From Philanthropy Awards to the Skandalaris Venture Competition to free Speed Optimizations for Non-Profits to Pitches Get Stiches: Grudge Match to Amazon Ads to Collide: Artificial Intelligence to Bourbon Friday, here’s a rundown from our Founder Erik Lutenegger of Events & Opportunities in St. Louis this week coming up the week of January 16-20, 2023!
ESO, Accelerator, and Funding Opportunities
Are you looking for Accelerators, Incubators or Funding? Here’s an excellent place to start!
Apply Now // Free WordPress Speed Optimizations – 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 – SLUStart I-Corps Application
This program is from the Research Innovation Group in Saint Louis University’s Office of the Vice President for Research. It is designed to help researchers, inventors, and innovators in the St. Louis region extend their focus beyond academia and the lab to create successful products and services that deliver real value through entrepreneurship. (Incubator)
Due January 24 // BALSA Grant
This program helps first-time entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground. It’s a 1kay cash grant, a 10-week entrepreneur training program that includes one-on-one mentoring and up to $20,000 in In-kind professional services.
Due January 29 // Innovation in Philanthropy Awards 2023 | St. Louis Business Journal
Nominations are due for the Innovation in Philanthropy Awards 2023 from St. Louis Business Journal. This is to highlight the contributions St. Louis businesses have made to their communities by recognizing the combination of their cash and in-kind donations in the St. Louis region.
Due January 30 // Skandalaris Venture Competition
This program includes Mentorship and prizes up to $25k, and is for any current WashU students, and all WashU alums within one year of graduation with an early-stage startup are eligible. Teams will develop materials to explain the idea they are working on to a broad audience. (Incubator & Pitch Competition)
Due February 1 // Techstars Accelerator Applications
Accelerator applications are due for Build in Tulsa, Industries of the Future, Washington DC, Web3, Audi Denkwerkstatt Founder Innovation Lab (Accelerator)
Due February 8 // Innovation, Development, and Entrepreneurial Advancement (IDEA) Fund – Missouri Technology Corporation
The IDEA Fund makes direct equity-based investments in Missouri’s most promising emerging companies to promote growth and encourage additional future investment. They have 3 programs the TechLaunch for pre-seed, Seed Capital for the Seed stage, and the Venture Capital Program, which supports technology startups through matching equity or convertible debt investments up to $2,000,000. (Funding)
Startup, Tech, and Marketing Events
Events on January 16
How Early-Stage Founders Can Thrive in Competitive Markets | Founder Institute
Speaker Peep Laja will discuss how your business can stand out and scale by following a well-organized and systematic action plan. You’ll learn how to create a brand narrative and positioning that is unique to you, claim a category that sets you apart from others and protect your competitive advantage. (Virtual)
Events on January 17
Ready, Set, Startup | Missouri SBDC
At this webinar, they’ll explore the steps needed to get your startup off the ground. So that you can get your ducks in a row and start off with a solid foundation. (Virtual)
The Best Start Up Strategies For Starting A Small Business | SCORE
In this webinar, Ramon Ray, a serial entrepreneur and best-selling author, will share tips on starting a business correctly. He will cover the importance of good planning and thoughtful strategy in determining a business’s success. And you’ll learn to define what problem your business is solving, who the ideal customer for your business is, and how to determine your price. (Virtual)
Search and Display Strategies to Jump-Start Your 2023 Sales | Insider Intelligence
This webinar’s goal is to help you make the most of Amazon advertising and will teach you how to effectively use Amazon advertising within a leaner budget by targeting customers, using various ad formats, and creating strategies to convert customers. (Virtual)
Pitches Get Stitches: Grudge Match! | bizblip
This is the culmination of a series of pitch competitions for early-stage tech startups in Missouri. Contestants at Grudge Match participated in but did not win, and they’re coming back to show off how much their startup has grown in the intervening months. Pitching will be Approach Dating, Buswell Biomedical, Jabberwocky, TimeBolt, Da Hood Talks, Visural Intelligence, and Shades of Color. (In-Person)
Events on January 18
Ask Me Anything: UX Design | General Assembly
At this live Q&A session, a UX designer will provide an overview of their journey into UX design and answer common questions about the field. And you can ask your own questions and gain a basic understanding of UX design and the opportunities in the field, learn transferable skills and what you’ll need to learn, and feel confident about the next steps to enter a UX design career. (Virtual)
Social Media Best Practices | City of Saint Charles
At this panel discussion at the Foundry Art Centre, they’ll cover best social media practices, tips, and organizational hacks. The panel is Jeanie Smith, Social Media Manager for the Francis Howell School District, and Meg Smidt from Your Coach Meg. (In-Person)
The Importance of Brand Tracking in 2023 | AMA St. Louis
This webinar will discuss how brands can use tracking research to understand their performance and how automation improves efficiency and speed of data access. The speakers from leading brands Eurowings, Pharmavite, and quantilope will discuss how they use tracking research to drive business results, with cost savings of up to 80% compared to traditional agencies. (Virtual)
Events on January 19
Personalization: The Key to Delivering ROI in 2023 | MarketingProfs
96% of decision-makers feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of people trying to get their attention. If you are a marketer trying to break through, you may need some help. Here you’ll learn why more than your current marketing strategy is necessary, how to use personalization to fuel revenue growth and drive loyalty, and see case studies of successful marketers and businesses. (Virtual)
Innovation Conversations: Jason Bockman | Skandalaris Center
At this event, owner of Strange Donuts, Jason Bockman, will speak about his journey to entrepreneurship and how the entrepreneurial mindset is essential. He will share his unique story and how he’s driving change. This event is part of the Innovation Conversations series, which aims to expose students to various creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs at WashU and in the St. Louis community. (In-Person)
The Business Hour at Spark St. Louis | STL Bucket List & theSTLGuide
This event includes a happy hour, and a Strategic Thinking workshop, followed by a speaker, Kevin Lashley, from St. Patrick’s Center, who will share his expertise and mission to revamp how non-profits brand their organizations. He will also discuss his new company, “Without Walls Marketing,” which helps organizations and individuals grow their brands and reach their target audience. (In-Person)
Venture Cafe St. Louis: Collide: Artificial Intelligence with TechSTL
This month’s focus is Artificial Intelligence with Object Computing, IntegrityXD, Saint Louis University, Scale, Balto, and Capacity. As well as the special presenter Dave Costenaro speaking on “AI in Blockchain & Web3.” (In-Person)
Events on January 20
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. Don’t forget to help us select our Featured Bourbon of the Week by following us on Instagram! (In-Person)
Events on January 22
St. Louis Code and Coffee | TechArtista UCity
If you are interested in coding at any level and want a community to connect with and share ideas, this is an informal meetup for anyone to work/hack on their project. (In-Person)
What applications are you working on? What events 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.