coordination/collaboration : Innovation + Job News

Now in its eighth year, the Minnesota Cup is ready to award $200,000 in prize money to innovative entrepreneurs, inventors, and small business owners.
 
Designed to award breakthrough business ideas, the competition has six main categories: bioscience and health IT, clean tech and renewable energy, general, high tech, social entrepreneur, and student. Since 2005, more than 6,000 people have participated in the competition, and finalists from the last three rounds have gone on to raise $45 million in capital.
 
The competition's co-founder, Scott Litman, notes that the program expands every year, which has always been one of its major goals. Also, the number of partners increases--this year, UnitedHealth Group and Proto Labs have signed on as partners, bringing more prize money to the competition.
 
In terms of trends, Litman says he's seen a good deal of energy around high tech ideas in the past few years, and he expects that this year should continue that trend.
 
The program's judges are expecting a last-minute rush--and that's meant literally. Litman says, "About 10 percent of our entries come in during the last hour of the competition, and some come in during the last couple minutes. It gets pretty intense, actually." Entrants have until May 18th to submit their ideas. The contest ends at 11:59 pm on that day.
 
That level of excitement is felt during all aspects of the Minnesota Cup, and Litman is looking forward to another lively round of competition. "We love seeing the entries, and watching people talk about the program over social media," he says. "This should be another great year."
 
Source: Scott Litman, Minnesota Cup
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Designing Content That Sells
 
April 4
International Market Square
274 Market St., Suite 180, Minneapolis
11:30am - 1:15pm
$35 members, $55 non-members
 
Put on by the Society for Marketing Professionals, this workshop for those in the architecture and engineering industries focuses on developing effective online content. Reporter and PR professional Rachel Gold will give tips on making content interesting and on gauging how well design and content work together.
 
From Focus to Performance
 
April 6
DoubleTree Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd., Bloomington
7:00am - 9:00am
$35
 
Sports psychologist and executive coach Dr. Justin Anderson presents the latest advancements in performance psychology and brain research, providing tips on how to use your mind in a more optimal manner to enhance sales and lead a more meaningful life.
 
High Heels, Higher Heights
 
April 10
Minneapolis Convention Center
3:00pm - 6:00pm
$80 members, $95 non-members
 
This annual event honoring women leaders is a prime networking opportunity, and is put on by the Women's Health Leadership TRUST. This year's speaker is Teri Fontenot, president and CEO of Woman's Hospital in Louisiana. Women leaders in health care will also be recognized for two major awards.
 
MHTA Spring Conference
  
April 25
Minneapolis Convention Center
$165 member, $215 non-member
 
The Minnesota High Tech Association presents its popular spring conference, kicked off by a morning keynote address by Rick King, Thomson Reuters chief operation officer for technology. Participants can network with other technology leaders, visit an expanded exhibit hall of more than 100 technology-related businesses, and attend breakout sessions about research, funding, education, and policy development.
 

In the middle of the recession in 2009, Jamie Millard (no relation to this writer) was ready to find work in publishing. There was just one problem: there were no jobs for her.
 
After graduating at the top of her class and having done five internships, Millard still couldn't find a position. "So, I decided to stop asking for permission and create my own," she says. Together with a couple other enthusiastic, literary friends she formed Paper Darts in order to create a new literary magazine.
 
"We saw the opportunity to jazz up that genre with a more lighthearted tone, to pull in the mainstream reader," she says. "That was our mission, to fill the void of unemployment with something useful."
 
Although Millard eventually landed a job at the Charities Review Council, she and the other founders kept the magazine going and even hired an editorial director to bring more cohesion to the firm. Recently, Paper Darts published its first book, and the staff members were excited to learn about the book publishing process from start to finish, Millard notes.
 
The firm has slowly turned into a creative agency as well. They'll be redesigning the popular Pollen newsletter, and taking on other projects as they crop up. Millard says, "We're trying to build a model that can support a full-time staff, but right now, we're just happy with the creative projects that we have. We're having fun with it."
 
Source: Jamie Millard, Paper Darts
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The Office for Technology Commercialization (OTC) has helped numerous University of Minnesota researchers, becoming an engine for economic development. Now, it's even more useful for university-based entrepreneurs.
 
A new program will eliminate the kind of roadblocks that have challenged researchers in the past. Previously, researchers have had difficulties launching startups within the university, since some federal business grants require a certain amount of time spent on the business. Researchers struggled to fit their entrepreneurial ventures together with their academic duties.
 
But now, they can turn to the OTC for assistance, notes university spokesperson John Merritt. The office will help faculty members create companies and avoid conflicts of interest. Entrepreneurs can use the school's lab for business projects, and the university will own 49 percent of the company.
 
The OTC will guide faculty in the formation of a business, and will assist in recruitment of formal management teams for each new company.
 
The new approach is part of a move toward making the university more entrepreneurial, and geared more toward winning federal grants like Small Business Technology Transfer and Small Business Innovation Research.
 
Merritt adds that the OTC has been in a process of reinvention itself over the last three or four years. This fresh program should help university researchers and faculty to be more competitive for grants, and pursue entrepreneurial ventures in the future.
 
Source: John Merritt, University of Minnesota
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Fred Haberman never intended to go into public relations. It just turned out that he's very good at it, especially when he's following his passion and encouraging others to do the same.
 
After starting an adventure travel company and an organizational development counseling firm with his wife, Haberman fell into the PR field. The couple started their own business in their house, with clients meeting at the dining room table, and eventually grew it into a 38-employee firm housed in the Warehouse District.
 
Growth has been robust, Haberman notes, attracting clients like explorer Ann Bancroft, Great River Energy, National Cooperative Grocers Association, Organic Valley, Slow Money Alliance, HealthSimple, and the Social Venture Network.
 
Sensing a theme yet?
 
Haberman's firm specializes in sustainability-focused clients who are trying to make a contribution to their communities, and Haberman has that same vision.
 
"We're geared toward helping to create a collaborative world," he says. "The question is: how do we make a difference while being financially sustainable? And we think the answer is that we follow our passion."
 
Companies have begun to seek out Haberman, to tap into that energy and spark that sets the firm apart. As a result, he expects to keep hiring and growing the firm, which benefits not just the company and its employees, but all of us, Haberman believes.
 
"There's something remarkable about creating shared value," he says. "That's what we've been about from the beginning."
 
Source: Fred Haberman, Haberman
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Marketing to the Millennial age group--18-to-28-year-olds--can be more than tricky, but a new Minneapolis-based agency has the savvy and background to help. After all, it's run by a couple of Millennials.
 
Started in January 2011, The Social Lights got started when friends Martha McCarthy and Emily Pritchard decided to combine their entrepreneurial energies while they were both attending the University of St. Thomas.
 
They did business plan competitions together and took classes in journalism as well as business topics. They created The Social Lights during their last semester at school, and McCarthy recalls that it wasn't easy. "We were doing homework and pitching clients at the same time," she says.
 
After graduation, they came to a full boil and took on numerous campaigns, focusing on others in their age group. "Sometimes companies that are trying to use social media can have a hard time reaching Millennials," says McCarthy. "They know how to use the tools, but they don't know how to communicate with them. Since we're in that age range, we have insight into what that audience needs."
 
With an increasing number of clients, the firm is getting ready to hire its first non-founder employee this summer. McCarthy believes that the hire will be another major step forward for the company: "We're not sure how large we'd like to get eventually, but this is very exciting, to get to this point."
 
Source: Martha McCarthy, The Social Lights
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Entrepreneurial incubation program Project Skyway was much heralded for its first round of tech acceleration. Although the initial cycle saw a couple of speed bumps--which the founders expected, given that it's the state's first seed-stage startup program--it resulted in the growth of several early-stage companies.
 
Now comes round two, with a quartet of businesses that are looking to be the next big thing in tech. Here's the lineup, which will be worth watching over the next couple of months:
 
YumZing: This service is similar to Yelp, but instead of collecting information on restaurants, it'll list menu items. So, if you want to find the best taco in town, or a list of creative cocktails, the site will guide you there.
 
HypeSpark: Users of this site can earn rewards and freebies by endorsing brands through social media.
 
Energy Resource Insights: An aggregator of data from thousands of reports, this service relies on a central database that can provide current information on regional energy programs.
 
Political Harmony: The name might sound like an oxymoron, but the site's creators intend for the service to help voters choose political candidates more effectively.
 
Focused on building companies that promise long-term and sustainable growth, Project Skyway provides mentorship and support. For this latest round, the competition was ferocious.
 
"These companies beat out ambitious entrepreneurs from five states and four different countries," says Project Skyway co-founder Casey Allen. "In a nutshell, they're all solid entrepreneurs that we believe are working on solid ideas."
 
Source: Casey Allen, Project Skyway
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

It was quite a way to kick off a new year. Recently, Edina-based ReconRobotics received a $13.9 million contract from the U.S. Army, in its largest order to date.
 
The company started in 2006 as a way to commercialize technology from the University of Minnesota's Distributed Robotics Laboratory (see previous Line coverage here). At this point, the company's micro-robot systems are used around the world by military and police forces.
 
ReconRobotics employs 52 people, with 22 added in just the last year. CEO Alan Bignall says, "We'll be expanding in many ways: in orders for our current product, in research and development, and in hiring."
 
Growth is coming from several areas, he adds. First, there's the realization that personal-level robotics are becoming more common. He compares the devices to night-vision goggles, which were once rare in the law enforcement arena, but are now common. He expects that in the not-too-distant future, smaller robots will be standard for many military and law enforcement situations.
 
Also, demand is increasing in other areas, like healthcare and maintenance. Mini-robots might be used for shoveling your sidewalk, he notes, or even for babysitting.
 
"Imagine if I could have a robot watch my kids in the backyard and let me know if they stray too far," he says. "We'll find more and more uses for this technology, especially as we add capabilities like additional sensors. It's a very exciting time to be in this field."
 
Source: Alan Bignall, ReconRobotics
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Urban farming is experiencing a huge boom in the Twin Cities, and is expected to grow stronger in the near future. Community gardens, employer gardens, and mini-farmers'-markets are popping up everywhere, and more municipal initiatives are geared toward encouraging growth.
 
So it's not surprising that a major new farm could take root. Stone's Throw Urban Farm brings together seven farmers and 12 vacant lots in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, covering four acres altogether.
 
To get the necessary startup capital, the group just launched a Kickstarter campaign. One of the farmers, Alex Liebman, notes that they wanted to put themselves on the path of independence, where they didn't rely on external funding in order to run.
 
The farm will offer shares in its community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, and will sell at the Mill City Farmers Market, but it turned to Kickstarter for the funds needed for initial projects, like building a hoophouse that will house spring transplants.
 
"Our goal is to provide a financially viable source of employment, while also tackling bigger ecological issues," says Liebman. Vegetables and fruits are grown without chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides, and the farmers will hold tours and volunteer days so local residents can participate in the farm.
 
"There's a lot of coordination with this many sites, and so many people involved," Liebman notes. "But the benefits outweigh the challenges. There's a lot of excitement and great ideas happening right now."
 
Source: Alex Liebman, Stone's Throw Urban Farm
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The local beer scene just keeps getting more and more lively, and the latest entrant is Indeed Brewing, located in Northeast Minneapolis.
 
The Line recently covered the growth of craft beer, and also noted how Indeed is moving into the rehabbed Solar Arts Building. With a strong market and a distinctive location, the brewery has a robust head start for growth.
 
"We wanted to create a brewery that could offer a fuller approach," says co-founder Tom Whisenand. "We want to sell in bars and restaurants, but also liquor stores."
 
The use of cans instead of bottles might help that effort. Unlike many of the craft breweries in the Twin Cities, Indeed has chosen to can their beer, emphasizing the durability, portability, and environmental friendliness of cans (lighter to transport, they use less fuel to ship, and are fully recyclable).
 
Another ingredient for success is Josh Bischoff as head brewer, Whisenand notes. Bischoff comes out of Town Hall Brewery, and has won awards for several of his brews. He's been the force behind the beer's first "hop-forward" brews, due this summer.
 
Whisenand came up with the name "Indeed" after he and co-founders Rachel Anderson and Nathan Berndt kicked around numerous choices. He felt that it was an affirmation of living in Minnesota, as in, "Despite the winters, this is indeed a great place to live."
 
That type of positive outlook fuels the company, he says: "We all love living here, and we believe we can create quality beer in a great place."
 
Source: Tom Whisenand, Indeed Brewing
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

To say that Minneapolis-based Code 42 Software is having a good year already is something of an understatement.
 
In late January, the firm announced that it had secured $52.5 million in venture funding, which will accelerate product development and greatly expand the company's sales and marketing efforts. A few weeks later, the Wall Street Journal published a lengthy, favorable review of its data backup system, CrashPlan.
 
"This year has started with a bang, that's for sure," says Code 42 co-founder and CEO Matthew Dornquast. "We're very happy with how it's been going in terms of growth in the past few years."
 
The company has added about 60 employees within the last year--bringing the total number to 86--and expects to hire more in the months ahead as CrashPlan gains an even broader customer base. In the last three years, Code 42 has experienced more than 500 percent growth.
 
First offered in 2007, CrashPlan was developed as a way to streamline backup. The company developed multiple versions of the product, targeting home users, private and public cloud creators, small businesses, and large enterprises.
 
With the new infusion of financing, Code 42 has become the recipient of the largest venture round ever for a private Minnesota-based software company. Now, that's the way to ring in a new year.
 
Source: Matthew Dornquast, Code 42
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

When Bjorn Stansvik immigrated to Minnesota from Sweden in 1999, he had big ideas about using software to optimize learning. After turning those plans into reality just a few years later, he's now on a fast track toward growth, and expanding his company's capabilities as a result.
 
In 2001, he launched Minneapolis-based MentorMate as a mobile application development company, with a signature app called iQpakk. The software allows users to create courses and training content on a mobile device, and first debuted at Eagan High School.
 
From there, MentorMate expanded internationally, with offices in Bulgaria and Costa Rica as well as St. Paul. "We saw a good deal of traction when mobile really started taking off and the iPhone came out," says Stansvik. "The promise of mobility got everyone excited about the possibilities. Since we'd been doing this since 2001, it gave us the level of credibility we needed to stand out in the marketplace."
 
In another major shift, the company switched its business model to managed services, in order to meet client needs more fully. It also rolled out another product, SpyderMate, a web-based application for marketers.
 
Currently, MentorMate has about 115 employees, but Stansvik hopes to grow that number to 200 by the year's end. At the start of 2010, the company only had 30 employees. Keeping up with that level of growth can be tricky, Stansvik notes.
 
"It's like working at a new company every three months," he says. "You have to reinvent constantly, and realize the old ways won't work. We have extremely aggressive growth goals--some people might even call them insane--but we think the demand is strong enough to meet those goals."
 
Source: Bjorn Stansvik, MentorMate
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

There are plenty of mobile apps for cocktail lovers--like BarHopper, iBartender, Drink Buddy, and Beer Pad--but now those in recovery have their own app, thanks to developers at Hazelden.
 
The Center City-based addiction treatment organization has created an iPhone application, "Mobile MORE Field Guide to Life," designed to support those who are in recovery from addiction to alcohol and drugs. Accessible through the iTunes App Store, the software is based on MORE (My Ongoing Recovery Experience), Hazelden's web-based program of personalized treatment.
 
"Our mission is to be the industry leader in publishing information that will benefit people who have issues with drugs and alcohol," says Nick Motu, Hazelden's Publisher and Vice President of Marketing and Communications. "We've been in the publishing business for 65 years, and this app is building on that tradition."
 
Hazelden developed its web-based application as a way for clients to stay on track with their recovery. The mobile app now extends that expertise to the general public, and Motu is excited about the potential reach: "We want to expand what we know out to the world, for those who aren't fortunate enough to go through treatment," he says.
 
The organization is gradually pivoting away from print-based publications, he adds, and it's likely that the shift will result in more online applications and mobile apps. Hazelden also recently acquired a social media site, Sober24, which connects those in recovery.
 
With the addition of the "Field Guide to Life" and the website, Hazelden is hoping to bring its considerable expertise to everyone in recovery, not just those who have been in the treatment center's programs.
 
Source: Nick Motu, Hazelden
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Innovators & Entrepreneurs of the Twin Cities
 
February 2
Joe's Garage
1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis
5:15 pm - 7:00 pm
Free
 
This casual networking event aims to bring together those who are starting their own businesses or independently developing new products and patents. Founded last June, the group hopes to keep  introducing innovators to entrepreneurs so they can learn from each other and make the journey more enjoyable.
 
MN Society of Women Engineers Career Expo
 
February 4
University of St. Thomas
2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul
Murray-Herrick Campus Center, 3rd Floor Lounge
Noon to 4:00 pm
Free
 
Fire up the business attire and spiff up your resume. This career fair is designed to bring together talented job seekers and innovative companies, and is hosted by the Society of Women Engineers. Companies attending include Hormel Foods, Starkey, Nycor, Medtronic, EV3, Loram, Target, and St. Jude Medical.
 
 Minnesota 2012 Entrepreneur Kickoff
 
February 8
Boy Scout Base Camp at Fort Snelling
5:30 pm
Cost ranges from $5 to $25
 
The Entrepreneur Kickoff brings together investors and startups, in advance of this year's state business competitions like Project Skyway, IDEA Competition and TiE CONS. Now in its second year, the event features business pitch evaluations and ample networking opportunities.
 
How to Leverage Digital Media to Raise Capital
 
February 23
CoCo Minneapolis
400 S. 4th St., 4th floor, Minneapolis
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
$75
 
Speaker Patrick Donohue gives a presentation on why digital media is changing the world of finance. He'll demonstrate tactics for using digital media to achieve business goals, and give an overview of tools that can be used to raise capital.  
 

Just in time to kick off the International Year of Cooperatives, nine community organizations will get a bit more operating power thanks to the Minneapolis-based Wedge Co-op.
 
The natural food grocer, which has 15,000 members, recently announced the recipients of their annual Wedgeshare grant program: The Emergency Foodshelf Network, Youth Farm and Market Project, The Cornucopia Institute, Open Arms of Minnesota, Farmers Legal Action Group, Water Legacy, Minnesota Food Association, Gardening Matters, and Urban Baby.
 
Since 1997, Wedgeshare grants have been awarded to numerous community organizations, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. The recipients are chosen by the grocer's members, giving them a strong voice in the process.
 
"Our members love that they can vote on this, and be involved," says Lindy Bannister, General Manager of The Wedge. "The recipients are always closely linked to our neighborhood, and that helps members feel connected to what's going on here."
 
The program started as a way for the co-op to give back to the community, and Bannister notes that it's grown into a very popular program.
 
"It's getting stronger every year, and the applications are becoming better in terms of detail and storytelling," she says. "I think people are more and more aware of the needs in the community; they're paying attention."
 
The grants are particularly notable this year, since the United Nations declared 2012 the International Year of Cooperatives, with the aim of celebrating the social and economic benefits of cooperative businesses.
 
Source: Lindy Bannister, The Wedge Co-op
Writer: Elizabeth Millard