Trey L. Scott on Emerging Business Leaders, Cash Mobs, and Meaningful Impact in St. Louis
Impact is not always meaningful. But when it is intentional, organized, and rooted in community, it can change the way people see themselves, their neighborhoods, and their local businesses.
In this episode of STL Hustle Insider, Cortez Hustle sits down with Trey L. Scott, founder and co-founder of Emerging Business Leaders, for a conversation about East St. Louis roots, community activation, cash mobs, faith, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and what it means to come back home and pour into the people who shaped you.
Trey shares how a promise made with his friends years ago became part of the foundation for Emerging Business Leaders, a collective focused on youth development, economic development, civic engagement, storytelling, business support, and helping overlooked people push their vision forward.
This is a conversation for entrepreneurs, organizers, community leaders, small business owners, faith-driven builders, and anyone who knows that local change does not happen by accident. It happens when people decide to get up, show up, and do the work.
The conversation covers Trey’s East St. Louis upbringing, his move to Glasgow Village, his time at Riverview Gardens and Lincoln University, his call to ministry, the formation of EBL, the power of cash mobs, the role of civic engagement, and the importance of supporting St. Louis businesses with more than words.
Trey also opens up about personal loss, building a business to honor legacy, advocating for Clean Slate legislation, creating a mobile “new-age chamber of commerce,” and encouraging entrepreneurs to take the first step even when they feel burned out, unsupported, or unsure.
In This Episode
Cortez and Trey talk about:
- Why meaningful impact requires intention
- Trey’s identity as a son, father, brother, entrepreneur, preacher, citizen, and follower of Christ
- Growing up in East St. Louis and seeing the Arch across the river
- Moving from East St. Louis to Glasgow Village
- Watching neighborhoods change over time
- Trey’s time at Riverview Gardens High School
- The Wolf Pack promise to come back home and pour into the community
- Trey’s call to ministry and the mentors who saw something in him early
- What Emerging Business Leaders is and why it exists
- How EBL became a collective of entrepreneurs and community activators
- The origin of the cash mob concept
- How EBL uses cash mobs to support local businesses with customers, content, exposure, and connection
- Why cash mobs are about more than one day of revenue
- The upcoming cash mob bus tour concept
- Why EBL is being described as a mobile, new-age chamber of commerce
- Ferguson, B Juice, STL Run Crew, and the connection between health and community work
- Why civic engagement is part of business leadership
- Trey’s personal loss and how it shaped his work
- Advocacy around Clean Slate and second chances for formerly incarcerated individuals
- The importance of stepping up as the next generation of community leaders
- Trey’s Top Five STL recommendations
- His final word to entrepreneurs who are tired, uncertain, or waiting to start
Key Takeaways
- Meaningful impact happens when people move with intention, not just activity.
- Local business support should include dollars, visibility, content, relationships, and repeat customers.
- Community activation requires more than events. It requires systems, people, trust, and follow-through.
- Civic engagement matters because policies directly affect businesses, neighborhoods, schools, public safety, housing, and opportunity.
- Emerging Business Leaders is building a model that blends entrepreneurship, community organizing, storytelling, advocacy, and economic development.
- Small businesses do not always need only money. Sometimes they need structure, bookkeeping help, branding, marketing, relationships, and access.
- The next generation cannot only admire previous leaders. At some point, it has to step into the gap.
- Entrepreneurs do not need to have everything figured out before they begin. They need to take the first step.
Featured Guest
Trey L. Scott
Founder and Co-Founder, Emerging Business Leaders
Also known as “The TikTok Preacher”
Trey L. Scott is an entrepreneur, preacher, father, community activator, and founder/co-founder of Emerging Business Leaders. Rooted in East St. Louis and shaped by his experiences in Glasgow Village, Riverview Gardens, Lincoln University, ministry, entrepreneurship, and personal loss, Trey is committed to pouring back into the people and communities that helped shape him.
Through Emerging Business Leaders, Trey and his team support local businesses, youth development, economic development, civic engagement, storytelling, advocacy, and community-based entrepreneurship.
Guest Links
Episode Sponsors
The 89th Collective
This episode was recorded at The 89th Collective Studios in East St. Louis.
If you have a business but you are still using your home address, The 89th Collective offers mailing address services, memberships, access to resources, co-working opportunities, events, and space for entrepreneurs to connect and get work done.
Learn more at:
https://the89thcollective.comThis episode is sponsored by Relentless Defensive Firearm Academy, serving the St. Louis area with firearm safety education, Missouri CCW classes, self-defense training, and private or group instruction for responsible citizens. Their mission is to help people train safely, legally, and confidently, with education and responsibility at the center.
Music Attribution
Break music mentioned in this episode:
Chapters
Note: Chapter timestamps are approximate and based on the transcript provided. Please adjust to match the final edited audio export.
00:01 - Welcome to STL Hustle Insider
00:18 - Introducing Trey L. Scott and meaningful impact
00:53 - Who is Trey L. Scott?
01:35 - Citizenship, ownership, and community responsibility
02:20 - Growing up in East St. Louis
02:51 - Seeing the Arch from across the river
03:18 - Moving to Glasgow Village
03:47 - Watching neighborhoods change
04:17 - Riverview Gardens, overachievement, and searching for identity
05:16 - The Wolf Pack promise
05:45 - Coming back home and the roots of EBL
06:58 - Trey’s church background and early mentorship
07:27 - Senior Chief Amitine and the call to ministry
08:26 - Ministry, growth, and becoming a man
09:12 - Break and music from Latif
09:58 - “Sweet Love” by Latif
10:08 - Welcome back from The 89th Collective Studios
10:55 - What is Emerging Business Leaders?
11:17 - EBL as a collective of community activators
11:44 - The cash mob concept
12:31 - How the team developed the cash mob model
13:23 - Taking cash mobs to Chicago
13:48 - Creating a mobile business festival
14:35 - What cash mobs do for local business owners
15:39 - Formalizing the cash mob model
16:01 - Cash mob bus tour concept
16:38 - Revenue, content, and exposure for brick-and-mortar businesses
17:19 - Business support, civic engagement, and access
18:25 - EBL as a new-age chamber of commerce
19:48 - Why Ferguson became part of the work
20:28 - B Juice, STL Run Crew, and the 2K run
21:19 - Why politics and advocacy matter
22:16 - Personal loss, legacy, and starting a moving company
23:37 - Hiring young men and teaching hard and soft skills
24:05 - Clean Slate advocacy with Empower Missouri
25:00 - Why second chances matter
25:58 - A changing of the guard in community leadership
26:43 - Trey’s Top Five STL
28:00 - Support local St. Louis businesses
28:29 - Better Family Life, CIC, STL Pitch, and The 89th Collective
29:00 - STL Fish & Chicken
29:25 - Midwest Wine Bar and B Juice
29:44 - Freestyle segment
30:36 - Trey’s message to entrepreneurs
31:31 - Follow Emerging Business Leaders
31:55 - Closing words from Cortez Hustle
About STL Hustle Insider
STL Hustle Insider is a St. Louis podcast and local media platform hosted by Cortez Hustle and owned by iHustle Media Group LLC.
The show spotlights the people, businesses, creatives, nonprofits, leaders, entrepreneurs, and movements building St. Louis from the inside out. Through real conversations and local storytelling, STL Hustle Insider brings attention to the builders, visionaries, and community movers shaping the future of the region.
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