BizJournal 💲📰

Ola Ayeni's launch of Claim Academy provides an example of an Arch Grants founder that has pivoted to a new St. Louis startup since winning a grant from the nonprofit.

Fady Hawatmeh's tenure in St. Louis short-lived. He provides an example of an Arch Grants company that has relocated elsewhere after moving operations here because of the $50,000 grant.

Part of the 2019 Arch Grants class, TCARE is an example of a startup that made its way to St. Louis through the nonprofit organization and remained in the region.

Geneoscopy provides an example of a homegrown St. Louis startup that has remained in St. Louis and continued to grow after winning funding from Arch Grants.

Ten years ago, Arch Grants began awarding $50,000 in equity-free grants to startups that would agree to move in St. Louis. Most are still in business and have operations here, though the nonprofit is tweaking its programming as it aims to make a bigger impact.

The period from 2010 to 2019 saw big improvements for the region's nearly 200,000 veterans, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

The deal includes two fully-leased warehouses totaling 1.1 million square feet of industrial space.

Jerry Jost, owner of St. Louis-based Jost Chemical, writes that federal energy regulators must allow the Spire-owned pipeline to remain in operation. If not, the region's business community will face "far reaching consequences."

In 1999, Randy Sims received a double lung transplant after a childhood cystic fibrosis diagnosis. Now, he's a business owner, speaker and author, celebrating his 23rd year with his new lungs.

Proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours are required to get into the Enterprise Center and Stifel Theatre for events. Now you won’t have to go far to get a last-minute test free of charge. Ballpark Village is teaming with Empire City Laboratories to provide free, rapid Covid-19 tests for people planning to attend events at either venue, as well as to the public. The new testing site will be on the north side of Ballpark Village, near Bally Sports Live. The clinic will…

A restaurant that has operated in The Hill neighborhood for two years will shutter permanently this month. The owner said no one issue led to the closing.

Alamo Drafthouse started construction this week on the dine-in cinema chain’s first St. Louis location at City Foundry, overcoming financial setbacks during the pandemic that could have jeopardized the project.

With the NCAA college basketball season tipped off, an annual event is closer to returning to St. Louis after a pandemic hiatus. The 2021-22 NCAA college basketball season, which began Tuesday, will include the return of the annual Braggin’ Rights men’s basketball game to Enterprise Center on Dec. 22. The long-standing event features a game between the University of Illinois and University of Missouri. Mizzou hosted the 2020 Braggin’ Rights game, which was relocated to Mizzou Arena from…

Ask a mom how her family has managed child care over the past 19 months and prepare for an earful. Already a stressful issue for families pre-pandemic, child care has only become more onerous through the various phases of the Covid-19 crisis. The lockdown era was pure chaos, moms say: everyone under the same roof, attempting to work, learn or play. Once life began to open up, parents had to do Covid risk assessment, finding the child care or after-school care scenario they were most comfortable…

The St. Louis Cardinals’ annual fan fest will now be a "home game" for the MLB club. The team said Wednesday its 2022 Winter Warm-Up will take place at Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village, the mixed-use district adjacent to the stadium. The event is scheduled for Jan. 15-17. Proceeds from the yearly event go toward Cardinals Care, the team’s community foundation. In recent years, the Winter Warm-Up had been held downtown at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch hotel. This year’s event…

Just like our clients, we are entrepreneurs, builders, and dreamers dedicated to driving our region forward. Our “big small town” is brimming with innovative energy and a wealth of opportunities. We are here to support our clients for the long term, motivated by the idea that when our clients achieve their dreams, our whole region wins. We are all in on St. Louis. Call us at 314-851-6200 or to learn more, visit stlouisbank.com. Saint Louis Bank is dedicated to being the banking partner for…

Most people do not give up stable jobs and good paychecks to start from scratch. Most people do not willingly take on incredibly difficult, completely avoidable challenges. Most people do not make good entrepreneurs. Thankfully, we are not like most people. Not only did we decide to take an entrepreneurial path — we decided to take an entrepreneurial path in the banking sector, which might be the most challenging sector an entrepreneur can choose to disrupt. Why we took the plunge Community…

The past year has been one where finding bright spots in the daily headlines has been a difficult task. However, there is something amazing happening right now, which can serve as a reminder to never underestimate the grit of the American working class. Recent data shows a remarkable spike in new business formation unlike anything we’ve seen before. Even though self-isolating was a true challenge of the past year, it gave many people the time to focus on passion projects or spot new opportunities.…

With construction underway on the $189.4 million University City project, developers Larry Chapman and Bob Clark have taken over ownership of the future retail center at Interstate 170 and Olive Boulevard.

A growing, St. Louis-based network of ophthalmology and optometry practices has agreed to acquire a Florida eyecare network and hired a new C-suite executive.