I’m really pleased to welcome Ellen Prinzi as a new author on EQ. She is CEO of Olio City, a personalized ‘intelligent-agent’ style concierge service and city guide that won an Arch Grant in 2015.

I first met Ellen at her stand on Murmuration Festival, I loved the sound of what her team was building. As I had recently moved to St. Louis, this was essential information for me, so I downloaded the Olio City personalized city guide app (iOS/Android) instantly.

There, I discovered some cool spots and neighborhood guides that I now frequent to this day, such as Retreat Gastropub after Venture Cafe, or a sunday stroll through Cherokee street.

Personalizing their recommendations specifically to you via a quick multiple choice survey, the Olio City app (iOS/Android) acts like an intelligent agent — like Siri or Cortana — making suggestions of where to hang out and where to eat or sending occasional push notifications on pop-up or special events that suit your preferences.

It’s a great little tool to always be in-the-know on what’s cooking in St. Louis. As a new transplant to the city, both EQ and Olio City were essential items in my toolkit. One told me who to meet and the other told me where to meet.

And both helped me generate ‘productive downtime’ – a value we hold at L&T. ‘Productive downtime,’ means taking a break that doubles up as an opportunity to learn or discover something new. Whether that is reading a book, learning to code or checking out a new restaurant or trying a new cocktail. Whatever it is, conscious task switching really refreshes your brain. Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be work, work, work!

So it’s with great pleasure that I announce this partnership with Olio City today. Every Thursday, Ellen and her team are going to keep you updated on EQ by curating their top weekend picks to get out and enjoy St Louis.