4.23.26

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A message from business editor Eric Schmid

Imagine getting rid of the most annoying, repetitive, boring parts of your job—just poof, gone. What would that extra time unlock for you? This is the reality one local business wants to power for other small businesses not through AI, but simple automations, which you can read all about below.

We also have a look at the big gains Boeing’s defense unit made in this year's first quarter and the mixed reaction to the local data center news of the week. Plus, another lawsuit against the Jefferson Arms developer, a new retail plaza coming to North City, and sky high cannabis sales in March.

Have feedback about this newsletter or story ideas for future editions? Do you know of any networking events we can share? Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

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Business automation tools can take over repetitive tasks and leave time to focus on higher leverage goals. Graphic by watthanakul / iStock / Getty Images Plus

DEEP DIVE

Before going all in on AI, Alex Ward wants you to try automation first

Read the full story »

Amid the hype around artificial intelligence powering big productivity gains, one St. Louis-based business has a different take on how to use new technology to unlock efficiencies.

Alex Ward founded Automate My.Co with the goal of helping small businesses automate some of their most time-consuming tasks to focus on bigger valuable goals. It’s something he has personal experience with, having learned automation to boost Food Pedaler, the local bike-powered delivery service for caterers and restaurants he purchased in 2019.

Go Deeper: With Automate My.Co, he’s now consulting and building similar efficiencies for local businesses that run the gamut: a sleep technology company, a co-working space, a consumer packaged goods company, a fitness studio, and others.

“Most of the time companies will have a project in mind of what they want to tackle first. Ideally that’s going to be something that’s largely time-consuming,” he says.

He says there’s hardly a project that’s too big or small, but a common theme is managing lead intake, where a small business might have a contact form on their website but no easy or fast way to sort through the messages it receives.

Ward says a business automation tool, such as Zapier, works a lot like a visual flow chart where an initial event (like an inbound email) triggers a cascading set of actions. He draws a clear distinction between this and what AI can do.

“AI is such a buzzword, such a hot topic right now, and it also uses a ton of energy, as most people know, and I don’t feel great about that,” he says. “So I try to use it pretty sparingly.”

The Next Move: To Ward, the business case for using automation tools is evident—the faster you can respond, the more likely you are to close a deal or make a sale. Or simply eliminating a time-consuming task that’s no fun can free up more much needed time.

And Ward argues it’s important for small businesses to engage with new technology, even if they feel like their current processes are good enough. “As technology evolves, there’s always tools that can help them work more efficiently and save time,” he says.

To that end, Ward has started a monthly Meetup of professionals interested in automating business processes and anything related to automation without endless coding. They just had their first session on Monday, which drew a half-dozen attendees. —Eric Schmid

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Today's Top Stories

Jefferson Arms developer sued for work that went unpaid (St. Louis Business Journal): FRG Construction LLC sued two Alterra-owned entities for $1.45 million in work it says it was never paid for on the historic downtown property. It’s the latest in a list of legal disputes tied to the 235-apartment and 225-room hotel redevelopment.
St. Louis shopping mall demolished to make way for new retail plaza (stltoday): The strip mall near Kingshighway and Page boulevards was “completely destroyed” by last year’s tornado. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis owns the mall and plans to build a new building in its place with “an enhanced level of retail.”
Anheuser-Busch to add upgrades at St. Louis brewery amid $600M in U.S. investments (St. Louis Business Journal): The global brewing company’s commitments over the next two years include a new technical skills training center in St. Louis. A spokesperson says more specifics on the local investment will come later this year.
Missouri cannabis sales hit new monthly record in March (Missouri Business Alert): The state’s cannabis industry sold more than $130 million worth of product last month, with recreational marijuana driving the vast majority of sales, nearly $120 million. Since legalizing cannabis for medical use in 2020 and recreational use in 2022, the state has generated some $5.29 billion in total revenue.

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An artist's rendering of the Air Force’s new F-47 fighter jet, which Boeing has the contract to produce. Rendering via U.S. Air Force

Watercooler

📈 BOEING DEFENSE SEES JUMP IN EARNINGS AND REVENUE IN Q1 2026

During yesterday’s earnings call with analysts, The Boeing Company reported that its St. Louis-based Defense, Space, and Security division posted strong earnings and revenue growth in the first quarter of this year. Revenue grew some 21 percent to $7.6 billion, while earnings from the unit jumped 50 percent to $233 million. “It’s clear to me that our defense portfolio is well-positioned to capture upside from increased operational tempo and rising defense budgets among the U.S. and our allies,” said Jay Mulave, Boeing’s executive vice president and CFO, a perspective seconded by Boeing’s CEO and president Kelly Ortberg. Ortberg said the most recent defense budget includes $5 billion for the next generation F-47 fighter jet, which Boeing holds the contract to build, as well as $3 billion for production of the F15EX fighter jet, which is produced in the Gateway region. Investors appeared to like the news, as Boeing’s stock lifted up 5.5 percent by the close of the market yesterday. —E.S.

😡 REACTION TO MIDTOWN DATA CENTER SPLITS ALONG FAMILIAR LINES

Reviews of St. Louis’ decision to grant a conditional use permit for a $3 billion, 120 megawatt data center in the city’s Midtown neighborhood are in, and the news is either really good or really bad, depending on where you're looking. Scroll through the thousands of comments on Mayor Cara Spencer’s Instagram post touting the city’s agreement with the developers, and the responses are almost universally negative, with many people expressing how this is a project they personally didn’t want or how they feel the city was sold out. “This is SO disingenuous. You KNEW how residents felt about this. You just don’t care how we feel,” writes one commenter. Over on LinkedIn, the vibes were upbeat or even exuberant, as members of the business community chimed in on the large dollar investment and tax revenue the city expects the project to generate. It’s too early to tell at this point how the project will actually play out, but Spencer seems to have sent a message that’s landing in wildly different ways with different audiences: The city is indeed open for business. —E.S.