For more information, please contact Jim Brasunas
Director, IT Entrepreneur Network
jbrasunas@i-ten.org
(314) 333-0456

The St. Louis IT Entrepreneur Network (ITEN) is an initiative of the St. Louis IT Coalition and Innovate St. Louis. Funding for ITEN comes from a grant by the Missouri Technology Corporation and additional funding from the University of Missouri/St. Louis (UMSL).

ITEN’s mission is to be a catalyst for the emergence of a thriving and robust entrepreneurial community that creates successful IT ventures. ITEN’s geographic area of operation is the larger St. Louis region, encompassing the metropolitan area as well as the region from Columbia and Rolla, MO to Champaign-Urbana, IL. All IT start-ups in our region are de facto members of ITEN and are invited to participate in ITEN events and to avail themselves of ITEN’s services.

While duly recognizing that successful innovation also requires the presence of fortuitous intangible factors, since its inception in April, 2008, ITEN has focused its primary efforts on those programs with the most promise for helping IT entrepreneurs be successful.

The ITEN Mentoring Program provides IT start-ups with clear direction that helps the company focus its efforts effectively and minimize misplaced efforts that often result in delayed success. Very early stage companies work initially with the ITEN director to overcome known business challenges. Access to other community resources may be suggested during this stage.

When the company is ready for an intensive period of preparation leading to angel and/or venture funding, the company is invited to enter the ITEN team mentoring program, offered at a very modest monthly fee. ITEN mentors have experience with IT start-ups of their own, have successfully raised money for IT ventures, or are knowledgeable in an area of technology or business development critical to successful execution of the particular start-up’s strategy. ITEN’s involvement often goes beyond typical business mentoring to address fundamental issues of company formation, direction, personnel and strategy.

The ITEN Beta Program seeks to match ITEN start-up companies with larger regional corporations who agree to become early trial adopters of the start-up company’s technology, product or service. This program is conducted on an individual case basis and requires the start-up’s product or service to be of interest to the larger corporation as well as be ready for rigorous beta testing.

Seed Funding is often needed to provide start-up funding for qualified ventures, bridging the funding gap between “friends and family” funding and angel funding. ITEN intends to develop connections between qualified ventures and sources of seed funding. Eventually it is hoped that a formal seed fund will be established to accelerate the growth of IT companies in the pre-angel stage.

Beyond those initiatives, ITEN is focusing its efforts in other areas of need:
ITEN sponsors periodic networking events specifically to support awareness and collaboration within the IT entrepreneurial community. Sharing with others who are struggling with similar issues or with others who have found ways around certain challenges is an important way of shortening the road to success.

In conjunction with the IT Coalition, ITEN is creating a web portal that will provide many valuable services to our regional IT entrepreneurs.

ITEN works with local universities to enhance IT entrepreneurship on campus and also to foster more effective access to promising research for regional entrepreneurs.
ITEN provides a regional voice for IT entrepreneurship, and looks for new and creative ways to enable the emergence of a thriving IT start-up culture in the greater St. Louis region.