Tenacity has officially launched SwingSpan, a Digital Divide program that provides free WordPress Speed Optimizations for Non-profits. So if you are part of a non-profit or know someone who is, and they use WordPress for their website, apply at Swingspan.app. (Free Help)
Open Now // TechWeek St. Louis Sign-ups | TechSTL
Techweek St. Louis is just around the corner, and if you want to be part of the action? There are three ways to get involved Partner or Sponsor, apply to Speak or Host, or Join the Planning Committee.
Sponsorship Kit
Apply to Speak
Volunteer
(Community Opportunity)
Due April 4 // Olin’s BIG IdeaBounce | Skandalaris Center
This is a 2-minute video elevator pitch contest open to all WashU students. All ideas will receive personalized feedback from a panel of experienced judges and mentors and a chance to win up to $3,000 to help get your big idea off the ground. (Pitch Competition)
Due April 5 // Techstars Accelerator
Accelerator applications are due for Atlanta, Boulder, Farm to Fork, Tech Central Sydney, and Riyadh. (Accelerator)
Due April 9 // LIFT Labs Accelerator: Generative AI
This is a newly reimagined, six-week, equity-free program for startups at various stages, focusing on those leveraging Generative AI. The accelerator offers access to a network of mentors, businesses, and corporate partners for long-term strategic partnerships. It is designed for companies seeking collaboration with major enterprises like Comcast NBCUniversal. (Accelerator)
Due April 14 // GlobalSTL Health Innovation Summit: Innovator
The GlobalSTL Business Development Platform is the premier US healthcare platform connecting you to $410B of healthcare buying power across our 18 strategic partner organizations. If selected, you will get face-to-face meetings with curated customers who have expressed interest in your solution. (Leads)
Due April 14 // AnitaB.org PitcHER
In collaboration with Backstage Capital, this pitch competition brings leading women and non-binary entrepreneurs to the Grace Hopper Celebration – the world’s largest gathering of women and non-binary technologists – to support, encourage, and provide new funding opportunities to these entrepreneurs. Six finalists will compete for a total of $100,000 in investment capital. (Pitch Competition)
Due May 9 // MIT Solve’s Global Challenges
Seeking social entrepreneurs using technology to solve today’s most pressing problems. Those selected will join a nine-month support program and receive access to over $1 million in funding, grants, and investments. (Accelerator)
Marketing, AI, and Startup Events
Events on April 3
STL Influencer Bootcamp
Join Finnegan Stewart and Braden Tewolde to learn everything you need to know to become a social media influencer. This free event will cover social media strategy, analytics, audience engagement, and more, aiming to create a thriving community of influencers in St. Louis.
(In-Person)
AI + Design Mini-Symposium | Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts and the McKelvey School of Engineering
This is your opportunity to explore the intersections of artificial intelligence and design. And features a keynote speech by Krishna Bharat, a research scientist at Google, and three sessions covering topics like creativity, interaction design, and current issues in AI.
(In-Person)
Events on April 4
Driven by Purpose: Doing Well by Doing Good at Mastercard | Chaifetz School of Business
Rahul Deshpande, Senior VP and CTO of Ethoca, a Mastercard Company, will speak about their mission to build a sustainable and inclusive digital economy and the importance of serving stakeholders’ interests.
(In-Person)
How to Solve the Landing Page Problem in Paid Search With a Little Help From AI Content | MarketingProfs
Too many search terms in paid ad campaigns lead to a single landing page that can’t match the different search intents behind all those clicks. The result? Wasted spending and missed leads. Here you’ll learn a three-step process to solve that problem with AI’s help. (Virtual)
Turning Hours into Seconds Using AI for Your Content Marketing | Orange County Inland Empire SBDC
At this session titled The Top AI Tools Big Agencies Are Using Today, you will receive an overview of the tools that use artificial intelligence and the process to evaluate the right AI tools for your business. (Virtual)
Lunch and Learn: Use digital marketing to make an impact on your business | Enterprise Nation
At this 30-minute event, you’ll discover strategies and tips for small business owners, find out what to consider when planning, and learn about the common missed opportunities.
This one is GMT, so it is more like breakfast and learn. (Virtual)
Soft Skills: Essential to the Future of Work | Heartland Black Chamber
Topics include the unique value of soft skills in the age of automation and AI, how they can boost revenue and productivity, and the competitive edge they provide. (In-Person)
Inno: Startups to Watch | St. Louis Business Journal
Startups to Watch are companies on the cusp of making headlines in the years to come. Those startups are Pivto Digital Learning, Impetus Agriculture, Solis Agrosciences, Inclusively, Dataplant, WingXpand, ScholarPath, Peptyde Bio, and CuriMeta. The program also includes a panel with Sarah Bernard of Inclusively and Mary Fernandes of Solis AgroSciences. (In-Person)
Events on April 5
1 Million Cups St. Louis | Presenter: Chiara Carroll Bridal & Benefit Bump
This event is for local entrepreneurs to meet and present their startups to the innovation community here in St. Louis. (In-Person)
Getting Your First 10 Customers as an Entrepreneur | Founder Institute
This webinar is for budding entrepreneurs aiming to secure their first 10 customers. You’ll learn effective market research, client identification, compelling outreach campaigns, and overcoming common challenges from expert speaker Vaibhav Namburi, Founder of SmartWriter. Vaibhav’s platforms are used by major businesses, and he has advised 55 funded startups, contributing to $200M in funding and $14M in monthly revenue.
(Virtual)
Events on April 6
April 6-7 // It’s Your Turn: Starting Your Own Business After Corporate | Higher House
This free, two-day Zoom workshop is designed to help corporate leaders transition into entrepreneurship. The event focuses on identifying barriers, aligning skills, talents, and passions, and supporting the development of a business model that authentically represents the individual.
(Virtual)
Enhancing the Customer Experience Through Open Finance | Insider Intelligence
At this event, you’ll hear what key consumer trends are driving the advancement of open finance, how to safeguard customer account data across banks, credit unions, and fintech apps of their choice, and critical requirements and best practices for the future of digital finance and the open economy.
(Virtual)
Grow Your Instagram Presence | Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center
This webinar features Valentina Escobar-Gonzalez, who will demystify key Instagram marketing tactics for businesses. You can learn to effectively use hashtags, stories, reels, and video storytelling to maximize reach and gain insights to create engaging content and write persuasive copy, helping your business stay ahead in the ever-evolving marketing landscape.
(Virtual)
Google My Business | New Growth Women’s Business Center
In this free webinar, digital media specialist Mackenzie Scherer will review setting up and optimizing Google My Business listings for local searches. You’ll learn tips and tricks marketing companies use to grow local online presence and understand web analytics.
(Virtual)
Designing a Digital Marketing Strategy for Growth | Enterprise University
This webinar covers using data, content, and optimized paid media for measurable business impact. Topics include mapping customer journeys, choosing the best social and digital channels, and using data to measure marketing effectiveness.
(Virtual)
Venture Cafe St. Louis
The theme for that evening is Serendipitous Collisions. Highlights include Community Connections, Share Your Adventure, What do YOU Thinks, and Venture Cafe 101.
(In-Person)
Demo Day: DEI3 | UMSL Accelerate
This is the culminating event for this DEI3 and showcases six innovative founders from diverse backgrounds. You’ll startup pitches, a documentary screening, meet-and-greets, interactive activities, and complimentary refreshments. DEI3 Founders include: B Juiced, FYSIQ, JAKAPA, Mr. Fresh, My Friends And I, and Posie Pots (In-Person)
Events on April 7
Bourbon Friday | TechArtista Downtown
It’s Friday, and it’s not Friday without Bourbon Friday. And you can join us at Techartista Downtown for our weekly social gathering celebrating the St. Louis startup scene. Stop by for 3 minutes or 3 hours for more great drinks and better conversations. (In-Person)
Join us on Meetup or Tiktok
What are you excited for this week? What do we need in St. Louis Startup, Tech, and Marketing Ecosystem? Let us know in the comments!
Have an event or important date coming up, please email us at events@bourbonfriday.show.