1. St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area

• Percentage of startups that are female-owned: 45.2%
• Number of female-owned startups: 2,726
• Employees at female-owned startups: 6,257 (out of 17,888 at all startups)
• Gross sales/receipts of female-owned startups: $150-$500 million

Most active industry for female entrepreneurs: Health care and social assistance

Rising Stars #STLMADE

Women business owners in St. Louis are drawing more funding and attention than ever before while giving other women a boost.

Story By Deborah Johnson
Visuals By Michael Thomas

Women are building a new future for St. Louis from the ground up. Small-business consulting firm Seek Capital ranks the St. Louis area number one on its list of “Top 20 Metros With the Most Female-Owned Startups.” Sitting in the list’s top spot, St. Louis outranks cities like Austin, San Diego, Kansas City and Washington, D.C.

More than in any other metro area, St. Louis women are leading the United States in a number of notable metrics based on employer businesses with receipts of $1,000 or more in the last two years. Some impressive local figures from Seek Capital’s research:

• There are 2,726 companies in the St. Louis region that are owned by women.
• 2% of local startups are owned by women.
• Local women-owned startups boast gross sales/receipts of $150 million-$500 million.
• These companies employ 6,257 people.

Moreover, women-owned companies in St. Louis have seen a bigger boost in venture capital investment lately. A PitchBook analysis reports that in 2018, 16 deals garnered about $58 million in capital investment for companies founded by women in the St. Louis region. That’s a 5x jump from $11 million in 2017 and a 7x increase from $7.8 million in 2016.

The Brookings Institution also reports on the growing investment in women-owned companies nationwide and in St. Louis, noting that the Gateway City is among the top five metro areas with a growing share of female-founded startups for 2016 and 2017. According to Brookings, 13 of 34 first financings during those two years went to women-owned companies. In looking at data for an even longer period, Brookings also observes that “metro areas experiencing the highest rates of growth in startup activity over the thirteen-year period also had, on average, a higher share of female-founded companies among them.”

And that momentum applies to more than just startups. St. Louis recently was awarded its own Major League Soccer team, thanks to a local women-led effort. Set to begin play in 2022, it’s the first franchise in MLS history with an ownership team comprised of a majority of women, which could open additional doors for women in sports leadership positions as well as for players at all levels of the game.

Check out the full article here – https://thestl.com/work/rising-stars/

Blogged by your favorite St Louis REALTOR®:

Tina Siebert  Circa Properties

314-603-8555  / 314-352-5200

TinaSellsStLouis@gmail.com

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