On this episode of the STL Bucket List Show, we sit down with Mark Sawyier, the founder behind GiftBetter. He’s reinventing the gift card so that every dollar stays in the community, one local business at a time.

Mark came from New York City to go to WashU and started his first business from his dorm room. He stayed in St. Louis for 20 years of building companies, including a digital marketing agency and the employee engagement platform Bonfire. When Bonfire’s clients kept asking for local gift card options, Mark dug into the numbers. Americans spend nearly $270 billion a year on gift cards, and about 90% of it goes to national chains. In St. Louis alone, close to $2 billion a year leaves the region. GiftBetter connects to the gift card systems local merchants already use, like Square, Toast and Clover. It adds video messages, custom physical cards you can load on the spot, and lets the recipient choose where to spend it. Merchants pay nothing to join.

It’s a conversation about why St. Louis is built for founders, what a gift card really says about the person giving it, and what happens when a startup’s growth is measured in dollars kept at home.

They discuss:

- Mark’s path from NYC to WashU, and why St. Louis’s affordability, access and talent kept him here
- How Bonfire’s corporate clients sparked the idea for GiftBetter
- GiftBetter’s pillars: local spending, personalization, custom physical cards and recipient choice
- How the platform helps merchants with cash flow and gives companies easy gifting with built-in tracking
- Advice for young founders on de-risking, staying focused and ignoring vanity metrics

Support the show

🎙 New episodes drop every Wednesday.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEK 🔔

🎧 LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts ▶ https://apple.co/36ycuuO Spotify ▶ https://spoti.fi/3svGoqS

🔗 CONNECT WITH STL BUCKET LIST: Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/stlbucketlist Website ▶ stlbucketlist.com

🤝 WORK WITH STL BUCKET LIST Interested in partnering or sponsoring an episode? Email ▶ show@stlbucketlist.com Website ▶ https://www.bucketlistcreative.com

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube
📍 Recorded at Bucket List Podcast Studio, St. Louis, MO

On this episode of the STL Bucket List Show, we sit down with Charles Whitt, co-founder of the Mound City Film Festival — a free, full-day celebration of Saint Louis and the Midwest, one film, band, and bite at a time.

What started last year as a monthly Mountainfilm series at Four Hands Brewing Co. downtown, created to celebrate Open Space STL's 60th anniversary, is now taking over Atomic by Jamo in The Grove on Saturday, November 7th. Charles walks us through the day, from live art demos curated by Third Degree Glass Factory and climbing clinics with Climb So iLL to sets from Atomic Junction and chef-driven Atomic Eats pairings with Four Hands, plus the Mountainfilm tour lineup and regional filmmakers tackling our rivers, reforestation, native pollinators, and healing outdoors. He also shares why the festival leans environmental, what it took to screen 42 films this summer, and his vision for turning Mound City into a walkable, multi-venue neighborhood festival.

It's a conversation about Saint Louis stories, the great outdoors, and what happens when a city stops waiting for big events to come from somewhere else.

They discuss:

- Growing a brewery film series into a full-day festival
- Live art, local music, and food and drink pairings at Atomic by Jamo
- Regional films on rivers, reforestation, and native pollinators
- Bringing Mountainfilm's tour and outdoor adventure to STL
- Planning your free day out and where Mound City goes next

Support the show

🎙 New episodes drop every Wednesday.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEK 🔔

🎧 LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts ▶ https://apple.co/36ycuuO Spotify ▶ https://spoti.fi/3svGoqS

🔗 CONNECT WITH STL BUCKET LIST: Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/stlbucketlist Website ▶ stlbucketlist.com

🤝 WORK WITH STL BUCKET LIST Interested in partnering or sponsoring an episode? Email ▶ show@stlbucketlist.com Website ▶ https://www.bucketlistcreative.com

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube
📍 Recorded at Bucket List Podcast Studio, St. Louis, MO

On this episode of the STL Bucket List Show, we sit down with Jordan Franks, the founder behind Taste of Jack's — a fresh, small-batch St. Louis salsa brand — and brand ambassador Spring, one jar at a time.

Jordan's salsa started as a COVID-era afternoon snack that suddenly clicked as a retail product, landing first at The Annex in Webster Groves and Fresh Thyme at City Foundry before growing to farmers markets, Food Truck Friday, and all 26 Dierbergs locations. He walks through the lineup — Sassy, Spice, Magic, and Unicorn — early collaborations like a Hi-Pointe special with Mike Johnson, and a new partnership with Keon Watkins of Sauce So Good that started with a chance meeting with Spring at Soulard Market and turned into a hit pop-up at Foodies Eat First Fest, planned in under two weeks. He gets candid about the regulatory and distribution realities of CPG, bootstrapping without giving up equity, and the personal sacrifices behind a brand named as a nod to his daughters.

It's a conversation about grit, fresh ingredients, and building something that lasts long enough to become someone's nostalgia.

They discuss:

- Turning a COVID-era snack into a salsa on Fresh Thyme and Dierbergs shelves
- The Sassy, Spice, Magic, and Unicorn lineup and why fresh beats shelf-stable
- Collaborating with Spring, Sauce So Good, Hi-Pointe, and Sugarfire at Foodies Eat First Fest
- The real work behind CPG: regulations, distribution, and staying grassroots-funded
- Family, sacrifice, and a 10-year vision for a salsa with a story


🎙 New episodes drop every Wednesday.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEK 🔔

🎧 LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts ▶ https://apple.co/36ycuuO Spotify ▶ https://spoti.fi/3svGoqS

🔗 CONNECT WITH STL BUCKET LIST: Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/stlbucketlist Website ▶ stlbucketlist.com

🤝 WORK WITH STL BUCKET LIST Interested in partnering or sponsoring an episode? Email ▶ show@stlbucketlist.com Website ▶ https://www.bucketlistcreative.com

Support the show

🎙 New episodes drop every Wednesday.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE FOR NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEK 🔔

🎧 LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts ▶ https://apple.co/36ycuuO Spotify ▶ https://spoti.fi/3svGoqS

🔗 CONNECT WITH STL BUCKET LIST: Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/stlbucketlist Website ▶ stlbucketlist.com

🤝 WORK WITH STL BUCKET LIST Interested in partnering or sponsoring an episode? Email ▶ show@stlbucketlist.com Website ▶ https://www.bucketlistcreative.com

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube
📍 Recorded at Bucket List Podcast Studio, St. Louis, MO