Arch Grants Awards $1M in Equity-Free Funding to 20 Startups Committed to Operating from St. Louis

Arch Grants Announces 20 New Companies, 25% Increase in Overall Grants Going Forward, at 7th Annual Gala Bob Chapman Presented 2019 Entrepreneur Award.

Arch Grants has awarded $1,000,000 in grant funds to 20 new startups and early-stage businesses from St. Louis, across the country, and around the globe. Each of the winning companies will receive $50,000 as an equity-free grant as well as pro-bono and heavily discounted professional services from respected local firms.

In turn, the startups will commit to operating their business from St. Louis for a period of at least one year.

The winners were announced at the 7th annual Arch Grants Gala, Co-Chaired by David and Kerrin Kowach, on Friday, November 1. During the event, Bob Chapman, Chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller and Author of Everybody Matters, was honored with the Annual Arch Grants Entrepreneur Award. Past Entrepreneur Award winners include Maxine Clark (2013), Dave Steward (2014), Rodger Riney (2015), Michael Neidorff (2016), Jerry Kent (2017), and Amb. Sam Fox (2018).

Arch Grants Gala 2019

Since 2012, Arch Grants has awarded over $8 million in cash grants to attract or retain more than 150 early-stage businesses in St. Louis, invigorating the city’s startup scene with new talent and ideas and helping to shape the future of the St. Louis economy.

Through Arch Grants’ program activities and connections throughout the region, these companies have gone on to create over 1,800 jobs, generate $286 million in revenue, and attract over $239 million in follow-on capital.

Meet the twenty 2019 Arch Grants Companies, whose ingenuity is shaping the St. Louis of tomorrow:

  • Adalo (St. Louis, MO) makes building mobile & desktop apps as easy as putting together a slide deck.
  • AUDRA (St. Louis, MO) is a globally validated womenswear brand that is clothing the dynamic woman in effortless beauty through all the roles she plays in life.
  • Clockwork (Chicago, IL) is an AI-powered cash flow forecast and financial projection software that uses real-time information to automatically build out projections and cash flow forecasts by integrating with QuickBooks Online and Xero.
  • Connexio (St. Louis, MO) acts as a personalized, AI-driven, virtual advisor for students who want to study internationally and as a SaaS platform for universities to tracks students globally.
  • Customily (Montevideo, Uruguay) is a SaaS that helps ecommerce merchants maximize their personalized product sales.
  • Edison Agrosciences (Chapel Hill, NC) uses standard biotechnology to increase the amount of natural rubber already produced by the sunflower plant to provide a more profitable crop for farmers and a reliable domestic supply of a critical resource.
  • FastDemocracy (Kansas City, MO) is transforming government relations through data and collaboration.
  • Healthy Hip Hop (Kansas City, MO) is an EdTech platform powered by the arts and social interaction. The “Sesame Street of the 21st Century”.
  • HireMe (St. Louis, MO) is an online employment service platform designed to help people with disabilities gain employment.
  • HomeTraq (St. Charles, MO) quickly finds real estate agents to show homes, similar to Uber quickly coordinating rides.
  • iSite Media (St. Louis, MO) provides brands a platform that showcases a clear message to a captive and targeted audience in high traffic venue restrooms while monetizing an often overlooked area of their establishment.
  • Key2Enable (Miami, FL) is an EdTech company providing assistive technology for people with severe mental, intellectual and physical disabilities.
  • Loro (Boston, MA) is a socially-assistive robot that gives people with mobility challenges the ability to control, communicate, and connect with the world.
  • Lux and Nyx (St. Louis, MO) create high-end products with a social conscience and believe eco- friendly, ethically manufactured accessories don’t need to be sacrificed for the sake of luxury.
  • PenPath (St. Louis, MO) turns messy and siloed marketing data into actionable insights for chief marketing officers.
  • phas3(Eureka, MO) is a digital health company that’s improving access to cardiac rehab and improving recovery rates.
  • PLANETARIANS (Palo Alto, CA) is a food ingredient tech company that upcycles by-products and solid food waste into high protein high fiber ingredients.
  • Provider Pool (St. Louis, MO) connects healthcare organizations to healthcare professionals for on-demand staffing needs.
  • Roo Storage (Columbia, MO) is the Airbnb for storage, an online platform that connects people with extra space in their home or business to people in need of storage.
  • TCARE (Madison, WI) reduces the risk of Medicaid & LTC insurance claims via an evidence-based family caregiver support program.

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