Twin Cities Startup Week 2021
Marketing & Advertising
Saturday, September 18, 2021
VIP Walk and Talk
Start your morning taking in the beauty of Lake Harriet while getting to know your peers. We'll meet at the Lake Harriet Bandshell for a casual stroll around the lake. Let's get to know one another while getting our steps in.
Event will be limited to the first 20 people who register.
*VIP ticket required to attend this event*
“Hack Your City” - Creatives in Tech
From music, to art, to marketing, technology is transforming the way we work and create. The intersection of technology and art play a crucial role in creating new possibilities for diverse communities. On this panel, creative professionals from multiple industries will be discussing how they use technology in their work, and how they envision creative technology contributing to a more inclusive and abundant future.
Immediately following the panel, attendees will have the opportunity to experience immersive media first hand, with the VR social justice exhibit “One City, Two Realities,” put on by Rem5 VR Lab.
During the event, Smart North will be announcing the launch of a design contest entitled “Hack Your City.” We are calling upon MN based artists, designers, developers, and creatives to craft submissions that envision an abundant future for the Twin Cities, or one of its diverse communities. Further details on the contest will be revealed during the announcement.
Monday, September 20, 2021
MENTOR MORNING by Minnesota Innovates
Minnesota Innovates invites Founders, whose problem solution has a technology component, to participate in a special offering of its signature Mentor Mornings. At TCSW, Founders will meet in small groups to share their concerns with mentors who have experience in various fields of technology, as well as, legal, financing, starting and scaling, marketing, sales, data analysis, customer validation and strategic development experience. The casual and welcoming setting provides opportunities to glean helpful insight and fosters enhanced access to people and resources that can support a Founder’s startup journey.
Tech Job & Opportunities Fair
REGISTRATION REQUIRED, please RSVP here.
Looking for a new gig or way to plug into the MN tech ecosystem? Join us at the Job & Opportunities Fair during Twin Cities Startup Week!
With 55% of people currently considering looking for a new job, it's time to connect community members and job seekers with some fabulous companies and organizations. During Twin Cities Startup Week we are putting on our first ever Job and Opportunities Fair - enjoy free food & drinks, get plugged into your community and learn about job opportunities at some of the best companies around.
Participating Companies
- Livefront
- SPS Commerce
- Total Expert
- OST (Open Systems Technologies)
- Kipsu
- SportsEngine
- Buzzfeed
- Granicus
- Soona
- Wagento
- SDG (Solution Design Group)
- Lone Wolf Technologies
COVID Guidelines
This will be hosted at Malcolm Yards - in a private space room with ample air flow (garage doors open to outside). In accordance with Twin Cities Startup Week guidelines we are requiring proof of vaccination or negative COVID test for all attendees, and will ask folks to mask up while indoors (and not eating/drinking).
Looking forward to seeing you at this awesome event!
Discussion on the Future of Work in a Hybrid Model
Join us for a panel discussion and networking event with Venture Capitalists, Business Leaders, and Startup Founders around how the Future of work will look including how benefits and incentives are provided to employees in companies. This will be an opportunity to see what other companies are looking at for strategies around work to attract and retain talent in their organizations. Food and beverages will be provided at the event that will take place in the West End at the TeaWomen/Twin Cities Film Fest new offices. Free parking is available in the West End. Please join us for this event on Monday of Startup Week!
Interactive Gaming Night ( Football x Prize BONANZA )
Join us in Dinkytown after the MN Cup Awards for an evening of networking & playShotCaller Night!
Watch ‘Packers vs Lions’, Make Game Picks via our app, & WiN Prizes for playing!
** $500 in Local Prizes (Free-to-Play)
** TCSW Participants 21+ receive a drink ticket for a free Miller Lite Draft
** Back section reserved for event participants
*** Virtual participation is also HiGHLY encouraged (if unable to join in-person)
Play Now & WiN Prizes > Play Now Link
More about ShotCaller: ShotCaller is a social gaming platform that lets fans make sports predictions without the complex betting jargon, & users win rewards from local partners for playing
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Sales & Marketing Track
TCSW is proud to partner with Denamico and Lola Red to present the Twin Cities Startup Week Sales & Marketing Track. Hear from innovative entrepreneurs, dynamic business leaders, and game-changing experts as they share insights on how the future of Sales & Marketing is being shaped.
Attend this track in person or participate from the comfort of your home or office through Hopin.
SCHEDULE
9:00 AM - Opening Remarks
9:15 AM - The Power of Community in Marketing
10:30 AM - Twin Cities Podcast Hosts UNPLUGGED - Sales
11:30 AM - Twin Cities Podcast Hosts UNPLUGGED - Marketing
1:15 PM - The 2 Keys to Successfully Marketing your Business
2:25 PM - Stop Guessing, Start Asking: Using Research to Drive Growth
3:40 PM - Pitching Yourself and Your Company For Success
MOTHER'S ROOM
The Machine Shop offers a beautiful mother's room for attendees. Please check in at the front desk when you arrive and we'll direct you to the room.
PARKING / ENTRANCE INSTRUCTIONS
The best door to enter is the main set of double doors (the 2nd set from our small parking lot to the east of our building) off of 3rd street.
The Machine Shop has limited parking in its parking lot, but is a very short walk from bus routes 6, 250, 261, 264, 270, 288. Best parking options:
Coffee & Closers: How to Land your Next 3 Customers
As a founder, whether you are funded or self-funded, the pressure to bring in new customers consistently can cause a ton of stress. And as an investor, to see a return, your portfolio has to have companies that excel at selling.
We'll cover ways to create consistent sales opportunities that not only make your investors happy but also give you the confidence and capital needed to build your vision.
Featuring perspectives from Founders, Investors, & Closer's Sales Guru Mickeli Bedore, you will walk away with tangible knowledge you can put to work immediately.
See you there!
The Power of Community in Marketing
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
Jess Von Bank is the Head of Marketing for Leapgen and organizer of the Now of Work global community. The Now of Work community launched by Leapgen at the beginning of a global pandemic is a movement to better serve humanity by humanizing work. It represents the humanization and digital disruption of work during the most historic labor market and business cycles we’ve seen in modern times. In this opening keynote, Jess discusses community-centric marketing to build brand, grow loyalty, adapt and remain authentic in wildly changing times, and drive innovation.
Building & Scaling Your Community
From the early days of the Web, Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) to social networks, meetups, and open source software, community is a way to build an authentic connection with your customers, provide support, gather product feedback, and scale. Join us for an AMA-style session to learn more about what it takes to build a community around your product, why you should be thinking strategically about one, and how to get started.
What’s Changed? Adjusting to Customer Needs in the New Normal
As we fully enter post COVID, will there be new normal changes in your customers’ buying expectations? Changes in what they buy, how they buy it, how they prepare to use it, use and finish using your product, how they feel about your product/brand?
Using the Lean Canvas Value Proposition model and reviewing emerging consumer trends, participants will examine their business Value Proposition (customer promise) to learn and address post COVID changes in customer solution needs. Which elements remain valuable, which should be adjust and which should be added to provide maximum customer satisfaction and a competitive edge?
Twin Cities Podcast Hosts UNPLUGGED, Part 1: Sales
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
This two-part Clubhouse-style event is bringing together Twin Cities podcast hosts to extract what they’ve learned from their conversations with notable guests in the startup realm, corporate world, and tech space.
In Part 1 of this event, host Tim Bornholdt will be flipping the mic on these podcasters to chat about using podcasting as a tool to grow a business, judging the success of episodes, using podcasting for lead generation, preparing for interviews, and more!
Twin Cities Podcast Hosts UNPLUGGED - Marketing
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
In Part 2 of this event, host Tim Bornholdt will be flipping the mic on these podcasters to learn how podcasting fits into their marketing strategy, the power of video, leveraging guests’ networks, sponsorships, and more!
Get More Clients with Sales Funnel Automation
During this bore-free training, I will share everything you need to know on how to get more clients with ease even if sales is your kryptonite. **In less than 30 minutes, you'll: ** (1) Learn about what a sales funnel is & why it's important in your business (it’s so much simpler than you think & yet not a lot of people are doing this right) (2) Get a step-by-step process you can follow to get your offer in the hands of more clients ASAP. These are the Critical Success Factors you need to focus on instead of fumbling around like some entrepreneurs wind up doing (3) Walk away from the training equipped with a list of tools you can leverage for your business so you can wake up to a list of new clients waiting to work with you every single day!
Creative Video to Tell and Sell Your Story
We will share some tools and tips on how to easily create video that stands out. These will include lighting, audio, 360 video, live video and drones. This is an active sessions and questions are a big part.
How to Wake Up Your B2B Content
Join Liz Giorgi the ceo & co-founder of soona, the fast casual content experience, share 3 ways you can wake up your B2B content and stop putting your customers to sleep. Liz will be breaking down the B2B (aka boring to boring) box to teach you the basics to👇 ✨inject joy into the voice of your brand ✨identify ways to go from industry speak to human speak ✨how to get your leadership team on board to a new approach to marketing
The 2 Keys to Successfully Marketing your Business
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
There’s a lot of unknowns in business. Marketing strategy doesn't need to be one of them. ⠀And you don't need *more* strategies and another "expert" on the internet talking AT you about problems – you need ideas and solutions. In this session, Jen Fieldman will walk you through the two key elements to market your business, and demonstrate how you can customize, only spending time on platforms that make SENSE for you and your brand.
Your Marketing Should Pay for Itself: Optimizing for Conversion
You already know that solid content is crucial for successful INBOUND marketing, so why isn't your content paying for itself? We'll review the most effective best practices for content marketing, and dive deeply into common mistakes even sophisticated marketers make at the most crucial moment: conversion. Your marketing should always pay for itself, let's workshop how.
PLAY Your Way to a Profitable Holiday Pre-Sale Campaign
This session is for you if: you are considering a pivot in your current business, you're thinking about developing a software product or service offering, or you're driven to help people but don't know what to focus on first.
Here's the scoop.
Before you take the leap in creating your MVP (minimum viable product) in isolation, focus instead on developing your MVA (Minimum Viable Audience). Discover the specific steps you can take to validate your business idea by working with people willing to pay for your future product and provide their feedback.
Join Bob Sparkins (Sales Marketing Manager), along with Jeanette Dorazio (CEO) and Madeline Blasberg (Director of Marketing) for this presentation and workshop from Leadpages.
How to Scale Tech Marketing with Purpose: Elevating Minority Founders' Platforms, and Reaching Underserved Communities through Thoughtful Communications
Many startups lack access to the brand, marketing and communications skills that help ensure their product reaches the right people who need them. This is especially true for founders of underserved communities. The Hotwire Ignite Possibility Program (HIPP), launched in 2020, has committed to providing $1M in pro bono brand, marketing, and public relations services to qualifying tech and tech-enabled organizations that are minority-led or providing a product or service benefitting minority communities. In this panel you’ll hear from some of the founders in the first cohort of HIPP on how they are tackling their business challenges and meeting their goals through brand, marketing and public relations in order to bring technology innovation at scale and succeed in today’s competitive tech sector.
Science Behind Testimonial Marketing - Learnings from +2,500 Customer Cases
Everybody does testimonial marketing but nobody knows what kind of results they are getting.
Please join to find out answers at least for these questions and ask your own in the Q&A:
Are testimonials important?
What makes a testimonial good?
How to use received testimonials?
How to measure results?
What kind of results you can expect?
Arttu Haho, CMO and Co-Founder of Trustmary, answers these with exact numbers and shares insights from the field with some real business examples.
Stop Guessing, Start Asking: Using Research to Drive Growth
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
Looking to make decisions about your product, marketing, pricing, or brand strategy? A thoughtful research roadmap will help you make smart, strategic, and informed business decisions.
In this session, Fusion Hill’s VP of Research & Strategy, Amy Behrens, and VP of Business Strategy, Nina Gazel, will give you the 411 on all things customer and market research. You will come away from the session with a clear understanding of the integral role customer research should play in your growth strategy and how to make it happen at any stage of your business journey.
Grow your Business by Creating a Marketing Machine
Every business needs a constant flow of new customers to ensure that it thrives in the long term. This workshop will explore 3 guiding principles to create a marketing machine so that your business has consistent quality leads. Attend this workshop if you would like help on making marketing theory relevant to your business. This is an interactive session and you will leave this workshop with the following:
1. Powerful insights and 'aha' moments for your business 2. A focused action plan to implement in your business 3. A free 1:1 follow-up strategy session with a Business Coach to plan your business growth
Double Your Sales: How to Build a Growth Roadmap that Actually Works
This session will help attendees learn how to create a growth roadmap that starts them on a path to doubling their business revenue. We will cover essential building blocks, including:
• Growth Acceleration Formula
• Customer Value Journey
• Buyer Persona
• Results Scorecard
Attendees can also receive free tools to help them get started.
Minneapolis Business Mentors is a Twin Cities-based non-profit that provides free resources to help small business leaders solve their challenges. We offer a wide range of mentoring, workshops, peer networking and online resources – all available where and when our clients need them most.
Learn more at www.MBMentors.org.
Pitching Yourself and Your Company For Success
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
From pitching your business, raising money, recruiting talent and leading your teams, effectively channeling your own personal brand and networks can have a tremendous impact on your success.
Learn tips and tricks behind successful PR strategies and fundraising campaigns.
Alexis Walsko brings 22 years of experience as founder, marketer and leader to a conversation about how best to present yourself and your company to support your growing business.
Building a Tech Stack to Grow With Your Business
Given all of the options out there when it comes to marketing, sales, and customer service technology, it can be challenging for businesses of any size to build a scalable solution. In this session, we'll provide a process for evaluating your current tech stack, identifying gaps, and creating a solution that can grow with your business over time.
In addition to the presentation, the event will include time for networking (snacks and beverages included).
Don’t Have a Plan, Build a Strategy: How to Recognize and Prioritize Marketing Opportunities
**Don’t Have a Plan, Build a Strategy: How to Recognize and Prioritize Marketing Opportunities**
Posting to Facebook. Sending email newsletters. Landing pages. Search ads. If you have a good budget and you do them as part of your marketing plan, they’ll probably yield some results.
But if you’re short on time, money, or even marketing talent, then it can be a slow and costly path to growth.
A high-performing marketing strategy has two core elements: A mechanism to recognize opportunities, and a method to prioritize them.
In this talk, I’ll show you my very simple, well-tested approach to each of these elements and provide you with templates for you to leverage for your own marketing strategy. When executed well, you can expect more impact from less effort in the short term, which gives you even more opportunity in the long term.
Happy Hour Discussion: Privacy & Marketing - Why privacy changes everything and how you can adapt
Join us for a relaxed, happy hour discussion about a serious topic, privacy. It may not be flashy, but it's critical to your business and the success of your marketing plans.
April 2021, Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency, upending modern digital marketing and forcing marketers to adapt. ATT wasn't the first significant change to privacy in recent years (👋 GDPR), and it won't be the last.
This fall, with the release of iOS 15, Apple will release Mail Privacy Protection which will dramatically impact how you measure the success of your email marketing campaigns. Open rates for email will essentially become a meaningless and unreliable measurement.
Government regulations, device maker policies, and consumer awareness about privacy are changing rapidly, and the impact is not limited to just tech companies. For example, if you're a coffee shop with an Instagram and an email list, you need to consider consumer privacy as part of your overall marketing strategy.
In this session, we'll discuss the current state of privacy, what has changed in recent years, and how you can adapt to the changing world and ensure your marketing dollars are still generating a return.
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Accessible Startups: Simple Tips for Digital and Social Inclusion
Every startup wants to be diverse and inclusive, but few understand that the digital needs of people with disabilities is part of reaching that goal. Websites, software, social media, videos, presentations, emails and documents that are accessible to people living with cognitive, hearing, mobility and sight-related disabilities is not only possible, it's essential in the current legal landscape, for companies engaged in startup and beyond. This lunch time session will give Startups knowledge, tools and empowered next steps to understand the "why" of digital accessibility AND begin to include clients, employees and the public, who live with disabilities, from the start. Each attendee will receive an "Accessible Startup Tips" digital guide and a free accessibility assessment of their website or mobile application.
This presentation will include live audio description and closed captioning. All materials in this presentation are structured for digital accessibility. Advance copies of the handout materials are available upon request at: [email protected]
ZOOM INFORMATION:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82211331619
Meeting ID: 822 1133 1619
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Meeting ID: 822 1133 1619
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kd4vEx8IQ5
You’re Necessary and Next: How a Brief History of Everything Will Inspire You to Think Big and Take Action
One of the most exciting discoveries of the last 100 years is the emerging, data-driven research on how people grow and adapt to changing conditions. We are in the midst of massive, economic and cultural changes unlike anything we've seen before. This session is for Founders - and their advisors, teams, consultants, and investors. From marketing and innovation to strategic leadership and decision-making, without these paradigms and frameworks, we are at risk of creating things built for yesterday, not tomorrow. Join us to learn why all of this is good news for your startup, career, community, family, and life. We'll build and “unfold” the model in the room, discuss it, and then integrate everything with what we already know, exploring the multitude of ways that we can apply it to our contexts. Along the way, expect to contribute and discover new ideas, as well as meet the kind of people who come to workshops like this. Tim Schuster is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is Co-Founder of LegalQ and Founder of Popup Think Tank.
Understanding Your Startup Non-dilutive Funding Options
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
Early Stage Founders must be diligent about financing growth and need to be aware of all funding options. Founders are looking for ways to finance their growth with non-dilutive capital options and extend runway for equity raise. This helps founders retain control, align their business growth to their core values, preserve equity and raise future equity at higher valuations.
PARKING / ENTRANCE INSTRUCTIONS
- Parking options: Gopher or Maroon Lots.
- The entry point for the event is the Premium Entrance which is located under the Benton County sign.
Challenges of Building a Developer Tools Startup
Join us for an interactive panel discussion with experienced founders and founding engineers of successful Developer Tools startups like TrackJS, Frontend Masters, Akita Software, and Touca. We will speak about common challenges of building products for software developers, ranging from marketing and sales to product development. We will share our experiences and offer our vision for the future of software development.
XR Happy Hour
Join us for a happy hour dedicated to celebrating and connecting the MN XR Industry. Connect with others in AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) over drinks and food to catch up, network, and learn what others are doing in the space. This event is for anyone in or interested in XR - developers, product, designers, enthusiasts, business folks, students - anyone.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Best Practices for Leveraging Emotional Intelligence to Foster a more Human-Centered Leadership
Join us in an interactive conversation to discuss how we can leverage elements of Emotional Intelligence to foster a more Human-Centered Leadership. This training will help you promote workplaces that are more engaging, healthier and happier.
Learn the Basics of Selling On Amazon.com
Selling your products on Amazon.com offers your brand incredible visibility and sales potential. Learn the pillars of success and how to optimize your product pages, launch products, grow sales and control how your brand is represented on Amazon.com.
Marketing Basics….for the Non-Marketer
Every small business needs a solid foundation. This event is valuable to new and existing businesses that have not established “core” marketing competencies that are necessary to be successful. The 4Ps (Price, Product, Promotion, Place) and Brand Positioning will be reviewed. Real life examples will be used to communicate the thought process, and templates will be included to facilitate engagement during and after the event.
Minneapolis Business Mentors is a premier source of small business advice for entrepreneurs and established businesses. We were founded and are staffed by experienced executives and business owners. We are a volunteer, nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the success of entrepreneurs and small businesses in Minnesota and the upper Midwest.
How To Design & Deliver an Elevator Speech
An elevator speech is a short statement designed to get the attention and interest of investors, potential customers, and other people important to your business. It explains in simple terms what you do, why you do it, how you’re unique, and why it’s important to the listener. this short speech should do all of that in 30 seconds or less!
For entrepreneurs, the speech should present your business in a way that gets attention and makes a listener interested enough to say, “Tell me more.”
Why Visual Planning for Your Instagram Feed Matters
In the virtual world social media is the new store front. This resource is the new way of creating foot traffic towards converting sales on your product, service, or experience. This means your visuals & content matter. Join the soona crew as we spill the deets on how to level up your social media content strategy.
Growing your startup with Open Scout and AWS University Scout Program
The OpenScout and AWS University Scout Program is a university program that helps student entrepreneurs scale their ideas with resources from AWS and other providers. The program recently added University of Minnesota to their network and are excited to help student entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities. Come tune in as we have student scouts from the University of Minnesota, Drexel University, and Yale University talk about student entrepreneurship and the AWS Scout Program on their respective campuses.
Reacting to Crisis: Maintaining Customer Base & Loyalty
In almost every way, 2020 turned the world on its head. We invited five leaders who successfully navigated their organizations through crisis while maintaining their customer base to share their stories.
Headshot Happy Hour @ soona
We are excited to open up our Minneapolis studio to the TCSW attendees to receive one FREE headshot. We believe in the power of a photographic first impression. A great headshot can be the difference maker. Land the interview. Attract the new client. Scare the competition. This event will allow time for attendees to network, try out soona's fast casual content experience, & set the TCSW community up for success to achieve their goals! (plus free food & bev 😉 )
Founders Live Minneapolis - Pitch event
REGISTER HERE FOR THE EVENT.
The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Experience and Pitch Competition Show.
Showcasing Founders of: Cherry Hoggs, Company of Women Travel, ZeSa Fitness, CoyaBlu, InControl Health
Friday, September 24, 2021
9 Ways to Fail as an Entrepreneur: How to Avoid Going to Court (Private Session)
Few startups budget for attorneys. Most entrepreneurs prefer to rely on their own common sense, research, and creativity to avoid legal problems. Small business owners tend to wait for problems to escalate before getting legal help.
We get it. A combination of limited budget and ignorance-is-bliss leads most of us to want to stay away from those pesky lawyers. Until we have to. Self-help will take you so far and that's OK.
We find that many businesses shutdown unnecessarily in large part because entrepreneurs underestimate the intricacies of the law. After all, it only takes one slip to get into hot water.
We are here to help you! We want you to thrive.
Come learn 9 common mistakes entrepreneurs make when starting and running their business!
How to Build a CPG Brand
Tuning in virtually? Watch live on Hopin on the Stage here.
Learn what it takes to launch and build a successful CPG brand from an industry insider and someone who has both called on many of the biggest accounts in the country and helped manage some of the most successful brands in natural retail.