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COMMERCE COMMENTS
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Dan Lauer, the subject of this month’s cover story, has already
proven his talent as a toy inventor, through the creation of Waterbabies®,
one of the nation’s top-selling dolls in the ’90s. Now, he is
proving his prowess at entrepreneurship itself, by starting Haystack
Toys.
Lauer, along with industry veteran Jeff Loeb, founded Haystack
Toys, an Internet-based business, in May 1999. The premise of
their business is to ferret out inventors of innovative toys through
The Great American Toy Hunt, and help those inventors bring their
toys to market.
From last year’s Hunt, five toys were chosen to bring to market
and were recently released as the company’s first toy line. Now
the moment of truth is upon them.
Haystack’s projected revenue this year is $6 to $12 million. And
Lauer has projected a profit of $22 million by 2003 on sales of
$180 million.
It is companies like Haystack Toys that benefit from the support
of venture capital firms like Capital For Business, featured on
page 92 of this issue. Capital For Business, which is Commerce
Bancshare’s small business investment company headed by Jim O’Donnell,
has invested $1 million in the start-up company. Capital For Business’
Steve Broun, senior vice president, is on Haystack Toys’ board.
Through four private equity and venture capital funds, CFB currently
has invested and committed more than $100 million in capital.
The company plays a significant role in the capital formation
process. Their money goes into numerous businesses in this region
and beyond, and their money attracts further investments.
St. Louis is not only fertile ground for entrepreneurs and venture
capitalists, but general contractors as well. The article on page
30 points out that this region has an unusually large number of
leading general contractors compared to other similar-sized metropolitan
areas. Only six other metropolitan areas matched or exceeded the
number of large general contractors based in the St. Louis metropolis.
The article highlights the region’s attractiveness to those who
build — location, professional talent, highly skilled trades people,
strong ethics, tradition, innovation and growth. The healthy competition
creates an environment that further challenges general contractors
to hone their skills and deliver even higher quality products
on schedule and within or under budget.
With this kind of climate, it is no surprise that 11 area general
contractors placed in Engineering News-Record’s, annual benchmark
survey of the nation’s leading general contractors.
Whether it’s general contractors or entrepreneurs, the St. Louis
region and its businesses capture their share of national recognition
and attention.
Richard C.D. Fleming
President and Chief Executive Officer
St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association
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