The UMSL Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (EIC), the entrepreneurship program of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, this summer will begin a $3 million renovation to its facilities.
Separately, the program on Tuesday announced the next cohort in its Anchor Accelerator program, awarding $250,000 in grants to local entrepreneurs.
UMSL EIC, which until September was called UMSL Accelerate, first began planning a renovation of its facilities, at 35 Performance Drive on the university’s North Campus, in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Director Scott Morris said.
“It’s just not a very flexible, open design right now,” he said, adding that the renovations, set to conclude in spring 2025, will increase the space’s functionality and make it better suited for collaboration. The renovations are in line with current corporate workspace trends, he said.
The university is currently working to select the architects and contractors that will work on the project, Morris said. The $3 million renovation will be largely funded by private donors, although the university has applied for government funding for the project as well, he added.
Complementing UMSL EIC’s updated facilities will be new courses and programming, slated to roll out this fall, in topics including so-called "intrapreneurship," functioning like an entrepreneur within a larger organization, and entrepreneurial finance and investment, officials said.
The university’s goal is to create accessible programs that fill gaps within St. Louis business education systems, Morris said.
UMSL EIC also on Tuesday announced the fourth cohort of its Anchor Accelerator — which launched in 2020 as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Accelerator – that aims to help St. Louis-based companies scale up their business with additional funding and education.
The cohort companies are:
- Patty’s Cheesecakes: The company sells artisan cheesecake products, including cheesecake slices, petites, cookie sandwiches and cake-pops.
- Figozo: The company created a point of sale and commission-free ordering system that vendors can use to sell products online, on social media and in-store.
- Real Document Solutions: The company developed a cloud-based software designed to increase users’ speed, reliability, accuracy and profitability.
- Bold Spoon Creamery: The company sells small batches of artisanal ice cream flavors in what it says are bold flavors, like garden mint, goat cheese and fig jam and Brie with spiced honey.
- ThriveLink: An investment and professional services firm that specializing in impact-driven founders and technologies that empower commerce within local economies, change the way people live, work and connect, and unlock human potential and wellbeing.
Each firm will receive a $50,000 non-dilutive grant and will participate in an eight-week business development program. UMSL EIC will additionally provide each firm with a dedicated mentor and student intern and connect each firm with subject matter experts and specialists to address specific concerns, Morris said.
The accelerator will work with each firm to address its individual needs, he continued, adding that one firm plans to use the capital to address its capacity constraints, while another will use the capital for digital marketing and to round out its products.
For its fourth cohort, the Anchor Accelerator said it received about 240 applications for the program. Sponsors of the program include Edward Jones, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Husch Blackwell, Missouri Technology Corporation and private donors.
Morris was named in September to lead UMSL EIC. He received a doctorate in business administration from UMSL in 2023 after 30 years in corporate business. He is supported by Director of Operations Michael Butler, who has worked at UMSL for more than 20 years and co-leads UMSL EIC, officials said.
