$75,000 Arch Grant Awarded to Bold Spoon Creamery

ST. LOUIS, MO - Arch Grants has awarded Bold Spoon Creamery and 19 other startups with a total of $1.7 million in non-dilutive grants as it introduces its 2024 Cohort. Each year, Arch Grants welcomes innovative, scalable, and job-creating startups from around the world to participate in the nonprofit’s annual Startup Competition for a chance to be awarded up to $100,000 in non-dilutive grants.

“We could not be more excited to announce our 2024 Arch Grants Cohort,” said Gabe Angieri, Executive Director of Arch Grants. “This year's awardees are developing unique and needed innovations across a range of industries, and we're excited they'll be doing so from St. Louis for at least the next year. We’re also thrilled that over 80% of our newest awardees are led or co-led by underrepresented founders, furthering our commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable startup ecosystem.”

On Thursday, November 21, Arch Grants hosted its neXus Gala to welcome their 2024 Cohort, celebrating the economic impact that the organization has catalyzed in the greater St. Louis region since 2012. Meet the companies that join Bold Spoon Creamery as members of the Arch Grants 2024 Cohort.

● AirSeal CardioVascular is a medical diagnostic company revolutionizing the diagnosis and management of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and other cardiovascular conditions. o Founders: Richard Clark, CEO; Stephen Wu, Chief Technology Officer; Mohamed Zayed, Chief Medical Officer o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● ALLUMIN8 is the first company to offer Orthopedic & Spine porous, 3D-printed hardware designed to diagnose, treat, and heal through the hardware to improve the global success rates in spine fusions. o Founder: Alyssa Huffman, CEO o Origin: Springfield, MO
● ASL Aspire is an EdTech platform that teaches STEM to K-12 Deaf students and their teachers in American Sign Language through games. o Founders: Mona Jawad, CEO & Co-Founder; Ayesha Kazi, COO & Co-Founder; Ethan Gaughan, Chief Innovation Officer & Co-Founder o Origin: Champaign, IL
● Avol enables medical institutions to deliver blood, kidneys, and lab samples up to 11x faster for the same cost by providing a medical drone delivery service using novel autonomous blended-wing Avol drones and a network of mini droneports (“AvolPorts”). o Founder: Nathan Poon, CEO o Origin: Brooklyn, NY
● BenefitsBoost is revolutionizing the Social Security disability benefits process with its patent-pending, AI-driven platform that simplifies and accelerates the application process for both individuals and law firms. As a female-founded company, they’re setting new standards in efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility in an often-overlooked industry. o Founder: Ally Bergmann, CEO o Origin: St. Louis, MO o #STLOnward Award – Powered by NISA Charitable Fund
● Bold Spoon Creamery is a maker of small-batch, premium ice cream specializing in adult-focused flavors made with farm-fresh ingredients. Bold Spoon is sold in grocery stores in Missouri and Illinois, and in three professional sports stadiums (CITYPARK, Enterprise Center, and The Dome at America’s Center). o Founder: Rachel Burns, Founder o Origin: Park Hills, MO
● DEMIblue is an award-winning clean and vegan nail polish with cruelty-free formulas for breast cancer survivors, vegan nail polish enthusiasts, and health-conscious women. o Founder: Michelle Robinson, CEO & Founder o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● ExPrimary leverages advanced technologies to improve where, when, and why bioanalysis is performed. o Founder: Sean Higgins, President & CEO o Origin: Rochester, NY
● Hire Henry is developing robotics and AI software for the future of work. Their first commercial product is an industrial robotic lawn mower named "Henry." o Founder: George Holmes, PhD, CEO o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● Horizontal Base Studs, LLC creates patented and innovative products called StepStuds™. These are a new category of metal studs that helps stop damage to drywall from water intrusions and floods. When used, StepStuds™ eliminates mold and mildew growth on walls by raising drywall off the floor, drastically reducing labor repair costs by 75% with a 50% faster room turnaround! o Founder: Michael Cox, President o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● Hypno Loops is a mindfulness app that allows users to record and create their own meditations in seconds. o Founder: Marlin Bonds, Founder o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● MatchNP is a tech-enabled platform that matches Nurse Practitioner students with healthcare providers based on their unique needs and preferences for clinical placement. o Founder: Cecilia Ravas, Founder o Origin: St. Louis, MO o #STLOnward Award – Powered by NISA Charitable Fund
● Metablify offers a revolutionary amplification technology for biochemicals, enabling the discovery of new medicines, biomarkers, and precision treatments. o Founders: Allen Hubbard, Co-Founder & CTO; Ivan Baxter, Co-Founder & CSO; Louis Connelly, Co-Founder & Lead Programmer o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● OrgAcuity is a B2B SaaS company making advanced people analytics accessible to all organizations. Their platform strategically integrates people analytics and employee listening, translating data into engaging stories and delivering tailored recommendations directly through managers' everyday channels. o Founders: Craig Starbuck, CEO o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● Posie Pots is an innovative agricultural technology concept that revolutionizes plant care. The company provides sustainable self-watering planters through a unique water-once-a month system. o Founders: Kay Wells, Founder o Origin: St. Louis, MO
● Prezerv offers a breakthrough AI software technology that automatically creates accurate 3D maps of underground utilities to make infrastructure construction safer, faster, and greener. o Founders: Cam Raufi, Founder & CEO o Origin: Boston, MA o Kemper Geospatial Funding Initiative
● Raknida is an ArtTech platform that helps art lovers and businesses explore and access diverse artworks from Black, African, and other underrepresented artists through an art marketplace and an art streaming service on smart displays. o Founders: Anthony Ezeokoye, Co-Founder; Afoma Ezeokoye, Co-Founder o Origin: Lagos, Nigeria o Donald M. Suggs Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award Powered by The Ferring Family Foundation
● Real Document Solutions LLC (RDS) revolutionizes document-intensive due diligence work through an innovative workflow SaaS platform (ERP) that centralizes order, document, and vendor management. RDS Customers have achieved up to a 60% increase in productivity, delivering faster, more accurate results with fewer human touches, driving up profitability and ultimately freeing up resources for revenue generation. o Founders: Denise Williams, President o Origin: St. Louis, MO
●Roam is an AI-driven management and financial services platform to empower HOA management firms to support the 53 million Americans who live in 20 million professionally managed units with a quality living experience that augments their most significant investment. o Founders: Jonathan Yan, Co-Founder & CEO o Origin: Seattle, WA
● Words Liive is a futuristic EdTech startup dedicated to achieving a “Moonshot Goal” of reversing the literacy crisis by getting two-thirds of the nation’s students to or above their grade-level reading proficiency by the year 2045. Words Liive converts real and popular song lyrics into literacy tools for middle and high school students struggling with reading and writing performance. o Founders: Sage Salvo, CEO o Origin: Falls Church, VA o #STLOnward Award – Powered by NISA Charitable Fund