July is over! This is the moment where summer fun planning always turns a little earnest, when we try to store up every last bit of Vitamin D and fish protein we can to last the upcoming season-which-shall-not-be-named. There’s still fun to be had, and we took some time out of the sun recently to attend some great local events.
Talking VC
Great North Labs partner Rob Weber spoke at Enterprise Rising with Mary Grove, partner in Revolution’s Rise of the Rest seed fund. Enterprise Rising is an annual event for Midwest enterprise tech startups that was created by Great North Labs advisor Casey Allen. Rob and Mary’s talk was a VC-to-VC chat about what they look for in investments, including specifics like important tools for metrics and defining product/market fit, and about their respective funds. They also talked about the region in general. As Rob said, “We’re punching above our weight, but just not telling that story well.”
Ecosystem connections
Forge North is not only dedicated to connecting and supporting the local innovation ecosystem, but also to telling the story about our region better than it has been told before. Forge North’s event, Horizon, was a debut for the coalition dedicated to supporting Minnesota innovators and entrepreneurs. An initiative of Greater MSP, its mission is: “We accelerate growth by inclusively connecting and proudly celebrating the individuals and organizations growing Minnesota ventures, and we equip these partners with tools to measure progress and dream bigger together.” They operate a dashboard that visualizes some key metrics for the regional innovation economy, which is useful for data-driven stories as well as being valuable information. You can see a video explaining the initiative here.
Supporting the next generation
We also ran into Mary Grove at Silicon North Stars Demo Day at Fueled Collective on July 23rd. She and her husband, MN DEED Commissioner Steve Grove, run the non-profit Silicon North Stars which operates a tech camp for 9th graders. Their mission is to inspire and educate young Minnesotans to become future leaders in technology. The camp ends with a demo day every year, and the solutions the teenagers come up with are always surprisingly well-thought. The impact on the kids is palpable, as they invariably talk about the confidence, knowledge, and inspiration they gain from the experience. Great North Labs is a proud sponsor of this organization.
Events
It’s hard to spend too much time indoors in August, but there are some events worth stepping inside for.
- August 1st, Rochester, MN. Today is theInvestor and Innovator Forum:”The Forum was launched by Destination Medical Center and Mayo Clinic as a venue to foster conversation and collaboration between emerging and experienced entrepreneurs and the investors who support their growth.” The forum features panel discussions and speed networking, and sponsors include gener8tor, Medical Alley, and Minne Analytics.
- August 19-21, San Francisco, CA. Singularity University Global Summit 2019: “Our premier annual gathering bringing together 2,000 changemakers for incredible talks on AI, AR/VR, blockchain, the future of work, impact, investing, robotics and more. The one event you don’t want to miss!” Singularity University’s flagship event gathers futurists, technologists, C-suite and social impact drivers from 64 countries around the world for sessions, workshops, and talks on changing the world for the better with cutting-edge technology.
- August 22-29, Madison, WI. The Forward Festival: “Join fellow entrepreneurs, nerds, geeks, hackers, foodies, and creatives from the Midwest in an 8-day celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.” This event is billed as Wisconsin’s largest tech and entrepreneurship festival, and features 40+ events over 8 days, with over 2000 attendees.
Portfolio News
Plyo is new to the Great North Labs portfolio. Plyo is a rewards app that encourages students to use their campus recreation center in exchange for points that can be redeemed for offers from a variety of merchants. It provides motivation for students to lead a healthy lifestyle, while allowing businesses to engage with the active college student customer segment in a positive way.
Job Board
Dispatchis hiring all over the country for Field Sales Representatives and Drivers. In Bloomington, MN, they are hiring a variety of positions including an Executive Assistant, an Accounts Receivable Specialist, Support Engineer, Sr. UX Designer, Biz Dev Rep, and a CFO!
Structural is hiring a Customer Success Specialist.
FactoryFixis hiring a Software Engineer in Madison, and sales roles in Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis.
Misty Robotics is hiring a CFO, Devops Engineer, Principal Electrical Engineer, and a Sr. Software Engineer in Boulder.
pepr ishiring for Biz Dev – Outbound Sales in Minneapolis.
PrintWithMe is hiring a Customer Success Manager, Biz Dev Executive, and interns for Strategy and Marketing/Operations.
June Newsletter
Demystifying Startup HR
Head of Finance & Fund Administration- Venture Capital Firm (Remote)
Demystifying Startup HR
3 Portfolio Companies Make Inc. 5000 + Quicklly & Instacart Expand
3 Portfolio Companies Ranked on The Inc. 5000 List
iraLogix closes $22M + Branch expands with Uber
iraLogix closes $22M Series C
Flywheel lands Gates Foundation grant
Venture Capital Analyst
Orazio Buzza, Founder and CEO of Fooda – on Episode 13, “Execution is King”
$40M Fund II Raised!
Eric Martell, Founder of Pear Commerce: Episode 13, Execution is King
Great North Ventures Raises $40 Million Fund II
Investment Thesis: Fund II Strategy
Investment Theme: Community-Driven Applications
Investment Theme: Digital Transformation Through AI
Investment Theme: Solving Labor Problems
Trends in the Gig Economy + Work in the Metaverse
Portfolio raises $125M + talking fundraising with Branch CEO
Omnia Fishing closes $4M round, joins Great North portfolio!
Atif Siddiqi, Founder/CEO of Branch: Episode 11, Execution is King
Michael Martocci, CEO and Founder of SwagUp: Episode 10, Execution is King
Yardstik new to portfolio, closes $8M Series A
First venture studio startup comes out of stealth!
Insights for founders from a data guru, + FactoryFix raises a Series A!
Una Fox: Episode 9, Execution is King
Start With a Mobile App, Not a Website
2ndKitchen acquired by SoftBank-backed REEF + advice from an early Googler
Joe Sriver, 4giving: Episode 8, Execution is King
2ndKitchen Acquired by REEF
Venture studio startup jobs + advice for founders from founders
Best Advice from the Great North Annual Event: Episode 7, Execution is King
Newsletter: Do you fit our investing themes?
Jonathan Treble, PrintWithMe: Episode 6, Execution is King
Anna Mason, Revolution: Episode 5, Execution is King
Mynul Khan, FieldNation: Episode 4, Execution is King
Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures: Episode 3, Execution is King
Molly Pyle, Center on Rural Innovation (CORI): Episode 2, Execution is King
Justin Kaufenberg, Rally Ventures: Execution is King Episode 1
Newsletter: “Podcast Launched: Execution is King!”
“Execution is King” – the Great North Ventures Podcast
Newsletter: Fund II is open for business!
Unlocking the Potential of Anonymized Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Data
Fund II is open for Business!
Mike Schulte Promoted to Venture Partner
New Name + New Venture Studio
Great North Launches Startup Studio
We Don’t Need No [full-time MBA] Education
How the University of Minnesota is Embracing Startup Culture
Top Stories of 2020, iraLogix, and LaunchMN Calls for Mentors
Building Capacity for Innovation
Seizing Opportunity in a Recession, Allergy Amulet, and Twin Cities Startup Week
Recessionary times, a record-setting IPO, and Minnesota’s Resilient Startups
Minnesota's Resilient Startups
July 4th, Equitable American Dream-ing, and Robots Diagnosing COVID
Jumpstart, the Startup School, and Branch Wins a Webby!
COVID-19 Trends, the Great North response, and our Founders Survey
Giving in the Time of Coronavirus
COVID-19 Resources for Startups, State-by-State
COVID-19, the CARES Act, and startups stepping up
New Business Preservation Act
Digital Future Boardroom, PartySlate, and The Lean Startup School
Great North Labs’s Startup Summit 2020
Great North Labs's Startup Summit 2020
World Economic Forum, NoiseAware, and the Startup School reboot
Great North Labs at the World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos
Top 5 Stories of 2019
Taking the Founders Pledge, Inhabitr, and gBETA Pitch Night
Founders Pledge: Support the Organizations that Support You
BETA Showcase, Greater MN, and Launch MN comes to St. Cloud
7 Places to Spot Us at Startup Week
The Greater MN Meetup, Parallax, and Exponential Medicine
Greater MN at the big show, Neela Mollgaard heads Launch MN, and Misty’s roadtrip.
Talking VC, tech kids, and Forge North’s Horizon
June: Great North Labs’s first fund raised!
May: Innovation Ecosystems, SingularityU Kickoff, and PrintWithMe
April: Minnebar Recap, ZenLord Pro, and Supporting Entrepreneurs
MinneBar 14 Recap
Dispatch and 2ndKitchen claim Tech Madness titles
Minnesota Innovation Collaborative
March: Minnebar, Hockey + Hustlers, and Innovation Workshops
Great North Labs at CES
Dec.-Jan.: Top Posts from 2018, pepr, Glowe, and Misty Robotics
Carried Interest: Top Posts from 2018
Oct.-Nov.: Singularity University, Exponential Tech, and the State of Innovation
July: Pitchly, ForwardFest, and Where to Invest in the Midwest
Digital Transformation Summit, July 25th in Minneapolis
June: Silicon Lakes, FactoryFix, and the Digital Transformation Summit
Putting the “Silicon” in Silicon Lakes
Digital Manufacturing and Logistics
May: Team Genius, IoT, and the Future of Everything
IoT 3.0
Healthcare Innovation
March: Exponential Tech, the “Goldilocks Zone”, and Minnebar 13
February: Team Expansion, Dispatch, and Startup School Events
Great North Labs Newsletter – December 2017
A Letter To My Younger Self
Great North Labs Newsletter
Great North Labs Featured on Tech.mn
Great North Labs Featured in St Cloud Times
Great North Labs – Featured on BizJournals.com
