Join us on our NEXT Missouri Road Trip!
We hit the road to meet entrepreneurs across Missouri who are helping shape our state’s future. Join us on our mission of promoting economic growth and creating jobs as we highlight doers and builders from Springfield to St. Louis and Kansas City to the Bootheel.
DocuLock, LLC
Paul Janicek left IT sales to found DocuLock because he saw how reliant most businesses were on paper and knew that was a major liability that companies desperately needed to solve. DocuLock specializes in digitizing documents with their focus being accessibility and preservation of documentation. Their first big break came from the city of St. Joseph. With the goal of growing their franchise system out, DocuLock currently operates in 37 states and plans to expand to all 50 in the coming years. Paul Janicek says no matter where they go and grow, Missouri is their home state, and this is where the base of operations will stay.
Serviam Care Network
When Tim Donnelly started Serviam, he had no idea the disruption that was going to take place across senior living.
The population growth of seniors in the US over the next decade will stress the current infrastructure, so that's where Serviam is stepping in. Serviam creates a better journey for facility operators and the families looking for the best place to bring their loved ones. Deeply connected in the Kansas City area with support from the Kauffman Foundation and Missouri Technology Corp, to just name a few, Serviam is able to successfully grow their network and care for seniors across the country.
Healium
Sarah Hill and her team started Healium as a project to serve veterans tours of memorials, but quickly saw its broader application in overall wellness across the world.
Virtual reality affects one’s physiology. Veterans were not just watching these experiences; they were feeling them. That led Healium on a journey to create a drugless, non-harmful coping mechanism. Missouri Technology Corp seeded the initial investment that allowed Healium to gain their invaluable patents. Today, Healium is expanding their repertoire to sleep and to include compatible wearables such as FitBit, Aura Ring, and WHOOP to gain more data and enhance the experience.
Northwest Coffee Roasting
After the Great Recession, Jason Wilson traveled the world and saw that there was only one bulletproof industry: coffee.
Jason set out to do three things. First, put a coffee shop on the northside of St. Louis to promote it as an urban domestic emerging market. Second, inspire others to take the risk and make their own move. Lastly, spread great medium roast coffee around St. Louis. Through the ups and downs, Jason and Northwest Coffee secured the social capital that fueled their growth in and through the pandemic. Multiple locations, innovative storytelling and bold moves… all because of great medium roast coffee.
Revive Janitorial
DaYonne and Jamaal Reed have grown Revive Janitorial from one client, one employee to serving some of the largest companies in St. Louis.
With customized cleaning plans for every customer, Revive Janitorial cleans efficiently and effectively. A strategic part of their growth was accomplished through leveraging training from Greater St. Louis and their Diverse Business Accelerator (DBA) program. CityPark (home to St. Louis City SC), Lambert Airport, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency are just a few of the large companies they serve, but they are available for business facilities of all sizes. The groundwork Revive Janitorial has done with the help of their partners will set them apart from other companies as they look to grow across the entire state of Missouri.
StepNpull
Ron Ely, Kelly Coddington, and Mike Sewell created a simple design for a foot-powered door opener that became a groundbreaking, ADA compliant device that prevents paper towel waste and reduces the spread of germs.
You’ve probably seen their product on the bottom of many bathroom doors. Well, its conception and production comes from Missouri. In 2015, the team presented at the entrepreneur think-tank eFactory in Springfield and were later connected with branding experts and manufacturers. Sales increased year over year from 10-90%, until the pandemic when sales went through the roof. An entirely Missouri-made product is now being sold all over the world!
PumpTrakr
Nathan Holmes had farmed his entire life, but when he created an app that took a scientific approach to irrigation in farming, it changed his entire trajectory.
Nathan built his own version in his farmhouse and tested it in his own fields. Once he proved the concept that irrigation automation was possible, he leveraged the resources at Codefi to bring an enhanced version to market. Now, farmers all over the world can use PumpTrakr to manage their irrigation cycles, wherever they are.
Geneoscopy
During her clinical rotations, Dr. Erica Barnell encountered a busy mother with Stage IV colorectal cancer who had never undergone a colonoscopy. Motivated to make a positive change for others like her, Dr. Barnell, alongside her brother Andrew Barnell, embarked on the journey of founding a life sciences company with the specific aim of developing diagnostic tests to transform gastrointestinal health.
With support from the St. Louis ecosystem, Geneoscopy has grown to more than 60 employees and has developed a convenient, noninvasive test to screen for colorectal cancer using human RNA biomarkers from stool samples. Just since this video was recorded, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published trial results showing Geneoscopy’s next-generation colorectal cancer screening test to be highly effective at detecting early-stage colorectal cancer. The company also recently announced a strategic collaboration with Labcorp to increase access to the test upon FDA approval.