St. Louis Inno on Tuesday hosted its Fire Awards and Startup Exit Awards event, recognizing more than a dozen startups and innovators that have achieved major milestones.
The event, held at Third Degree Glass Factory, marked the second annual celebration of St. Louis Inno’s Fire Awards and the fifth year of honoring companies and entrepreneurs through the Startup Exit Awards.
Following opening remarks by St. Louis Business Journal Publisher Robert Bobroff, the audience heard remarks from Phyllis Ellison, associate vice chancellor for St. Louis Community College’s workforce solutions group, and Royal Banks of Missouri President and CEO Mitch Baden.
The event included a fireside chat with 2023 Startup Exit Awards Lifetime Achievement Award winner Maxine Clark, founder and former CEO of St. Louis-based Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. (NYSE: BBW). Clark spoke with St. Louis Inno Editor Nathan Rubbelke about how she began her career as an entrepreneur and the origins of Build-A-Bear. She also provided entrepreneurs in the crowd with advice, citing the importance of having a business plan. Her remarks also touched on Delmar Divine, the new $89 million mixed-use redevelopment of the former St. Luke’s Hospital that Clark spearheaded.
Scroll through the gallery below to take a peek at Tuesday's event.
Fire and Startup Exit Awards event
Following the fireside chat, the audience heard from Dave Finklang, a partner at Anders CPAs + Advisors who leads the company’s startup practice. Finklang told the audience about a startup funding and outlook survey that Anders is currently conducting.
Capping off the evening, Rubbelke then presented awards to this year’s winners for the Startup Exit Awards and Fire Awards. Winners and finalists are profiled in this week’s edition of the St. Louis Business Journal.
Thank you to our St. Louis Inno sponsors — 39 North, Anders CPAs + Advisors, BioSTL, Envision LLC, Greater St. Louis Inc., Royal Banks of Missouri, St. Louis Community College and Thompson Coburn LLP — for making this awards program possible.
For links to profiles of winners and finalists in the 2023 Fire Awards and Startup Exit Awards, go here:
