Innovation + Job News

Can plastics be more environmentally friendly and still remain cost-efficient? That's the question driving researchers at the University of Minnesota, and now they have some additional support for finding the answer.
 
Recently, researchers at the university's Center for Sustainable Polymers were awarded a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Centers for Chemical Innovation program. The grant also makes the university eligible for additional funding opportunities in the future.
 
"We are tremendously excited about this new support from the NSF," noted Marc Hillmyer, director of the Center for Sustainable Polymers in a news release. "With our strong history in polymer science and seed funding from the University of Minnesota, we have already been able to establish a national presence in the sustainable polymer arena."
 
The Center focuses its research on creating advanced plastics from renewable, natural, and sustainable resources instead of fossil fuels. Researchers look at using sources like vegetable oils, sugars, and starches to develop materials that are cost-efficient, non-toxic, and able to be composted.
 
Hillmyer noted that the grant will help Minnesota become a leading global center of excellence in sustainable polymer science and greatly expand the center's capabilities.
 
"With Minnesota's leadership in the area of bio-based materials and the University's breadth of expertise, we are well positioned to make significant and important research contributions," he said.
 
What's the future of environment-friendly initiatives? One word: plastics.
 
Source: University of Minnesota
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

As the economy works toward a level of robustness, creative agency GdB (short for Gabriel deGrood Bendt) is ready to grow along with it. In the past four months, the firm has hired three people, with two of them coming into new positions--director of strategy and director of public relations--bringing the company's employee total to 32.
 
Headquartered in Minneapolis, the agency reports about $40 million in billings from advertising, PR, direct mail, and interactive campaigns. Recently, GdB added three major clients: AmericInn, Anytime Fitness, and Abbey's Hope, a charitable foundation.
 
Public relations director Dan Hauser joked that the account wins have seemed like a professional version of Sesame Street, with today's letter being "A." He noted that they'd now be delighted land more business with companies starting with "B," "C," "D," and the rest of the alphabet.
 
"I think advertisers are demanding greater nimbleness, and efficiency from their agency partners," says partner and creative director Doug deGrood. "That's one of the drivers of our recent new business success. We are nothing if not streamlined and efficient."
 
The agency has worked for clients like Goodwill, Andersen Windows, Activision, and Gold'n Plump, as well as having created those distinctive billboards for Black Forest Inn ("Schnitzel happens," reads one).
 
GdB will share the wealth when it comes to the new projects, partnering with local interactive company The Nerdery for web development on the AmericInn account.
 
"In terms of goals, we don't necessarily want to get bigger," deGrood says. "We want to get better. And so that means bringing in people with new and unique talents, including disciplines outside the ones we currently offer."
 
Sources: Dan Hauser, Doug deGrood, GdB
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Imagine playing a game and seeing a shrug of your shoulders or a small bend of your knee translated perfectly on-screen.
 
At Medibotics, it's those types of visions that are fueling the company's future. The Minneapolis-based company has developed motion recognition clothing that relies on bendable tubes integrated into fabric.
 
Helmed by inventor Bob Connor, the firm was developed to create an organized structure for the development of patents, and Connor has plenty of patent ideas. For example, he believes his clothing product could be used for medical issues as well as gaming.
 
If someone is working on weight management, for instance, the garments could track much more than a pedometer's measurements. An individual can record blood pressure changes as he or she exercises or walks, along with general upper body movement, heart rate, the amount of energy expended each day, and more.
 
"There are so many applications for motion recognition clothing," says Connor. "I feel like I think of new ways to use it every day."
 
Under the Medibotics umbrella, Connor has a number of inventions at the ready. In attempting to help his son with his carpal tunnel issues, he created a computer mouse that's similar to a tiny beanbag chair, which he calls Blob Mouse. Instead of containing a rollerball, the mouse has pressure sensors on the bottom, alleviating stress on hands and joints.
 
Looking to deal with his own problem, tinntinitus, Connor is working on a product that can mask the sound without being uncomfortable or disturbing a sleeping partner. He's come up with a headband, called Hushband, now in the prototype stage.
 
Yet another invention is a wheelchair that can get through snow and ice without difficulty--likely to be a bestseller in the Midwest during our long winters.
 
Connor notes that he's been inventing products in his mind throughout his life, but it's only in his phased retirement as a University of Minnesota professor that he's really attacked the inventor role with gusto.
 
Currently, Medibotics has pursued 10 patents, and Connor anticipates more in the years ahead. "I'm always looking for solutions to unmet needs or problems that I see around me," he says.
 
Source: Bob Connor, Medibotics
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Many inventors apply for awards, but in order to win, they often need working prototypes for judges to examine, and that can be an expensive gamble.
 
Local manufacturing company Proto Labs aims to change that scenario by offering an award that allows inventors to make those prototypes, with Proto Labs footing all or some of the bill.
 
Launched in April, The Cool Idea! Award is designed to give product designers, entrepreneurs, and inventors an opportunity to see their visions transformed into working models. The firm is providing an aggregate sum of up to $100,000 worth of prototyping and short-run production services to award recipients, so they can take their product idea from a 3D CAD model to a first-run production stage.
 
"We wanted to recognize people who have truly cool ideas, but who need help bringing them to market," says Bill Dietrick, Proto Labs' vice president of marketing. "Other award programs only kick in when a product is in the market and commercially viable. We wanted to help people who are further back in the process."
 
Proto Labs will choose several winners throughout the year. The first award recipient, TruFlavorWare, will use the manufacturer's services to prototype a set a flatware designed for people undergoing chemotherapy. The flatware eliminates the bitter metallic aftertaste caused by traditional forks and spoons.
 
Entries have been coming in at a rapid pace, and Dietrick notes that they're overwhelmed with applicants. Because of the wealth of great ideas, the company created a new category called "honorable mention" and awards those winners a reduced manufacturing cost if they decide to use Proto Labs.
 
Although the program is currently available only to innovators in the United States, the company is considering opening up the awards next year to inventors worldwide.
 
"It's really been wildly successful so far," Dietrick says. "It's great to see all the amazing ideas that inventors have, everything from robotics to household products."
 
Source: Bill Dietrick, Proto Labs
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

A new type of networking event is on the calendar for early October: a flea market that brings together entrepreneurs so that they can barter their services with one another or embark on collaborations.
 
That's the hope, anyway. Organizer Kareem Ahmed, an entrepreneur himself, envisions the event as a connection point for those who are trying to grow their businesses.
 
He hopes to draw a broad array of professionals, including content creators, illustrators, and marketing experts along with musicians, video producers, artists, and fashionistas.
 
The event's site notes that the flea market was created because Ahmed has heard too many people say, "I have this great idea for an app but I just don't know how to find a programmer," or "I have this great idea for a product but I don't know anyone who can help me create a prototype."
 
Ahmed says, "As an entrepreneur, I feel like I have a ton of ideas, but I need the connections to help bring them to reality. I think that's very common, so I came up with a way to network--not to find clients, but to grow a network of fellow professionals who can be helpful for projects."
 
Planned for October 5th at Urban Bean in South Minneapolis, the flea market has only a few spots still open as of this writing, showing that demand for an event of this type is strong.
 
Ahmed anticipates a monthly flea market where entrepreneurs can share ideas, present case studies, and talk about the future of their particular industries. He says, "We all go through challenges and struggles, and we can learn from one another."
 
Source: Kareem Ahmed, Entrepreneur Flea Market
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Giant Steps

October 7
Guthrie Theater
818 S. 2nd St., Minneapolis
$120
 
Designed for "creative entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial creatives," this gathering includes workshops on topics like creative collaborations, networking and promotion, funding models for creative projects, and using social media effectively. Registration includes access to an after-party and concert.
 
 
Downtown Minneapolis Job Fair
 
October 12
Minneapolis Convention Center
1301 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
Free
 
Held in the Convention Center's ballroom, this major job fair features companies that are hiring in fields like accounting, health care, management, sales, and construction.
 
The Minnesota Venture & Finance Conference
 
October 12 & 13
Minneapolis Convention Center
1301 2nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
$295 for members, $495 for non-members
 
Now in its 25th year, this conference showcases entrepreneurship and investment, with presentations, networking opportunities, and workshops. Panels this year cover topics like innovation financing, intellectual property rights, IPOs, tax credits, and general trends in financing.
 
Women in the Boardroom
 
October 17
Hyatt Regency
1300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis
$105
 
This executive leadership event is designed to assist women in preparing for board service, and includes panelists who share their knowledge and expertise. The organization holds these annual events in 15 cities nationwide, as a way to boost interest in diversifying for-profit and non-profit boards.

Highlighting the strength of the state's technology sectors, the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) announced finalists for the 2011 Tekne Awards.
 
The award program, now in its 12th year, recognizes innovations from 2010 that represent the brightest in development, commercialization, and management of technology in Minnesota. Forty-two finalists were named in fourteen categories.
 
The MHTA noted that recent growth in Minnesota's educational and robotic technology sectors were particularly visible this year, but that all technology sectors are staying strong.
 
In the education category, finalists are Capella University, Sophia, and Naiku--which recently won the recent Minnesota Cup award. Finalists in other categories represent a range of companies, from large firms like Imation Corp. and Digital River to smaller businesses like Xollai and QuickCheck Health.
 
The awards are designed to showcase these types of companies, and draw attention to the innovative and competitive companies in the state, according to MHTA president Margaret Anderson Kelliher. They're part of the organization's larger mission to boost education and entrepreneurship along with technology development.
 
"We're very excited about the opportunities available to technology companies here," says Kelliher. "In general, we believe that individuals and companies in the state have more potential than they do challenges. We're proud and happy to support them in any way we can."
 
The Tekne Awards will be presented on November 3 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
 
Source: Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Minnesota High Tech Association
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

As telecommuting and contract working increases in the Twin Cities, coworking opportunities are keeping pace.
 
The latest initiative for bringing independent professionals together under one roof is WorkAround, a Minneapolis-based office space that distinguishes itself by providing both shared offices and business consulting services.
 
Founded by business coach Buffie Blesi and entrepreneur John Burns, the space is located in the Warehouse District, and features both individual desks/cubicles and conference rooms.
 
Blesi notes that the idea for a coworking space came, in part, from her efforts to bring together business coaches she'd hired as part of her company, KnowledgeSphere, and her part of a franchise, AdviCoach. She says, "I didn't feel like we were a team, we just weren't connecting well. Also, even though I worked from home, I began to feel like I'd do just about anything to get out of the house."
 
That experience is familiar to many entrepreneurs and small business owners, she believes, and a sense of connection and community can be helpful in fostering creativity and company growth.
 
WorkAround distinguishes itself from other coworking arrangements in the Twin Cities because of its business coaching, which is part of a member's coworking package. AdviCoach professionals advise members once a month on business matters.
 
"Our members are primarily small business owners in service-based businesses," she says. "CoCo has a lock on the technology entrepreneurs, and while they're certainly welcome here, we feel that this environment is more geared toward people who have started a business in the last year or two."
 
Connecting with others in the WorkAround space allows members to be part of a community that cares whether they succeed or fail--something that most people have a hard time getting at home, working alongside pets and kids, Blesi believes.
 
"We want our members to get to that next level, where they eventually have a space of their own," she says.
 
Source: Buffie Blesi, WorkAround
Writer: Elizabeth Millard 

You wake up with a killer sore throat and suspect that it's strep. Instead of sweet-talking your way into a same-day appointment with your doctor or taking a chance on a short wait at Urgent Care (good luck on that), you just swab your own throat, use a simple device, and get the answer.
 
If you're right, you go through a quick online clinic visit and get a prescription sent to your local pharmacy. Fifteen minutes after waking up, you're on your way to pick up the antibiotics.
 
This scenario may seem futuristic, but it's closer than ever, thanks to QuickCheck Health, an Excelsior-based startup that aims to revolutionize home health care.
 
According to a recent Rand Corporation study, about 90 percent of visits to retail clinics were for ten acute conditions, including upper respiratory infections, sore throats, and urinary tract infections as well as blood tests for issues like STDs.
 
QuickCheck aims to handle the testing for these conditions with devices that provide rapid diagnostic results for minimal cost. The company is developing devices that can detect the presence of Lyme disease, mono, pregnancy, pinkeye, yeast infections, strep throat, the flu, and urinary tract infections. They're also developing tools that can track cholesterol and glucose levels.
 
With the ability to provide accurate test results at home, people can utilize online health care services more effectively, says QuickCheck president and CEO Tom Henke.
 
Launched in February 2010, the company sprang from Henke's 25 years in the health insurance industry. He says, "During that time, I saw that the industry was going down a path that wasn't leading to lower costs or customer satisfaction. In fact, it was quite the opposite."
 
When he left the industry, he had several business concepts and an entrepreneurial drive, and settled on QuickCheck after watching his four children struggle through multiple bouts of strep throat.
 
"I thought, why am I bringing them to the doctor every time?" he says. "I wondered why people couldn't just do this at home. So I began reverse-engineering the process."
 
QuickCheck's devices will be submitted to the FDA soon, and are getting ready for consumer use studies. After that, you can expect to see the devices on store shelves by early next year, and look for QuickCheck to grow rapidly from that point on.
 
"We love the idea of people taking more charge of their health, and this will help them do just that," says Henke.
 
Source: Tom Henke, QuickCheck Health
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The corporate world seems awash in personality tests that are designed to improve communication and working relationships: StrengthsFinder, Myers Briggs, the Five Factor Model, and many others. There are even books and websites that give advice on how to "ace" or "beat" these tests for better results.
 
Inscape Publishing believes that there's a better way.
 
The Minneapolis-based firm has spent the last decade transitioning from a paper-based testing product to digital corporate training materials, collectively called the DiSC program. Along the way, the scientifically-based approach has also undergone some revision, to make it more useful to organizations.
 
According to CEO Jeffrey Sugerman, the program differs from competitors in many ways, particularly in that it presents a model for organizational functions, rather than just an assessment of personality types.
 
"With some of these standard tests like StrengthsFinder, what you get is kind of a data dump," he says. "You have a 30-page report that's filed somewhere and maybe you look at it every once and a while, but it doesn't seem that it changes much in the organization."
 
Inscape focuses instead on how people think, act, communicate, and prioritize, he notes. As companies continue to operate in a lean way, making sure that employees work together efficiently and amiably is crucial, Sugerman believes. Simply putting people into a team and hoping for the best isn't a very realistic approach, especially if those team members are telecommuters who need help in forming cohesive working relationships.
 
"Collaboration is a source of competitive advantage," he says. "But collaboration requires a framework in order to work, and that's what we provide."
 
The DiSC program is a bestseller, with over a million people worldwide using the product every year. Sugerman says, "I'm always surprised that people come up to me and talk about their results from ten years ago, it's that memorable to them."
 
Source: Jeffrey Sugerman, Inscape Publishing
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

In the seventh annual Minnesota Cup competition, the top winner of $50,000 in seed capital was AUM Cardiovascular, a Northfield-based startup that developed a handheld device that can detect coronary artery disease.
 
The company's founder and CEO, Dr. Marie Johnson, started the firm after her husband died suddenly at age 41 while she was still a Ph.D. candidate the University of Minnesota.
 
Although he'd seemed to be in perfect health, Johnson's husband had suffered a heart attack, and it moved her to focus on creating a system that could identify symptoms of coronary artery disease.
 
Johnson estimates that she'll need about $3 million to accomplish the goal of preparing her device for market, and she believes that the award's seed money, combined with the presentation skills she learned through the award process, will help her to reach a new level of entrepreneurship.
 
Launched in 2005, the Minnesota Cup has become a high-profile and competitive event among entrepreneurs. Companies compete in six divisions, including biosciences, clean technology, high tech, and social entrepreneurship. There's also a student division.
 
This year, more than 1,000 participated, and in addition to AUM's win, several semi-finalists also received seed funding to grow their businesses. Other winners are Energy Max Panel, Naiku, Anser Innovation, Tesgen, and HOURCAR.
 
According to the Minnesota Cup, past participants have many notable success stories to tell. For example, the 2009 grand prize winner, 8th Bridge, raised $5 million in series A funding soon after the competition, and another $10 million in series B in 2011.
 
Other winners have been acquired, secured new capital, or garnered major distribution agreements as a result of their awards.
 
So, for entrepreneurs looking to fatten up their funding: start thinking ahead, because Minnesota Cup 2012 is likely to be even livelier.
 
Source: Minnesota Cup
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

They may not produce ooze, but Primordial Soup (Psoup for short) has plenty of creative juices flowing.
 
The St. Paul-based medical device design firm got launched in 2008, by three founding partners who "quit their normal jobs just as the economy was becoming so awesome," says co-founder Chris Trifilio, with a laugh. The trio had worked as consultants and often crossed paths, and eventually, they began talking about joining forces.
 
"One of the main reasons we formed Psoup is that when you work as a consultant, you can't help but feel the excitement of entrepreneurism," Trifilio says. "So we formed to be able to make our own products, instead of consulting on other people's products."
 
Although the economy was already grim when they launched, he believes that the recession was an advantage as much as a challenge. "When we started, everything was so terrible," he notes. "Because of that, we're lean and focused, with not a lot of overhead. We're super efficient."
 
The work done at Psoup is distinctive, combining a spare elegance of form to match very specific medical functions. For example, a hip screw implant is not only less invasive to the body, but it's also sleek, with a kind of minimalism that's nearly artistic.
 
The firm has produced medical device work that was in two Minnesota Cup entries, for Circle Biologics and QuickCheck Health (a runner-up in its division).
 
Although there's a strong focus on surgical tools and implants, Psoup also takes on consumer electronics for companies like Best Buy, says Trifilio. One major change in the past year in particular, he adds, is that the firm used to work mainly with very large companies like Medtronic. Now, all of their business is for small companies and startups, which Trifilio sees as a compelling change in the industry.
 
The opportunity is there for plenty of growth, yet the lean-and-focused team is hesitant to expand too quickly, and Trifilio's not sure they even want to go beyond hiring a few more people for their six-person team.
 
"Our mission is different," he says. "We don't want to be a 50-person firm. We want to keep going down the path we're on, because it's fun and we love it. Right now, our pipeline is full and I expect that will keep going."
 
Source: Chris Trifilio
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Finding entertainment options isn't much of a feat these days, with Netflix streaming video, Hulu, iTunes, and many others competing for your attention. But what happens when you turn off your connection?
 
Entrepreneur and technologist Daren Klum believes two things: that a lack of Internet shouldn't mean a night of channel surfing or board games, and that you should have access to a huge amount of entertainment options.
 
To bring both to life, he created CRAM, a system that uses cartridges loaded with music, movies, TV shows, and other content. "I call us 'Netflix on steroids,'" he says. "Or, like Redbox in the palm of your hand."
 
With the service, a customer can use a special device that wirelessly streams the content to up to four other devices. That means someone could be watching a movie in the living room, while another is listening to music upstairs, and the kids could be accessing educational content from a handheld out in the treehouse.
 
Up to 360 movies can be stored on a single device, and users will pay about $20 per month to gain access to unlimited content.
 
The product hasn't launched yet, but it sure has some heavy hitters getting it ready. In addition to Klum, who has a long track record of creating technology products, the company has advisors that would make any startup swoon, since they hail from CBS, Sony, Disney, and Best Buy.
 
The startup has secured $600,000 in investment already, with part of that coming from St. Thomas' William C. Norris Institute. The product will officially launch in January, at the high-profile Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
 
"The growth potential here is phenomenal," says Klum. "Once we hit the market running, we plan to expand from a staff of 8 people to hundreds of employees. It's all really, really exciting."
 
Source: Daren Klum, CRAM
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Although Naiku didn't win the grand prize in the recent Minnesota Cup competition, just garnering the division win has been enough to raise the company's profile considerably. And after a summer of winning more clients, expect to hear even more about Naiku in the near future.
 
The education start-up offers an online education assessment platform that benefits both student and teacher, according to Corey Thompson, the company's co-founder and chief executive officer. (See The Line's previous coverage on the enterprise here.)
 
Since last March, the company has made impressive gains in traction. There are over 35,000 students signed up for the fall, representing a number of different school districts.
 
"We're establishing partnerships now, and I think the Minnesota Cup win was helpful as validation for what we're doing," Thompson says. "It just helps us as an early-stage company to get an audience with people in the schools."
 
Naiku has begun to turn the corner, from having to evangelize its technology to fielding calls from prospective clients. In other words, instead of knocking on doors, they're answering the phone.
 
"It's so nice to have people call because they've heard about what we do, instead of having to explain it all the time," Thompson notes.
 
Another big event in the past few months has been the development of a mobile device that can access Naiku's technology directly. Although the platform can be reached through an iPhone or iPad, not all students possess those, or can afford to buy them. The "clicker" developed by Naiku makes it more equitable for students and increases access to the technology.
 
With school just starting, and more and more customers calling, it seems that Naiku won't be a freshman company for long.
 
Source: Corey Thompson, Naiku
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Your phone’s wake-up alarm resets itself to 30 minutes earlier than programmed because there’s traffic congestion on your usual route. As you drive to a meeting, your favorite coffee stop has your order ready before you approach the drive-up window. While sipping the latte, you’re directed to a gas station with the lowest price in the area.
 
Such unseen forces of organization seem like the stuff of science fiction, but Minneapolis-based AsystMe is working to create a legion of “automated personal assistants” that make life easier for all of us.
 
The company recently garnered a nice chunk of angel funding from private investors in Minnesota and North Dakota, as part of a larger initial round of funding. Investors were impressed with the enterprise’s knack for creating automated assistants that do tasks on users’ behalf. The system works by monitoring relevant data sources, and responding based on user preferences.
 
AsystMe founder Joel Nash came up with the idea for the company after spending years as an engineer and entrepreneur. In the past, he automated tasks for factories, but began being interested in home automation, and finally, in data automation.
 
“People always talk about data overload, how people feel stressed because they’re trying to constantly monitor data and work with technology,” he says. “With this approach, our solution is to put a layer of automation between people and these data sources.”
 
Some of the scenarios that Nash envisions may be a few years away, but they’re not too far-fetched. For example, notification services can already remind users of dry cleaning pickups, client meetings, and personal trainer sessions. Sending an automated order to a coffee shop or monitoring traffic data can easily be folded into those existing tasks.
 
“There’s no reason why we can’t have more automation to deal with information overload,” Nash says.
 
Source: Joel Nash, AsystMe
Writer: Elizabeth Millard