Startup that got stuck heads west

Carlock, 30, spent most of the last two years working onNexly.com, which he envisions as a clearinghouse for smallbusinesses that need to outsource functions like informationtechnology or marketing.

The resources available tostartups here

He's tried to take advantage of the resources available tostartups here, like the Information Research Entrepreneur Networkand the Innovate Venture Mentoring Service. He's gone through mostof the startup money that he raised from family and friends, butthe business is struggling to gain traction.

One of those components is money. Carlock went through a trainingprogram on how to approach angel investors, and he hired aconsulting firm to help him search for investors. He decided not tomake a formal pitch to the Arch Angels, a network of privateinvestors here, because he believed that "the likelihood of gettingfunding was very low."

Easier place tofind both clients

Carlock as well thinks Silicon Valley will be an easier place tofind both clients and service providers for Nexly's outsourcingdatabase. For him, St. Louis was a tough place to meet the businesspartners he needed.

"I came to the conclusion that staying here is a death sentencefor my business," Carlock said. "I don't of that sort conclusion,because it seems very defeatist, however I can't escape the laws ofsupply and demand or profit and loss."

Jim Brasunas, director of the Information TechnologyEntrepreneur Network, knows Carlock and says he wishes him so then.Solo entrepreneurs without previous startup experience, he says,have a harder-than-average time raising money, so Nexly "probablydidn't hit enough of the high spots to get real traction here."

The West Coast

On the West Coast, Carlock will find more sources of money butalso more entrepreneurs competing for that money. If Carlock has astrong business plan, Brasunas said, a move west probably willimprove his chances of getting funded.

However, Brasunas disputes the characterization that things areslow here. ITEN has 160 members and is adding between six and 10new ones each month. The Innovate mentoring service is advising 85startups. He can point to modest success stories just as Hexagrid,a Chesterfield company that recently won an internationalcloud-computing award.

Unfortunately, he can now count Nexly among the losses. Takingone bright, ambitious entrepreneur away from St. Louis doesn't sinkthe area's chances of building a more vibrant business community,nevertheless it truly doesn't help, either.

Looking for intelligent discussion of our fast-changing economy?You've come to the right place. Pull up a chair, pour yourself atall glass of iced tea and join the conversation with businesscolumnist David Nicklaus, who's been observing the St. Louisbusiness scene for more than two decades.