St. Louis Business Journal — Jim Bullard ’84, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, sees startups as an attractive growth alternative to trying to lure existing businesses from other places.
Bullard has been touring and studying entrepreneurial efforts in St. Louis, including visits with executives at Cortex and T-Rex, home to various startups. He told the Emerging Venture Leaders Summit that startup activity has been in decline nationally.
That may seem counter-intuitive, but think of coffee shops. “In 1975 or 1980, every coffee shop was separately owned,” he said. Then came Starbucks. “That story has been repeated over and over in many industries,” such as hardware stores, with Home Depot and Lowe’s.
