Entrepreneurially Thinking: Innovation | Experimentation | Creativity | Business

Sometimes it takes someone (or a few someones!) from the outside to see the potential in your own backyard. Enter the East St. Louis Initiative (ESLI.) You may not know it but for the last two years graduate students from Washington University have been listening to and talking with business owners and folks with startup ideas in East St. Louis. Their goal – to change people’s lives one small business at a time. What that looks like today is a year-long intensive program that matches the passion and enthusiasm of individuals who have a new or existing business with the expertise of graduate students - MSW, JD, MBA and MPH candidates from the university. Gülcan Yayla, originally from Turkey, joins us to tell us more about the ESLI founding story and how Ferguson played a role in its creation. She is joined by her current cohort of entrepreneurs, Brandon Walker, founder of Positive & Productive Innovations and Devon Moody Graham, founder of The Biz Spot. Spend time with us learn what inspires these entrep

Christy and Cheryl with Ralph Thompson, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Mind Safety Management, LLC, a St. Louis information technology company headquartered in our CORTEX Innovation District. Ralph has been an entrepreneur since he was a young child, earning extra money where he saw opportunities in his community—from selling candy to shoveling snow! He hails from a long line of entrepreneurs in his family—he learned by example! Ralph has an interesting career path that led him to co-found Mind Safety Management (MSM)—a locally recognized “Top 25 African-American Owned Business” honored for stellar leadership and business growth six years in a row (2008-2014) by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Organization, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and the St. Louis American Foundation. Most recently, MSM was notified that they have been accepted into the 2016 Inner City Capital Connections St. Louis Class which is a highly competitive program that positions small businesses for immediate and lon

A recap of the Vision! We broadcast LIVE from the Vision 2016 regional symposium presented by BioSTL, ITEN and St. Louis Makes. This marks the second annual event with the goal of building a wholly-inclusive, diverse innovation community. Entrepreneurially Thinking podcast producer, Jade Harrell, speaks with participants prior to the symposium in a pre-show to highlight the event and bring the symposium to the broader community. Seeking to learn more about opportunities in bioscience, IT and advanced manufacturing? Learn about the numerous opportunities in these growing industries and find your fit! This event featured diverse professionals, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial resource support organizations, start-up organizations and corporations in a multi-track format. In this on location edition of ETHINKSTL: Meet the founder, Mary Stillman, and the young ladies of the Hawthorn School of Leadership. Hear what makes them love their all girls school and what they aspire to be and do when they grown up! Meet

Sharon Echols found her sweet spot in entrepreneurship after working 25years in the mortgage banking business. She and her husband responded to industry changes by reviving their fond childhood memories with a new venture. With the underlying goal of having something to fall back on, they opened up a neighborhood candy store for the community to rely on. With no prior retail or business experience, Lee and Sharon undertook the hardcore planning, drew from their corporate backgrounds and launched into the unique venture of confectionery. Within 5 years of offering not only a large variety of candy, chocolate, taffy and nostalgia treats, Miss M’s Candy store is ready for expansion. A second location in the Grand Center has big plans for event space and candy catering. Both stores will continue to create experiences of confectionery delight for all ages with candy apparel, novelty and accessories. Sharon shares more of the challenges they faced as new business owners as well as the exciting plans for new itera

Today we are speaking with Steve Epner, a true entrepreneur. Steve has started multiple businesses, sold some, closed others. Each was a learning experience that Steve shares with others. Steve was the Entrepreneur in Residence for the Boeing Company, is on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Saint Louis University teaching innovation and entrepreneurship, is a current Board Member and volunteer for the Gateway Venture Mentoring Service (providing free mentoring services to early stage companies), and is the founder and current director of the St. Louis Innovation Roundtable. Steve is also the founder of The Startup WithIN, LLC, a consulting practice that helps existing companies ignite and manage their innovation and entrepreneurial endeavors () This is a special discussion for all of you corporate folks looking for new, different and innovative ways to move your organization forward. We are speaking with Steve about his great experience with corporate innovation teams and how he has supporte

It's hard to spend time with Zim and not know that optimism is in his DNA. So too is his intuition for identifying and capitalizing on emerging product and technology trends. Not a fan of following the rules, he started at Washington University in the architecture program, jumped into the Hatchery capstone class with no prior business or entrepreneurship experience and graduated with a degree in psychology. Listen to find out how his experience as an 8-year old immigrant shaped his ability to adapt through introspection and led him to hone his skills as a divergent thinker, fluid learner and someone for whom entrepreneurship is an extension of the scientific method- a series of experiments. In this episode Christy and Cheryl hang out with Zim Hang, CEO and Co-Founder of Chrona Sleep. Zim is a self-described neuroscience entrepreneur and product development Swiss Army Knife. Together they explore the technical and human sides of building a business. Be inspired by this young entrepreneur's approach to learn

From finance and financing to technical assistance, Eddie can tell you first-hand what it takes for entrepreneurs to succeed and flourish. "I started as a car washer." From there, Eddie Davis went into public relations at Union Electric (Ameren) where he managed the company's charitable trust - deploying capital in the St. Louis region. This was just the start of a long and interesting career that pioneered minority business development policies in the St. Louis region. Creating value. Making intentional business decisions. Creating positive impact for individuals and businesses in our community. These are the things Eddie does. Eddie knows where the money comes from. Today you'll find him nurturing minority business owners at The Center for the Acceleration of African-American Business (CAAAB). CAAAB is a non-profit civic organization established to support the growth and development of businesses owned by minority populations, primarily African Americans. The Center’s goal is to advance economic developme

What do Redwood Trees and a machine shop have in common? Emily Woods! Spend some time learning how Emily's upbringing took her from making her own tools to do field research to her role as Senior Member Ambassador for TechShop St. Louis where she supports and manages the member service and experience department. Emily is a San Francisco Bay Area native with a BA in Environmental Studies and a long history in the maker movement and continues to support the maker community outside of TechShop. Emily sits on the Board of Directors for Autistry, a therapeutic makerspace for people with Autism in San Rafael, California and is focused on helping the organization to expand into the Silicon Valley. Feeling inspired!? TechShop is a community-based workshop and prototyping studio on a mission to democratize access to the tools of innovation. You can get your makerspace, prototyping, experimentation groove on from 9am to midnight every day. Packed with cutting-edge tools, equipment, and computers loaded with design s

ETHINKSTL004: Not Just Quitting Your Job w/ Maurice Foxworth and Jane Quartel Today we are speaking to the entrepreneurs who are also wage earners, salaried, employees...the folks on the grind and on the job. Think you’re ready to take the big plunge? That leap of faith? Well before you turn in your two-weeks notice, make sure you listen closely today!! You can be an entrepreneur while you are working within an organization. We want you to start thinking about stepping into who you are as an Entrepreneur within the workplace and we have with us two exceptional guests to share their insights. Cheryl and Christy with Maurice Foxworth, Principal at InnovationWorks and Jane Quartel, Global Strategic Product Lead - Food Protection Business at DuPont Nutrition & Health.

Cheryl and Christy with Keith Turner, TurnGroup Technologies L.L.C. and Seqwana Pryor, Prycor Technologies, LLC sharing insights from their seasoned successful careers as entrepreneurs.