Today, I’m thrilled to announce that EQ has been acquired by Longneck & Thunderfoot, LLC. You can read the full press release here. I want to take a moment to personally introduce them here on EQ and share more about how this exciting moment came to be.

For those of you who do not yet know Longneck & Thunderfoot, or L&T for short, they are a digital marketing and content strategy firm that was born out of Columbia University’s Startup Lab in New York. L&T Co-Founder Jonathan Allen moved to St. Louis last year when the company won an Arch Grant.

Shortly after Jonathan arrived in St. Louis about a year ago, he and I crossed paths in T-REX Downtown, where we both have an office. After one coffee-fueled discussion about the future of media and EQ’s place in the ecosystem, we knew there was more to explore and began thinking about possible opportunities for collaboration.

Fast forward several months, and our conversations became more strategic; a lot can change in a short period of time in this fast-moving ecosystem. Ultimately, what happened next was a classic example of the concept of “serendipitous collisions” in action, something we know is essential fuel for a vibrant startup community.

EQ fills an important role in the startup ecosystem. It was launched to provide a mouthpiece for St. Louis’ innovation class: those creators, technologists, hackers, futurists and urbanists who are working to showcase St. Louis’ strengths to the world while also building a better city through their companies. The magazine broadcasts good news coming out of the region, to audiences both in and outside St. Louis, and creates resources for others to get involved.

Longneck & Thunderfoot is the perfect successor for EQ. Its founders, Jonathan and Cooper, have a clear passion for EQ’s mission and their company brings phenomenal editorial bench-strength and expertise in cutting-edge digital storytelling strategies that I know will serve EQ readers and clients well in the years to come.

Jonathan brings years of experience growing online publications and, as we discovered early on, a shared purpose with many of the startup ecosystem entrepreneur support organizations and innovation districts with whom EQ is aligned. From a business perspective, EQ fits nicely with L&T’s current product offerings and the publication is poised for growth under its umbrella.

I can’t wait to see where they take EQ from here.

Over the next month, you’ll continue to see me out and about as Jonathan and I work together on the transition. After that, I’ll be going on my next great adventure.

To my EQ writers, editors, designers, developers, photographers and other minds who put their creative genius to work at the publication: thank you for lending your talents to help grow EQ from the ground up.

To EQ’s clients and other supporters: Thank you for believing in EQ’s mission and all the support since Day One. You are in great hands.

To St. Louis’ innovation community: Keep breaking things. Keep having the tough conversations about inequities, about our city’s strengths as well as its weaknesses. Stay focused on helping founders get what they need. Keep charging and keep collaborating. And of course, share your stories.

Kelly

Meet EQ’s new publishers here.