Cortex’s Square One Selected As St. Louis Business Journal Fire Awards 2026 Finalist

Cortex's Square One program helps entrepreneurs and innovators build basic business skills, as well as strengthen skills that their investors and employers most seek out.

The program has seen about 500 participants come through its four-week Ignite training and its 10-week bootcamp. Ignite is geared to help entrepreneurs jumpstart their business models, while the 10-week bootcamp program blends formal instruction with hands-on learning, networking and mentorship. All of the programs are available at little or no cost to the early-stage entrepreneurs.

Bank of America is a lead sponsor of the program, contributing a $200,000 grant through its national Neighborhood Builders program.

Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano, vice president of entrepreneurship at Cortex, shares more about the program.

What is your organization’s biggest achievement of the past year? Over the past year, Cortex Square One’s biggest achievement has been demonstrating that entrepreneurship support is also a core part of workforce development, wealth creation, and inclusive economic growth for St. Louis.

Square One has long helped early-stage entrepreneurs test ideas and build stronger businesses. Over the past few years, we became even more intentional about what else happens inside that process. Entrepreneurs are building the same essential skills employers say are urgently needed in the post-pandemic workforce: verbal and written communication, collaboration, problem-solving, strategic thinking, adaptability, financial discipline, and leadership. They practice these skills through pitch decks, presentations, customer discovery, peer feedback, financial planning, business modeling, and real-time decision-making.