St. Louis is rolling out the red carpet for innovators! This week of February 23 – March 1, 2026 features premier events for entrepreneurs, tech professionals, and marketing leaders seeking to expand their impact. Our Founder, Erik Lutenegger, delivers your curated guide to the opportunities ahead.
ESO, Accelerator, and Funding Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunities at LaunchCode
LaunchCode is seeking volunteers for upcoming virtual opportunities supporting data analysis students and early-career technologists. Opportunities include mock interviews, capstone project evaluations, demo day facilitation, and Lunch & Learn speaking engagements on topics like software development, AI, cybersecurity, and professional growth. Volunteers receive guidance and help learners prepare for careers in tech. (Volunteer)
Speaking Opportunities with TechSTL
TechSTL is seeking trainers to lead 45-minute, hands-on workshops across two programs: DevLAB and BuildIT. DevLAB focuses on intermediate developers building real portfolio projects with in-demand tools at T-REX, while BuildIT delivers practical AI workshops for small businesses, startups, and nonprofits at CIC @ Cortex, helping teams move from AI experimentation to real-world execution. (Speaking)
Application Open // Small Business Success Program | Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis
Built for small businesses ready to level up, this bilingual program blends personalized coaching, expert mentorship, and hands-on workshops to help established, revenue-generating companies grow with confidence. Participants gain practical tools, tailored strategies, and a supportive peer community designed to turn momentum into sustainable, year-over-year growth. (Incubator)
Due February 28 // Next Up Missouri | Missouri Business Alert
Missouri’s next wave of builders, founders, and changemakers is getting the spotlight. This statewide recognition celebrates young innovators ages 10–25 who are launching businesses, leading bold initiatives, and solving real problems proving that impact doesn’t wait for adulthood. (Community Award)
Due March 13 // SLU New Venture Accelerator | Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship
Designed for Saint Louis University students and recent alumni, this 14-week accelerator helps founders turn ideas into fundable ventures through hands-on mentorship, customer discovery, and business-building support. Participants may access up to $50,000 in equity-free funding and cap the experience with an investor-facing demo day. (Accelerator)
Due March 20 (Preferred) // Inc 5000
This annual recognition honors the fastest-growing private companies in the United States, highlighting exceptional revenue growth and entrepreneurial success. Honorees gain national visibility through editorial coverage, a permanent company profile, and association with past industry-defining businesses. January 30th is the Early Rate Deadline. (Industry Award)
Due March 31 // Arch Grants Competition
This global startup competition awards $75,000 in equity-free funding to early-stage, scalable companies, with an additional $25,000 for those relocating. In exchange for headquartering in St. Louis for one year, founders gain capital, expert evaluation, mentorship, fundraising support, and access to a powerful regional startup ecosystem. (Competition)
Startup, Tech, and Marketing Events
February 23
Accelerate Your Income Free 5-Day Challenge for Women Business Owners | Aviatra Accelerators
Unite with other women business owners in a five-day online experience featuring daily noon Zoom lessons focused on confidence, customer connection and compelling messaging, short implementation tasks to practice each strategy, and a final hour-long session that ties tactics together with goal planning and inspiration. (Virtual)
Deepen Your Relationships: Tools to spark vulnerability, connect deeply and feel seen | CreativeMornings
Experience a lively, participatory session focused on how real connection forms and why intimacy varies across relationships. You’ll learn simple techniques to turn small talk into meaningful dialogue, practice in mandatory breakout rooms, and play a playful connection game to reinforce new skills. (Virtual)
How to Do Prompt Tracking on a Budget | Moz
Dive into proven, cost-conscious prompt-tracking tactics as an experienced AI search leader demonstrates how to prioritize prompts, set up efficient tracking, and leverage the collected data to improve model visibility, performance, and the way you report impact to decision-makers. (Virtual)
February 24
AI for Marketing: AI for Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success Blueprints | SmarterX
Engage in three focused sessions that translate AI theory into hands-on applications: scaling marketing workflows, powering personalized sales activities, and improving customer success outcomes, complemented by live discussion, audience Q&A, and ungated access to the session-specific AI blueprints. (Virtual)
Generative AI Basics | General Assembly
Explore a practical, beginner-friendly hour that focuses less on theory and more on usable skills: clear explanations of LLMs, prompt techniques, bias and responsible AI fundamentals, plus a live demo showing how generative tools can streamline everyday work and home tasks. (Virtual)
Ditching the spreadsheet: When and how to switch to cloud accounting | Enterprise Nation
Attend an expert-led online session explaining when manual bookkeeping becomes inefficient, how to transition smoothly to cloud accounting, and what features to prioritise; expect actionable guidance on organising digital records, cutting admin time, and leveraging AI to improve financial visibility and decision-making. (Virtual)
BuildIT: AI Bootcamp for Businesses & Nonprofits | TechSTL
Bask in an interactive, 90-minute session designed for businesses and nonprofits to convert priorities into measurable steps, standardize inconsistent processes into checklists, and transform strategy documents into short training decks complete with knowledge checks and discussion prompts. (In-Person | CIC St. Louis – CET)
Understand the AI Engineer’s Tech Stack | DataCamp
Explore how an applied AI engineer organizes tools across the full development lifecycle, from preparing datasets to shipping reliable inference. The session maps where frameworks and platforms fit, highlights selection criteria, and shares best practices for simplifying complexity while keeping pace with new releases. (Virtual)
Your Pipeline Is Lying to You: How AI Reveals the Revenue You’re Missing | Demandbase
Enjoy a deep dive into AI-driven demand generation, where predictive analytics sharpen prospect prioritization, personalization tailors messaging to individuals, and campaigns self-optimize in real time, all while surfacing actionable sales intelligence to accelerate pipeline conversion and revenue realization. (Virtual)
Founder’s Guide to AI: Building a Marketing Engine with AI | Founder Institute
Network with fellow founders in a hands-on workshop where Trevor Longino walks through building an AI-powered marketing engine, covering strategies, practical tools, content workflows, and tactics to scale outreach while preserving your brand voice in real time during an interactive 90-minute online session. (Virtual)
Executing Smarter Marketing: Tools That Drive Speed, Alignment, and Reach | American Marketing Association
Kick off a focused webinar featuring a keynote and three vendor-led demos that illustrate how AI agents, a centralized DAM, and autonomous programmatic advertising can eliminate busywork, align stakeholders, accelerate content delivery, and improve campaign measurement across channels. (Virtual)
Python + Agents: Building your first agent in Python | Microsoft Reactor
Understand the fundamentals of agent design as the instructor dissects an agent’s components, demonstrates tool calling workflows from one tool to many, and shows how a supervisor agent orchestrates subtasks across subagents, including hands-on tips for using DevUI to debug and inspect agents. (Virtual)
How Founders Can Use AI to Work Less & Make More Money | Entrepreneur Media
Revel in a hands-on session led by Chris Winfield that reveals why overwhelm is a leverage issue and how AI can remove the bottleneck, handle marketing, operations, and decision work, and free founders to prioritize growth while preserving their human voice. (Virtual)
Build & Scale AI Agents: From Prototype to Production | Google Cloud
Discover pragmatic guidance on production hardening, including latency and cost trade-offs, fault tolerance, security considerations, and governance policies that make AI agents safe and operational at scale. (Virtual)
February Virtual Meet and Greet | Techstars
Indulge in a concise online conversation with Techstars team members focused on the accelerator experience: discover when applications open, learn step-by-step submission advice, receive on-the-spot responses to your questions, and determine if the mentorship-driven path suits your startup’s trajectory. (Virtual)
The New Mobile Reality: Attention, AI, and the Race for Consumer Time | Emarketer
Kickstart your understanding of the evolving mobile ecosystem with a focused session that examines AI-powered app trends, the intensifying race for attention among non-game apps, and concrete opportunities for advertisers and marketers to capitalize on global shifts in user engagement. (Virtual)
Podcast & YouTube Creators Community – Podcasting 101: The 2026 Edition | Gearhart Law
Savor an evening of concrete guidance on turning ideas into a polished show: learn dual-format recording practices, AI fast-track methods for editing and promotion, on-camera presence techniques, and a profit-focused content strategy, plus live demos and practical next steps to implement. (Virtual)
Beyond Vibes – AI Coding Meetup | Saint Louis Generative AI Lab
Uncover practical approaches to integrating AI into everyday development during a hands-on meetup that welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners. Expect live demonstrations, workflow breakdowns, and peer exchanges that illuminate real-world methods for using AI to generate, understand, and refine code. (In-Person | Renaissance AI Lab)
February 25
Standing in the Gap With Dignity | 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis
Appreciate a candid, solutions-focused conversation where residents, funders, and service providers convene to examine housing, childcare, and food access challenges; through examples and dialogue, attendees will explore how coordinated, dignity-centered efforts create pathways to resilience rather than temporary relief. (In-Person | 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis)
PitchSTL
Learn from hands-on pitch sessions featuring short six-minute presentations and extended twenty-minute Q&A and feedback, mingle with local entrepreneurs, tap into a suite of startup resources, and consider supporting the community through sponsorships, donations, or board membership opportunities. (In-Person | Northside Economic Empowerment Center)
February BOSS Bia Brew & Biz Tour | Nicole Ingram
Cherish a relaxed yet productive morning where local business owners and professionals meet over coffee, participate in facilitated networking, hear short actionable insights from the host, and leave with new connections, fresh ideas, and potential collaborators to grow their ventures. (In-Person | Cafe Fleur De Lis)
Beyond the Hype: AI’s Impact on Headcount and Business Value | Gartner
Uncover a practical way to judge where AI truly creates economic value across key processes, and where promised labor savings don’t materialize. Expect real-world examples contrasting productivity gains with missteps, plus a clear method for evaluating job impact beyond role-based assumptions. (Virtual)
Building for AEO: Ownership, agencies, and execution | Webflow
Kickstart your AEO implementation with insights from practitioners who’ve operationalized AI-driven search, exploring why efforts stall, how to structure agency partnerships effectively, and the content workflows and measurement frameworks that enable teams to move from strategy to repeatable execution across channels. (Virtual)
Using AI to Conquer Social Media | Ohio SBDC at Miami Valley
Enhance your social media approach through a guided session that breaks down AI-driven content ideation, caption generation, and scheduling tactics, with examples and best practices provided to help small business owners efficiently scale engagement and maintain consistent messaging. (Virtual)
M/WBE Goods & Services Mentors: Scale Up Sustainably | NYC Department of Small Business Services
Unite with other certified M/WBEs for an action-oriented virtual program that blends mentor stories, tactical guidance on hiring and managing subcontractors, and operational scaling tips, followed by breakout conversations and networking to help you pursue larger contracts confidently and sustainably. (Virtual)
GRIT February Luncheon | Jennifer Bardot, G.R.I.T Founder
Kick off an intentional midday experience focused on rebuilding self-trust through Remothering methods, featuring guided activities, reflective prompts, and group processing that encourage participants to practice compassionate inner dialogue and integrate nurturing habits for improved emotional wellbeing. (In-Person | The Lodge)
Get Expert Advice for Your New Business | Kirkwood Public Library
Engage in a monthly, hour-long virtual consultation that lets entrepreneurs bring pressing startup questions—about business models, pitching, marketing campaigns, hiring and processes—and get practical, personalized input from an experienced startup advisor; attendees must register to receive the Zoom link. (Virtual)
Startup Taxes 101: Strategies for Navigating Equity and Startup Growth | Carta
Transform how equity decisions are made by unpacking QSBS qualifications, benefits, and frequent pitfalls, with special attention to timing implications around fundraising and long-hold requirements. Expect clear guidance on aligning equity structure with long-term outcomes as the company scales. (Virtual)
The Art of Delegation for Creatives: When, Why, and How to Hire Support | Freelancers Union
Unveil practical strategies for scaling a freelance creative practice, from spotting delegation triggers to selecting collaborators or contractors, drafting realistic budgets and compensation, and conducting emotional and structural readiness reviews to support steady, values-driven growth. (Virtual)
The Agentic Shift: Designing AI That Can Reason, Plan, and Act | Data Science Connect
Immerse in an enterprise-focused framework for building AI that can reason, plan, and act while respecting organizational constraints. The session outlines readiness requirements, integration points, and oversight mechanisms that balance autonomy with accountability, clarifying how to operationalize agentic workflows without sacrificing trust. (Virtual)
How To Get 5-10 New High Paying Clients In 90 Days Using AI | Network After Work
Venture into a live educational event focused on landing five to ten premium clients in ninety days through AI: attendees will learn automated lead-generation setups, seven contemporary digital selling approaches, streamlined follow-up processes, and insider guidance on the leading AI resource driving these strategies. (Virtual)
Ethical AI in 2026: What Leaders Need to Know Now | NY Public Library, Thomas Yoseloff Business Center
Learn from seasoned experts how to align AI deployment with organizational values and customer trust, and where the greatest risks and opportunities lie. Expect practical strategies for ethical decision-making, measurement approaches, and guidance on embedding accountability into teams, processes, and culture. (Virtual)
Safeguarding Your Business: Using NDAs, Non-Competes & Non-Solicits | Start Small Think Big
Elevate contract confidence with a practical walkthrough of drafting and reviewing key provisions that drive compliance and enforceability. The discussion covers how standards affect what holds up, what to document, and how to respond when obligations are breached or challenged. (Virtual)
Strictly Social | T-REX
Dive into a relaxed, happy hour where networking takes center stage, free drinks are poured by VIP bartenders Jeff and Randy Vines, and conversation flows freely. Expect no formal agenda—just local camaraderie, signature apparel stories, and a chance to connect with movers and shakers. (In-Person | T-REX)
Cocktail Connections | SMPS St. Louis
Embrace a casual networking series crafted for A/E/C professionals seeking to expand connections in an inviting setting, hosted quarterly at different venues. Registration includes your initial drink, with separate member and nonmember pricing. Reach out to the program contact with any inquiries. (In-Person | Global Brew Tap House)
Build & Protect: Small Business Protection & Opportunity Overview | Porscha Anderson
Marvel at a compact, one-hour workshop that walks you through contract protection, trademark considerations, and tax support essentials; presenters outline straightforward steps to minimize legal exposure while spotlighting ways to generate supplementary revenue streams tailored to small business needs. (In-Person | CIC St. Louis – 20 S. Sarah)
Craft a Winning Government Contracting Capability Statement | St. Louis County Library
Transform your business pitch by developing a polished 1–2 page capability statement in this workshop, learning how to prioritize qualifications, articulate core competencies, and present past performance clearly to attract government clients and contracting partners, available in person and virtually. (In-Person | Clark Family Branch)
February 26
How to Win Mindshare with Influencer Campaigns | MarketingProfs
Explore tactical frameworks and example campaigns that show how creative gifting and video can boost reach and lasting mindshare, plus practical measurement approaches to connect influencer activity to demand generation—ideal for marketers launching first campaigns or scaling what already works. (Virtual)
Developing Financial Projections for Your New Small Business | SCORE (SBA)
Savor a practical walkthrough designed for startups where certified SCORE mentors demonstrate calculating startup costs, developing sales forecasts, and preparing projected profit-and-loss and cash flow statements during the live webinar, with a recording available to registrants for later review. (Virtual)
Innovators Hour: Speakers – Jon Silva & Jennifer Avari Silva, SentiAR | Biogenerator
Kickstart your visit by checking in before the curated discussion led by SentiAR at 5:00 PM, then stay for a structured networking session lasting until 6:30 PM to converse with presenters and peers and exchange contact information. (In-Person | BioSTL)
Founders Lounge Global | Powered by Metis Analytics
Revel in a conversational, weekly virtual session designed for builders who want to move beyond using AI to understanding it deeply, featuring hands-on insights, real-world case discussions, system design exploration, and open knowledge sharing to help attendees apply AI deliberately and effectively. (In-Person | Spark Coworking – St. Louis)
Quarterly Professional Networking | Black Girls Do STEM
Connect across STEM fields in a welcoming setting designed to unite corporate ERGs with students and professionals through conversation, learning, and shared celebration. Food and drinks accompany community fundraising to strengthen youth programming, while a youth committee presents the inaugural STEM legacy award as part of Black History Month. (In-Person | House of Soul)
February 27
AI & funders – what are Trusts and Foundations seeing, thinking and doing? | Blume
Unite with sector leaders for a short, sharp session revealing what funders have encountered with AI in bids, the policies and judgments they use to manage AI content, practical dos and don’ts for small charities, and likely future adjustments to funding workflows. (Virtual)
CEO’s at the CIE: A Conversation with Roy Whitley | Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Attend an engaging hour-long discussion where Roy Whitley outlines his leadership philosophy, how purpose guides business strategy, and the executive decision-making processes that shaped his career, followed by audience interaction and advice for professionals aiming for senior roles. (In-Person | Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship)
Introduction to Codex | Open AI Academy
Admire a beginner-friendly briefing on Codex that unpacks its core functions, demonstrates concrete examples of using it for real work and daily tasks, and provides actionable insights for non-technical attendees to benefit immediately and collaborate more productively with technical teams. (Virtual)
Bourbon Friday | Sponsored by Tenacity
Gain fresh contacts and candid insights from the local startup scene while participating in guided bourbon tastings and open mingling; the event blends social sipping with purposeful conversation so attendees can leave inspired, informed, and a little more connected. (In-Person | TechArtista UCity)
Code til Dawn (February) | TechSTL
Understand a late-night, hands-on working session where developers, designers, data analysts, and product builders gather to advance active projects, access seasoned mentors for one-on-one guidance, enjoy provided food, and collaborate in a focused, peer-driven atmosphere built for making measurable progress. (In-Person | CIC St. Louis – 20 S. Sarah)
February 28
MARTECH AFRICA 3.0 | Yournotify
Kick off a day of practical MarTech learning with demonstrations, exhibitor showcases and interactive discussions that reveal how brands can design experiences to drive advocacy, leverage data to close engagement-retention loops, and apply automation for smarter, repeatable customer growth cycles. (Virtual)
March 1
St. Louis Code and Coffee
Embark on a relaxed, inclusive co-working session where attendees bring personal tech projects, swap skills, and socialize over coffee; the event opens with brief introductions and organizer announcements, then self-organized coding, optional member-led workshops, and open collaboration until closing. (In-Person | TechArtista UCity)
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What’s the one thing you’re most geeked about this week? Tell us in the comments! Your contribution to the conversation about the St. Louis Startup, Tech, and Marketing Ecosystem is greatly appreciated. For event listings, email us at [email protected].
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