Aug. 27, 2026
Contact: Sara Diedrich, diedrichs@missouri.edu
Kiley Grimes, BSBA ’25, understands that entrepreneurship takes more than a good idea. It requires people who believe in you, challenge your thinking and help you turn a vision into reality.
Grimes found that support at the University of Missouri, where she gained the confidence, connections and experience to pursue her entrepreneurial ambitions. Now, she’s creating that same sense of community for others.
Villageco.work, a new coworking space and entrepreneurial hub in Columbia’s North Village Arts District, brings innovators together to exchange ideas and build lasting professional relationships. Grimes and her co-founder, Vinny Marinaro, who also attended Mizzou, opened Villageco.work in April to give entrepreneurs the strong network they need to thrive.
“The name reflects what I believe: It takes a village to build something meaningful,” she said. “I wanted to create a place where people didn’t just rent a desk — they found connection, encouragement and opportunities to collaborate.”
Entrepreneurial lessons from Mizzou
For Grimes, Mizzou offered the same possibilities.
As a first-generation college student from Springfield, Illinois, Grimes quickly discovered that Mizzou offered countless ways to make connections, explore new interests, take strategic risks and build leadership skills.
“That meant stepping out of my comfort zone and getting involved, keeping my commitments and taking advantage of the resources and people around me,” she said. “I used to be terrified of networking events. I’d ask people how they became good at networking, and the answer was always the same: Keep showing up. The more I did it, the more comfortable I became.”
Through her classes at Mizzou’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, Grimes developed skills she relies on every day, from budgeting and business planning to marketing strategy, problem-solving and decision-making. She put that knowledge into practice through hands-on experiences, including the Entrepreneurship Alliance, an intensive eight-week program offered by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Trulaske College of Business. She also participated in Missouri Startup Weekends and connected with other student entrepreneurs through the Griggs Innovators Nexus, a space in the Mizzou Student Center designed to foster entrepreneurship across disciplines.
Just as important, Grimes learned the value of building relationships. She still meets with mentors and professors who helped shape her entrepreneurial journey.
“I’ve learned to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am and aren’t afraid to challenge my thinking,” she said.
Grimes also embraced opportunities to grow as a leader. She joined Mizzou’s chapter of Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization as a freshman and rose through the ranks, eventually serving as president her senior year. This experience taught her how to navigate stress, manage competing priorities and recognize her own limits.
“The more I stepped up, got involved and put myself in challenging situations, the more I discovered who I was,” she said. “I’ve realized I want to lead authentically. Entrepreneurship isn’t about being a perfectly polished CEO. It’s messy. It’s vulnerable. It’s showing people the real work behind building something from nothing.”
A serial entrepreneur
Grimes has deep ties to Columbia’s North Village Arts District and a track record of building businesses around community.
Villageco.work is located next door to Soundcheck Practice Studios, a 24/7 music rehearsal space Grimes launched while she was a student at Mizzou. She started the studio with $6,500 in seed funding from the Entrepreneurship Alliance. She later secured an additional $6,000 at Missouri Startup Weekend, including $3,000 in prize money and a $3,000 match from Mizzou.
“Mizzou is the foundation of my success,” she said.
That cornerstone extends beyond the financial support Grimes received as a student. The philosophy behind Soundcheck carries into her newest venture: Access to the right space and community shouldn’t stand in the way of what people can create.
At Villageco.work, members can purchase monthly or annual memberships that provide around-the-clock access to the facility, along with invites to workshops and events. Grimes intentionally designed the space to feel more like a neighborhood coffeehouse than a traditional office, with a mix of desks, seating and workstations with computer monitors to accommodate different work styles. It also includes a conference room, private phone booth and community kitchen stocked with drinks and snacks.
“Once you build a community, you can unlock all kinds of opportunities for people to learn from one another,” she said.
A community taking shape
Grimes hopes Villageco.work helps innovators realize there is rarely a straight path to building a successful business.
“Even though we’ve only been open a few months, I’m already seeing exactly what I hoped would happen,” she said. “Members are collaborating on projects, sharing ideas, referring business to one another and forming genuine friendships. That’s the community I envisioned.”
In many ways, her entrepreneurial journey mirrors her Mizzou experience.
“It was a million small lessons, conversations and experiences that accumulated over time and shaped me into the entrepreneur and leader I am today,” she said.
