St. Louis adds cybersecurity to stable of accelerator funds

Add cybersecurity to the list of fields where St. Louis is trying to build new businesses using an accelerator model.

With the creation of SixThirty Cyber, which plans to invest $10 million over the next five years, the St. Louis area has at least six business accelerator funds. Based on a survey the Brookings Institutionpublished in February, the only U.S. cities with more are San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago and San Jose, Calif.

Accelerator programs vary in size and focus, but they all invest in early-stage firms and put them through a period of intensive mentoring. According to the Brookings study, an accelerator can help a community by concentrating entrepreneurial energy and “generating vibrancy around innovation.”

If that’s true, St. Louis is more vibrant than most places. The five existing accelerators have financed more than 120 companies in sectors ranging from technology to agriculture to sports. For the full article click here 

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