Cortex’s Square One Participant Wins St. Louis County Small Business Launchpad Program

St. Louis County Library recently held its Small Business Launchpad(opens in new tab), an 8-week entrepreneurship program designed for formerly incarcerated individuals who are interested in starting or growing a small business. At the conclusion of the program, participants pitch their business ideas for an opportunity to receive startup funding. Josh Ayers, chief financial officer of St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (STL Partnership), was among the judges who determined the top three projects.

Cortex's Square One Ignite participant Carla Hundley won first place for her anime apparel business plan for both licensed- and custom-anime on high-quality products and family orientated options. Antwonette Hilliard finished second for her health care business plan that focused on an under-served mental health population that better aligned and partnered with primary care physicians. In third place was Codey Bergmann, whose lawn-care business plan examined neighborhood density and subscription-based methods to market and serve residents.