Luck of the Irish or not, the week of March 16-22, 2026 is packed with golden opportunities for St. Louis entrepreneurs, tech professionals, and marketers. With St. Patrick’s Day adding a festive twist to the week, there’s even more reason to get out and connect. Erik Lutenegger, our Founder, has rounded up the best events and opportunities covering networking, business growth, skill development, and a bit of celebration.
ESO, Accelerator, and Funding Opportunities
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
March 16
March 16-19 // NVIDIA GTC 2026 | NVIDIA
Take in a full slate of practical learning opportunities, workshops, labs, and training sessions to master model fine-tuning, inference scaling, and robotics integration; enjoy live demos, curated session recommendations, poster galleries, and dedicated spaces for startups, VCs, and cross-disciplinary developer collaboration. (Virtual)
Context Engineering for AI Agents | DataCamp
Explore the role of context in advancing AI beyond basic prompts through a code-along session focused on performance, reliability, and user experience. Through hands-on examples, participants see how Neo4j supports memory-driven workflows for chatbots and autonomous agents. (Virtual)
10 AI Tools Every Property Manager Should Be Using to Work Smarter and Faster | NARPM
Ignite your workflow with demonstrations of time-saving AI applications, automated leasing sequences, and integration approaches, then join a virtual town hall to engage directly with elected officials, hear policy priorities, and get immediate responses to the issues affecting your business and community. (Virtual)
Create a Focused Photo Series: for your Art or Brand | CreativeMornings
Uncover a practical workflow for building a cohesive photo series as the host guides you through simplifying shoots, identifying creative blocks, and addressing commonly missed steps. The hands-on workshop invites one photo goal, optional pre-uploaded images, and encourages curiosity over perfection. (Virtual)
The Power of Capital | Urban League Center for Entrepreneurship
Appreciate a concise, two-hour session that blends socializing with practical finance education, offering clear explanations of capital dynamics, real-world applications for entrepreneurs and individuals, and opportunities to ask questions, network with peers, and leave with concrete next steps. (In-Person | Urban League HQ)
Interactive FigJam UX Design Workshop Rethinking E-Commerce | UX Woman
Elevate your design practice with an interactive FigJam experience focused on rethinking common e-commerce conventions; through structured activities, peer review, and live iteration, attendees explore alternative layouts, discovery flows, and checkout solutions to improve conversion and user satisfaction. (Virtual)
Amazing African Women Leaders and Trailblazers | NY Public Library, Thomas Yoseloff Business Center
Participate in a Zoom webinar where seasoned leaders share journeys across entrepreneurship, marketing, and education, discussing obstacles overcome, ethical considerations in tech and AI, career strategies, and moments of determination that reveal how dedication and collaboration drive meaningful progress in professional life. (Virtual)
March 17
How a podcast becomes your best business development tool | Enterprise Nation
Immerse yourself in a compact webinar where an experienced advisor explains how to inform, intrigue, and entertain listeners, turning attention into understanding and sales opportunities while outlining the practical steps to produce a podcast that consistently generates high-value leads for your business. (Virtual)
Why Your Next AI Accelerator Should Be an FPGA | Edge AI and Vision Alliance
Gain insight into how FPGAs function as both an AI accelerator and a system-integration platform, combining sensor I/O, signal processing, pre- and post-processing, and neural inference. Real-world embedded vision comparisons and a decision framework ground the discussion in practical engineering trade-offs. (Virtual)
Small Business Financials 101 | SCORE / U.S. Small Business Administration
Savor a focused, accessible training that walks through the purpose and structure of the Profit and Loss statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow projections, teaching attendees how to interpret numbers and apply insights to day-to-day and strategic business decisions without prior accounting experience. (Virtual)
Virtual Conference: Trust and Privacy in Data Marketing | American Marketing Association
Take in practical guidance from industry leaders on navigating consent, regulatory shifts, and trust-building in data-driven marketing. Sessions include real-world examples and a keynote that breaks down data types, external data use cases, and how to vet third-party sources responsibly. (Virtual)
Your Website, Reimagined: How to Plan, Build & Revamp with AI | LA Regional SBDC Network
Discover a hands-on approach to planning and revamping websites using AI tools for strategy and content, paired with demonstrations of contemporary builders and AI-native platforms, so you depart with a tangible roadmap and the know-how to build or update a polished site independently. (Virtual)
Cash Flow Survival for a First-Time Founder | Founder Institute
Embrace a practical, hands-on session with Oz Merchant to master the basics of startup cash flow, key financial metrics, budgeting tactics, and common pitfalls. Expect actionable advice on when to scale, how to make smarter financial decisions, and tools to sustain early-stage business growth. (Virtual)
How to Stand Out in Job Interviews | General Assembly
Enhance your interview toolkit through guided practice using practical frameworks that transform workplace experiences into clear, compelling answers. Learn what evaluators prioritize, avoid overexplaining, and gain actionable tips to project confidence and professionalism in high-stakes interview conversations. (Virtual)
Intellectual Property Basics and Helpful Resources | Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at UW–Madison
Learn the essentials of intellectual property as this interactive session explains patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets in a practical business context. It clarifies how protection supports innovation, outlines filing considerations, and highlights common mistakes that can create legal and commercial risk. (Virtual)
Closing a VC Fund During Market Uncertainty | VC Lab
Gain actionable guidance from experienced investors in sessions that explore Q2 venture trends, niche fund strategies, AI-enabled back-office tools, and real-world founder stories, alongside cohort-oriented sprints that walk participants through thesis, pitch refinement, and fund economics preparation. (Virtual)
From Dorm Room to 2,000 Locations: Building a Mission-Driven Startup That Scales with Luke Saunders | Skandalaris Center
Dive into a candid conversation where a founder traces the journey from student entrepreneurship to building a mission-driven company operating thousands of locations, sharing practical scaling strategies, operational insights, and reflections on how early, hands-on ownership shaped long-term business decisions. (In-Person | Bauer Hall @ WashU)
Cocktail Making Party | Pour Decisions STL
Kickstart your home bartending skills in an interactive, in-person session that covers real technique, guided preparation of three signature cocktails, hands-on shaking and mixing, plus provided tools, spirits and food, culminating with recipes to take home and reproduce. (In-Person | The Passport Cocktail & Wine Bar)
March 18
Advanced Technologies for Environmental Sensing Applications | MDPI Sensors
Uncover how advanced sensing technologies are shaping environmental applications in a session designed for researchers, academics, and technical professionals. Alongside the core discussion, participants receive details on attendance certificates, institutional registration preference, and post-event recording availability. (Virtual)
The AI skill shift: Creating a culture of AI fluency and skills for rapid digital transformation | Google Cloud
Explore frameworks and best practices for cultivating an organizational culture that supports AI adoption, with case studies, skill-mapping exercises, and actionable roadmaps to accelerate workforce capability while addressing governance, ethics, and cross-functional collaboration. (Virtual)
PitchSTL
Connect with other founders during a recurring morning meetup that features one or two six-minute startup pitches, an extended twenty-minute critique and Q&A, informal networking, access to mentorship resources and recordings, and ongoing opportunities to present or become a sponsor. (In-Person | Northside Economic Empowerment Center)
Streamlining Indoor Mapping: Direct CAD to GIS Conversion in the Browser | Cloudpoint Geospatial
Revel in a practical webinar series that demonstrates browser-based CAD-to-GIS workflows, indoor mapping conversion techniques, and real-world automation, showcasing step-by-step demonstrations, expert tips, and case studies designed to streamline geospatial data conversion and improve indoor asset accuracy and efficiency. (Virtual)
Strategy Lab – March 2026 Story-Driven Video That Sells | Connect Video
Thrive in a practical workshop environment where speakers teach story-driven structures, brand storytelling, and AI-assisted polishing; attendees draft six film-ready scripts across formats, receive script templates and a hook bank, and gain actionable steps to shoot and distribute content immediately. (In-Person | La Quinta Westport)
AI, eDiscovery, and Information Governance: What You Need to Know | Morgan Lewis
Embrace practical insights from seasoned practitioners about applying AI to eDiscovery and information governance, including real-world use cases that maximize value, strategies for prioritizing signals over noise in workflows, and endnotes on ethical obligations and defensible processes. (Virtual)
AI Infrastructure That Scales: Foundations for Real-World Deployment | Data Science Connect
Uncover practical strategies for deploying computer vision at scale as industry leaders discuss Generative AI innovations, illustrative cross-sector case studies, and the infrastructure foundations required to ensure reliability, performance, and maintainability when moving visual AI systems from prototype to production. (Virtual)
Crafting Your Small Business Identity Webinar | UTRGV Small Business Development Center
Witness how branding shapes the foundation of a new business through a practical session on defining a brand, understanding its value, and applying core branding principles. The discussion also covers building an authentic identity and protecting it over time. (Virtual)
Tech Audit and Discovery for Small Business | Enterprise University
Transform the way your business uses technology by examining current systems, communication practices, and overlooked tool overlap. With an emphasis on clarity and efficiency, the session uncovers practical opportunities to improve collaboration, establish healthier boundaries, and strengthen long-term operational growth. (Virtual)
Community Conversations on Disaster and Recovery | The Wedge
Participate in a hands-on conversation about preparing for floods, tornadoes, and severe storms, featuring local and state speakers who provide critical tools and guidance. The session emphasizes what actions individuals and neighbors can take and how to foster resilient recovery networks. (In-Person | The Wedge)
Geospatial User Group | T-REX
Dive into an exploration of how election mapping has evolved since 2017, showing how GIS supports more than maps by answering questions about races, polling-site congestion, staffing allocation, and ballot return timelines, followed by an informal chance to mingle over complimentary drinks. (In-Person | T-REX)
Vetworking STL March 2026
Join an energetic, veteran-focused networking happy hour where attendees connect with employers, veteran-friendly organizations, and peers to explore jobs, resources, and career pathways. Expect informal conversations, company representatives from diverse industries, and opportunities to strengthen the St. Louis veteran support ecosystem. (In-Person | Winnie’s Wine Bar)
Greater Saint Louis Partnership Announcement | The 89th Collective
This community-focused gathering spotlights a new collaboration designed to open fresh possibilities for businesses and entrepreneurs across the region. Through shared conversation and relationship-building, attendees gain a clearer sense of the partnership’s purpose, local impact, and opportunities for involvement. (In-Person | The 89th Collective)
Build & Protect: Small Business Protection & Opportunity Overview | Porscha Anderson
Embark on a compact, in-person hour with Porscha Anderson to demystify contracts and trademark considerations, access tax support guidance, and examine viable additional-income opportunities, finishing with tangible recommendations designed to strengthen small-business protections and revenue resilience. (In-Person | Cortex’s Square One)
March 19
MAC Business Development Group Meeting
Delight in a structured morning: doors open and breakfast precedes a presentation by Christian Rowe covering enterprise value growth, succession readiness, and behavioral finance insights. After the talk, attendees exchange ideas during introductions and a dedicated networking period to cement practical takeaways. (In-Person | Missouri Athletic Club)
Coffee Connections – Branding & Thought Leadership: Content, PR, Publications, and Speaking Opportunities | SMPS Saint Louis
Kick off your morning with a peer-driven conversation about content creation, publications, PR, and speaking as thought leadership tactics to elevate the firm’s reputation. This monthly get-together encourages idea-sharing, networking, a complimentary first drink for members and offers 1 CPSM CEU for attendees. (In-Person | Coma Coffee)
Leading Through Change: CMOs, AI Fatigue, and the Path to Growth | Gartner, Inc.
Absorb insights into how marketing leaders can respond to AI fatigue while strengthening credibility and organizational momentum. The session explores personal fluency, tailored training, and experimentation-friendly cultures that help teams close capability gaps and translate AI efforts into sustainable growth. (Virtual)
Close the Books Faster: AI Workflows for Clean Accounting and Financial Ops | Sacred Fire Creative
Dive into a focused, small-group conversation about reducing administrative drag through defensible AI practices: learn to automate repeatable communications, generate client-ready summaries, and produce practical SOPs while maintaining human review for reconciliations and final number approvals. (In-Person | Bella Casa Real Estate Group)
Demand to Deal: Aligning Marketing & Sales Around Buyer Intent | HubSpot
Explore practical strategies for aligning revenue teams around a single truth—buyer intent—by learning to detect anonymous research behavior, trigger Intent Signals for outreach, and implement AI-enabled content and automation to turn intent into measurable pipeline and faster wins. (Virtual)
Codex for Admins and IT | OpenAI Academy
Transform your understanding of AI-assisted development with demonstrations of Codex capabilities that help teams automate routine engineering tasks, shorten release cycles, and bridge communication gaps between engineers and product owners, along with concrete considerations for integrating and managing these tools into team workflows. (Virtual)
How to Build an AI-Optimized Content Strategy (Without the Overwhelm) | MarketingProfs
Embark on a practical, hype-free webinar where a panel of experts explains how to create an AI-ready content ecosystem without overhauling current strategy, sharing real examples, workflow shifts, and measurable tactics to improve discoverability, authority, and trust with AI answer engines. (Virtual)
Understanding COGS: Boost Your Profit Margins and Business Profitability | Start Small Think Big
Thrive through a hands-on exploration of Cost of Goods Sold and its role in business performance. Participants gain a clearer understanding of how to track costs, measure their effect on profit, and use that insight to improve financial decision-making. (Virtual)
Networking With a Purpose | African Chamber of Commerce, St. Louis
Unveil networking fundamentals in a welcoming, in-person setting where international students will learn essential skills, hear real-world perspectives from a curated panel, and participate in mentor-led breakout sessions focused on resume conversations, elevator pitches, and building lasting professional connections. (In-Person | TechArtista Downtown)
Strike Up New Connections: St. Louis Marketing Networking at Epiphany Lanes | AMA Saint Louis
Immerse yourself in a community-forward networking experience that pairs casual bowling with appetizers and two drinks, providing a low-pressure setting to meet peers, exchange insights, and nurture professional relationships amid the cozy charm of a longtime neighborhood bowling alley. (In-Person | Epiphany Bowling Lanes)
The marketing & sales playbook for 2026 | Demandbase
Discover a concise, action-oriented lunch briefing that examines where GTM teams commonly lose buyers, prescribes revenue-focused alignment between marketing and sales, pinpoints AI opportunities versus limitations, and maps out orchestration techniques to engage buying groups across channels and touchpoints. (Virtual)
Story-Driven Business Messaging | SLDC
Absorb a practical, application-driven workshop that guides participants through clarifying their customers’ challenges, tightening value propositions, and developing story-based messaging that positions the customer as hero, culminating in a ready-to-use messaging blueprint for sales, web copy, and promotional materials. (In-Person | Northside Economic Empowerment Center)
Design Week Starts With You: Committee Open House | STL.org
Enjoy a welcoming open house that invites designers, creative professionals, and community supporters to connect with key committee members, learn about event logistics and volunteer roles, ask practical questions, and explore hands-on ways to help shape St. Louis Design Week over snacks and beverages. (In-Person | STL.org)
Founders Lounge Global | Powered by Metis Analytics
Elevate your startup practice through structured meetups emphasizing applied learning: live coding, product demos, and practical AI system discussions, where attendees exchange lessons learned, experiment with tools, and leave with concrete next steps to advance their ventures. (In-Person | Spark Coworking – St. Louis)
Business After Hours | Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Metro St. Louis
Connect with Hispanic Chamber members, community stakeholders, and fellow professionals at a friendly networking reception that fosters introductions, business conversations, and community engagement. Enjoy affordable pre-registration or walk-in fees and a welcoming environment to expand professional networks. (In-Person | Montgomery Bank)
Fast Python with Rust | PySTL
Appreciate a clear, incremental tutorial that demonstrates combining Rust with Python to create dictionary-oriented math utilities, beginning with foundational project structure and moving through optimization steps and benchmarking insights focused on achieving performance improvements over typical NumPy approaches. (In-Person | TechArtista CWE)
Simulated Spacecraft Hacking | DC314
Venture into realistic space security exercises beginning with protocol and flight software fundamentals framed for novices, then apply those lessons in CTF-style, hands-on labs that walk you through intercepting CCSDS packets and delivering crafted binary telecommands to a simulated spacecraft. (In-Person | OddiTeas)
March 20
Water Week 2026 | H2O’Lyon Graduate School
Participate in dynamic sessions spanning remote and in-person formats, including expert panels on AI, flood resilience, and sediment extraction, practical site visits to rainwater installations, student thesis showcases, networking workshops, and an alumni evening designed to strengthen research-practice linkages. (Virtual)
ArcGIS: Online Fundamentals | University of Tennessee Knoxville – Office of Innovative Technologies (OIT)
Elevate your mapping workflow by learning ArcGIS Online fundamentals: create maps, layer data, and convert projects into ESRI StoryMaps for polished multimedia presentations. The session emphasizes researcher applications for teaching and portfolios and is conducted via Zoom, requiring SSO sign-in. (Virtual)
Wavelength: Taking the Stage | Filament
Attend an immersive program where performers present tightened routines, debut new material, and collaborate across disciplines, supported by concise production design and responsive staging that enhances storytelling, fosters crowd engagement, and highlights the craft of preparing for and owning the spotlight. (In-Person | Filament)
Using AI to Strengthen Your Marketing Strategy | Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council
Discover a business-focused workshop where marketing teams learn to apply AI strategically to reduce manual work, enhance personalization, analyze performance, and evaluate tools by impact rather than hype, with real-world examples and takeaways designed for immediate application across industries and team sizes. (Virtual)
Commerce Media Summit 2026 | EMARKETER
Be part of a focused summit where industry analysts, brand leaders, and media planners converge to translate commerce trends into tactical plans, with panels, case studies, and workshops designed to deliver grounded decisions, fast execution steps, and measurable media strategies. (Virtual)
CONNECTSTL Q1 NETWORK MEETING Building the Future of Tech in St. Louis
Ignite momentum among employers, funders, and workforce leaders through collaborative sessions that emphasize funding alignment, partnership activation, and practical workforce pathway solutions, helping organizations recruit talent, scale programs, and secure grants to support long-term growth in the tech ecosystem. (In-Person | Spark Coworking St. Louis)
Bourbon Friday | Sponsored by Tenacity
Enjoy a relaxed three-hour gathering combining curated bourbon tastings with professional networking, where attendees exchange challenges and successes from the startup world, cultivate new contacts, and enjoy nearby parking and transit access while adhering to age and responsible-drinking policies. (In-Person | TechArtista CWE)
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Feeling lucky this week? Tell us what you’re excited about in the comments! We’re dedicated to growing the St. Louis Startup, Tech, and Marketing Ecosystem, and we love hearing your ideas. Got an event or important deadline? Send it over to [email protected].
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