PetCare: STL's Next Tech-Enabled Innovation Ecosystem (STL TechWeek 2026)

TechSTL There's nothing more fun than talking about our pet's -- unless you do that AND discuss how St. Louis is uniquely positioned to become a PetCare and PetTech innovation powerhouse! That is, making St. Louis the place entrepreneurs come to start, grow, de-risk and accelerate new ventures in PetCare. This event is for you IF you're an entrepreneur, investor or from a corporate, civic, government, innovation or ecosystem organization who wants to see our region own a piece of the rich and growing PetCare & PetTech industry. **WHY PETCARE?** PetCare is a robust and growing, \~$400 billion, global industry -- nearly half of which is in the US. PetTech, as a category, is exploding -- currently at $12 billion and forecast to double by 2030 and likely double again by 2040. While not well socialized locally, St. Louis possesses an unrivaled density of PetCare companies today -- a story that began right here in St. Louis, in the late 1890's, by William H. Danforth, Purina's founder -- a startup entrepreneur long before startups were ever a thing (yes, our city is arguably the global ground-zero where the PetCare industry began!). Yet, given this iconic history and our region's amazing innovation ecosystems supporting Geospatial, Fintech, Biotech, Agtech and Medtech, surprisingly, we lack a St. Louis-based and backed PetCare innovation ecosystem. Join industry expert and serial PetTech inventor, [Mark Donavon](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-donavon-69bb921b/ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-donavon-69bb921b/"), founder & Managing Partner at Launchpad Pet (and ex-Purina!) and [Dan Reus](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danreus/ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/danreus/"), Founder & Chief Instigator at Openly Disruptive, who will share a vision and path towards how we can make PetCare and PetTech a next-gen innovation growth engine in our region. **PARKING** Parking is available around T-REX in the nearby lot between 10th and 11th street, in the Marriott parking garage across from the building, or at the street meters along Washington Avenue. All parking requires payment.