TEDxStLouis

What TEDxStLouis does

TEDxStLouis (formerly TEDxGatewayArch) is an independently organized, volunteer-driven nonprofit TEDx event serving the St. Louis metropolitan area since 2013. The organization licenses the TEDx format from TED and produces live events featuring locally connected speakers delivering 18-minute talks on ideas spanning sustainability, social justice, public health, civic engagement, and personal transformation. The core product surface comprises flagship annual events (most recently 'Rewrite the Rules 2026', expected to host up to 1,000 attendees at Touhill Performing Arts Center), supplementary programming including TEDxWomen, TEDxYouth, and a healthcare-focused 'Think Well' salon, an on-demand YouTube archive of recorded talks, a Speaker Spotlight Series of thought-leadership articles, and a volunteer-driven organizational structure. There is no proprietary software product; technical operations rely on Squarespace for web, MailChimp for email marketing, YouTube for video distribution, and standard social channels for community engagement. Revenue is generated through variable ticket pricing ($25 to $100+ VIP across historical events) and local sponsorships and partnerships with food/beverage vendors and venues (Touhill Performing Arts Center, Missouri History Museum, Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, The Pageant). The executive team consists of seven volunteer leaders including Interim Executive Director Sara Vaughan, License Holder & Director of Programming (and Co-Founder) Mich Hancock, Chief of Staff Sara Hill, Director of Finance Marina Vendrova (CFA), Director of Communications London Chastain, Director of Operations Jacquelyn Randle, and Director of Partnerships Darian Wigfall. The organization is currently recruiting additional volunteers (e.g., Email Marketing Coordinator) and has no disclosed funding rounds, investors, or M&A activity.

Name

TEDxStLouis

Legal name

TEDxStLouis

Website

https://tedxsaintlouis.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TEDxStLouis is a volunteer-driven nonprofit that produces independently organized TEDx events in the St. Louis region, featuring locally connected speakers presenting ideas worth spreading. Revenue comes from tiered ticket sales and local sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Community Events

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Comedy Shows & Spoken-Word Events (THAJAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Live Podcast Recordings (MPAGACAJ)

Keywords

• Community events
• TEDx events
• Live speaker events
• Thought leadership
• Community engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Variable pricing events with tickets ranging from $25-$100+ for VIP access. Events offer tiered pricing to accommodate different budgets.
2. Sponsorships & Partnerships: Local business sponsors for events including food/beverage vendors, venue partnerships, and community sponsors. No explicit mention of formal sponsorship tiers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TEDxStLouis independently organizes and produces live TEDx events in the St. Louis metropolitan area, featuring local speakers presenting ideas worth spreading in 18 minutes or less. The organization complements live events with on-demand streaming of recorded talks via its website and YouTube, plus a Speaker Spotlight thought-leadership article series. Revenue is generated through variable-priced ticket sales ($25 to $100+ VIP) and local business sponsorships.

Product overview

TEDxStLouis is an independently organized TED event that operates as a single unified event platform rather than a software product. The organization produces live TEDx events featuring local speakers presenting ideas worth spreading, complemented by an on-demand video streaming service for recorded talks. The portfolio includes the flagship annual TEDxStLouis event series (such as "Rewrite the Rules 2026"), the Speaker Spotlight Series (thought leadership articles), and a volunteer program. The organization transitioned from its former name TEDxGatewayArch to TEDxStLouis following a rebranding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TEDxStLouis Live Events Independently organized TED-style live events featuring St. Louis-area speakers presenting ideas worth spreading in 18 minutes or less; events combine recorded TED Talks video and live speakers to spark discussion and connection, with variable-priced tickets including VIP access.
• Rewrite the Rules 2026 Flagship Event TEDxStLouis flagship live event 'Rewrite the Rules 2026' scheduled for October 16, 2026 at Touhill Performing Arts Center, featuring curated local speakers with up to 1,000 attendees.
• On-Demand Talk Streaming On-demand streaming of all recorded TEDxStLouis talks via the website and YouTube, allowing global access to St. Louis thinkers, makers, and changemakers sharing ideas reshaping how people live, work, and connect.

Quantifiable outcome

• Speakers must have intrinsic connection to St. Louis region, ensuring locally-relevant content

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and flagship.

• Touhill Performing Arts CentercoreOthersPrimary venue for major TEDxStLouis events, located at UMSL north campus. Hosts flagship events with capacity for up to 1,000 attendees.
• Missouri History MuseumcoreOthersVenue partner for events including the May 30, 2026 main event. Located in Forest Park.
• The Pageant (Delmar Loop)secondaryOthersMusic venue hosting TEDxGatewayArch 'Crash Course' event in September 2019, showcasing St. Louis blues and local entertainment alongside talks.
• Kirkwood Performing Arts CentersecondaryOthersVenue hosting TEDxStLouis events including the 2022 event featuring Vivian Gibson's talk on October 22, 2022.
• TEDflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLicensing organization providing general guidance for the TEDx program. TEDxStLouis is independently organized but operates under TED's brand and content guidelines. TED provides access to TEDTalks video content and supports the global TEDx ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Moth: The Moth is a nonprofit live storytelling platform that produces ticketed spoken-word events with curated speakers sharing personal narratives on stage, distributed via podcast and video on demand. The format, nonprofit funding model (tickets + donations/sponsorships), and audience aspiration closely mirror TEDxStLouis, making it the most direct comparable.
• Story Collider: Story Collider produces live, true-storytelling events (with a science bent) in a similar nonprofit, volunteer-supported model, sharing the spoken-word stage format and on-demand podcast/video distribution that TEDxStLouis uses. It is a direct peer in live-narrative live events with comparable audience size and nonprofit economics.
• TEDxAustin: TEDxAustin is another independently organized TEDx chapter operating under the same global TEDx license, with the same flagship event + sub-event structure, speaker curation model, and YouTube on-demand library. It is the closest format-for-format comparable, differing mainly by geography and city-level brand recognition.
• Pop-Up Magazine: Pop-Up Magazine is a 'live magazine' experience that blends recorded video, live performance, and speakers in a single ticketed event, with on-demand digital distribution. Its hybrid live/media approach is a direct format analog to TEDxStLouis's recorded talks released to YouTube.
• Intelligence Squared U.S. Intelligence Squared US produces ticketed live intellectual debates and idea-driven events, often recorded for radio/online distribution. It overlaps with TEDxStLouis on the curated-idea live event format and the use of recorded content as an evergreen asset.

Broad incumbents

• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is the dominant self-serve ticketing and event-promotion platform used by TEDxStLouis to sell event tickets online. It is a broader incumbent in the events ecosystem rather than a direct competitor, but a critical distribution and monetization channel for TEDxStLouis's ticketed programming.
• NPR: NPR is a nonprofit public-media organization that distributes spoken-word and idea-driven audio/video content nationally and globally, supported by donations, sponsorships, and programming events. It is comparable in mission (ideas and storytelling as a public good) and revenue mix (sponsorships + contributions), but operates at vastly greater scale.
• Aspen Ideas Festival: Aspen Ideas Festival is a larger, more established ideas-and-speakers event operator that owns its venue and operates at a national scale. It overlaps with TEDxStLouis on mission (ideas worth spreading) and stage-curation format, but operates as a broader incumbent rather than a regional chapter.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TEDxstl
• Facebookfacebook.com/TEDxSTL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tedx-stl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TEDxStLouis