How Two Midwest VCs Have Mastered Success Through Multiple Tech Cycles
by Graeme Thickins For twin brothers Rob and Ryan Weber, founding partners of Great North Ventures in Minnesota, entrepreneurship began in college, just as the Internet was taking off in 1996. As computer science majors (and Rob later switching to entrepreneurial studies), they learned quickly that Internet traffic could be monetized. Over a few years, […]
Molly Pyle, Center on Rural Innovation (CORI): Episode 2, Execution is King
Ryan and Josef talk about the importance of startup communities and the importance of innovation in rural communities, including St. Cloud, MN. Molly shares her experience working with incubators, builders, and startups with Singularity University and how that led to her position as the Entrepreneur Ecosystem Development Lead at CORI, where she works with communities to […]
Great North Launches Startup Studio
We are pleased to announce the launch of our venture studio, Great North Venture Labs. Great North Venture Labs will design and build companies with world-class founders and operators that are in focused market segments with substantial opportunities. Promising studio startups will be funded with capital from the second Great North venture fund. The venture […]
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 […]
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 […]
New Business Preservation Act
On March 19, 2020, a bill proposing the New Business Preservation Act was submitted to the Senate that seeks to drive economic activity, innovation, and job growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn. The New Business Preservation Act will provide equity funding for new businesses, with larger allocations directed to […]
Introducing the new Greater Minnesota focused Startup School Initiative
UPDATE: Signup here for St. Cloud or Red Wing locations! Or View Course Information. Greater Minnesota has been underperforming in its formation of new startups. When we founded Great North Labs, we recognized this need, and committed to changing it before the region could fall further behind. We founded a Startup School to provide the […]
Great North Labs at the World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos
Great North Labs will be participating in a couple of events at the World Economic Forum this year, where we have been invited to talk about our work investing in early-stage companies in the Upper Midwest. The Forum (WEF) is an annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, of business, political, academic, and other leaders. The purpose of […]