^ yes, but I also take it as a indication that CORTEX just isn't there yet. St. Louis has got its foot in the biotech door with CORTEX and its strong medical research presence but really needs more to happen on the commercial sooner than later. Especially if Wexford can break ground on new speculative space. It's amazing how much VC goes into biotech/life science in high cost business areas relative to St. Louis, such as Bay Area or Boston.
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^ yeah, places like Pittsburgh got an earlier jump on us but the good thing is that we're in the game now and Cortex and other centers are really starting to get some legs.
Also a good point on Boston and the Bay Area, its a good reminder to those who tout the south that that region shouldn't necessarily be our role model.
Also a good point on Boston and the Bay Area, its a good reminder to those who tout the south that that region shouldn't necessarily be our role model.
How soon we forget that last quarter (3rd quarter 2014), St. Louis raised $78-million in VC - almost $80-million.
One firm alone, Essence Healthcare, raised $71-million during that quarter.
VC numbers will always fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter, city-to-city.
While Cortex is designed to be a knowledge-based job engine and stimulator, the region hasn't hedged itself solely on Cortex for STEM jobs.
Essence Healthcare, for example, is located in Riverport. Many new tech and STEM transplant firms and start-ups are either far away from Cortex or close-by like StationDigital (The Highlands) and Foto.com (Midtown). Others, of course, are in downtown St. Louis.
Also, companies like Answers.com, for example, didn't get VC dollars last year, but it did get $300-million in equity funding in December 2013.
In essence, VC funding is a great measuring tool to gauge how well a local innovation economy is thriving and competing, but VC funding alone doesn't give the whole picture. In peer regions like Pittsburgh, MSP and Cleveland, med-tech is huge business. In St. Louis, the focus has been Ag/plant/bio tech and IT.
Quote from a Pittsburgh newspaper;
St. Louis surely has work to do - no doubt - but for her to have been far behind the curve, she's made up a lot of ground, I think.
One firm alone, Essence Healthcare, raised $71-million during that quarter.
VC numbers will always fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter, city-to-city.
While Cortex is designed to be a knowledge-based job engine and stimulator, the region hasn't hedged itself solely on Cortex for STEM jobs.
Essence Healthcare, for example, is located in Riverport. Many new tech and STEM transplant firms and start-ups are either far away from Cortex or close-by like StationDigital (The Highlands) and Foto.com (Midtown). Others, of course, are in downtown St. Louis.
Also, companies like Answers.com, for example, didn't get VC dollars last year, but it did get $300-million in equity funding in December 2013.
In essence, VC funding is a great measuring tool to gauge how well a local innovation economy is thriving and competing, but VC funding alone doesn't give the whole picture. In peer regions like Pittsburgh, MSP and Cleveland, med-tech is huge business. In St. Louis, the focus has been Ag/plant/bio tech and IT.
Quote from a Pittsburgh newspaper;
I could be wrong, but I doubt very seriously if a Pittsburgh-based tech firm received $300-million in equity funding in 2013. Hell, did a Chicago-based tech firm even receive that much equity funding?Report says tech companies brought $338 million in funding to Pittsburgh region
March 20, 2014 11:04 PM
By Ann Belser / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The exact amount of money Pittsburgh early-stage companies actually raised is hard to pin down.
The $338 million reported by Innovation Works includes deals that are public, as well as private money that goes into companies working with Innovation Works but that is not publicly reported. There may also be more money out there that the initiative does not know about.
Meanwhile, other cities have similar organizations that also keep track of money going to early-stage companies, some of which is not disclosed to the public.
That makes comparing cities difficult.
Thompson Reuters keeps track of venture capital that is publicly reported. In a database known as Thompson One, Pittsburgh was reported to have received $175.3 million in venture funding in 2013.
That put the Steel City’s public financing ahead of Charlotte, N.C., which received $93.8 million; Cincinnati, which received $91.9 million; Cleveland with $148.9 million; Detroit with $105.7 million; Indianapolis with $26.4 million; Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, Mo., with $90.7 million; Milwaukee with $7.3 million; and St. Louis with $98.3 million.
Other cities pull in more investment money, based on the publicly reported data.
Thompson One showed Austin, Texas, with $619.3 million; Baltimore with $264.4 million; Boston with $3.3 billion; Denver with $464 million; Minneapolis-St. Paul with $319 million; New York with $3 billion; Philadelphia with $393.6; and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., with $400.8 million.
Source
St. Louis surely has work to do - no doubt - but for her to have been far behind the curve, she's made up a lot of ground, I think.
StationDigital advertising in Times Square, NYC
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St. Louis had a great year last year with $380 million invested by local angels and outside VCs, although $200 million of it was to Answers (another $100 million of their money was debt), however, these larger rounds is how St. Louis will get to a number consistently above $500 million invested annually. We are building the base with many companies (over 100) now receiving seed and "A" rounds. As these companies mature and begin to land "B" and "C" rounds the total invested amounts will get bigger. Software companies need 4-6 years to get to the larger rounds and since most of the software companies started in 2011 or later we should be approaching those rounds in 2015-2016. I believe the Biotech companies around town are also heading towards some larger rounds. I believe big things including large job hiring's should be happening in the next couple of years.
St. Louis has plenty of great tech start-ups making waves such as Lockerdome, Food Essentials, Bonfyre etc. etc.
But I think, based on this interview, StationDigital has a good shot at being "the darling" that further catapults St. Louis' tech scene internationally. The goals are lofty - and if done as envisioned - it would give more credibility to what's happening in St. Louis' tech scene.
They plan to create a single platform for music, movies, television and ecommerce that will compete with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and Pandora.
A very recent and interesting interview with StationDigital's new CEO, Lou Rossi.
September 23, 2014 (Fox Business)
But I think, based on this interview, StationDigital has a good shot at being "the darling" that further catapults St. Louis' tech scene internationally. The goals are lofty - and if done as envisioned - it would give more credibility to what's happening in St. Louis' tech scene.
They plan to create a single platform for music, movies, television and ecommerce that will compete with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and Pandora.
A very recent and interesting interview with StationDigital's new CEO, Lou Rossi.
September 23, 2014 (Fox Business)
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This is great i hope they succeed beyond their expectations. Surely if they do this will more than put St.Louis on the map for tech comps start ups entrepreneurs etc. Im very surprised how far we've come up compared to other cities yes we still have a ways to go but we are a bit ahead of KC Indy and other cities in vc. Hopefully we'll pass of Pitt Cleveland. brighter days are among us in the future
Steve Case, AOL Founder, around St. Louis during the St. Louis leg of Rise of the Rest Road Trip.
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Station Digital looks like a nice addition to the tech scene. However, If we are going to build a start-up ecosystem it will take many companies hiring lots of people and returning money to local investors. It is very important that angel investors participate and receive sizable returns in our startup companies if we are to build a strong startup community. If angel investors, who by definition are investing money that is part of their alternative investments, should have a couple of large exits then they will most likely re-invest these gains back into the community which will begin to perpetuate the cycle. If the company is not angel or locally backed then when a founder has a large return many times they either invest in assets outside of St. Louis or they conserve those assets by investing in out of town public securities.
I thought the Steve Case, Rise of the Rest, event was very good. Cheers for Steve in going to 9 cities through out the mid-west and recognizing the fact that good ideas and investment opportunities do not only exist on the east and west coasts. Steve seemed like a genuine entrepreneur who still has the fire even though he is a billionaire. He provided good press for the city and invested $100,000 in Synek, a Keurig for beer company.
I wonder why they chose to office at the Highlands instead of downtown..arch city wrote:St. Louis has plenty of great tech start-ups making waves such as Lockerdome, Food Essentials, Bonfyre etc. etc.
But I think, based on this interview, StationDigital has a good shot at being "the darling" that further catapults St. Louis' tech scene internationally. The goals are lofty - and if done as envisioned - it would give more credibility to what's happening in St. Louis' tech scene.
They plan to create a single platform for music, movies, television and ecommerce that will compete with Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and Pandora.
Overall, I agree with you. But I think it takes many small successes in order to build that critical mass and ecosystem you are suggesting. SF's and Seattle's formidable ecosystems didn't happen overnight.tech840 wrote:Station Digital looks like a nice addition to the tech scene. However, If we are going to build a start-up ecosystem it will take many companies hiring lots of people and returning money to local investors. It is very important that angel investors participate and receive sizable returns in our startup companies if we are to build a strong startup community. If angel investors, who by definition are investing money that is part of their alternative investments, should have a couple of large exits then they will most likely re-invest these gains back into the community which will begin to perpetuate the cycle.
Think about it though. Just a few months ago St. Louis did not have the corporate office of StationDigital, U.S. office of Foto.com nor offices of companies such as Upside, MiiCard or Hedgeable - just to name few. St. Louis didn't have creative techie types moving to St. Louis from the West Coast boldly bragging about why they moved to St. Louis.
Here and Here.
The word is out. St. Louis now has among the largest VC firms in the Midwest - only second to Chicago. Plus, there are numerous programs, incubators, co-working labs and spaces and organizations building the local ecosystem. CIC is now in St. Louis.
Just five years ago, a lot of this was non-existent so while I am not happy with a lot of the current social challenges and conditions facing St. Louis, I can say that it has done a great job at trying to reinvent its local economy.
I think some of what you are suggesting is happening - not on a massive scale yet - but St. Louis a lot farther long than where it was just a decade ago.
Likely because that building had the right amount of space they needed.stlien wrote:I wonder why they chose to office at the Highlands instead of downtown..
They also wanted a "prominent" location.
You can't go wrong with being on I-64, across from Forest Park and a mile from Cortex.
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Though no more jobs in Saint Louis, here is a look at Answers.com hiring more in Cleveland and consolidating its NYC presence:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... eland.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... eland.html
I would've guessed that Downtown is more prominent than the Highlands.arch city wrote:Likely because that building had the right amount of space they needed.stlien wrote:I wonder why they chose to office at the Highlands instead of downtown..
They also wanted a "prominent" location.
You can't go wrong with being on I-64, across from Forest Park and a mile from Cortex.
Hate to say it but not a fan of Answers.com at all. Crashes and locks up Safari every time I end up there.
And I wish Answers.com interface and user-experience could be a little more 'legitimate' and not feel like I'm on one of those smarmy E/N sites.
And I wish Answers.com interface and user-experience could be a little more 'legitimate' and not feel like I'm on one of those smarmy E/N sites.
^Contact Answers. They probably already know about the problem. Tell them your problem then see if they have testers group.
I have suggested Tumblr fixes and those fixes eventually came to fruition - not just because of me - but likely because other users had complained about the same problems/issues.
I love Station Digital, but it has some kinks I hope they are working on. It doesn't work with Chromecast then the mobile application doesn't have a disconnect feature. I have an Android so it could be an Android kink. Their mobile app is fairly new. Nonetheless, I definitely plan to send a note to Station Digital.
I have suggested Tumblr fixes and those fixes eventually came to fruition - not just because of me - but likely because other users had complained about the same problems/issues.
I love Station Digital, but it has some kinks I hope they are working on. It doesn't work with Chromecast then the mobile application doesn't have a disconnect feature. I have an Android so it could be an Android kink. Their mobile app is fairly new. Nonetheless, I definitely plan to send a note to Station Digital.
St Louis Spirit: Cortex Urban Research Park Bucks Tech Campus Trend
Posted by Tom Foremski - October 28, 2014
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Posted by Tom Foremski - October 28, 2014
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^I want to know what that building is on the bottom left. I think I recognize the others.
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My hunch: The red building on the right is the Crescent, with Solae/Dupont beyond it and @4240/Wexford beyond that. I'm wondering if this (together with the Crescent) was proposed to Wexford before Wexford decided instead to go for the U.S. Metals site. If so, it gives a sense of the calibre of building they envision for that site.