2019 is here! Since Great North Labs is a proponent of iterating based on data-driven feedback, it’s time for a look at the best-performing content from 2018. What captured people’s interest? What is the Great North community interested in?

The Posts

1. Facebook controversy. Rob Weber’s post about Sheryl Sandberg and the importance of “integrators” titled, of course, “Sheryl Sandberg and the Importance of Integrators“,is the top post of the year. The Facebook COO faced a lot of criticism in the past year, and Mark Zuckerberg, the Woz to Sandberg’s Jobs, found himself testifying before Congress this past April for 10 hours. Facebook has come under increasing scrutiny in the wake of data breaches and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and public interest remains high as the 68% of Americans who use Facebook grapple with the implications of data insecurity.
2. The Internet of Things. Pradip Madan’s white paper on the third generation of IoT and the industrial internet is well-researched and thought-provoking, with input by Great North Labs advisors at Protolabs and Misty Robotics. Pradip makes the case that we are uniquely situated in the upper Midwest to originate the next wave of tech-enabled disruption in IoT in “IoT 3.0“.
3. Venture capital investing. Pradip Madan writes about VC as an investment class is his white paper, “Where to Invest in the Midwest: Venture Across Asset Classes“. He examines the benefits of venture investing as an asset class even during a down cycle, and how funds can provide protection from multi-year downturns. Pradip also enumerates the unique advantages that Midwest venture funds offer.
4. The Midwest tech ecosystem. “Putting the ‘Silicon’ in Silicon Lakes”, by Great North Labs Managing Partners, Rob Weber, Ryan Weber, and Pradip Madan, enumerates the key ingredients required to create an innovation hub like Silicon Valley that fosters growth and startups. It is part mission statement, part love letter, and all about the opportunity present in the upper Midwest.

For more content, click below to browse all of our articles. You can also sign up below to receive our newsletter, which has job links, portfolio news and events in addition to articles; or follow the links to social media and video content on Youtube.

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Great North Ventures Jan 05, 2023

Demystifying Startup HR

Great North Ventures Sep 03, 2022

3 Portfolio Companies Make Inc. 5000 + Quicklly & Instacart Expand

Great North Ventures Sep 02, 2022

Mike Schulte, Principal at Great North Ventures, on Episode 15, “Execution is King” (Part 2)

Great North Ventures Sep 01, 2022

Mike Schulte, Principal at Great North Ventures, on Episode 14, “Execution is King” (Part 1)

Great North Ventures Aug 23, 2022

3 Portfolio Companies Ranked on The Inc. 5000 List

Great North Ventures Aug 04, 2022

iraLogix closes $22M + Branch expands with Uber

Great North Ventures Aug 01, 2022

iraLogix closes $22M Series C

Great North Ventures Jul 11, 2022

Flywheel lands Gates Foundation grant

Great North Ventures Jun 30, 2022

Venture Capital Analyst

Great North Ventures Jun 30, 2022

Executive Assistant – Venture Capital Firm

Great North Ventures Jun 23, 2022

Orazio Buzza, Founder and CEO of Fooda – on Episode 13, “Execution is King”

Great North Ventures Jun 03, 2022

$40M Fund II Raised!

Great North Ventures May 26, 2022

Eric Martell, Founder of Pear Commerce: Episode 13, Execution is King

Great North Ventures May 23, 2022

Great North Ventures Raises $40 Million Fund II

Great North Ventures May 18, 2022

Investment Thesis: Fund II Strategy

Great North Ventures May 13, 2022

Investment Theme: Community-Driven Applications

Great North Ventures May 13, 2022

Investment Theme: Digital Transformation Through AI

Great North Ventures May 13, 2022

Investment Theme: Solving Labor Problems

Great North Ventures May 02, 2022

Trends in the Gig Economy + Work in the Metaverse

Great North Ventures Apr 20, 2022

Tipatat Chennavasin, General Manager and Co-Founder of The Venture Reality Fund: Episode 12, Execution is King

Great North Ventures Apr 04, 2022

Portfolio raises $125M + talking fundraising with Branch CEO

Great North Ventures Mar 17, 2022

Omnia Fishing closes $4M round, joins Great North portfolio!

Great North Ventures Mar 09, 2022

Atif Siddiqi, Founder/CEO of Branch: Episode 11, Execution is King

Great North Ventures Feb 24, 2022

Michael Martocci, CEO and Founder of SwagUp: Episode 10, Execution is King

Great North Ventures Feb 04, 2022

Yardstik new to portfolio, closes $8M Series A

Josef Siebert Feb 01, 2022

First venture studio startup comes out of stealth!

Josef Siebert Jan 31, 2022

Insights for founders from a data guru, + FactoryFix raises a Series A!

Josef Siebert Jan 26, 2022

Una Fox: Episode 9, Execution is King

Rob Weber Jan 24, 2022

Start With a Mobile App, Not a Website

Pradip Madan Jan 13, 2022

The Rise of Rapid Consumer Detection Technologies: A 2022 Outlook

Josef Siebert Jan 03, 2022

2ndKitchen acquired by SoftBank-backed REEF + advice from an early Googler

Josef Siebert Dec 29, 2021

Joe Sriver, 4giving: Episode 8, Execution is King

Josef Siebert Dec 22, 2021

2ndKitchen Acquired by REEF

Josef Siebert Dec 04, 2021

Venture studio startup jobs + advice for founders from founders

Josef Siebert Nov 24, 2021

Best Advice from the Great North Annual Event: Episode 7, Execution is King

Josef Siebert Nov 01, 2021

Newsletter: Do you fit our investing themes?

Josef Siebert Oct 21, 2021

Jonathan Treble, PrintWithMe: Episode 6, Execution is King

Josef Siebert Oct 06, 2021

Anna Mason, Revolution: Episode 5, Execution is King

Josef Siebert Oct 05, 2021

Mynul Khan, FieldNation: Episode 4, Execution is King

Josef Siebert Oct 05, 2021

Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures: Episode 3, Execution is King

Josef Siebert Oct 05, 2021

Molly Pyle, Center on Rural Innovation (CORI): Episode 2, Execution is King

Josef Siebert Oct 05, 2021

Justin Kaufenberg, Rally Ventures: Execution is King Episode 1

Josef Siebert Oct 05, 2021

Newsletter: “Podcast Launched: Execution is King!”

Josef Siebert Aug 12, 2021

“Execution is King” – the Great North Ventures Podcast

Great North Ventures Jul 08, 2021

Newsletter: Fund II is open for business!

Great North Ventures Jun 30, 2021

Unlocking the Potential of Anonymized Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Data

Josef Siebert Jun 30, 2021

Fund II is open for Business!

Rob Weber Jun 29, 2021

Founders or Investors: These are the top 5 signs a startup will succeed

Josef Siebert Jun 29, 2021

Mike Schulte Promoted to Venture Partner

Josef Siebert Jun 29, 2021

New Name + New Venture Studio

Josef Siebert Mar 30, 2021

Great North Launches Startup Studio

Josef Siebert Mar 02, 2021

How Founders Spend Big Exit $$$, Flywheel, and St. Thomas: Innovation sans Full-Time MBA

Josef Siebert Feb 09, 2021

We Don’t Need No [full-time MBA] Education

Josef Siebert Feb 01, 2021

How the University of Minnesota is Embracing Startup Culture, EmpowerU, and MEDA $1M Challenge Winners

Josef Siebert Jan 19, 2021

How the University of Minnesota is Embracing Startup Culture

Josef Siebert Jan 04, 2021

Top Stories of 2020, iraLogix, and LaunchMN Calls for Mentors

Josef Siebert Dec 03, 2020

How to Spot a Worthwhile Consumer App Startup, 2020 Gift Guide, and a New Startup Investment Incentive

Rob Weber Nov 25, 2020

2020 Minnesota Entrepreneur Gift Buying Guide

Rob Weber Nov 24, 2020

Startup Investors Can Get 100% Tax Exclusion for Gains Under Section 1202

Josef Siebert Oct 30, 2020

The Dollars and Hours of Capacity Building, Ethical Entrepreneurship, and Impact Metrics to Date

Josef Siebert Oct 29, 2020

Building Capacity for Innovation

Pradip Madan Oct 08, 2020

Post-Pandemic Times – Sand Hill Moves to Middle America

Josef Siebert Oct 06, 2020

$2M Startup Competition for Black Founders, Winning Startups to Watch, and Twin Cities Startup Week

Josef Siebert Sep 02, 2020

Seizing Opportunity in a Recession, Allergy Amulet, and Twin Cities Startup Week

Josef Siebert Aug 04, 2020

Recessionary times, a record-setting IPO, and Minnesota’s Resilient Startups

Rob Weber Jul 30, 2020

Minnesota's Resilient Startups

Josef Siebert Jul 08, 2020

July 4th, Equitable American Dream-ing, and Robots Diagnosing COVID

Josef Siebert Jul 08, 2020

Jumpstart, the Startup School, and Branch Wins a Webby!

Josef Siebert May 05, 2020

COVID-19 Trends, the Great North response, and our Founders Survey

Josef Siebert Apr 10, 2020

Giving in the Time of Coronavirus

Josef Siebert Apr 06, 2020

COVID-19 Resources for Startups, State-by-State

Josef Siebert Apr 01, 2020

COVID-19, the CARES Act, and startups stepping up

Josef Siebert Mar 21, 2020

New Business Preservation Act

Josef Siebert Mar 02, 2020

Digital Future Boardroom, PartySlate, and The Lean Startup School

Josef Siebert Feb 21, 2020

Great North Labs’s Startup Summit 2020

Josef Siebert Feb 21, 2020

Great North Labs's Startup Summit 2020

Josef Siebert Feb 03, 2020

World Economic Forum, NoiseAware, and the Startup School reboot

Pradip Madan Jan 31, 2020

The Role of VC in Economic Impact: World Economic Forum 2020

Ryan Weber Jan 22, 2020

Introducing the new Greater Minnesota focused Startup School Initiative

Josef Siebert Jan 21, 2020

Great North Labs at the World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos

Pradip Madan Jan 20, 2020

Where to Invest in the Midwest: Venture Across Asset Classes [updated]

Josef Siebert Dec 19, 2019

Top 5 Stories of 2019, Clinician Nexus, and the gBETA Greater MN St. Cloud pitch night

Josef Siebert Dec 19, 2019

Top 5 Stories of 2019

Josef Siebert Nov 27, 2019

Taking the Founders Pledge, Inhabitr, and gBETA Pitch Night

Josef Siebert Nov 27, 2019

Founders Pledge: Support the Organizations that Support You

Josef Siebert Nov 01, 2019

BETA Showcase, Greater MN, and Launch MN comes to St. Cloud

Josef Siebert Oct 09, 2019

7 Places to Spot Us at Startup Week

Josef Siebert Oct 03, 2019

The Greater MN Meetup, Parallax, and Exponential Medicine

Josef Siebert Sep 05, 2019

Greater MN at the big show, Neela Mollgaard heads Launch MN, and Misty’s roadtrip.

Josef Siebert Aug 01, 2019

Talking VC, tech kids, and Forge North’s Horizon

Josef Siebert Jun 27, 2019

June: Great North Labs’s first fund raised!

Josef Siebert Jun 25, 2019

Great North Labs Raises $23.7M to Invest in Early-Stage Tech Startups in the Upper Midwest

Josef Siebert May 31, 2019

May: Innovation Ecosystems, SingularityU Kickoff, and PrintWithMe

Josef Siebert May 07, 2019

April: Minnebar Recap, ZenLord Pro, and Supporting Entrepreneurs

Josef Siebert Apr 29, 2019

MinneBar 14 Recap

Josef Siebert Apr 10, 2019

Dispatch and 2ndKitchen claim Tech Madness titles

Josef Siebert Apr 04, 2019

Minnesota Innovation Collaborative

Josef Siebert Apr 03, 2019

March: Minnebar, Hockey + Hustlers, and Innovation Workshops

Josef Siebert Feb 21, 2019

February: Improving the Culture for Entrepreneurship, 2ndKitchen, and the Prairie Capital Summit

Josef Siebert Jan 09, 2019

Great North Labs at CES

Josef Siebert Jan 08, 2019

Dec.-Jan.: Top Posts from 2018, pepr, Glowe, and Misty Robotics

Josef Siebert Jan 07, 2019

Carried Interest: Top Posts from 2018

Rob Weber Nov 30, 2018

On Sheryl Sandberg and the Importance of Integrators

Josef Siebert Nov 10, 2018

Oct.-Nov.: Singularity University, Exponential Tech, and the State of Innovation

Josef Siebert Nov 05, 2018

Announcement: SingularityU Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter and Great North Labs present Intro to Exponential Technology & Leadership in Fargo

Josef Siebert Oct 02, 2018

September: Great North Labs Startup Ecosystem Kickoff Recap, Twin Cities Startup Week

Josef Siebert Sep 26, 2018

August: Great North Labs Startup Ecosystem Kickoff, ZAPinfo, and the necessity of advice and capital availability

Josef Siebert Aug 14, 2018

July: Pitchly, ForwardFest, and Where to Invest in the Midwest

Pradip Madan Jul 27, 2018

Where to Invest in the Midwest: Venture Across Asset Classes

Josef Siebert Jul 10, 2018

Digital Transformation Summit, July 25th in Minneapolis

Josef Siebert Jun 29, 2018

June: Silicon Lakes, FactoryFix, and the Digital Transformation Summit

Josef Siebert Jun 15, 2018

Putting the “Silicon” in Silicon Lakes

Pradip Madan Jun 04, 2018

Digital Manufacturing and Logistics

Pradip Madan May 22, 2018

Mid-Market Grocer Growth: Organic, Seeded or Grafted?

Josef Siebert May 16, 2018

May: Team Genius, IoT, and the Future of Everything

Pradip Madan May 15, 2018

IoT 3.0

Great North Ventures Apr 30, 2018

Healthcare Innovation

Josef Siebert Apr 04, 2018

March: Exponential Tech, the “Goldilocks Zone”, and Minnebar 13

Josef Siebert Feb 28, 2018

February: Team Expansion, Dispatch, and Startup School Events

James DonFrancesco Dec 13, 2017

Great North Labs Newsletter – December 2017

Rob Weber Dec 13, 2017

A Letter To My Younger Self

James DonFrancesco Oct 06, 2017

Great North Labs Newsletter

Rob Weber Sep 28, 2017

The Secret to Fostering a Strong Startup Community Inside Your University

Ryan Weber May 22, 2017

Great North Labs Featured on Tech.mn

James DonFrancesco May 22, 2017

Great North Labs Featured in St Cloud Times

James DonFrancesco May 22, 2017

Great North Labs – Featured on BizJournals.com

Ryan Weber May 22, 2017

Great North Labs, Introduction – Ryan Weber