How the University of Minnesota is Embracing Startup Culture, EmpowerU, and MEDA $1M Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first newsletter of 2021! In our look back on the past year in our last newsletter, we talked about resilient startups, the pandemic, and capacity building. We reflected on our own efforts, and then we started thinking about the startup ecosystem as a whole. We’ve talked extensively about nonprofit organizations that support startups (and our support of […]
How the University of Minnesota is Embracing Startup Culture
The University of Minnesota is embracing startup culture across disciplines and producing results in the number of founders, tech talent, and startups. One of the top universities in the country with enrollment regularly over 50k, a system-wide endowment of nearly $4B, and over $1B spent annually on research and development, it’s incredibly important for the […]
Top Stories of 2020, iraLogix, and LaunchMN Calls for Mentors
Welcome to our last newsletter of 2020. It’s been a challenging year. We feel fortunate that the local early-stage startup scene has remained strong, and believe that investment in innovation and digital transformation will help fuel the post-pandemic economic recovery. In 2020 Great North Labs invested a total of $5.8M, adding 14 startups to our portfolio for […]
How to Spot a Worthwhile Consumer App Startup, 2020 Gift Guide, and a New Startup Investment Incentive
While there are vaccines on the horizon and a potential further stimulus package, possibly in time for the holiday season, we still have a ways to go until economic recovery. Startups will be key to that recovery. Which Startups Will Succeed? Have you ever wondered if your app idea was worth pursuing, if a startup was […]
The Dollars and Hours of Capacity Building, Ethical Entrepreneurship, and Impact Metrics to Date
The world is changing, and a new wave of tech entrepreneurs are shaping the new normal. The tech sector is performing well as the need for innovation, necessitated by the pandemic, becomes more urgent. As digital transformation accelerates in all sectors, and our country re-establishes its economic future, we are working to cultivate tech entrepreneurs in the Upper Midwest. […]
Building Capacity for Innovation
Entrepreneurship is a proven, capital-efficient way to build economic value and transform regions. It doesn’t just happen, though. Developing talent, supporting founders, and delivering capital and connections to promising ventures are all key. They are all necessary for driving innovation, which drives value creation. According to Brookings, “Annually, venture investment makes up only 0.2% of […]
$2M Startup Competition for Black Founders, Winning Startups to Watch, and Twin Cities Startup Week
It’s a wrap for Twin Cities Startup Week (TCSW), Minnesota’s largest annual startup event. How big is it? In 2019 the event attracted 17,000 people to over 200 sessions. This year, the event stretched nearly a month as it went virtual for the first time. Startup Competition Winners One of two big competitions during TCSW is the MN Startup […]
Seizing Opportunity in a Recession, Allergy Amulet, and Twin Cities Startup Week
Last month we wrote about the history of local startups that were formed during a recession and went on to success, including local unicorn Jamf. The conversation quickly turned to what that means for founders and investors. Starting Up in a Downturn The idea is that while many startups are beat down by strong headwinds, those that are […]
Recessionary times, a record-setting IPO, and Minnesota’s Resilient Startups
Today it was announced that last quarter’s drop in GDP was the second largest ever recorded. Overall US economic output fell by 9.5%. This dire news comes on the heels of fantastic news for the MN tech startup community: the largest IPO from a Minnesota company ever, Jamf’s $468M IPO and $4.7B market cap. Minnesota’s Resilient Startups In good times, […]
July 4th, Equitable American Dream-ing, and Robots Diagnosing COVID
On July 4th, 239 years ago, a group of entrepreneurs, visionaries, and leaders came together to free themselves from a politically oppressive system that they found socially and economically limiting. The country they founded promised life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness- free from tyranny and organized in a way “most likely to effect their […]