The landscape for startups has been challenging in the past year, but that didn’t stop local companies from achieving exits and raising capital.
Through its Startup Exit Awards, St. Louis Inno celebrates St. Louis' later-stage startup successes and the individuals who have made huge contributions to the startup industry. It includes awards for Exit of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and two finalists for the Top Equity Funding Transaction.
Winners of the awards will be profiled in the July 21 edition of the St. Louis Business Journal and celebrated at an event on July 18 at Third Degree Glass Factory. The event will also unveil the winners of St. Louis Inno’s Fire Awards and the Top Equity Funding Transaction. You can read about the finalists of the Fire Awards here.
THE 2023 ST. LOUIS INNO FIRE AWARDS: Meet the finalists here.
Here’s the 2023 Startup Exit Awards honorees, by category:
Lifetime Achievement | Maxine Clark
Clark is founder and former CEO of St. Louis-based Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. (NYSE: BBW), the toy retailer and entertainment company known for its stuffed bears. Since stepping down as Build-A-Bear’s CEO in 2013, Clark has remained active in St. Louis’ entrepreneurial community. In May, she received an honorary degree from Washington University, where she is a member of its Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship National Council. Clark also spearheaded Delmar Divine, the $89 million mixed-use redevelopment of the former St. Luke’s Hospital, which aims to be a hub for social innovators.
Exit of the Year | CoverCress
Bayer, the Germany-based pharmaceutical and agriculture giant, in August announced it had entered into a shareholders’ agreement to increase its existing investment in CoverCress to acquire a 65% ownership stake in the St. Louis startup. Creve Coeur-based CoverCress has developed a rotational, oilseed cash crop to provide winter and spring soil cover between corn harvest and soybean planting.
The deal marked a win for local investors who had backed CoverCress since its founding. Local investors who funded CoverCress included BioSTL's BioGenerator, St. Louis Arch Angels, Hermann Cos., Prolog Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Missouri Technology Corp., Yield Lab and St. Louis County Port Authority.
Top Equity Funding Transaction | Finalists
TCARE
The senior caregiving startup secured $17 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by New York-based American Family Ventures. The financing included several new investors in TCARE, including Ziegler Link-age Funds, Unum Ventures, Inception Health, Sompo Holdings and Plug & Play Ventures.
SimpleRose
The supercomputer startup raised $23 million in a Series C round led by Pelion Venture Partners. Other investors in the startup include NEA, Cultivation Capital and Lightchain Capital.
