Dennis Lower - President & CEO at Cortex Innovation Community (St. Louis, MO)

“It’s all about developing horizontal relationships and creating an innovation community. The buildings will come if you create the community of innovators.” — Dennis Lower

Today’s guest is Dennis Lower, President & CEO of the Cortex Innovation Community. Dennis has been involved in technology-based economic development since 1995, planning and developing university-sponsored urban innovation districts in Louisiana and New Jersey before coming to the Cortex. Dennis sits down with Tyler and Michael to talk about what makes a good innovation district, how they get built, and how to incorporate a variety of different environments to design a dynamic, porous, vibrant community that sparks ideas and allows entrepreneurs to thrive.

The Cortex Innovation Community is the Midwest’s premier hub for research and innovation in the fields of bioscience and technology. It is also the home of Venture Cafe St. Louis, the largest gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators anywhere in the world, any day of the week. Venture Cafe meets every Thursday from 3-8pm on the 2nd floor of 4240 Duncan Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110.