August 13, 2014 | Green Street
Written by Bryan Feldt on May 21, 2014
Here are the 20 winners of this year’s Arch Grants
Arch Grants, the St. Louis-based organization that hands out non-equity $50,000 grants to startup companies from across the globe, announced 20 new grant recipients Wednesday morning.
Of the winners, at least five are from St. Louis. Overall, the companies come from six states, and three countries. As part of the deal, these companies must move to St. Louis for the duration of the program.
“We’re excited by the vision, execution and most importantly, the leaders of this year’s class of companies,” said Jerry Schlichter, founder and board president of Arch Grants, in a statement. “These firms will help reinforce the message that St. Louis is a globally competitive city and an attractive destination for top business talent. We look forward to continuing to assist these entrepreneurs in growing their businesses.”
To date, Arch Grants has given out more than $1.9 million in grant funding to 35 companies – 32 of which are still operating, while one (Obsorb) was acquired – leading to $6.5 million in revenue, $17.7 million in addition capital raised, and 192 net new jobs.
Here are the winners:
Artifox (St. Louis): A furniture company devoted to merging quality craftsmanship with the constantly changing needs of the modern mobile professional.
BetaVersity (St. Louis): Promotes the maker movement by offering its BetaBox; a custom
prototyping pod built inside of a shipping container.
Blue Line Security Solutions (Missouri): Offers an affordable, practical, and reliable facial recognition system that can help protect stores, schools, offices, and entertainment venues from unwanted visitors and threats.
Cast (Missouri): A dedicated mobile app that allows publishers and consumers to quickly understand social opinion by creating public or private polls and observing structured response data in real time.
CoMo Medical (Columbia, Missouri): A medical device and pharmaceutical start-up offering solutions to unmet needs in healthcare.
Dabble (California): Provides subscribers an easy way to teach or take specialty classes on a wide-range of subjects.
Ephecom (Boston): An e-commerce marketplace that gives the end-user two things: steep discounts on the products that they love, and sixty seconds to decide whether to buy or pass.
FreightGrid (Missouri): A web application that manages the entire LTL (less than truckload) shipping process, saving time and money for customers.
Greetabl (St. Louis): The fun and memorable way to connect with the important people by sharing thoughtful gifts with a personal note.
Hyde (Milwaukee): Manufactures the sporting equipment of the future, starting with the Wingman, a first of its kind life vest allowing swimmers to rescue themselves.
Jolt (Massachusetts): Makes wearable head impact sensors for youth athletes.
Less Annoying CRM (California): Makes a simple customer relationship manager (CRM) for small businesses.
LIFEPACK (Valle del Cauca, Colombia): Produces and sells plates made of natural fibers (pineapple
crown) and seeds that can germinate into a plant.
Made for Freedom (St. Louis): Driving a social entrepreneurial mission to establish a global, online, retail/wholesale clothing business while providing dignified employment for survivors of sex trafficking.
MeterGenius (Illinois): A free website that provides tools and incentives for homeowners to save money on their electricity bill.
Nanopore Diagnostics (St. Louis): Enables physicians to make informed antibiotic decisions during their initial examination of a patient.
Prattle Analytics (Boston): Utilizes proprietary textual analysis methods to provide innovative
financial data solutions.
Tallyfy (London, England): Makes critical business processes incredibly user-friendly and visible – in real-time with a friendly layer on top of complex tools and confusing processes.
Tuloko (Minnesota): A social enterprise focused on driving more business to minority and women owned businesses.
Wondermento (London, England): A digital company that links to your physical world, creating apps that interact with lovingly made connected devices.
Funders of the Arch Grants competition in 2014 include: Advantage Capital Partners;Bryan Cave; Emerson; Green Street St. Louis; Husch Blackwell; Interco; Monsanto;Peabody Energy; Polsinelli; Thompson Coburn; Kemper Charitable Foundation; the Regional Business Council; Sterling Bank; Twain Financial; and the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. Arch Grants board members also provided substantial underwriting for this year’s competition.
