Building Community Through Entrepreneurship: Matt Menietti on Culture, Connection & Career Growth

On this episode of Gateway to Growth, host Jamal Cornelious sits down with for a thoughtful conversation about entrepreneurship, community building, and what it really means to create meaningful work and culture.

Matt shares his journey from growing up in Iowa and studying engineering to finding purpose through nonprofit work, entrepreneurship, and community leadership in St. Louis. He reflects on how experiences with AmeriCorps and youth-focused nonprofit work shaped his perspective on service, collaboration, and creating opportunities for others.

The conversation explores topics like workplace culture, leadership, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and the evolving nature of careers in today’s world. Matt discusses the importance of finding purpose beyond a paycheck, building authentic relationships, creating environments where people can thrive, and why strong communities are essential for long-term growth and innovation.

Matt also shares practical advice for young professionals looking to build their network, navigate career transitions, and get more involved in their local community through service, mentorship, and meaningful connection.

This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs, young professionals, nonprofit leaders, and anyone looking to build a more intentional career and community.

Connect with Matt Menietti:
 Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmenietti/
 TechArtista Website: https://www.techartista.org/

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Transcript

Cold Open + Show Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome back to another episode of Gateway to Growth, where we have conversations with the people who make St. Louis work. We're coming to you in partnership with STL Bucket List within another exciting conversation. Today we have Matt Manetti, who is the executive director of the Tech Artista Foundation and who has been a staple if you are on the startup scene here in St. Louis looking to grow a business, an early stage entrepreneur, and everywhere in between. Matt, welcome to Gateway to Growth.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Absolutely. Thanks for coming. So to kick us off, I'd love to get a little bit of an idea about your background and where you, you know, the work that you do now. Tell us about your role and you know what you all do with the Tech Artista Foundation.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Yeah, so I've been at the Tech Artista Foundation for about three years. Um, we're a nonprofit organization. Uh, we were formed back in 2022 when um leadership at Tech Artista. I don't know if you know Chris Holt. Holt Chris is a CEO and founder and a good friend, um, started Tech Artista um when he was very young, right out of college. And he started this co-working community back in 2014 and invited, you know, a number of small business owners. He was an entrepreneur at the time, um, other creatives to really build Tech Artista from the ground up. It was really a grassroots

Building TechArtista & St. Louis Creative Ecosystem

SPEAKER_01 1:10

um project. And since we've grown to three different locations. We have our original location, the Central West End. We have one downtown at Fourth and Pine, and then um our newest location in University City in partnership with WashU. So um with all that growth came a lot of um organic conversation about like how do we support, better support um freelancers, creatives, um artists, entrepreneurs in the St. Louis community. And the nonprofit became the mechanism to really um, I think, formalize and really evolve the things that we were doing, the community side. And so um, and it also allows us to, you know, like many nonprofits, pursue um philanthropic support, donations, grants, sponsorships um to really support our work, really helping um creatives and entrepreneurs here in the region.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

That's fantastic. Yeah, I've had a chance to be in each one of your spaces actually, and they're all phenomenal, all different vibes too, which is really cool. Yes. Um, I'm partial to the U City location because I'm down the street. So I'll pop in and grab a cup of coffee there and hang out. But it's great location, great energy. It's fantastic. Yeah, thanks for that. Yeah. And you guys do a lot of really interesting work. You have your artists in residence and you have a lot of really things supporting the local arts community, which I think is a fascinating combination when you think about Tech Artista being a hub for not just creators, but a lot of startups and companies and some larger institutions that have more innovative centers there. Having the arts be intertwined in that and as a part of that mix, I think is interesting.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Yeah. Well, I mean, many artists are entrepreneurs at heart, you know, they're, you know, facing a lot of the same challenges. They're trying to figure out how do we, what's our, you know, outreach and go-to-market strategy? How do we um find value and sell art, whether it's services? It could be someone who's we have a lot of filmmakers

Artists as Entrepreneurs

SPEAKER_01 2:53

in our space, you know. How do we go out and find, you know, funding to support the filmmaking um end of it? We have people who are um graphic designers, so people are looking for clients. So it's just I think having the small business community really um, you know, working part in parcel with the arts community, like there's a ton of overlap, not just in terms of I think business opportunities, but also in terms of um just culture, I feel like as well. So it's it's it's really uh an awesome combination of someone who doesn't have um an arts background and you know, an appreciation for um even just having art in our spaces. That's something that I think separates us from I think other um business spaces, other co-working spaces. It's like, yeah, you can just, you know, you're grabbing a cup of coffee and it's like, oh, there's someone who's taken some travel photography and we've highlighted that artist. We've been able to promote, um, you know, we have students, we have um, you know, great partnership with the Sam Fox School of Design and our Washington University space at at U City Um to be able to get, you know, community members and local artists who are displaying their works of art as well, too. So I think that using the coworking space as a backdrop, you know, to like have these conversations is really meaningful and something that I think is unique to the coworking community locally.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

Absolutely. So I'm curious about your origin story because the work that you've been doing has, from what I can see from your background, has been very connected to the St. Louis startup community, building new enterprises, really focused on innovation and people who are trying to create something new and sustained here in St. Louis. So I'd love to hear your superhero origin story. How did you get to where you are?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Well, it wasn't better by a spider, I don't, I don't think, uh, at a young age.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Um at least not a radioactive one.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Yeah, exactly. Um, so um I'm not originally from St. Louis. I'm a transplant. Um, I know lots of other transplants here that have found community, found partners, found opportunity locally. Um, and so I'm originally from Iowa City, Iowa. So and I'm an Iowa Hawkeye. So we've seen some people from the Midwest, some people who have um navigated down the corridor, the Highway 61, and been able to find, you know, an opportunity here in St.

Finding Purpose & Moving to St. Louis

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Louis. But um I graduated with a degree in engineering from the University of Iowa back in 2009. And I wasn't really sure what I wanted to use with that degree. You know, I had peers that were going into, they're working for the Boeings of the world, they're working for Motorola, they're working for consulting firms. And I just thought, you know, that regular nine to five just doesn't seem something that is going to be personally fulfilling for me. Um, and I was very interested and very involved in college with a number of like community building and volunteerism efforts. So I thought it maybe there's some way to apply engineering thinking and systems-level thinking to complex problems. And so I sought out a number of like gappier programs, like if you're familiar with like Teach for America, um, City Here, AmeriCorps. And so I thought that's an opportunity to like kind of try a city on for size. Um, and I knew I wanted to stay in the Midwest. I was really intimidated, I think, by going to a New York, a Chicago. Like I wanted to stay in the Midwest. I like the culture and I like being close to family. You know, it's something where um it's something that's really, I think, underappreciated, the ability to like drive home four hours to be able to reconnect, yeah, see the campus, see family, see friends, and things like that. So I knew I wanted to stay in the Midwest. And so St. Louis provided an opportunity to work um with a with a great nonprofit. Um, and you talk about really interesting combinations. I ended up working for through AmeriCorps, um, an organization called America Scores, which is a nationally recognized nonprofit for addressing issues of childhood obesity and illiteracy in our communities and low-income communities. So they combine this really unique curriculum of soccer and poetry. Things that you would be like, what does soccer and poetry have in common? Um, a little bit, but you know, I think that we found that many of the kids in our program, mostly elementary school students, um, some of them, you know, you can't necessarily put in a sort of camp of like, hey, you're either athletic or you're someone who's like, you know, a future poet. And it's like some kids like being able to express themselves in different ways, right? They were creative on the pitch, but they were also creative in the classroom. And I think that was something that um it allowed me to be grounded in community in a way that, you know, going through a certain internship maybe wouldn't, because I was put in um places, I was put in schools and communities where like I probably wouldn't have sought out

Learning St. Louis Through Community Work

SPEAKER_01 7:31

myself. You know, when you think about someone who takes you to a new city and they're like, hey, like let's go grab Mexican food somewhere, let's grab drinks, let's go to the symphony, something like that, versus, hey, let's go see a school in in St. Louis. Um, let's go to the, you know, this particular school district and see how a certain community lives and operates and and their families and and and parents and things like that. So um, it was a great opportunity for me to learn just the dynamics, um, some of the racial dynamics, the socioeconomic dynamics of St. Louis um through the lens of youth. And I think that that was such a empowering opportunity. We work with some amazing teachers, amazing um educators and parents who face a lot of the challenges that we all figure out. Like, how do I um how do I support my kids? How do I encourage their growth and their imagination? How do I put food on the table? Um, and so I was only there a year and and most of my experience was in um, you know, fundraising, development, communications, but I think that gave me a really uh unique perspective on St. Louis and some of its challenges. And I think that for me, coming to St. Louis was not just looking at like, hey, there's so much opportunity here and everything's great, but also just like we we've accepted that there's just some unique challenges that we're facing in the region. And there's some really interesting, smart, talented people locally that are addressing these issues that want to solve them. And so I was integrated and welcomed into that nonprofit community by people who had been here, but also people like myself who were trans plans. They were like, hey, like if you want to get involved with things like St. Louis Startup Week, Startup Weekend, if you want to get involved with organizations like the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, like there's a seat at

Building a Career in Community & Entrepreneurship

SPEAKER_01 9:21

the table. And so I found that to be really empowering. And, you know, my career kind of took off from there in terms of being able to get connected into the burgeoning tech and entrepreneurship community, but finding other people who are just energized and not, I think, um, sidelined by the challenges. They were empowered by them. They saw the challenges as an opportunity to like, hey, let's bring some people together. Like, let's talk through this, let's let's talk about how to circulate um resources, let's talk about how to solve problems um with community in mind. And I just felt like there's people here that um not just not just think like me, but like have an appreciation and um, you know, for for the challenges, but are willing to think differently and are willing to do something about it. I feel like that was the difference that really set it apart of like we weren't just talking about doing something, like we were taking action. And I feel like that is an attitude that I've seen reflected by and large in the entrepreneurship community. We're doers, we're builders. Yes. Yes, there's thinking, yes, there's strategy. Um, and there are people that are gonna ship things and there are people that are gonna experiment a little bit and maybe they fail. Um, but they're gonna use that learning and apply it to their next challenge.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Yeah, I think that's such an important approach as you think about applying entrepreneurial approach and thinking to solving our societal issues. Yeah. Let's not plan, let's not have a study, let's not sit there and think about it, let's not dig so much into the research that we forget to take action. Let's start doing, let's start testing and see what comes of it. And I I think from my experience, St. Louis has challenges, but I don't necessarily know how unique they are. I do think a lot of the challenges are similar in other cities. And I think we're all kind of ice skating up that same hill. And if we band together, we can do a little bit, you know, be a little bit more effective. Um one of the parts of your story that I think was really fascinating is that you started this journey through service and it's sort of it's shifted your lens on what your path should be. I think that sounds like it's a major inflection point. You know, Scott Galloway talks about how he feels that all Americans coming out of high school should have to do a year or two of service and actually serve in their community, roll their sleeves up and be a part of this and understand what the fabric of the community is. And I think it shapes your lens in a very unique way as you start to build your career and become a professional. I think focusing on a career that just makes money seems a little bit less enticing for folks. They tend to think a lot more about that bottom line.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Yeah. Yeah. I think it's like different people have different things that they've defined for what success looks like in their professional life. And I think that um, you know, it's interesting talking to my peers and that like, you know, being someone in your in your 20s, you know, typically, you know, you're seeing people that maybe have a little bit more time

What Success Really Means in Your Career

SPEAKER_01 12:03

on their hands. Maybe they don't have they they're they're not married, they don't have a partner in life yet. They're looking for meaning, they're looking for community, they're looking for, you know, um, to build out an identity. And so their ability to like give back and roll up their sleeves. I had a lot of friends that I met through um, you know, the United Way had like a young professionals group. And so it was like, here were people that were like kind of getting their start in their careers, but like, yeah, on a on any given Saturday, they're like, yeah, let's, you know, like, you know, we wanted to, you know, help build a playground, or we wanted to do, you know, community cleanup or do tutoring or something like that. So it was like a both and people that I knew were sort of up to something, but they were they had that service lens. I knew that they were there's a quality of character there that was really important to me to be able to build my personal network here. Um, and then later in life, as as people sort of get um, you know, they maybe they have children, they start a family, they think about their, you know, they've got less time now, but maybe they're their personal capital, maybe they have more, you know, uh, you know, fiscal or financial ability to like give back to those same organizations. So I just think for people, it's really just defining what um is meaningful for them in terms of how they're integrated with community and what um how much of that is affecting their career search. There's certain people that are just like, give me the biggest and best job and the best paying job. I've got bills to pay, I've got kids, I've got all this sort of thing. And and for some people that is meaningful work. Like, who am I to judge someone who is on that corporate ladder who wants to go from, you know, you know, early on in their career to mental management to like being the CEO of, you know, a major corporation one day? I think you just have to define what those must-haves have to be and let that guide you um as much as you know, finding also people that, you know, what what does culture mean to you, you know, in terms of like someone who's going to be in an environment to really thrive? Is it something that, you know, feedback? Are you open to feedback? Are you open to being coached? Are you open to, you know, um, I think for a lot of people, it's it's it's hard to be in some of these harder environments to be like, yeah, I I take feedback personally or like I'm not interested in growth. I just want to go to a place and clock in, clock out, and that's my job. And there's certain people that that's fine. That's meaningful for them. They take a nice vacation in the summer or something like that, and they're fine with that kind of you know, entry level position. Um anyway, that's it's a lot of ranting, but I think it's, you know, it's really made me reflect in terms of like, what are those, you know, people's career goals shift as as they sort of age. And um it's been interesting to see a number of friends, you know, kind of uh, I don't know if I call it like a full-on midlife crisis, but be able to sort of re-examine those, especially with change in society, things like COVID, to be able to say, like, is this work uh working for me? And if not, like, how do I go about

Career Paths Are Not Linear

SPEAKER_01 15:03

making a change? Is it additional education? Is it um seeking out new opportunities? Is it building new relationships? Is it a change of scenery? Hey, I need to get out of town, I need to like go see mountains, I need to like go rebuild a life in another community. Um, but there it's never too late, I feel like, at all. We're so, you know, I think you're we're young.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

We're we're relatively young. I think you realize that you're younger than you think you are. Exactly. And the mid-career pivot, or honestly, the mid-career multiple pivots, I feel like our traditional career is less a ladder and more like hopscotch, where you're going one to the next one and and slowly making your way and seeing where the things take you. I think we don't have to be as rigid as we when we define what our path should be. As long as you're moving forward, as long as you're making progress, yeah. The direction can shift. True north, you know, might change. What you're trying to accomplish is going to be there, but you know, the vehicle may be different.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Yeah. And I think it's like a really industry dependent. Like, you know, I have people that I know and like, you know, people in my family. So like my dad is a research physicist, you know, it's like nice. His path was very much like, I don't know how much of it was defined, but it's just like, yeah, there, you know, there's an educational path there in terms of like going to school, getting an advanced degree, getting a PhD, doing research, right? And saying, like, this is what, you know, you know, and it's and it's something where there's a level of focus, right? In terms of like, I have this specific degree, these are the positions that I'm sort of eligible for that are going to be able to um provide the level of income or the things that I need for my you know uh particular career. You could look at the same thing like like healthcare, for instance, to be like, hey, I have a specific this this job is requiring a specific set of skills, and this is the education that I need to require it. But for for many positions, there is this level of, I don't know, nuance in terms of like the things that you might need in a hospitality job, for instance, that might translate to, you know, working at a nonprofit, right? Where it's like, well, that's you know, in some in some respects, customer service, right? And it's, you know, um, so I I just think it's it's it's I don't know if it's a generational thing where it's like our parents were then were like, hey, you know, it's it's kind of the jobs that

The Future of Work & AI Disruption

SPEAKER_01 17:17

we were, I don't know if you remember like career day in school, where it's like you can be like a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist, a banker, you know, and that's it, you're right. There are like 10 jobs ever out there. And I remember like um talking to like a high school counselor when, you know, I'm like a sophomore in in high school and thinking like, oh Matt, what are you what are you thinking about, you know, career-wise and you know, colleges and all that. And I was like, I'm not really sure. Here are the things that I'm good at, here are my test scores. And the whole just ecosystem of engineering or even the job title was not something I was like an engineer, you mean someone who drives trains, train conductor? Like, no, no, no. An engineer is someone who's like math and science to solve real world problems. And so it was like something like that where there was an entire industry that I wasn't even aware of that through you know having someone in that school setting be able to say, like, based on your skill set, here are things. And I feel like that evolution is happening more rapidly, certainly with AI and other things where like entire industries, entire jobs are still yet to be created. The jobs of our kids or next generation are things that are going to be relevant in five years that maybe weren't jobs five years ago. So it's just, it's just happening so rapidly. And I feel like um it's it's a very um, there's a lot of opportunity, but a lot of fear, I feel like, for people who are entering the job market, trying to figure out what's next. Um, but I think, you know, through through folks like yourself who are like trying to provide um focus and coaching and people that are um being able to highlight unique opportunities and help people find their superpower.

Finding Your Superpower

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Right. That's a that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Yeah, I'd like to say that our our parents in that previous generation did what they had to do so that we can do what we want to do. So they found a path and they walked that path and that was their choice, you know, because there weren't as many options. And they found something that they're good at and they tried to go as hard and work as hard as they could in that space, climb as hard as they could and provide well so that we could grow up with a few more options.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

And I think on the other side of it now, like you mentioned, how things are shifting so rapidly, the paradox of choice has become such a big daunting thing in the lives of people who are really starting their careers. Used to be if you were, you know, good as a carpenter, you wake up, you go be a carpenter, you go to your apprenticeship, you become a master carpenter, and that's the job. Yeah. And that's fantastic. And what happens when you're good at a bunch of things and all of those paths are either undefined or there's an opportunity? Sometimes you can just get stuck trying to figure out what's the best step forward. Yeah. So I'm curious on your journey, what were some of the challenges as you were getting started, as you were kind of navigating this space and building out a career, you know, with an engineering background, but kind of going into this social impact nonprofit space and then really driving into the entrepreneurship space?

SPEAKER_01 20:06

I think there's a number of challenges. I think that um, you know, you're kind of just describing it a little bit in terms of like being really articulate about like what that superpower is and being able to talk about um what that journey is of like your career story, particularly someone who's been working for templess years, right? And you have different places you've worked at and you have different industries of like what is consistent, right? And I think being able to articulate it, yes, for yourself is really important, but also like for someone who's looking to hire you. And I think that's also something where um for certain people that are working in like very defined fields, whether it's like medicine and other things, where it's like, oh yeah, like I had this experiment, their experience, I learned this, you know, I joined this firm, that sort of thing. Um, so just sort of like a lot of careers aren't linear um in terms of growth, in terms of responsibility, but in terms of finding that, you know, if you're sort of plotting that experience on a graph of like what is what is consistent, right? Is the type of organization consistent for you? Are there certain values that you want to see represented in that particular organization?

Workplace Culture & Manager Relationships

SPEAKER_01 21:20

So I feel like that that narratively has been a challenge for me at times to really define that, even though entrepreneurship sometimes is like lacks definition, right? We like ambiguity in things. And so people get it. They're like, oh, you're a doer, you're someone who builds systems, you're someone who builds partnerships. It's like the industry can be can swap out, right? But of like these are generally things you like to do. Are you generally someone who likes to be in front of people, likes to talk to people, converse with people? You know, sales is something that's you know relatively universal. I know a lot of people who are, you know, do really great in sales roles or and and sometimes they're like, this isn't, you know, I'm selling. Cars, but now I want to like, you know, raise money for nonprofits. It's like that's sales. It's fundraising. It is. Um, and so other challenges, I think, just yeah, really defining what your your must-haves are in in certain cultures and really defining like um, you know, people don't, you know, I'm a big believer like people don't need jobs, they live managers.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Of like really just defining what success looks like in that manager relationship and looking at people who are going to um, you know, be an advocate for you. And, you know, I, you know, have experienced a number of situations where like people who are gonna hold you accountable and be able to look out for you and say, like, hey, like I want you to succeed. And it's my job to be able to see if if you can't point out when you've maybe strayed or when you need additional coaching and things like that, it's because I want you to succeed here. And it's very different when someone's just like constantly pointing out, like, hey, you messed up. You can't just like you know, a parent, like if if you know, your mom and dad's constantly pointing out, like, yeah, you know, like your school grade isn't great or whatever. I was at my nephew's hockey tournament, and there's a parent that's like constantly berating their kid, like, hey, if you don't get this goal and if you don't, you know, it's just like, how are you supposed to build confidence, right, around a particular job or activity or skill? And so I think that was something um sometimes you know what is meaningful and what is important to you by the things that uh you don't jive with. You're like, oh, that's not an environment that I like, or that's not a type of supervisor relationship that's gonna work for me because maybe they don't talk to me. There's certain people that I know are in jobs who are like, oh yeah, I talk to my boss like every quarter. Yeah. Well, then how do you know what is meaningful for you? And maybe you want someone who's like less high touch. You don't want to be micromanaged, you don't want that. But for a lot of people, especially earlier in their career, I feel like having that sort of mentor coach dynamic is really important for someone who's like, I'm gonna tell you when you're doing things that are really great, but I'm also gonna hold you accountable to the things that we've agreed at are going to you know define success, right?

Signs of a Healthy (or Toxic) Work Environment

SPEAKER_01 24:06

Whether it's a metric, whether it's a feeling, whether it's your ability to work collaborative with your coworkers, um, those are things that I think uh you sort of get different pieces of in jobs or like, I want a little of that, I want a little of this, I don't want that. Um, and sometimes it's it goes beyond compensation around like, yeah, there's certain people who are like, I want to, I want an office where like everybody's like um gra, you know, uh do you I think one of the biggest signs of culture to me is like where do people eat lunch? Do you go out? Do you go to the you know food hall or do you go to like a um sort of a staff lounge or people eat at their desks? And it's just like one of those things. There may be certain people who are like, I don't really want to gab, I don't want to do the water cooler conversation, I just want to like listen to a podcast and eat my lunch, and that's fine.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:59

But for a lot of people, I feel like, especially with this back to office push, and we're doing you know things in in culture and trying to build a culture, it's like that's that's how you learn about people. That's how you understand what they do outside of the office. That's how you build rapport. And so um, those are things that uh, you know, you don't really get told that in school. Like no one's just there to be like, here's how to be a working professional. You just have to experience different cultures and different workplaces to know, like, hey, this is this is a place where I'm doing great work. This is a place where I like coming to work. Um, I think a big indicator for me and others is just sort of how do you feel on Sunday? How do you feel on Sunday night? You know, are you are you like, oh man, I I can't wait to go to the office. I've got, you know, I've got some projects, but like we've got a great team and like it's gonna be collaborative. I'm gonna be pushed, and maybe that's versus like, oh man, I cannot, I I do not want to go to bed because I am just dreading this conversation. I'm dreading this meeting that could have been an email. Um that that gut check is more important to me than any sort of like, all right, like let's do pros and cons. Great paycheck, you know, um meaningful work, important work. You know, it's like, how do you feel on Sunday? Yeah, has been a big indicator of like, hey, is it time to just kind of gut it out or is it time to look for something new?

SPEAKER_00 26:22

Yeah, I think uh Gin Z is right. If the vibes

Sunday Night Test: Do You Like Your Job?

SPEAKER_00 26:24

are off, then you don't work. I think it's interesting. I think we're conditioned in this world of branding that we live in. We start to set these things as our ideals and we approach them without really thinking about what we need. And it starts, I think, young when we're thinking about what college should we choose. Yeah, we choose the one with the big brand, with our favorite team that's going to be the school that someone else went to. We don't necessarily think about is this going to be the right fit for me? Will the class size be a good fit for me? And then we carry that through as we start to look for a career. And we think about, I really want to work for this company with this name. And then you get in there and the culture doesn't really align with how you want to work, how you show up at your best. Is the culture one where you are chained to your desk and you're expected to just work until you fall out? Or is the culture one where the people connect and they're human and they work asynchronously and they give you flexibility to come in because you have a longer commute or you have a dog that's sick or a kid that's sick? You know, finding the cultural fit that's right for you is I mean, it's so underrated, but I think it's one of the most important things as you're navigating your career journey.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Yeah. And I think that that's something too where it's uh it's something that uh it's sometimes hard to diagnose um certainly when you're in it, but as you're evaluating opportunities and thinking about, you know, what is what's listed on the website, like the sort of values, right? Like it's transparency or it's innovation or things like that. But I think being able to like talk to people who work there, being able to get a sense of like their day-to-day um, you know, culture, particularly in the I think culture is something that, you know, in the context of of entrepreneurship and innovation has always been something where, you know, I feel like that, like our

Company Culture vs Reality

SPEAKER_01 28:09

industry being able to say, um, you know, it's fun here, it's innovative, we've got a pool table, we got unlimited snacks, right? That's been that's been the pitch of like the corporate world to say, like, come and join, hey, the water's warm, entrepreneurship is cool, right? Like we've got cool plants and signs, and like, you know, again, it's that ping pong table sort of, and I feel like culture is so much more than that, right? Um, it's how people are talked to, it's how feedback is given, it's what behaviors are tolerated, what toler what behaviors are ignored. And I feel like there's so much nuance, and I feel like people's observation skills and maybe their quote unquote, can I swear on this? Can people use swear words or whatever? Maybe their sort of BS meter um allows them to think about and and sort of evaluate like what works for them. Yeah. And I think that, you know, you and I maybe have that experience and level of just awareness that it's like now we can evaluate and step into an office and be like, I can already feel the vibe, I can already feel the culture. Um, sometimes it will take you years to really develop an eye and an ear for what those things are. But I think being mindful of like how people talk, how information is handled. I feel like at times, you know, being able to be in environments where like um I felt like management was trying to protect us from bad things. Um, not necessarily bad things, but also just like how do you how does how does leadership div deliver news that like the majority of the staff there aren't going to like? And sometimes it has nothing to do with like layoffs or anything like that, but it just is just like I think um being able to trust people and be able to like, hey, I trust your ability to like handle information that you may not like at the time, but is always thinking about what is the long-term vision to be able to communicate. Um, that is a big indicator for me, is like how information sort of um finds its way to people. Like, how do we communicate? Is it is it transparent, both in terms of financials, but in terms of like personnel and just like where people are headed, of just sort of like that, that to me is a huge indicator of that of like, hey, I'm gonna be honest with you when things are great.

Transparency, Trust & Communication in Organizations

SPEAKER_01 30:37

And like we we got this big donor, we got this big client, but also like, hey, things aren't great, and then it sort of sometimes seeps through cracks and it's telephone, and it's like, oh, I talked to, and then you've got gossip and other things like that too. So I feel like the ability to the ability to communicate effectively across organizations, and it's so much more important. I mean, like it's I think it's harder logistically in bigger organizations because you have so many different levels of whatever a big organization is made up of smaller teams.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

And in exactly with a culture of communication and transparency, you can create a clear-through line and people have ownership and they feel comfortable, and it's not a game of telephone, you know, it can become much easier. Yeah, yeah. I think one of the things that I tell folks, especially when you're interviewing and you see these great values that people put up on the wall and on their website, ask what that looks like in action. Like, what does it look like for someone to live those values? If someone was actually showing up and demonstrating integrity, give me an example of what that actually looks like.

SPEAKER_01 31:40

Yeah. That was something too. I was a part of a team for it wasn't very long, but that was something that was reflected within um reviews. And it was some a unique culture in that, like, yes, there were annual reviews, but it was more of like a quarterly cadence because and I thought that was so smart in that, you know, generally speaking, like people with when when when there's friction between a manager or a company and an employee, like you don't want to wait around a year to like deliver that message, yeah. Either from the employee saying, like, hey, I don't think I'm being successful here, not having a good town, or the company

Feedback Loops & Continuous Improvement

SPEAKER_01 32:19

saying, like, yeah, it's maybe not a fit, or we need to make a move, or there's a permit, you know, pip or whatever. And I feel like that regularity allowed that conversation to come up, you know, more, you know, more frequently to be like, oh, and then there's a course correction that can happen to say, like, is it, you know, sometimes it's like right person, right role, of like, maybe you're just like not in the right role here. Yeah. We're not giving you the things that are are aligned with like your skill set, your superpowers, right? You're sort of, if you're familiar with the zone of genius framework of like, what are things that you like to do that you're good at? Yes. And let's try to give you as much in that, you know, around the context of like, we all have work that I have work that I would love to do. Sometimes I have to do like bookkeeping for my job. I'm decent at it, I don't like doing it, but I'm not going to get tied up in that. I surround myself with other work that it's like, this is really meaningful. I'm writing programs or I'm fundraising or I'm doing event planning, things that are empowering to me as a as an as a professional. Um, and so those are things that um you're yeah, just talking about certain cultures of like um that feedback loop and and that cadence in terms of like those types of reviews. But um But oh, you were uh the reason I was talking about that, sorry to cut you off in terms of like why why that's so meaningful is that um it's one thing to put those company values up on a website or a poster.

Culture That Lives in Incentives

SPEAKER_01 33:47

And I think to your point, yeah, living them. Um, but seeing it reflected in an incentive structure is really important when you think about raises, when you think about promotions, when you think about recognition, it was not something where it's like, okay, you know, a big um, you know, we're a transparent organization that's a value, and this is why transparency is important. It's like, well, what does it that look like on the employee level? And are we recognizing and promoting employees that are living that that are doing it? And so I thought that was something that like it was tied not just to the leadership and how they were doing, but bound in the employee level and saying, like, yeah, if we're someone who's living our values, if you're someone we can point to and say, like, that's what an an awesome, like an A plus, a star employee looks like, we're gonna reward that person accordingly. And I was like, oh, everything is then tied from like performance and activity and role down to like this is what we stay, we stand for. And it's not just something that's just like on a letterhead, it's not something that's static, it's very much like dynamic and sort of like is reflected in the employees. And um, I thought that was a really unique way of being able to approach um yeah, how people sort of live out, you know, or if if your culture is like um service, if it's like, hey, we look out for each other if someone's struggling here. And then it's like, okay, what's an example of a time that like, you know, and some cultures are like, hey, that's your problem. You've got to figure that out, right? Pull yourself up with your bootstraps versus like, hey, I see someone struggling, they're drowning a bit in their work. I'm gonna pitch in, hey, I've got a free hour, I'll take on that client role, I'll make that goal role. At least we do it together. And so I thought that was something too that um that when when the company was creating their own values, that it's like it was it was with that in mind of like, how are we gonna measure this? And how are we gonna hold ourselves accountable when it comes down to people we think that are gonna succeed in these roles, but then also being able to recognize

Living Organizational Values in Practice

SPEAKER_01 35:55

them with additional pay, responsibility, et cetera.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Yeah. And I I think it's awesome in the startup space because you have the opportunity to build something the right way. Yeah. You don't get stuck with this bureaucracy and this way of doing things. You can tie your values to your performance to how you interact with each other. And that should be a through line. It should be represented in everything. Yeah. So I want to shift gears a little bit because you talked about coming to St. Louis and starting your career in service, but I'm curious why you chose St. Louis. And if you didn't choose it initially, if it was like an assignment, then why did you choose to stay and build here?

SPEAKER_01 36:31

Yeah, I talked a little bit about I think the why and coming in that, you know, I think there was for me, part of it was just logistics of being able to like stay in the Midwest. And I didn't, and and maybe to my benefit, like I didn't do a lot of research about St. Louis. And like I have family here, I have memories here. I remember, you know, coming down and like going to my dad was telling me this about you know, the first time we went to like Fair St. Louis and of like the first time that you saw fireworks and your eyes lit up and be like, wow, like the arch grounds is like it's really cool. There's there's you know, you got the backdrop and you've got the people and the music, and it's like it was a city that felt very alive. Yeah. Um, you know, going to the loop and going shopping with my cousins and of just, you know, being able to, you know, get uh ice cream at you know, Fitz's and and things like that. Yeah. Um, so there was a sense of place here um through the lens of someone who was still young versus like I didn't know what it was gonna be like a professional, but it was something where like I like knowing that like I had my home base, my identity as an Iwan to say like I'm not leaving

Why Matt Chose to Stay in St. Louis

SPEAKER_01 37:39

the ranch. I'm not like you know, in in in maybe like very um sort of literal terms, but I'm going to a place that that feels much like an extension of that, a place that I can be successful, a place that feels familiar. But why I stay, I think there's a lot of reasons. I met my wife here, she's amazing, um, her family's amazing. Um I feel like you know, I've met so many quality individuals, and she's like, you know, a great uh example of the type of people that you meet in St. Louis and in terms of like the level of compassion, care, laughter in terms of like there's quality people here. And that was reinforced to me both in terms of my career journey, but also in terms of like my social journey. Yeah. And that like I have a an amazing group of friends, um, people that I've met through so many different types of interactions. Like I have sort of uh these different groups, but it's been really cool to see them interact. Of like I have like a um pickup sports group of people that like that was the first thing I came to St. Louis and it's like, hey, I'm really good at ultimate frisbee. I'm really good at, you know, um basketball or something like I'm actually not very good at basketball. So like frisbee, um kickball, for instance. And there were mechanisms for me to sort of reach out. And those are people that are they were looking for people to meet too. So it's like it was a good environment. So I have so many friends who that AmeriCorps was a tremendo tremendous, you know, door opener in terms of people that went through the program, people that I knew who were passionate about service, they wanted to help and they wanted to lift up others and they wanted to um give back

Community, Friend Groups & Belonging

SPEAKER_01 39:23

in some way. That was important to me to find friends who were there. Um, so there's a service element, um, there's a sports element. There were people that were interested in doing things like trivia, you know, and being able to go to a bar and not just like, yeah, we're just gonna get hammered. It's like, yeah, we're gonna have fun and we're gonna have a couple of nerdy moments. Like we're gonna exactly. Um, so I feel like it it may feel a little cliche to say it's the people that stay. Um, but for me, it's it's the combination of, I feel like, really unique opportunity in um entrepreneurship and economic development locally, um, fused with creative, interesting people who are a little weird and that want to do things a little differently that keep St. Louis fun and fresh and hip and all the words that a millennial is going to describe, things that are cool. And um, and of finding just like new things. I feel like St. Louis is a perfect size in which like I don't feel you had mentioned this idea of being able to being overwhelmed by by choice, paralyzed by choice, and that like we have things we were actually just talking this morning, my wife and I, about where you know, it's like where do we go for dinner? That's always a big conversation in the house. But of like, we've got certain restaurants that we go back to that are familiar, especially with two young kids. It's like we know that they're gonna have coloring books and there's gonna be other parents there and things like that, but also places that are like, hey, have you heard about this? And we find about them through bucket list and other influencers and like, yeah, we really need to try that place, or let's get a date night on the calendar and like let's go to that new restaurant that just opened up. There,

St. Louis as the “Perfect Size” City

SPEAKER_01 41:06

there seems to be always opportunities for us to, you know, sort of look under the rock and be like, oh wow, that's something new. Um, and I think in certain cities that might be smaller, it's like you go back to the same place and you know it gets boring after a while, but it's nice knowing that whether it's a restaurant or like um a new playground to take my son, it's like there's places we go back to, we have great experiences, but there's always something new, an event, an experience, uh, a venue that we can we can discover. And I feel like that element of discovery as someone who's like kind of a quasi-adventurer of like looking out for new places, it's something that sort of keeps me engaged of like, yeah, at some point I'll be old and curmudgeony. And it's like, I'm gonna go back to the same Mexican restaurant because they've got the chips and salsa and I like and they like my margs the way you know I like my margs and all that sort of stuff. But if like that element of discovery here, I think is really um important and a city of our size that's not too big, not too small, it's just right. Um, and and those other issues that um I think we have the benefit of being able to say collectively, either as a family or a community, how are we gonna wrap ourselves around them and think about what are things that we can meaningfully do as a couple, as uh as an office um or as an organization, but also as a region to say like it's not just gonna be one

Regional Challenges & Long-Term Thinking

SPEAKER_01 42:38

person, right? It's it's a collaborative effort that's going to be able to say, how are we looking out for the people who don't have the same type of upbringing of the resources that we have? How are we gonna solve these big issues of city-county fragmentation, crime, um, you know, racial disparities? Like it's it's and these are things that are multi-generational, I feel like, of like it's looking out for what you know, our kids, kids, kids are experiencing and saying, you know, it's sort of the adage of like plant the trees, the shade that you will not experience, of being able to say, I'm setting aside maybe some personal convenience for like how do I do what's right so that St. Louis in 30 years is gonna be best positioned. And I feel like entrepreneurship, you know, you go back to the why in terms of this particular path of like entrepreneurship, I felt like has always been part of that narrative around like how we compete and how we win as a region because we have so many great success stories of like entrepreneurs who thought differently, who did something unique in the marketplace, who said, we're gonna build and grow here because there are advantages and there's resources and there's people that are gonna make it possible for us to do that. Um, how do we do more of that? Right. And I feel like that economic strategy of saying, we're gonna grow our own. Yes, we can go out and recruit. I know data center, data centers are a big hot topic now, recruiting other large corporations to come here. Um people, you know, if another city has a better deal, they those folks

Entrepreneurship & Growing Local Talent

SPEAKER_01 44:12

leave. And so I think it's how do we grow our own, but also um how do we keep people here? And I think there's a there's a that societal and and that cultural argument around like great place to raise a family, great place to discover new places. I feel like our our academic and our cultural institutions go toe-to-toe with lots of folks, lots of cities, world class, um, you know, the Muni, um, our our park system, um, you know, our our musical performances. I just feel like there's so much here that um, yes, it gets talked about, but like sometimes I think people take for granted of like being able to go to the science center with my with my two kids of like lots of communities, you can't do that. Yeah. On a on a day where it's cold and we've been at home and I've watched five episodes of Bluey, and it's like it's time to get out of the house. We're gonna do something at a cultural institution and learn something. Um it can't it can't be overstated how important those things are. Yeah. Um, so we feel like there's a great combination for us as a family of like we have family here, it feels familiar, you've got those Midwest values. There's amazing uh cultural institutions, but I feel like um for us, we're I wouldn't call us foodies, but of like we're always looking out for like what's the next place to grab a cocktail, a drink, a lunch. Um,

Culture, Institutions & Quality of Life in STL

SPEAKER_01 45:38

you know, and it's fun being able to discover those things, new things on our own, but also have our familiar favorites.

SPEAKER_00 45:44

Yeah. So I'm curious, I think if if you could give one piece of advice to somebody who's building their career here, who's just getting started or who's in those early stages, maybe approaching a pivot, what would that be?

SPEAKER_01 45:57

I think don't undervalue the importance um of informational interviews. I feel like um being able to reach out to someone to learn about what they do, what they like about their job, what they don't like. I feel like I built a really strong professional network here, um, really just out of a lens of curiosity, of like, tell me more. And people like talking about themselves. They really do, you know? And I miss some cool stories. And and not that it's like a bad thing of like we're just like so self-absorbed that it's like, I'm gonna tell you everything that's awesome

Networking, Informational Interviews & Career Advice

SPEAKER_01 46:32

about me, but people want to share.

unknown 46:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:35

And I feel like that's something that's I don't know if it's unique, but something that's special about St. Louis in that like people do want to help others and they want to connect you and they want to show you how great their work is or the place that they discovered. And I feel like generally speaking, people, even in in high positions, people that you you thought were not accessible, being able to shoot them a note on LinkedIn or an email to be like, hey, I'm really interested in what you do, and I'd love to just, hey, no, there's no ask other than like 30 minutes of your time. And I feel like being able to just ask them questions about like, just like this, like, what's so for you? What's your story? Yeah, where can I get plugged in? Um, I had a conver I had a coffee like that last week with someone who's retired. I'm just like, you seem great. Let me make this introduction. I invited you to this lunch. Like, wow, I didn't ask for all this, but here we are. And I feel like that opens the doors for mentorship. It opens the doors for reciprocal relationships, like true relationships, where hey, I, you know, is there anything I can do to help you out? Is there is there an introduction? Is there something that I can do? So I feel like people that are getting started in their career. Um, and yeah, service. I mean, it's something that's really defined me, but of like being able to say, if there's organizations that you care about that are doing anything in the community that are helping out, whether it's philanthropically serving on a board. I I've served on a couple boards. That's opened up my network in so many ways. It allows us at a certain perspective on nonprofit organizations where you understand their challenges, their opportunities, a lot of the things that you don't see from the outside in terms of like, you know, and big decisions, right? In terms of do we expand, do we shut down, do we, you know, consider a new program, a service. Um I feel like board service, uh, particularly for those who are more advanced in their career because they have potentially more to give back. Um, there's a great program now through Focus St. Louis called Board Bridge, where it's sort of like a matchmaking service. Hey, I'm interested in serving with organizations that work with youth or um the elderly or healthcare or whatever it is, or these are the things that I have

Board Service & Getting Involved Locally

SPEAKER_01 48:58

to contribute. I'm great with marketing, great fundraising, event planning, governance, whatever. And then they sort of pair you and say, like, hey, here are some matches based on your preference. And the same thing. They uh they work with organizations who are say, hey, we're looking for someone who has lived experience in this field. We're looking for someone who is a legal back, you know. Um that that's huge. If if you have the time joining a board, even if it's not the big B board, if it's an advisory board, a friends board, board, something, yeah. You're gonna make great people generally. Um, and you're gonna get connected to some organizations that are doing some really meaningful, important work locally. So those would be the two that I would say um informational interviews, being open to just even if someone has like quick 15 minutes of like, hey, I can't meet you in person. Here's 15 minutes, be prepared, write down some questions, thank them for their time, and you'd be surprised that, you know, a couple months down the road, they're thinking about you and saying, like, yeah, how can I help this individual? Um, keep them in the loop, um, and and try to schedule as many of those as possible. Even if you're not looking, it's always good to have that helpful network.

SPEAKER_00 50:13

Um networking is best when you don't need

Closing Thoughts & Final Advice

SPEAKER_00 50:16

anything, when you can just pour into that relationship and it can be organic. If yeah, 100%. Absolutely. Well, Matt, thank you so much for coming for sharing about your journey and the work that you do at the Tech Artista Foundation. Also, Shameless Plug, STL Startup Week is going to be happening later in the year, which is always a phenomenal time, a full week of learning and growth connecting to the startup ecosystem here in St. Louis. So if you're not involved, I recommend everybody get involved in some way, shape, or form. But Matt Minetti, thank you so much for coming.