Innovation + Job News

What do web and mobile engineers and consultants do for fun? Design mobile games, of course.
 
The latest local game addiction comes from Bust Out Solutions, a firm that engineers websites and mobile apps for clients like Best Buy, Minnesota Public Radio, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Pedal Brain.
 
Employees at the firm have long wanted to build a product for themselves, but were always too busy with client work, according to founder and developer Jeff Lin.
 
Despite the client deluge, a small team eventually got together and created Brahmageddon, a whack-a-mole type of mobile game that uses characters from the great classical epics of India, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Players have to defeat cannibal demons by smacking the on the head as they pop up.
 
“We had a number of concepts, and this one just seemed silly and unique,” says Lin. “It’s on the simpler side of game design, because we just wanted to see what we could do.”
 
Although Bust Out engineers designed the game as a nice stress reliever, without intentions of selling it, Lin ended up chatting with a major game distributor who gave him some encouragement about future game development. The game has even provided a return on investment, by selling over 100 copies through Apple’s App Store.
 
“The project was a success in that we proved we can design games and launch them, and still have fun doing it,” he says. “This has given us all kinds of ideas about where we could go from here.”
 
Source: Jeff Lin, Bust Out Solutions
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Can office gossip be put to good use? That’s the question behind a new local web service, Office Leaks, which provides an anonymous forum for company employees to express their views.
 
Founder Ryan Masanz came up with the idea after years of being a network services consultant. Traveling to over 100 companies in that career, he was struck by how often people expressed valuable, interesting opinions about projects or other people, but never went to their managers with those thoughts. At the same time, the managers would ask Masanz for his own opinion regarding operations, communication, and productivity.
 
“I felt like I was doing therapy,” he says. “I thought, what if we could remove that fear that people have about expressing themselves?”
 
Launched last April, Office Leaks is currently in startup mode, but already it’s becoming a robust forum, Masanz believes. Employees from over 500 companies are already enrolled in the site, with new companies signing up daily.
 
Not surprisingly, privacy is a top priority for the site, and Masanz goes to great lengths to make sure that anonymity is cemented into place. There are no backdoors into an employee’s account, and Office Leaks doesn’t keep any identifying information. “The less data we keep, the better,” he says.
 
Office Leaks is free for employees to use, but the site also invites managers and company owners to join by offering businesses the ability to sponsor forums with their employees for a monthly fee, without compromising employee anonymity. This provides sponsoring companies with several additional functions, like being able to make their community private.
 
So far, Masanz hasn’t had to install many filters, but as the site gets more popular, he anticipates that additional controls may have to be put in place to make sure that no one is betraying company secrets or infringing copyright. He says. “Our main rule is ‘don’t be evil,’ and that includes libel and trade secrets. Honestly, though, I’m surprised by how civil it’s been. People just want to be heard.”
 
Source: Ryan Masanz, Office Leaks
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Everything it Takes to Build Your Company
September 8
Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey Institute
301 19^th Ave. S., Minneapolis
$45 for members and $105 for non-members
 
Part of The Collaborative’s series on business growth, this event features an array of speakers giving advice on leveraging technology, building revenue, and finding success in medtech. Experts include speakers from Best Buy, Calabrio, Shavlik Technologies, Compellent, GovDelivery, and more.
 

Minnesota Bioscience Summit
September 20
Nicollet Island Pavilion
40 Power St., Minneapolis
$99 for members and $129 for non-members
 
Presented by LifeScience Alley and the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota, the summit features panels that tackle three overarching trends that are poised to radically impact all the bioscience industries.
 

Advanced Search & Analytics Summit
September 20
2112 Broadway St. NE, Minneapolis
$495
 
Put on by DemandQuest, this summit is for people who are familiar with Google AdWords and want to dig into a more advanced understanding of how to manage and refine their campaigns.
 

Minnesota Developers Conference
September 29
DoubleTree Bloomington Hotel
7800 Normandale Blvd., Bloomington
$150
 
Now in its sixth year, the Minnesota Developers Conference is the largest developers conference in the Midwest. This year features seven tracks totaling 28 sessions, with the spotlight on .NET, Ruby, mobile, Silverlight, cloud computing, and HTML5.

 

 

 

 

Hennepin and Carver counties are rife with community garden efforts, but the counties are now embarking on a whole new kind of growth initiative. They're hoping to sow the seeds of business expansion, and they're currently looking for savvy CEOs to benefit from the process.

The Economic Gardening Network is an idea that came out of a project in Colorado, according to Hennepin County senior planning analyst Ron White. He notes that a large defense contractor there began struggling and was forced into layoffs, but the community came together in order to prevent widespread unemployment. They pooled their money to support local businesses in their second stage of growth.

In a similar move, the Economic Gardening Network is now looking for businesses with between 10 and 99 employees, with current revenues between $1 million and $50 million. "Statistics show that companies at this level have the most potential for job growth," says White. "They have a good chance for steady growth, and that's what we want to focus on."

Other eligibility criteria include: having maintained a business presence in Minnesota for at least the last two years, and growth in employment or revenue in two of the past five years.

The counties will be selecting 15 companies for a pilot program that includes technical assistance from a strategic research team, market research, project management, and other resources. It's an all-around education program meant to spark growth, White says.

Already, there's been a very encouraging response, he adds. The counties reached out to economic developers in various cities, then broadened their search from there. White is confident that they'll fill the pilot program, and hopefully keep gardening in the future, too.

Source: Ron White, Hennepin County
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Here's the power of The HopeFULL Company: What might look like cute little homemade Popsicles actually pack a striking amount of nutrition, making them perfect for people with chronic illnesses or cancer. They can even be used to win over finicky kids.

The idea of making a frozen treat that addresses nutritional deficiencies came to sisters Jessica Welsch and Stephanie Williams about three years ago, when a friend of the family was diagnosed with leukemia. As the friend underwent chemotherapy, she lost her appetite so dramatically that she couldn't stand even the smell of food. Since the sisters had been cooking up homemade baby food for each of their daughters, they knew they could come up with an innovation that could help.

Since the treats are frozen, they don't have much of an aroma, and the sisters' recipes blended together healthy foods like beets, sweet potatoes, and kale. They became a hit--not just with the family friend, but among many in their community, and the sisters decided to create a whole foods firm based on the pops, The HopeFULL Company.

Instead of trying to sell the frozen treats themselves, the entrepreneurs created a company that sells kits online for making the nutritious pops. Launched in November 2010, HopeFULL does online sales of the kits. Welsch says, "Trying to bring a food product to market is tough, so with this business model, we created a way to get our idea to the marketplace in a better way."

The pair have been excited to grow the company together, adds Williams. "We've known for a long time that we'd end up having a business together. We feel like our business found us, and fortunately, we work really well together."

Although the pops were originally developed for people who have difficulty eating due to chemotherapy, the frozen HopeFULLs are becoming popular with a wide audience. After all, who wouldn't appreciate a company that can make frozen beets appealing?

Sources: Jessica Welsch and Stephanie Williams, The HopeFULL Company
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Environmental and energy companies will have a fresh crop of attorneys to aid their efforts in the near future: the University of Minnesota Law School is adding concentrations in these areas starting this fall.

Professor Alexandra Klass will serve as faculty chair of the new concentration, which was developed to help students prepare for practicing in these unique areas of law. In making the announcement, Klass noted that addressing environmental and energy needs will be one of the great challenges of the 21st century, and that through this program, the Law School will train the attorneys and leaders needed to tackle those issues.

The new concentrations will build on standard curriculum already being offered through other university programs. Students will be able to learn about environmental and energy topics through capstone courses, guest speaker visits, interdisciplinary course offerings, and simulation exercises.

The capstone courses include seminars on environmental justice and renewable energy, and there's also a course on "brownfields" redevelopment and litigation, an area of law that focuses on underutilized, contaminated properties.

Clinics are offered too, giving students the chance to explore topics in public policy, energy use, environmental sustainability, housing, transportation, and urban growth. As with other concentrations offered by the Law School, this new one will provide opportunities for students to participate in mentorship programs and community projects.

The Law School offers other concentrations as well, including business law, human rights law, and labor and employment law.

Source: University of Minnesota
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

New technology companies may get some heavenly help in the near future, with investment from a just-formed angel investor group.

AngelPolleNation (APN) is the brainchild of attorney Jeffrey Robbins of Messerli & Kramer. After representing entrepreneurs in his practice for nearly three decades, Robbins began to notice that angel investors were lacking in the state more than ever before. Some news reports early this year confirmed his suspicions, and he thought there must be a way to amp up angel funding in the area, especially for technology firms.

Although there are a number of organizations that serve entrepreneurs with resources and networking connections, the crucial angel investment component has been dwindling, Robbins believes.

"When you go to entrepreneurial events, the number-one topic is money," he says. "Everyone in early-stage companies struggles with where to find enough money for what they want to do."

At the same time, investors benefit from joining together, Robbins notes, instead of attempting to fund companies on their own. "It's hard to be a solo investor," he says. "It's really nice to be connected to others."

The initial phase of APN will focus on getting investors and entrepreneurs communicating, and Robbins hopes to draw a number of angels to the group. In July, APN's first meeting at Interlachen Country Club attracted about 70 local investors, and featured presentations by other angel groups like Twin Cities Angels and Minnesota Angel Network.

The next APN event is set for mid-September, and Robbins anticipates that there will be quarterly meetings from that point onward.

Source: Jeffrey Robbins, AngelPolleNation
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Those looking for green jobs have a powerful resource in RENEW (Renewable Energy Networks Empowering Workers), a program that trains Minneapolis and St. Paul residents for green jobs and places them in living-wage positions.

Kicked off in April 2010, the program has already had nearly 600 participants, with 350 of them earning credentials in green-related fields, and 240 gaining employment as a result of the training.

The success of RENEW led Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak and Saint Paul Council Member Lee Helgen to highlight the program at a recent hiring fair, held at the Dunwoody College of Technology.

Funded by a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, RENEW is a unique program, thanks to its strong focus on green-economy skills, notes Cathy Polasky, Director of Economic Development for the City of Minneapolis.

"Having these type of credentials is important, because it allows employers to have a tangible measure of what a prospective employee knows," she says. Even some employers that are not usually recognized as green companies have been eager to talk to program participants, Polasky says. For example, Doubletree Hotels is very interested in those who have learned environmentally-friendly tactics for housekeeping and maintenance, which allow the hotel chain to cut down on water use and streamline its operations.

Seventy different training tracks are offered through RENEW, with 12 training entities partnering with the program. Community-based service providers are also part of the effort, helping to inform low-income workers of the opportunities provided by the program.

Although the program's funding was a one-time award, Polasky and others are hoping that the Feds will come out with "a sequel" to keep the training rolling along.

"There's been such remarkable success with this, that we're really hoping to keep it going," she says.

Source: Cathy Polasky, City of Minneapolis
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Trade association LifeScience Alley is looking to boost its legislative activity, with the creation of a new role: vice president of government and affiliate relations.

The group has hired Shaye Mandle, an expert on policy and coalition-building to take the post. Mandle most recently served as the executive director of the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis, where he helmed economic development and industry engagement.

In the private sector, Mandle managed government affairs, university relations, and business strategy for the Science Applications International Corporation, a firm with extensive R&D operations in Arlington, Virginia.

At LifeScience Alley, Mandle will work to develop a public-policy strategy, and be responsible for working with key state and national groups, including federal agencies, other industry associations, and legislators.

The group is hoping to improve the regulatory and economic climate for life-science innovation, and more involvement in legislation and policy is an important next step in that effort.

"The mission of the organization isn't changing," says Mandle. "Part of our core competency is to be a voice for the industry. So, we'll be lobbying on a day-to-day basis around existing legislation, and also looking for other ways to play in the policy arena."

Mandle's first steps will be connecting with the association's membership, to determine levels of need, and what they'd like to see happening in terms of policy action.

"If you look at the evolution of our government relations, you'll see that it's been mainly reactive," says Ryan Baird, director of marketing and communications at the organization. "We've finally gotten to the point where we can take a more proactive approach, and Shaye is a big part of that."

Source: Shaye Mandle and Ryan Baird, LifeScience Alley
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Call it a fast lane for blood donors: Memorial Blood Centers (MBC) recently unveiled an innovative web-based system that allows donors to answer health history questions from their homes or offices, instead of in person.

The iDonate Interview program is designed to increase efficiency for MBC, and speed donors through the process.

The nonprofit is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which requires that every blood donation be subject to rigorous screening techniques, including a health history questionnaire from donors. The interview process could be a pain, though, for donors that come in frequently, since inputting the information at the donation site takes about 20 minutes.

"It was frustrating for people who have answered those same questions multiple times," says Wendy Capetz, MBC's director of marketing and development. "When their answers are always the same, they should be able to go through this process faster."

MBC worked for over a year to tweak the program so that it could be highly secure, user friendly, and compliant with FDA regulations.

Using the program, donors can complete an online form, print out a receipt with a bar code, and bring it into the donation site. That lets them skip the usual registration and health screening steps, and go straight to donation and the subsequent relax-with-cookies time.

Capetz says, "Because it takes less time for the donation process, we're hoping that it will increase the amount of donations in general. The feedback has been great from people who've used it. We just got a comment on our website that the program 'totally rocks.' You can't get better than that."

Source: Wendy Capetz, Memorial Blood Centers
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The craft beer movement is in full swing, and downtown Minneapolis is about to get another hot spot for hop lovers.

Fulton Brewery is set to open around mid-September, and when it does, the Warehouse District location will feature tours and growler sales, with initial brews like American Blonde and Russian Imperial Stout.

The four founders--Ryan Petz, Brian Hoffman, Pete Grande, and Jim Diley--met in college and bonded over homebrewed beer. As soon as they whipped up a fairly decent version, they started joking about selling their creation, notes Hoffman. "It was one of those conversations that got more serious without any of us realizing it," he says.

About two years ago, Petz was looking at a dismal internship market as he studied at the Carlson School of Management, and came up with the idea of starting a company as his summer project. From there, the momentum built until Fulton went from garage to full-scale brewing space.

"More and more people are getting into the beer scene, so this is great timing for us," says Hoffman. "Also, people who drink craft beer aren't brand loyal, so they tend to try beers from different breweries. That means we all do better as craft beer does better."

As they ready the new space, Fulton is working to build up buzz for their brews, through participation at events like "Brew at the Zoo" and "Eat Ramen, Help Japan." Eventually, Fulton would like to be a major player on the local beer scene, but for now, he and his partners are content to work on opening their Fulton Brewery doors and welcoming the adoring masses.

Source: Brian Hoffman, Fulton Beer
Writer: Elizabeth Millard