Three startups win $100,000 in prize money
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
June 1, 2010
by Tim Bryant
A pharmaceutical startup, an indoor rock-climbing company and an educational game developer are splitting $100,000 in prize money awarded today in the first St. Louis Regional Business Plan Competition.
Mobius Therapeutics, of St. Louis, won the $50,000 first prize from among 226 startups that submitted business plans. Mobius has gained FDA approval for its sterile kit containing a chemical, mitomycin-c, used in ophthalmic surgery.
The second prize of $30,000 went to Climb So iLL, which is building an indoor rock-climbing center inside the former power plant at the City Hospital site. The hospital, converted to condominiums, is part of a mixed-use development near Lafayette Square. Mindfull Games, of Chesterfield, won the $20,000 third prize for its vocabulary exercises that help students prepare for SAT, ACT and other educational tests.
All the winners get additional assistance from a law firm, an accounting firm and a public relations firm.
Edward Jones, which contributed the prize money, and the St. Louis County Economic Council are behind the Regional Business Plan Competition. County Executive Charlie Dooley said the annual competition will be held for the next two years.
"Remember, every large business started as a small business at some time," he pointed out at the awards ceremony, held at the Edward Jones home office in Des Peres.
