Startup Connection 2018, the St. Louis region’s largest event celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship, has announced the 64 Venture Showcase companies selected for 2018.
Startup Connection showcases some of the top early-stage startup ventures in St. Louis across a variety of industry sectors including: advanced manufacturing, biotech, consumer products, education, FinTech, and tech. Last year’s event attracted more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, investors, business people, scientists and students that support the St. Louis innovation scene.
The Venture Showcase highlights new companies coming into the marketplace. Twenty- five percent of the selected startups were founded in 2018, and more than half of the companies were started in the last 20 months.
The companies may be young, but they’re already contributing to the St. Louis community with jobs and revenue. The 64 companies in the Showcase employ more than 350 people, while 28 percent of them are staffed only with the founder or founding partners.
“Too often, startup are portrayed as fantasy ideas,” said Startup Connection Managing Director Phyllis Ellison, director of entrepreneur services and institutional & corporate partnerships at the Cortex Innovation Community. “Every company in the Venture Showcase has products and services, and most are doing what is preached to them: getting in the market place. These 64 companies have a combined revenue of more than $1.25 million so far in 2018, up from $260,000 just two years ago.”
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The statistics are great, but the companies and their stories are even more impressive.
Come to Startup Connection ’18 on November 7th to meet each of the entrepreneurs behind these companies, and learn how you can support the innovation growing in St. Louis. Visit www.startupconnection.org for more details.
For a full list of the 2018 Venture Showcase companies, visit their website.
Event details
Startup Connection ’18 will celebrate its 10th Anniversary on Wednesday, November 7 at The Globe Building at 710 N. Tucker in Downtown St. Louis, running from 4:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.
