As an incubator, T-REX serves as a launch pad for endless possibilities. As T-REX companies take off on their own, we love to hear about their business growth post-grad. But what does their physical growth look like after T-REX? Here’s where T-REX Alumni have been doing what they do:
Pixel Press
The old Laclede Gas Building
Pixel Press might seem like all fun and games, but fun and games can be hard work! The startup arrived at T-REX in 2012 ready to work and play. “Beyond being startup budget friendly, having access to founders of other companies that were at similar stages meant getting advice was that much easier… the likelihood of talking through common issues with your peers when they are just next door,” says CEO Robin Rath. Pixel Press parted ways with the Railway Exchange Building at the same time T-REX did last January.
What they were looking for in a new space:
-A fun environment that would allow room to grow
-Extra space to have larger testing sessions from our players
-Stay downtown
What they got:
4000 sq ft of open work space, where the nine-person team usually works collaboratively, and offices for the three founders.
Lumate
The Cosmopolitan Building
Part of the first Arch Grants class, Lumate entered T-REX in their initial growth phrases as an 8-person company in 2012. “Our time spent in T-REx was amazingly valuable. Besides providing us with an economical and easy office space option, being involved in the T-REX allowed us to be surrounded by many other start-ups who are facing or have faced the same challenges that we were. This ability to walk down the hall and chat with fellow entrepreneurs was super valuable and helped arm us with knowledge and connections that we will carry with us indefinitely.”
Lumate graduated from T-REX in 2014, and is now a growing 25-person company. Their new office is located at 1112 Olive St, otherwise known as the Cosmopolitan Building.
What they were looking for in a space:
-Enjoyable to spend time in
-Let them spread out
-Allow for growth
-”Having a cool space is key!” says Vice President Quentin Ortega
What they got:
Lumate utilizes the entire 3rd floor of the Cosmopolitan Building as private space, with shared community space on the 1st floor and basement.
“After moving out of the T-REX space we have continued to try to stay as involved as possible in the current T-REX community. Since T-REX was such a great help to us, we want to be sure that we continue to support its’ growth,” says Ortega.
Food Essentials
611 N. 10th Street (across the street from T-REX)
Food Essentials arrived in St. Louis via Arch Grants in 2012, immediately pitching tent at T-REX which brought them in contact with the wider community. “We spent three years prior to (T-REX) in our own eco-chamber pretty sure we knew everything there was to know about our business. Joining the community humbled us and taught us that although we may know everything about our business, we were terrible at explaining it to others,” says founder Anton Xavier. That led to Food Essentials joining Capital Innovators, and then also the ITEN Mock Angels process. All of this lead to Food Essentials closing their first round of institutional investment via Cultivation Capital. “At each of the stages we got better and better at telling our story and selling our value proposition,” says Xavier.
For several years the three founders of Food Essentials had all worked remotely. They finally reached a point where they needed to start growing an actual team and having flexibility was crucial. Food Essentials grew from three to 13 full-time employees while in T-REX and slowly consumed the offices in their area. At one point last summer, they had to hire 60 part-time employees in a weekend so they could deliver against a particularly important client deliverable–which they did, with the help of fellow T-REX members. “We’re sad to have moved out, and we miss the community. But being literally, across the road, means we’re still able to involved,” says Xavier.
What they were looking for in a new space:
-Collaboration and transparency
-An open design where the entire team was seated together but in separate pods (segmented by technology, product and data teams)
-No individual offices, which might negatively impact the ability to collaborate
What they got:
A fifth floor suite lined with white boards to facilitate transparency and give everyone visibility into all tasks and operations, a story board (pictured) that acts as a task-oriented company sprint of everything they hope to achieve that week. A day at Food Essentials starts with the entire team “walking the board” and discussing their successes, hesitations, questions and failures for the week. They created an open design where the entire team are seated together but in separate pods (Technology, Product, Data).
“The design of our office was very deliberate in order to facilitate our desire to be an open organization,” says founder Ronan Shiek.
TrackBill
The old Laclede Gas Building
TrackBill, a financial solutions company, began in T-REX in 2012. “Without T-REX, we would not know 90% of the great people and companies in St. Louis that we do now.” Alongside notable business growth since graduating in 2013, TrackBill has experienced a great deal of physical growth. Their search for a new office space ended at 1017 Olive St.
What they were looking for in a new space:
-A space large enough to grow their team
-An open space to enable more collaboration
What they got:
TrackBill’s occupies a large 7th floor suite in the old Laclede Gas building.