BlackownedBusiness
If You Can Dream It
With a new headquarters, retail store, tornado cleanup and reconstruction, and its successful internship program, Dream Builders 4 Equity has been busy. Catch up with co-founder Michael Woods.
Go With the Flow
Whether she’s spinning records in the top local clubs or leading a yoga class in the studio or online, DJ and yogi Nico Marie gets St. Louis moving.
Rooted in Style
Coming out of law school roughly three decades ago, Kimberly Franks could never have imagined that she would one day be running a sustainably focused boutique and lifestyle…
Good to Grow
With her line of self-watering planters, Posie Pots founder Kay Wells uses 3D printing technology to make good plant care easier.
Opening Doors
We Hear You makes spaces more accessible for people with disabilities — and with its Hero device, it’s literally opening doors across St. Louis and the U.S.
Connecting Care
With Rezilient Health, founders Danish Nagda and Jeff Gamble are hoping to improve health care experiences and outcomes for patients in the St. Louis metro and across the…
Home Run
Exploring St. Louis by foot, Ricky Hughes helps locals and transplants alike connect with the city in a new way through St. Louis Run Crew.
In the Key of Collaboration
With his bootcamp, Mvstercamp, St. Louis artist, producer, and songwriter Mvstermind is elevating creativity and collaboration — and the city’s music scene.
Foundational
Fathers
A new St. Louis-based program, Dads to Doulas, seeks to empower Black men in all aspects of fatherhood — both to enrich their parenting journeys and to advocate…
A Latte of Love
With three successful cafes opened in four years, Latte Lounge owner and entrepreneur Nyshaun Harvey is bringing coffee and community to the St. Louis metro. And that’s only…
A Different Ball Game
At True Success Basketball & Fitness Academy in St. Charles, Thurlester Robinson, Jr. uses basketball as a vehicle to teach kids lessons in teamwork, self-esteem, and leadership.
A World of Possibilities
Founded at Vashon High School, Show Me the World Project provides transformative education in entrepreneurship, leadership, and STEM to students in under-resourced communities in St. Louis.
All Around Art
Artist, teacher, and St. Louis native Marley Billie D creates boldly colorful, mixed-media artworks that borrow inspiration from her upbringing in several local youth programs.
Prep Work
With Top Tutors For Us, founder Angelica Harris is helping Black high school students build academic skills and improve college admissions test scores in St. Louis and across…
Mother of Invention
With Bask & Bloom Essentials, Candera Thompson has created hair-care products that empower women and help with postpartum hair health.
Friendship, Faith and Futures
Pastors Ken and Beverly Jenkins opened community development hub R&R Marketplace in Dellwood with the aim to change lives.
Mapping
Tomorrow
Through her nonprofit workforce development organization, Gateway Global, Zekita Armstrong Asuquo is training under-resourced high school students for entry-level jobs in the geospatial field.
Singing Her Own Tune
Girl Conductor founder Maria A. Ellis uses a unique blend of gospel, R&B, and hip-hop to make music education more approachable and accessible for young people.
Outdoor
Enthusiast
With Ope Outdoors, Juno Musonda is spreading love for the Midwest’s parks and natural attractions through merchandise, park cleanups and hikes.
A Broad Canvas
At Onyx Dagger in Lafayette Square, Valencia Miller combines fine art with tattoo art, supporting local painters in St. Louis by displaying their work while blazing her own…
Hair Care
Rebundle’s CEO Ciara Imani May is revolutionizing the hair extension industry with the first U.S.-made, plant-based hair braiding brand.
Cooking Up
Propel Kitchens is building health and wealth within the historically under-resourced community of the St. Louis Promise Zone by providing its members with hands-on training in food preparation…
Sew Crafty
First through a youth academy and now with a new online portal, Olivia Rae Davis wants to get more people into sewing.
Raised on Glazed
Syeeda Aziz-Morris is carrying on the family tradition of donut-making at Pharaoh's Donuts in Downtown and the Central West End.
Notes of Community
Soul artist turned community facilitator Brian Owens helps lift up young creatives in St. Louis.
Freedom Through Food
Urban farmer Tyrean “Heru” Lewis brings fresh produce to underserved communities and advocates for more equitable growing practices across St. Louis and the nation.
More Than Skin Deep
Tiffany Wesley creates health and wellness products with the greater aim of cultivating community through her worker-owned co-op, Pure Vibes.
Rewriting the Narrative
At EyeSeeMe Bookstore in University City, Jeffrey and Pamela Blair are fulfilling their calling to provide people with positive stories of African Americans.
Homegrown
Market
Local farmers and entrepreneurs build their businesses and a strong community through the support of St. Louisans at the Tower Grove Farmers Market.
Flavor Full
Charlene Lopez Young and Darren Young are bringing Filipino flavors to the region with their barbecue and smoked meats business, The Fattened Caf.
Flipping the Script
Akeem Shannon is on a gravity-defying entrepreneurial rise with his creation, Flipstik.
Plant-Based
Possibilities
Trezel Brown's CC's Vegan Spot has become a destination for local vegans and is converting more folks to try plant-based dishes.
In Full Bloom
At Oliver’s Coffee + Flower Bar in Maplewood, Olivia Ridgel's focus on creativity and inclusion have blossomed into a magical, uplifting space for fellowship and community.
Community Game Changer
Entrepreneur Julian Keaton aims to foster community engagement and move St. Louis forward through “Dimensions,” a new interactive geolocation mobile game.
Bridging the Gap
The Foodshed.io app links small family farms to grocery stores so consumers can buy more local produce and farmers can do what they do best: grow food.
Full Circle
Okunsola M. Amadou is improving health outcomes for Black women with a wraparound model of care at Missouri's first equal access midwifery clinic.
Brewing Community
St. Louis brewers find new ways to connect with beer lovers and continue their businesses during the pandemic.
Empowering the Community
For 20 years, Diversity Gallery owner Leslie Christian Wilson has connected with St. Louisans through art, jewelry and natural hair.
‘Round and ‘Round
For 50 years, Mathew and Niah Foggy have built community while circling the roller rink at Skate King.
Home(Town) Brew
Here in one of the nation's top beer cities, St. Louis brewers are shaping the industry's future.
Fresh From the Vine
Tony White’s locally grown tomatoes are the not-so-secret ingredients in many St. Louis chefs’ acclaimed dishes.
The Business of Basketball
Khalia Collier has transformed the St. Louis Surge into both a competitive team and an economic driver.
Sweet Dreams
La Patisserie Chouquette co-owner and executive pastry chef Simone Faure has become the maven of macarons in St. Louis.
Game On
With dozens of studios, courses and events, St. Louis is becoming the nation’s next video game development hot spot.
