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St. LouisTech Startup Report

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

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ITEN is generously supported by:

1 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y

Presented by

The St. Louis Tech Startup Report: 2015 Year in Review is

an overview of the tech startup ecosystem in the greater

St. Louis metropolitan area. This reports reflects our best

efforts to capture information about the growth, evolution

and current state of technology startups and the system

that supports them. The report is based on self-reported

and publically available data on over 420 tech startups in

the St. Louis region.

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

About this Report

As the catalyst for tech startups

in St. Louis, ITEN provides unique

programs for rapid product

development, connections to talent,

essential networking and access to

funding. ITEN engages experienced

entrepreneurs to help others build

successful, growing tech ventures.

These critical connections are formed

through direct mentoring access, a

curriculum of graduated acceleration

programs and weekly and monthly

networking programs. Designed by

entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and

requiring neither payment nor equity,

ITEN is a unique community asset and

a proven route to venture success.

2 Introduction

3 St. Louis Present & Future

4 The Money

6 The Talent

9 The Companies

10 ITEN Top Ten

12 ITEN Fast Ten

14 Tech Startup Community Support

16 Technology Clusters

17 The Founders

18 Top ITEN Moments of 2015

St. Louis Tech Startup Ecosystem Map & List of Ecosystem Events (detachable)

Table of Contents

1

Welcome to the 2015 St. Louis Tech Startup Report. ITEN is pleased to present this year in

review, highlighting some of the amazing accomplishments and current state of emerging

tech companies in our region.

ITEN IS ENTERING

ITS 8TH YEAR of

serving the tech

startup community

in the St. Louis

region. For the

last 4 years, this

report has served

as a source for

data and information regarding the health

of the startup tech community. This year’s

report features, once again, our favorite

lists: The ITEN Top Ten and ITEN Fast Ten.

Our rankings continue to change as more

potential companies get started and existing

ones continue to grow in revenue, funding

and headcount.

In addition to our company lists, we have

updated ITEN’s popular tech ecosystem

map for the St. Louis region. This year,

it’s detachable and contains conference

and event lists as well. We are very proud

to produce a document that is used to

showcase all that is happening in this

amazing community. Not only does it

highlight the scope and breadth of support

for entrepreneurs; the ecosystem map also

provides a snapshot of how collaboration

drives our progress. It hopefully serves as a

further call to action to align our efforts for

the greater good.

Last year was certainly a momentous year for

ITEN. We have highlighted some of 2015’s

big moments in this report, but a few deserve

mention here.

The year started with ITEN emerging from

Innovate St. Louis as a stand-alone non-

profit entity. Since 2008, ITEN had been part

of the Innovate St. Louis umbrella, where it

crafted its early programs and services and

grew year after year. It is with appreciation

and gratitude for all of Innovate St. Louis’

years of support that ITEN began its

independent journey in

January 2015.

Also in 2015, ITEN’s

Founder and Executive

Director Jim Brasunas

retired from his

position. The impact

of Jim on the startup

community is long-

lasting and immense. Eight years ago, hardly

any of today’s startup community existed,

particularly in the IT/tech sector. ITEN was

driven by Jim’s vision and tenacity, particularly

in those early years of its existence. He will

be missed from our daily activity but we

are happy to have him as a board member,

knowing that he continues to fully support

ITEN as the unique community asset it is.

Something we are most proud of is ITEN’s

Corporate Engagement Program. This was

developed in response to the growing interest

from established, St. Louis-based companies

to engage with the startup ecosystem.

Large corporations are putting innovation

teams into incubators as well as actively

participating in events targeted at the

innovation and entrepreneurial communities.

At ITEN, we see this as a hugely positive

trend and something upon which to build. We

hope to see more startups and corporations

collaborating on business solutions to drive

revenue and growth in 2016 and beyond.

As we embark on a new year, we are

reminded of still more work to be done to

advance the innovation

and entrepreneurial cause

in our region. As always,

our entrepreneurs are

looking for more funding,

more talent and more

ways to bring a wider

audience into the work

of this community. In

2016, ITEN will be hard at

work, seeking creative solutions to that and

more for our companies. We look forward to

collaborating with all our ecosystem partners

on that work.

Enjoy the 2015 Tech Startup Report!

Francis ChmelirExecutive Director, ITEN

Introduction

“ It is with appreciation and gratitude for all of Innovate St. Louis’ years of support, that ITEN began its independent journey in January 2015.”

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Patricia Hagen, PhD President & Executive

Director, T-REX

What advantages does

St. Louis have as a place to

grow your startup? Our world-

class universities are graduating

excellent, talented individuals,

and faculty are engaged in

encouraging innovation and

entrepreneurship. Our culture

of friendly collaboration makes

partnering for greater outcomes

a fairly easy task. The region has

a multitude of accelerators and

venture capital organizations,

as well as strong entrepreneur-

ial support organizations. St.

Louis also has great resources

that support and spur develop-

ment of startup companies,

ensuring that St. Louis startup

companies have the best chance

for success. Finally, the cost

of living is fairly low, which is

vitally important for our startup

entrepreneurs!

What is the number one

thing St. Louis’ tech startup

ecosystem needs to improve in

2016? To ensure we challenge

ourselves with constant quality

improvement in all our activi-

ties and work—in training and

education, investment decisions

and facilities. And, in building

and supporting communities

that will form the future of the

St. Louis region.

Brian Matthews Co-Founder &

General Partner,

Cultivation Capital

General Partner & Mentor,

SixThirty Fintech Accelerator



grow your startup? St. Louis

has a high number of large

companies who may be your

first customer. If your startup

is in the areas of AgTech,

FinTech, or BioTech there is a

lot of talent and opportunity

to sell your product into these

companies. Due to these corpo-

rate strengths the region has

incubators, mentors, accelera-

tors and funds that specialize in

these areas.

What is the number one thing

St. Louis’ tech startup ecosys-

tem needs to improve in 2016?

We need to improve our ability

to raise capital for all of the

initiatives that are important

to the startup ecosystem. This

includes investment capital for

our startup companies, money

for recruiting and retaining tal-

ent and capital for growing and

upgrading our physical assets.

Travis Sheridan Executive Director,

Venture Café - St. Louis



grow your startup? One of the

biggest advantages St. Louis

has is the region’s authentic

industries. If we look at the

three most recently launched

accelerator programs—The

Yield Lab (AgTech), SixThirty

(FinTech) and Stadia Ventures

(Sports)—each represents

industries where the investors

can really add value, the entre-

preneurs can find beta testing

opportunities and there are

strategic partnerships close by.




This might sound odd, but we

need some of our floundering

startups to fold and redistribute

that tech talent to other teams.

In a healthy ecosystem, talent

is fluid and St. Louis will grow

through shrinkage. Let’s find

a way to put the best talent in

places where they can succeed.

Those successes will be game-

changing.

St. Louis Present & Future

Q&A

Ginger Imster Executive Director,

Arch Grants



grow your startup? There is a

strong culture of collaboration

among those organizations that

support early-stage entrepre-

neurs. We’ve heard from many

other metro areas that this is

unique. I believe the entrepre-

neurs benefit because there is

less duplication of efforts and

more sharing of resources and

information, leading to more

effective service delivery to the

startups.

What is the number one

thing St. Louis’ tech startup

ecosystem needs to improve

in 2016? The role of talent

acquisition and retention is

crucial to developing a robust

startup ecosystem: the people

come first. All other aspects

—angel investment, venture

capital, etc.—follow the people

who are creating innovative

products and services. St. Louis

is a place that celebrates and

supports entrepreneurs, but we

must prove we can celebrate

successful exits and successful

failures—we need both for our

ecosystem to retain and attract

the very best.

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Joe Roberts, PhD Director, Entrepreneurship

Program & Associate

Professor of Management,

Walker School of

Business & Technology,

Webster University


St. Louis have as a place

to grow your startup? St. Louis

is exceptionally situated to

provide innovative approaches

to entrepreneurs. The entre-

preneurial ecosystem in St.

Louis holds opportunities that

other cities in the nation do

not present to startups. With

its incubators, accelerators

and capital providers, St. Louis

offers reliable support for the

creative class, IT, bread and

butter businesses, biotech and

related industry sectors.




St. Louis should do more along

the lines of 4-T benchmarking

efforts:Technology, Talent,

Tolerance and Territory Assets.

The city of St. Louis has to en-

gage the diverse richness of the

region and its proximity to a di-

verse populace and the creative

class. The number one focus for

the St. Louis ecosystem should

be the purposeful support and

improvement of inclusivity and

diversity in 2016.

24

2015 was another year of growth and maturity for the St. Louis tech startup community.

WE SAW AN

INCREASE IN

BOOTSTRAPPED

companies as well

as those receiving

angel and venture

capital funding.

The popularity of

using crowdfunding

platforms also continued to rise. This diversity

in funding sources fueled fundraising

success for companies at all stages of early

development. In addition,

later stage companies

have also been able to

attract more funding both

from out-of-state and

newly established venture

capital funds in St. Louis.

In 2015, three new accelerators—Prosper

Women Entrepreneurs, The Yield Lab and

Stadia Ventures—invested in a total of 21 new

portfolio companies. Established accelerators

Capital Innovators and SixThirty added

another 19 companies to their portfolios. And

Arch Grants continued to successfully attract

strong startups to St. Louis with its non-

dilutive grants, adding 21 companies to its

roster of recipients. Three new venture capital

funds came on the scene, or made their first

investments in 2015—Lewis & Clark Ventures,

Cultivation Capital Tech Fund II and Lindbergh

Tech Fund.

While venture capital outlays peaked

nationally in 2014, they continued to increase

for St. Louis tech companies in 2015, growing

from $155M in 2014 to

$175.9M this past year.

This represents a 166%

increase from 2013

when it was $66M. More

than 60 tech companies

received funding in 2015

with 25+ companies

receiving a million dollars or more.

The rapid increase in funding for St. Louis

tech startups also aligns with the steady

growth in monthly revenue. In 2015, St. Louis

tech startups achieved a monthly combined

revenue of $8.3M, representing a 10.6%

increase from $7.5M in 2014 and 40.6%

increase from $5.9M in 2013.

The hope for 2016 is that this positive

progress on the investment and revenue

fronts translates into successful exits for

many startups, as 2015 was a quiet year in

that area. This ability to put cash into the

hands of founders, employees and

investors to be reinvested back into the

community is a key indicator of a strong

innovation ecosystem.

2015 was a strong year in many aspects, and

we head into 2016 equipped with the tools

to continue to make St. Louis a great place to

start and grow a tech company.

Tom NiermannVice Chairman, St. Louis Arch Angels

Entrepreneur in Residence, ITEN

The Money

The One Million Dollar ClubIn 2014, one of the biggest challenges facing sur-

veyed companies was securing adequate investor

funding. We want to honor the companies who

rose to meet that challenge head-on in 2015 by

raising a $1 million or more:

AgerpointAisle411Better WeekdaysBlueStrataBonfyreBusyEventEpharmixGainsightGeoNumerical Solutions

Hatchbuck HDS International Corp.JuristatKingdom SceneLabel Insight Norse PromisePayRespond Well SmartCare Consultants

Sparo LabsSynek Draft SystemTopOppsTruQCTunespeakVarsity TutorsVelocidata

“ Once again, Missouri ranks fourth in the number of accelerators behind only California, New York and Texas.”

Note: Data stated above compiled from publications by Cultivation Capital, Pitchbook and CB Insights

35

175.9M

155.1 M

66.7 M

30.3M

12.3M

28M

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Money Invested in St. Louis Tech Startup Companies

“ The hope for 2016 is that this positive progress on the investment and revenue fronts translates into successful exits for many startups”

– Tom Niermann Vice Chairman, St. Louis Arch Angels

Entrepreneur in Residence, ITEN

Note: This data does not represent all the startups responding, as some opt to not provide this specific data point due to its sensitive nature.

8.3M7.5 M

3.5 M

1.2M

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

5.0 M

5.9 M

2012 2013 2014 2015

9.1M

3.5M3.8M

4.1M

Amount of Self-Funding in St. Louis Tech Startup Companies

Combined Monthly Revenue of St. Louis Tech Startup Companies

46

The Talent

In an age where information sharing is at its peak,

creative problem-solvers are increasingly drawn to

the idea of collaborating in order to build.

THE APPEAL OF

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

EXTENDS BEYOND

the satisfaction of

owning a company

or becoming a

leader. It’s about

seeing a problem as

an opportunity to

innovate. It’s a way of looking at the world.

This entrepreneurial perspective is fueling

St. Louis’ tech startup ecosystem and is

propelling our city to national (and arguably,

international) attention.

Building the right team can mean the

difference between success and failure.

At an early-stage company, the nature of

work is always changing. The highest value

employees are those who are comfortable

with ambiguity and jump at the opportunity

to add structure to chaos.

These “swiss army knives” or “full-stack

employees” have the unique ability to sort and

synthesize unyielding amounts of information

into strategically executable tasks. Such

candidates not only hold a deep understanding

of their domain, but a “big picture” cognizance

that enables them to dynamically deal with

shifting priorities and expectations.

Some of the greatest success stories in

business can be attributed to unplanned

changes in strategic course, set about

by unexpected circumstances in market

opportunity. The attitude of a successful

employee parallels this pivot-ready approach.

In only a handful of years, St. Louis has

positioned itself as a Midwestern mecca

for innovation. Our once empty buildings

are now filled with the bustle of co-working

entrepreneurs, freelancers and university

students. From conference room to coffee

station, the power of creative proximity is

fueling collaboration. The energy is palpable,

even intoxicating. In this environment, our

embedded culture of growth and innovative

spirit continues to breed new leadership.

St. Louis is establishing itself as an ideal

testing ground for thought leadership in

Cybersecurity, Digital Healthcare, Enterprise

SaaS, Life Sciences, FinTech, AgTech, and

civic-minded technology. With a strong

ecosystem in place, aspiring entrepreneurs

now have the perfect laboratory to test and

launch their ideas.

St. Louis is becoming a hybrid economy, as

symbiotic relationships between incumbent

corporations and growth-stage startups are

providing access to on-demand innovation, and

the ability to scale these ideas beyond the region.

As we bridge the gap between old and new,

the brands that St. Louis is known for are

partnering with the next generation of

entrepreneurs as they crack the code on a

new tech-enabled economy.

Colleen LiebigCEO, Plugged-In St. Louis

Career Advisor, Industry Career Specialist - Entrepreneurship, Olin Business School

Former Head of Talent Acquisition, Cultivation Capital

“ This entrepreneurial perspective is fueling St. Louis’ tech startup ecosystem and is propelling our city to national (and arguably, international) attention.”

57

The Talent: Employment Data

Total Full Time Employees of St. Louis Tech Startup Companies

Total Part Time Employees of St. Louis Tech Startup Companies

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

835

109

827

252

601

57

1073

386

1461

450

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The Talent: Future Employment Data

Roles St. Louis Tech Startups are Looking to Hire

TECHNICAL27%

C-Level & Strategy: 6%

HR: 2%

Marketing: 15%

Sales: 15%

Operations: 7%

Industry Expertise: 7%

Administration: 5%Finance: 4%

Legal: 4%

Others: 3%

Customer Service: 5%

Note: These hiring plans are subject to funding.

Number of Employees Tech Startups Expect to Hire in 2016

1st six months of year: 501 Full year: 764

7

Fast Ten list: Fastest growing St. Louis

tech startups, ranked based on the same

metrics as Top Ten but limited to compa-

nies founded in 2014 or later

Charts of Community Support: See how

our top companies are connected to various

parts of the innovation community.

INSIDE THIS SECTION

Top Ten list: Top 10 tech startups ranked

based on the following key metrics: total

funds raised, current monthly revenue,

payroll and total employees

Technology Clusters: Top companies in

each technology cluster

The most vital ingredients in a startup community are the

entrepreneurs and ventures bringing new ideas to market,

reshaping industries and creating something of lasting value.

The

Companies

Number of Startups Surveyed for the Report

2015: 425

2014: 310

2013: 350

2012: 250

ITEN’s goal is for this report to provide a comprehensive view of the St. Louis tech startup ecosystem. Our data collec-tion methods include direct company surveys to both ITEN member and non-member tech companies, collaboration with other community organizations and review of public data. Due to the confidential nature of much of the data used in our report, we do rely most heavily on the companies to provide us this information. Therefore, limited or absent data can affect a company’s inclusion or ranking in the list.

The St. Louis region is blessed with

numerous emerging companies that are not

just growing, but thriving. Once again this

report recognizes and celebrates the tech

ventures getting the most traction, and

therefore are most likely to become lasting

successes and make significant contributions

to the St. Louis region’s economic prosperity.

There are great tech ventures in St. Louis

that didn’t make this list. That in no way

means that they aren’t destined for great

success. The bar is being raised every year

by the rapid growth of our top companies,

and the honor of being mentioned as one

of St. Louis’ top tech ventures means more

this year than ever before.

810

TOP

TENITEN ranks the top St. Louis tech startups, based on the key metrics of total funds raised, current monthly revenue, payroll and total employees.

2014 TOP TEN1 Norse norse-corp.com

2 Splice Machine splicemachine.com

3 MulticoreWare Inc. multicoreware.com

4 Lockerdome lockerdome.com

5 FoodEssentials foodessentials.com

6 Hatchbuck hatchbuck.com

7 aisle411 aisle411.com

8 TruQC truqcapp.com

9 Click With Me Now clickwithmeknow.com

10 Observable Networks observable.net

1 2

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Splice Machine splicemachine.com Twitter: @splicemachine

Splice Machine provides the only Hadoop

RDBMS. It is designed to scale real-time

applications using commodity hardware

without application rewrites, providing

companies with a high-performance,

massively scalable database for applications

that don’t require compromising SQL support,

secondary indexes, joins and transactions.

FUN FACTS■■ Splice Machine receives guidance from one

of the world’s largest banks, Wells Fargo,

through its Startup Accelerator Program.

■■ Splice Machine was included in CRN—The 10

Coolest Big Data Products of 2015.

■■ Splice Machine was included DBTA’s “Big

Data 50 - Companies Driving Innovation” list.

VelociDatavelocidata.com Twitter: @VelociData

VelociData is enabling advanced analytics

and continuous decisioning for the Internet

of Everything. VelociData can reach through

the network and pull all relevant data

without taxing system resources while

passively monitoring traffic on multiple high-

bandwidth links. VelociData’s recent project

to implement real-time network data capture,

analytics, and decisioning is positioning them

to become the preferred approach to optimize

revenue, customer retention and risk for all

broadband network operators.

FUN FACTS■■ VelociData holds almost 50 US patent in the

area of advanced computing systems.

■■ VelociData has a “mobile mood improver” in the

form of a rescued dog from the Humane Society.

■■ The VelociData technical founders were all

professors from Washington University.

MulticoreWaremulticorewareinc.com Twitter: @MulticoreWare

MulticoreWare is the leading provider of

programmer productivity tools, libraries

and application development services for

homogenous and heterogeneous multicore

CPU and GPU architectures.

FUN FACTS■■ MulticoreWare has launched Machine

Learning business.

■■ MulticoreWare made the INC 500/5000 list

for the second time in a row in 2015.

■■ MulticoreWare’s x265 HEVC encoder has

been rated as the best overall encoder in the

first HEVC codec comparison by the Moscow

State University Graphics & Media Lab.

Hatchbuckhatchbuck.com Twitter: @getHatchbuck

Hatchbuck is simple sales and marketing

software for small business that automates

sales and marketing efforts overnight. Turn

emails into conversations, website visitors

into handshakes and customers into raving

fans with our all-in-one sales and marketing

platform.

FUN FACTS■■ Hatchbuck was recognized as the fastest-

growing Missouri startup in Mattermark’s

2014 Startup Traction Report.

■■ Software review site G2Crowd ranks

Hatchbuck as a High Performer in the

marketing automation space, with a the top

customer satisfaction rating of 97%.

■■ Hatchbuck was rated as a top CRM by

GetRank and a best CRM software for 2015

by Business News Daily.

911

3

8

4

9

5

10

Label Insightlabelinsight.com Twitter: @Labelinsight

Label Insight (formerly FoodEssentials) is a

cloud-based product data engine committed

to helping brands and retailers solve their

data transparency challenges. The company

translates basic product information into

smart attributes, such as nutrients and

allergens, providing brands and retailers with a

deep understanding of their product set. This

information is then shared with consumers in

a standardized format, giving them the power

to make informed purchasing decisions.

FUN FACTS■■ Label Insight has 45 employees in two

offices in St. Louis and Chicago.

■■ Label Insight has had 3 different

names before settling on Label Insight.

(EatingSafe, FoodEssentials, Label Insight).

LockerDomelockerdome.com Twitter:@lockerdome

LockerDome is a social media platform that

helps you personalize the web. The company

builds interactive widgets, which are embedded

across thousands of partner websites,

delivering engaging, interest-based content to

more than 100 million people each month.

FUN FACTS■■ LockerDome’s ad units see engagement

rates that are 18 times the industry

average.

■■ Since 2013, LockerDome evolved from just

sports to serving more than 30 categories.

■■ LockerDome has offices in St. Louis and

New York City.

Aisle411aisle411.com Twitter: @aisle411

Aisle411 is the recognized leader in local

product search, powering search in over

250,000 retail locations, mapping products

in over 13,000 stores, building innovative

mobile analytics using positioning and image

recognition technologies, and developing

Augmented Reality (AR) solutions to create

the Internet of Stores and Indoors for a variety

of clients.

FUN FACTS■■ You can now search for millions of products

in over 250,000 locations in the new

Aisle411 “Shops” app.

■■ Aisle411 can deliver indoor positioning

experiences on mobile devices using new

Google and Apple technologies.

■■ Aisle411 created a “Darth Vader”

augmented reality (AR) experience.

Bonfyrebonfyreapp.com Twitter: @BonfyreApp

Bonfyre is a private social communication

platform that is creating a new level of

employee engagement around events, project

teams, employee groups, learning programs,

culture and more. This unique focus on human

connections is helping companies leverage

existing investments in events (conferences,

meetings, incentive trips) and employee

engagement programs—leading to more

actionable intelligence, productivity and revenue.

FUN FACTS■■ The founders’ combined height is 12’-9”.

■■ Bonfyre team had the second fastest time

getting out of an escape room (38 minutes)

saturation in non-iPad environments.

■■ Bonfyre support teams have provided on-

site support in South Africa, Turkey

and Mexico.

TruQCtruqc.com Twitter: @TruOC

TruQC is a quality control and process

documentation app built for the iPad.

Originally designed for industrial painters,

TruQC is now bringing QC and reporting tasks

into the digital age for customers in an array

of industries.

FUN FACTS■■ TruQC has been used on projects in all 50 US

states and Washington D.C., as well as 70+

countries.

■■ TruQC is proud to say that they count the

St. Louis Cardinals as one of its satisfied

customers.

■■ TruQC recently released a web-based

addition to the product, to increase

saturation in non-iPad environments.

TopOPPStopopps.com Twitter: @TopOPPSHO

TopOPPS is a sales pipeline management

and forecast predictability solution that uses

machine learning algorithms to bring clarity

to the sales pipeline, accuracy to the forecast

and alignment to the sales process.

FUN FACTS■■ TopOPPS won the Forbes Ten Top Hottest

Sales Tools at Dreamforce.

■■ TopOPPS currently employs three full-time

transplants from the east coast, three from

the west coast and one from the south.

■■ TopOPPS CHO (Chief Happiness Officer) is a

rescue dog named “Topper”.

12

FAST

TENSt. Louis’ fastest growing tech startups, founded in 2014 or later, ranked based on the key metrics of total funds raised, current monthly revenue, payroll and total employees.

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GeoNumerical Solutionsgeonumerical.com

GeoNumerical Solutions helps clients

understand and predict underground

responses to subsurface activities through

simulation and analysis. Built on its

proprietary Argos software and executed in

high-performance computing facility, GNS

designs, develops, and applies a variety of

advanced numerical methods and models to

provide clients with unparalleled insight into

their operations.

FUN FACTS■■ Over three-fourths of GNS staff hold PhD’s.

■■ GNS’s board members include the CTO of

Baker Hughes and a Stanford professor.

■■ GNS’s software’s symbol is a peacock

feather, representing eyes of Argos.

Gladitoodgladitood.com Twitter: @Gladitood

Gladitood is a crowdfunding platform

that helps nonprofits raise funds and rally

volunteers around its projects. They give

nonprofits the tools, education and action

plan they need to engage current donors

and capture new donors online.

FUN FACTS■■ Originally, the company was named Wooga

(World Of Outrageously Generous Adventures)

■■ The idea for Gladitood came when its

founder took a trip to Samoa in 2011.

After a Tsunami warning on his second

night there, he learned the community

he was staying with was still rebuilding

after a devastating Tsunami in 2009. That

experience pushed him to create something

that could help grassroots organizations

get the resources they need to effect

positive change.

Epharmixepharmix.com Twitter: @Epharmix

Epharmix, a digital health startup,

creates clinically validated, condition-

specific communication tools: SMS and

phone-based “digital interventions.”

Epharmix interventions align with existing

reimbursement codes and quality metrics,

and are proven to help patients, save payers

money, and generate new revenue for

physicians and nurses.

FUN FACTS■■ Epharmix started as a research project, and

evolved into a past-growing technology

company beginning in May 2015.

■■ The Epharmix team holds bi-monthly “Sushi

Friday” lunches.

■■ Despite the low average age of the

Epharmix team, each of the founders are

serial entrepreneurs.

Fluentfluentfunds.com Twitter:@fluentfunds

Fluent is the blockchain-based financial

operating network for banks, large companies

and their global supply chains. By connecting

banks and businesses on a distributed

financial database, Fluent eliminates

friction in financial flows across global

supply chains. The Fluent solutions include a

global, real-time payment platform, treasury

management and supply chain collaboration

tools, and a free, robust supplier portal.

FUN FACTS■■ The team has a combined fourteen years

of experience in Blockchain and Digital

currencies, an industry which has only been

in existence for six years!

■■ The team has a diverse collection of degrees

in finance, computer science, graphic

design, marketing, political science, history,

psychology, exercise science, and even Spanish.

GeoNumericalSolutions

1113

3

8

4

9

5

10

Ziplinezipline.com Twitter: @ziplinelabs

Zipline is the world’s first mobile live

broadcast marketplace. Zipline provides a

simple way to convert influence into cash.

It does this by creating direct video access

between the influencer and his/her audience.

Then, without interrupting the broadcast, it

gives the viewer an opportunity to interact,

send money or purchase goods.

FUN FACTS■■ Zipline’s engineering team is 50% female.

■■ Zipline’s engineering team is 100% sourced

through St. Louis-based LaunchCode.

■■ Zipline’s engineering team is all local, but

reside in four different counties.

Lean Medialean.media Twitter: @lean_media

Lean Media leverages the power of Big

Data to deliver highly relevant and targeted

advertising to users across the Internet at

the household, individual and business level.

Its unique “audience first” approach, which

incorporates a combination of offline data

acquisition, data analytics and cutting edge

data activation, results in more meaningful

connections between advertisers and their

target audiences.

FUN FACTS■■ So far, Lean Media has been asked to target

a wide variety of unique audiences from

pig farmers to on-the-go vegans to safety

equipment buyers.

■■ Lean Media is the second ITEN company in

one family, with co-founder and CEO Beth

Handrigan’s husband a co-founder of fellow

ITEN company, Recursive Labs.

Need Fixed Partsneedfixedparts.com Twitter: @Need_Fixed

Need Fixed Parts is an online wholesale parts

distributor for cell phone repair shops across

the U.S.—a $1.4BN industry and still growing.

It focuses on providing only the highest quality

parts to clients to ensure that its defect rate

stays below 5%, which is much less than

competitors.

FUN FACTS■■ All three founders attended Ranken

Technical College and pursued IT jobs for 7

years before founding Need Fixed Parts.

■■ Need Fixed Parts was accidentally founded

as a small pivot to generate revenue for the

original company, Need Fixed, that was a

SaaS product for consumers to locate repair

shops outside Yelp!

HIPAA Trekhipaatrek.com Twitter: @hipaatrek

Compliance is a journey and not a destination.

HIPAAtrek understands this and offers cloud-

based software that guides organizations

through creating, implementing, and

managing a customized HIPAA compliance

program. A trek may be a long and arduous

journey, but HIPAAtrek makes your trek to

HIPAA compliance easy!

FUN FACTS■■ HIPAAtrek had 38 clients before they even

released their software. HIPAAtrek presold

our software to a group of early adopters to

help us fund our early days of development.

■■ They did not trip over their bootstraps

before raising money - but both the CEO

and General Counsel fell down stairs (3

weeks apart) and dealt with broken ankles

in Q4 2015.

Trendlybetrendly.com Twitter: @beTrendly

Trendly is a social discovery app that

recognizes people for living the brands they

love and lets them shop from each other’s

real-life photos. Trendly helps up and coming

brands get discovered in a more authentic way

by connecting them with rising influencers

who want to tell their story.

FUN FACTS■■ Trendly founders met at an entrepreneurial

summit while still in college, and pitched

the idea that eventually became Trendly,

but unfortunately lost to a team with a

funky smelling body butter.

■■ Their first real cofounder bonding

experience was a “Laughter Yoga” class of

mostly 70-80 year old women.

DataDog Healthmindset-app.com Twitter: @mindset_app

DataDog health is the creator of Mindset, an

app that helps people stress less. Mindset

pairs with heart rate monitors to measure

stress and notify you when you’re becoming

stressed. Then it gives simple exercises based

on therapy to help users cope.

FUN FACTS■■ The inspiration for using heart rate to track

emotion in our device comes from work

done with monkeys by our co-founder at the

National Institutes of Health.

■■ They named the company DataDog after

a loyal companion animal that seems to

sense the sentiment of its owner.

■■ The Mindset team is not afraid to get down

with emotional honesty. Every meeting they

share “good things” that have happened to

them, and their company-centric fears.

needfixedparts.com

1214

Tech Startup Community Support

Splice Machine 2■ ■ 4■ 4 4 ■ ■ ■ ■

MulticoreWare 3 ■ 4 4 ■ ■ ■

Label Insight 5 4■■ ■ 4 4■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Lockerdome 4 4■■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

■

Aisle411 7■ ■ 4 4 4 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■■

Velocidata n/a■ ■ 4■■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Hatchbuck 6■ ■ 4■ ■ 4 ■ ■ ■ ■

TopOpps ■ ■ 4■■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

TruQC 8 4■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Bonfyre 4■ 4■ 4■

ITEN P

rogra

mm

ing

ITEN M

entors/

EIRs

Incu

bator

(Past

or Curre

nt)

St. Louis

Acc

elerato

r Pro

gram

Ecosy

stem

Funding

St. Louis-

Based

Unive

rsity

Helix Center

T-REX

CIC@CET

CET

T-REX

T-REX

Capital Innovators

Capital Innovators

Capital Innovators

Capital Innovators

Cultivation Capital,

Arch Grants

Cultivation Capital

Cultivation Capital


St. Louis Arch Angels

Several local investors, led by James V. O’Donnell


St. Louis Arch Angels, Missouri

IDEA Funds

St. Louis Arch Angels, St. Louis

University Billiken Angels

Network, Missouri IDEA

Funds

St. Louis University,

Washington University in St. Louis





Note: This chart was created based on data given to us by the companies.

Serial E

ntrepre

neur

First-T

ime Founder

2014 Top Ten Rank

ITEN TOP TEN

Honorable Mention

No. 1 Fast Ten

15

GeoNumerical 2015 4 ■ ■ Solutions

Epharmix 2015 4■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■■

Zipline 2014 4 4 4

Need Fixed Parts 2014■ 4■ 4■ 4■

Trendly 2015■ ■ ■ 4 4

Gladitood 2015 4 4

Fluent 2014 4 4 4■ ■ ■ ■ ■■

Lean Media 2014 4 4 4 ■ ■ ■

HIPAATrek 2014 4 4 4■ ■ ■ ■ ■■

DataDog Health 2014 4■■ ■ 4 4■ ■ ■ ■ ■■■

Year Founded

ITEN P

rogra

mm

ing

ITEN M

entors/

EIRs

Incu

bator

(Past

or Curre

nt)

St. Louis

Acc

elerato

r Pro

gram

Ecosy

stem

Funding

St. Louis-

Based

Unive

rsity

St. Louis-

Based

Unive

rsity

IDEA Labs

T-REX

T-REX

CIC@4240, T-REX

IDEA Labs

Capital Innovators

Startup Next

Capital Innovators

Capital Innovators

BioGenerator, St. Louis Arch Angels, iSelect

Fund

Local Investors

St. Louis Arch Angels

Lindbergh Fund, Arch Grants

Common Place Holdings




Note: This chart was created based on data given to us by the companies.

Serial E

ntrepre

neur

First-T

ime Founder

ITEN FAST TEN

16

Technology Clusters

The majority of ITEN member companies fall into one or more of the Technology Clusters below.

In 2016, ITEN will be structuring its programming around these four areas to streamline focus on industries in

which St. Louis has shown success, and where there is critical mass of resources and expertise. This structure also

helps when engaging the corporate innovation community, giving them a targeted pathway to areas of interest.

ITEN’s Corporate Engagement Program will fully launch in 2016 with both public and private events connecting

tech startups with its corporate partners* in the region.

Big Data/AnalyticsBig Data, Internet of Things, etc.

Top Big Data Startups

1. Splice Machine 2. Label Insight 3. Velocidata

Infrastructure, Software, & Mobile DevelopmentHardware systems, SaaS, Mobile App etc.

Top Infrastructure, Software, & Mobile Development Startups

1. MulticoreWare Inc. 2. LockerDome 3. Aisle411

Cybersecurity & Financial ServicesTop Cybersecurity Startups

1. Gremln 2. Observable Networks 3. Bandura

Healthcare ITSt. Louis region industry strength

Top Healthcare IT Startups

1. MedSocket 2. Sparo Labs

3. Epharmix

* Founding corporate partners are Daugherty Business Solutions, Enterprise Holdings, Monsanto and Reinsurance Group of America. Four additional partners are targeted to join in 2016.

Cluster Rankings

17

The Founders

Diversity & Inclusion

A top goal of ITEN is to continue to expand the St. Louis tech ecosystem and reach out to those typically underrepresented in tech entrepreneurship. We have a strong belief that the more diverse the input, the more successful the outcome. This belief drives our programming, partnerships

and mentor and company recruitment. Below are the top startups helping strengthen this effort with their leadership.

Top Women-Led Startups

1. myEDmatch 2. Bandura 3. Sparo Labs

Top Minority-Owned Startups

1. MulticoreWare Inc 2. Label Insight 3. Better Weekdays

Top Immigrant-Owned Startups

1. Label Insight 2. CrazyForEducation 3. Tallyfy

Our entrepreneur founders come from all kinds of backgrounds and experiences. By tracking the origins of our founders’ entrepreneurial journeys, ITEN can continue to tweak our programming to serve a diverse base of

entrepreneurs. The following charts outline the key demographics of our company founders.

Founder’s Origin and College Founder’s Age

Founder’s Gender

St. Louis Metropolitan area

Missouri – Non STL

Illinois – Non STL

US (Remaining)

Europe

Africa

Asia, New Zealand & Australia

Latin America

40%20%

14%

11%

48%

5%

0%

0%

1%

9%

11%

26%

4%

2%

6%

3%

Founder’s OriginFounder’s College

2015: 16% Women-Owned 2014: 20% Women-Owned2013: 19% Women-Owned

Under 25:

18%

46-55: 17%

Over 55: 6%

36-45: 25%26-35:

34%

18

Top ITEN Moments of 2015

3 Change of Leadership After 7 years at the helm, ITEN founder and Executive

Director, Jim Brasunas retired in May, passing the baton

to Director of Operations Francis Chmelir.

4 Co-Organized VISION 2015 ITEN partnered with BioSTL and St. Louis Makes to host

the first-ever regional inclusion symposium on biosci-

ence, IT and advanced manufacturing. The first VISION

conference brought together more than 200 diverse

individuals across academic, corporate and entrepre-

neurship sectors, with many attendees new to the St.

Louis innovation ecosystem. More than 35 entrepreneur

support organizations also participated.

5 Co-Organized Hack4Hope Hack4Hope’s mission is to create inroads to innovative

careers for underserved youth in the St. Louis area. ITEN

co-organized the first Hack4Hope hackathon held at

T-REX in July, attracting 37 students and 16 professional

mentors, and helped launch the follow-on program

Hack4Hope Academy.

1 First Stand-Alone Year After 7 years under Innovate St. Louis, ITEN became its

own not-for-profit corporation on January 1, 2015. New

Board Members, row 1: Jim Brasunas, Dedric Carter, Hal

Gentry, Vicki Gonzalez; row 2: Jason Hall, Ken Harrington,

Tom Hillman, Bill Peck; row 3: Jean Roberson, Donn Rubin,

Mark Showers and Jim von der Heydt.

2 Winner of St. Louis Regional Chamber’s Arcus Award ITEN shared the Arcus Award for Achievement in En-

trepreneurship and Innovation with Cultivation Capital,

recognizing the importance of both mentorship and

education along with capital investment.

5 Launched Corporate Engagement Program Adding to our already robust programming, we launched

a formal Corporate Engagement Program with Founding

Partners Daugherty Business Solutions, Enterprise Hold-

ings, Monsanto and Reinsurance Group of America, to

facilitate the process of connecting tech startups to area

corporations for mutually beneficial collaborations.

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Special Thanks

We would like to give special thanks to the following

organizations, who have given us tremendous help and

support in the data collection for this report.

Published in collaboration with eqstl.com

St. LouisTech Startup Report

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW

itenstl.org | Twitter: @itenstl

ITEN is generously supported by:

1 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y

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