Building Better Entrepreneurs: STL's Incubators and Co-Working Spaces

by Julia Paulus Ogilvie

Maybe you’re not sure where to begin looking for the incubator or co-working space that might be the right fit for you, your business and your team. Maybe you’re overwhelmed by the many options in the St. Louis area. Or perhaps you’re unfamiliar with the concept. Whatever the case may be, there are people in our community running spaces that house and support other businesses and individuals. St. Louis Small Business Monthly compiled a list of incubators in the area and outlined what each can do to help aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. One of them may just provide the focus and resources you need to push yourself or your business to the next level.


Lab1500
Focus:
At Lab1500, a project of Ignition Tank, which develops ideas into startups, the goal is to bring seasoned and aspiring entrepreneurs together as a community to collaborate on ideas and spark innovation.
Location:
1500 Washington Ave., Suite 100
Space features:
Housed in a 120-year-old building with exposed brick walls, hardwood floors and intricate ceiling tiles on Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis, Lab1500 offers the latest technology, a traditional co-working space with communal tables to ease collaboration, a lounge area, a conference room and a classroom.
Ideal clientele:
Both experienced and aspiring entrepreneurs are welcome to join this community.
Perks:
Entrepreneur networking; Wi-Fi connection; Comfortable lounge seating; Spacious communal tables; Fully equipped conference rooms; Classroom; Printer/copier; Resource library; Weekly networking and educational events.

T-Rex
Focus:
By providing the startup entrepreneur with low-cost and flexible enterprise space, along with programming, the team behind the T-Rex venue is working to increase the vitality of the regional economy. Startups housed in T-Rex are nurtured in technological development, encouraged to think creatively through design and employ highly skilled workers who will contribute to the economic development of St. Louis. It is now home to 100-plus startups, ITEN, Capital Innovators, Cultivation Capital, SixThirty, Arch Grants and many other entrepreneurial activity, including Startup Weekend and StartLouis.
Location:
911 Washington Ave.
Ideal clientele:
Entrepreneurs, developers, designers, mentors, educators and all with ambitious minds are welcome.
Perks:
Amazing Internet; Coffee; A community of people who are here to support your business and help it grow ; Shared space being built on the fifth floor with high-tech conference rooms, a shared kitchen, unlimited coffee and a bar with local beer; Membership (not a lease) that requires 30-day notice to drop.

Claim
Focus:
Created for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs, Claim is a co-working space with an environment that allows startups and small businesses to cultivate their identities and build their dreams by offering access to the services they need while also providing the powerful effects of a collaborative environment.
Location:
515 Olive St.
Space features:
Claim offers versatile spaces that can grow as teams grow to accommodate more desks for new members as well as conference space and reception services to filter incoming calls.
Ideal clientele:
Entrepreneurs and small businesses from all over who are seeking a stake in the St. Louis startup scene.
Perks:
Full-time receptionist; Shared kitchen area; Access to conference rooms; Coffee bar with Starbucks; Desk space; Secure high-speed Internet; Teleconferencing capabilities ; “War room” designed to help your team discuss and develop plans of attack; Office hours with specialists including legal professionals, marketers, graphic artists, developers and entrepreneurs

Nebula
Focus:
Home to some of St. Louis’ best creative talent in web and graphic design, programming, video production, event management, public relations, and music, Nebula’s co-working space provides the opportunity to network, collaborate and socialize in one community.
Location:
3407 S. Jefferson Ave.
Space features:
Located in a light-filled Cherokee Business District historic building, Nebula offers members the ability to walk to an array of restaurants, arts spaces and shops while being just minutes from downtown. Nebula’s 15,000-square-foot space also offers flexibility with the options of drop-in desk space, virtual office services, a dedicated desk, meeting space and a more traditional office environment.
Ideal clientele:
Creative professionals, small businesses, independent contractors, artists and nonprofits.
Perks:
Variety of working environments; Rental space flexibility; Conference room with 10-foot conference table with seating for 10; Audio/video/power connections along with a 52-inch flat-screen display, in-wall speakers, a 6-foot whiteboard and an audiovisual rack complete with audio mixer, video selector and Apple TV; Kitchen with a large shared refrigerator/freezer with ice maker, microwave, toaster oven, coffee machine, soda machine and snack machine with lots of healthy and not-so-healthy options; Internet with 100-MB connection, eight Wi-Fi hotspots and 50 hardwired Ethernet ports

ITE
Focus:
Organized within the Office of Research Administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, ITE is a university incubator for community as well as university technologies. ITE helps companies of varying stages translate innovative ideas into thriving businesses in a variety of fields. ITE achieves its mission through its state-of-the-art infrastructure, in-house coaching, business development services and access to the expertise of university faculty and students.
Location:
4633 World Parkway Circle, Berkeley
Space features:
Located within easy access to major highways, ITE’s conveniently located space offers offices and laboratories, making it the ideal environment for chemistry, life science, nanotechnology and IT companies.
Ideal clientele:
Companies of various sizes and stages with a focus on chemistry, commercial research organizations, life sciences companies using synthetic chemistry and information technology companies benefit most from ITE.
Perks:
Access to university resources; Use of professional common areas; Shared office and laboratory equipment; Competitive lease bundling; Wet laboratory spaces ranging in size from a little less than 500 square feet up to more than 3,000 square feet; Support systems to help companies at various stages; High-performance computing (HPC) center

TechArtista
Focus:
TechArtista is a professional workplace that combines private office suites, co-working space, conference rooms and a host of unique amenities. Its mission is to create a collaborative working environment that fosters personal and business development. By sharing networks, ideas and resources, startups will struggle less and find more success, ultimately boosting economic opportunity in St. Louis.
Location:
4818 Washington Ave.
Space features:
Located in the highly walkable Central West End neighborhood, TechArtista is housed in 13,500 square feet with amenities that create a business and lifestyle ecosystem.
Ideal clientele:
Creative and business professionals with growing enterprises.
Perks:
Dedicated desks; More than 25 private offices and studios; Three conference rooms and open areas for events; 24/7 access and private parking; Two kitchens; Laundry; A full gym, changing rooms and showers; Private video-chat booths; A large rooftop wooden deck

CET
Focus:
Since 1998, the Center for Emerging Technologies (CET) has provided the specialized facilities, knowledgeable support services, entrepreneur training programs and access to capital needed to establish and develop next-generation bioscience, medical and other advanced technology companies.
Location:
4320 Forest Park Ave., Suite 201
Space features:
CET is part of the Cortex Innovation Community, a 200-acre innovation hub and technology district integrated into St. Louis’ historic Central West End and Forest Park Southeast residential neighborhoods that is surrounded by universities, medical centers, and cultural and recreational assets.
Ideal clientele:
Bioscience, medical and other advanced technology startups will find assistance at CET, which fosters enterprise development through innovation.
Perks:
Business and funding resources; Specialized education and training; Introductions to prospective investors; Facilitation of interactions among regional collaborators including universities, community organizations and public agencies dedicated to scaling up targeted industries

CIC-St. Louis
Focus:
In 1999 CIC started with the vision of helping startups by setting up and managing their offices, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on their businesses. Since then more than 1,400 companies have chosen CIC. With hundreds of great entrepreneurs, mentors, advisers and investors in one campus environment, CIC allow entrepreneurs to build fast-growing startups.
Location:
4240 Duncan Ave., second floor
Space features:
Whether you are looking for space for one, five or a team of more than 30, CIC offers flexible space solutions to accommodate new startups of all sizes.
Ideal clientele:
CIC is home to entrepreneurs and service firms, every week hosting events that draw members from across the startup community.
Perks:
Stocked kitchens; Conference rooms; Internet; Printing and copying; Phones; High-end furniture; Operational support and concierge; Unmetered services bundled into the monthly price; No leases; just 30 days’ notice.

STLVentureWorks
Focus:
At STLVentureWorks, the goal is to help entrepreneurs take their ventures to the next level by providing a startup support network, essential resources and physical space to energize the enterprises.
Location:
This incubator network includes five locations:  
-Grand Center, 3830 Washington Ave.
-South County, 315 Lemay Ferry Road
-Wellston, 6439 Plymouth Ave., Wellston
-West County, 743 Spirit 40 Park Drive, Chesterfield
-Helix Center Biotech Incubator, 1100 Corporate Square, Creve Coeur
Space features:
Grand Center offers office, warehouse and production space as well as the resources to help companies from virtually any business sector thrive.
South County offers a 21,000-square-foot business incubator featuring office, warehouse and production space. It is the only facility to offer retail space for startup and early-stage small to midsized businesses.
Wellston features office and warehouse space and is conveniently located near a MetroLink light rail station and the Metropolitan Education and Training (MET) Center.
West County is conveniently located near Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield and features office, warehouse and production space for startup and early-stage small to midsized businesses.
Helix Center houses startups in bioscience, technology, and plant and life science. The facility offers affordable wet labs, dry labs, office space and more – nurturing, mentoring, financing and collaboration.
Ideal clientele:
Ventures looking to get on the fast track for growth. Specifics vary by location.
Perks:
On-site support; Fresh insights; Networking; Customized mentoring

Go! Celerator
Focus:
Go! Celerator is the first startup accelerator exclusively for young entrepreneurs that solves the challenges they face when starting a business. Because goBRANDgo!’s partners both started businesses in their early 20’s, today they want to give more young entrepreneurs the boost they need to become successful.
Location:
3301 Wisconsin Ave.
Space features:
This free housing option offers chosen candidates the counsel and resources of entrepreneurs who have been there before.
Ideal clientele:
Entrepreneurs will be eligible to be a part of Go! Celerator’s 2014-2015 class if:
-They were born in 1984 or later
-They can relocate to St. Louis for one year
-They have an innovative approach to their industry
-The business has proof of concept
(no “pre-revenue” allowed)
Perks:
Free housing; Office space; Mentoring and other benefits; A 12-month runway to get a business off the ground and poised for success

EDC of St. Charles County
Focus:
Since its inception in 1990, the Economic Development Center (EDC) of St. Charles County has been bringing people together to foster balanced growth and an ever-increasing quality of place in this award-winning community. Its small-business incubator works to foster entrepreneurial success, graduate business, create jobs and strengthen the community.
Location:
5988 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, St. Peters
Space features:
Since 1993, the EDC has been operating the 60,000-square-foot state-of-the-art small-business incubator facility, which offers spacious office suites and warehouse/flex space of varying sizes.
Ideal clientele:
Business owners of small and midsized companies, startups, and home-based businesses who want to grow and succeed with other entrepreneurs.
Perks:
Professional environment; Shared office services; Staff resources; Access to conference rooms; Specialized training programs
 
Great Rivers Market Fresh Network
Focus:
The core component of the Great Rivers Market Fresh Network is a business incubator that will support startups and existing companies.
Location:
1001 Brown St., Alton
Space features:
Located on the banks of the Mississippi River just 25 minutes from downtown St. Louis, the Great Rivers Market Fresh Network is designed to incubate new and accelerate existing businesses with three interconnected business development components, each sustaining the other. In addition to the business incubator, Great Rivers has a commercial kitchen rental business, which generates revenues to run the incubator and serve as a complementary source of income for the kitchen owners, all of which are nonprofit community service or charitable organizations. The third element is a food hub that connects producers of fresh, locally grown food products to local wholesale buyers, such as restaurants, education and community service institutions, and grocers.
Ideal clientele:
The Great Rivers Market Fresh Network is the emerging home to a growing community of entrepreneurs, foodies of all kinds, artisans, designers, mentors, educators and all ambitious minds.
Perks:
Network of business tools; back office support; space for lease; expert advisers; business plans to meet performance milestones.

HIVE 44
Focus:
Providing a hassle-free corporate environment that members enjoy going to every day to work and find the support of coworkers.
Location:
1710 Fenpark Drive, Fenton, MO 63026
Space features:
The HIVE44 is an UN-office environment. While it's not an ordinary office environment, it provides everything members need to run a successful business, including corporate structure, office equipment, internet, address, the meeting and conference rooms, and much more.
Ideal clientele:
Those who want to work independently for themselves, but not by themselves.
Perks:
-One monthly membership fee
-No lease or deposits
-The HIVE44 promotes member companies and supports each business like a corporation supports each employee