Just over a week ago, I learned of the sad news that Patty Hagen has passed away. For those who don’t know, Patty was the Executive Director at T-REX. She’s been a steadfast and patient leader representing the tech startup ecosystem in downtown St. Louis for the past ten years. 

For those of you who do know her, you know what I know: We’ve lost a legend.

Honoring Our Community Builder

In recognizing, celebrating and honoring a decade of her tenure as Executive Director, it’s no exaggeration to say that Patty’s legacy is present across the tech and geospatial startup community that all of us live, work and play in, today. I’m sure she would blush at the acclaim, but her gentle and guiding influence is undeniable.

Supporting dozens of different entrepreneurship and workforce development programs and incubating hundreds of startups of all sizes, Patty’s stable presence empowered countless new cohorts of founders and freelancers to learn how to fish for opportunity in St. Louis. Ten years later, those startups and organizations that were able to pull through the make-or-break challenges of early stage companies are now spread out all over the city. 

“Our company moved into T-REX right before Patty began in her role in 2014 – maybe we beat her by a few weeks at most. Every interaction with her was positive and she exuded a genuineness that was continuously refreshing. We ‘graduated’ from T-REX after 1-year into our own office space a few blocks away. Every time we were with Patty in the years that followed in any environment in the start-up ecosystem, she proudly claimed us as one of her own T-REX alumni and we were honored to be one. We will miss her dearly.“

— Alex Haimann, Less Annoying CRM

Mission Control

Arch Grants, ITEN, Less Annoying CRM, Noonlight, Clever Real Estate and Balto, established their first offices out of T-REX. It was “Mission Control.” Patty, their first landlord, believed they could launch something gigantic —and they did.

For many out-of-state startup founders, like myself, who relocated their startup to St. Louis via Arch Grants, Patty was our “second” point of contact in St. Louis. In almost all cases, obtaining a membership at T-REX was the first and only obligation a grant recipient had to make to the city. Relocating anywhere is tough, physically, emotionally and spiritually, but she ensured T-REX was “homebase” for many a weary adventurer.

“When we first came to the country with nothing but ideas and a dream she was right there and she welcomed us into T-REX. I will never forget her constant smiles, and how she would manage to give perspective to things and see a better future than everybody else could. She was special. She was different. She drove a little Mini. She was simply wonderful.”

— Amit Kothari, Tallyfy

Homebase

Patty was so important to my integration into St. Louis. As a foreigner, originally from London but moving here from NYC, I had never learned to drive as I had always relied on their public transport systems. So, initially, I struggled to adapt to the “car culture” here.

At a T-REX friday happy hour, during my first few weeks of getting oriented, Patty enthusiastically shared her whole personal philosophy on improving the city.

She had done extensive research into the values of “millenials” and she explained to me how up-and-coming generations bring a radical view of work/life balance. She said that ‘this’ generation was a source of a new creative energy to the corporate world —which she believed the city had to harness for the betterment of the region.

And then, taking pity on my lost soul, she gave me a ride home in her car.

Coincidentally, she drove a Mini —a British brand— and stepping into her car was a cosmic reminder that maybe I could call this place home. Caring gestures, serendipitous connections and wonderful, insightful conversations define Patty for me. 

“It’s that live/work/play balance; it’s doing things on your own terms; it’s caring about the environment; it’s wanting to create a diverse atmosphere; it’s a reuse of great old buildings. It’s all of those things that make this generation….millennials are mostly motivated by a desire to do good things in the world and make a difference. That’s pretty amazing.”

Patty Hagen, T-REX, quote from an interview with EQ in 2015

Not All Work, Work, Work

Patty didn’t just help incubate companies either. Reflecting the unique character of the St. Louis’ startup scene, she encouraged many of us to pursue a plethora of playful projects; all created with her blessing. 

The upcycled portraits painted by T-REX community manager, Kathleen Bauer, where a Velociraptor stalks a pastoral scene or a Tyrannosaurus glowers in a summer hat (that was previously possessed by some upstanding member of a society past), perfectly illustrate Patty’s sense of fun. She valued co-creating with members and fostered a culture of experimentation in the building.

“When I heard about Patty’s passing, after the shock wore off, my first thought was ‘what are we going to do!?’ I was thinking of the startup and tech scene where Patty was for many years a key and essential figure. 

Patty was always receptive and open to new ideas. I remember when we were starting the Bourbon Friday Show working with her to find a space to film, even evolving into a dedicated video studio space inside of T-REX. 

She found an unused office space, and made sure we had everything we needed to get our fledgling show off the ground. It was exactly the kind of enthusiastic support we needed while taking a big chance on a new concept. 

She was always encouraging about new ideas or events we wanted to host, and would do whatever she could to help make them happen. In fact, I was always excited to share my ideas with Patty. Even if she couldn’t support them through her role she was always completely encouraging. That attitude will be sorely missed around St. Louis.“

— Nick Niehaus, Connect Video

Happy Times

Responding to member suggestions as to how T-REX could boost their presence on social media, Patty invited Nick Niehaus, Christian Johnson, Erik Lutenegger and I, to collaborate on opening a live streaming video studio in T-REX. After furnishing the space with a couple of fake plastic trees and some disused armchairs found in the basement, we launched the Bourbon Friday Show which helped showcase the personalities —and ‘personality’— that made up our ecosystem.

This year T-REX celebrated April Fools, which follows a member-led tradition that started out of the same live streaming studio, and has continued ever since. Former tenants, like Less Annoying CRM and Balto, gave their permission to let the rest of us, upstarts, conspire to invent a fake competitor that’s challenging their core business. 

It made great for content, which all of us could share and tag each other on different social media channels, to amplify what was happening in St. Louis. Even when the stories were ‘tall’ —like EQ’s Halloween special report on “the Ghost of T-REX” (which includes interviews and photography created by other coworking members)— these little gigs brought us together as a community and served as a welcome break from the daily grind.

Most importantly, Patty supported spinning out all these types of “skunkworks” projects so they could eventually become their own thing. We might take it for granted today but Bourbon Friday, the regular meetup that now moves around all the different coworking spaces in the city, was born out of Friday happy hours at T-REX. It’s now the longest standing independent community-organized event. 

“Patty was hired to run T-REX in 2014, and I was hired at the end of 2013. We hit our roles virtually simultaneously, and we were often together because of the vision that T-REX was the ‘place’ and Arch Grants was the ‘people.’ 

We were also together because sometimes it felt like we were building planes while they were flying – that required some serious “sessions” to navigate how to move forward together when circumstances required. T-REX was established for many reasons: real estate, population density, business development, job creation, love of St. Louis, etc. 

Still, for Patty, I think the attraction was always the opportunity to create a community of curious and compassionate people who happened to co-locate together, hoping that proximity would lead to creativity. And Patty became the head cheerleader of everyone within the T-REX community – always a kind word and perpetually pleasant even when others did not extend her the same courtesy.

Doing something for the first time can be especially challenging – lots of expectations, scrutiny, and hopes that aren’t always followed by budget, staff, and consensus regarding priorities. Patty navigated a lot of different people and organizations to help transition T-REX into a partner for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).

I was with Patty when the light bulb went off for her about the potential of the NGA at T-REX. We were both invited to speak to a small group of men who were mapping specialists (I think that was their common denominator). The meeting was at the top of the Metropolitan Building downtown. 

We were invited because of our respective roles, and the attendees were as curious about what we were doing professionally as Patty and I were about what they meant by ‘mapping.’ When we walked back to T-REX, we were both scratching our heads —fascinated by the collection of people we’d met and their work. 

That meeting was in 2015 or 2016 – fast forward to 2024. She did it. 

T-REX opened the nation’s first Geospatial Innovation Center in 2020, a 16,000 sq. ft. facility that brings together the regional and national geospatial community, creating a network of support and opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators. In 2022, T-REX and the NGA established the GEOINT Hub to advance the NGA’s technology transfer efforts in support of the geospatial ecosystem and the utilization of federally developed technology. 

Commerce and community – Patty embraced both and felt that one required the other. Patty, Kathleen, and Gwen – they were the ‘T-REX Trio.’ My condolences to all who worked with Patty, and especially to her husband, Brad, and son, Connor. Patty was a gem.“

— Ginger Imster, Former Executive Director at Arch Grants, Currently Assistant Head of School for External Affairs at John Burroughs School

A Grounding Presence & Cheerful Leader

Startup life —or even just self employment in its myriad forms— is chaotic. 

Every day begins like a promising new day, but often ends with the usual setbacks. Predictably unpredictable stuff like: the new prospect didn’t close; the pitch competition wasn’t won; the investors are not on board, the new employee isn’t working out or the expensive consultant is eating your time rather than saving it. 

Amidst that perfect storm, running into Patty at T-REX was always a moment to catch your breath. Her manner was so warm and attentive that when she met you face-to-face, she caused you to pause, stabilize and stop spinning out. 

When Patty asked, “How are you?” She wasn’t greeting you. It wasn’t a rhetorical question; she was really asking. 

And that’s not to say that Patty wasn’t facing a whirlwind herself. She was! There was always something that she was working hard on. 

Whether it was writing a grant for a new live-streaming studio facility; managing renovations of an entire floor of the building to house SafeTrek (now Noonlight) and Balto’s ever-expanding staff footprint; or masterminding a way to connect the Geospatial community to the tech startup community, Patty was engaged in important work.

But the door to her office was always ajar. One always knew when you were free to interrupt her and when it was best to let her get on with whatever she was doing.

In that sense, under Patty’s leadership, T-REX wasn’t just a startup incubator or a coworking space. It was a shared space. We were all in it together.

Patty Hagen, you will be missed. X

Details of Memorial Service & Toast

Visitation and Service for Patty will take place at the Piper Palm House, in Tower Grove Park on May 18th. All welcome. (4257 Northeast Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110)
Visitation: 9-11am
Service: 11am

A Toast to Dr. Hagen’s life will be hosted at T-REX (5th Floor) on Tuesday, May 21st at 4pm.

If you would like to make a donation, the Dr. Patty Hagen Stem Scholarship Fund has been dedicated in honor of her legacy.