Some awards celebrate a single win. This one celebrates a philosophy that’s shaped an entire city’s innovation community for 25 years.
The St. Louis Business Journal named John Simanowitz, founder and CEO of Integrity, the winner of the 2026 Legacy Entrepreneur Award as part of this year’s Fire Awards. It’s a recognition reserved for the people who don’t just build a company, but help build the ecosystem around it.
John founded Integrity in 2001 on an idea that was, at the time, more contrarian than it sounds today: flat organizations make better decisions faster, titles get in the way, and collaborators outpace competitors. Nearly 25 years later, that bet has grown Integrity into a team of dozens and helped shape how St. Louis’s startup and innovation community works together rather than around each other.
We couldn’t be prouder to see that legacy recognized by the community it was built for. As John put it himself, the honor really belongs to everyone who’s helped build Integrity along the way — clients, partners, and the broader St. Louis innovation community doing the work every day, often without the spotlight.
Read the full story from St. Louis Business Journal’s Veneta Rizvic and Luke Daugherty on how John’s collaborative approach shaped the region’s startup ecosystem:
Read the full article on St. Louis Inno →
Congratulations, John — here’s to the next 25 years of building it together.