Twin Cities Startup Week 2020
Impact
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Keeping Sales Connected, Motivated and Closing in Interesting Times
Culture is the key to building and maintaining a winning sales team whose passion is unfazed by today’s uncertainty times. Hear from a panel of diverse sales leaders on how they are using collaboration, training and development programs, advancement opportunities and more to inspire their sales teams in 2020. You’ll receive proven advice and unconventional tips that companies of any size can use.
Generating Sales Via Your Website: A Beautiful Website Is Not Enough
Is your website increasing your close rate or is it just a fancy brochure?
A website is arguably your most important sales and marketing asset. It works around the clock—nights, weekends, and holidays. But many websites don't pull their weight in the sales process. From lead generation to conversion, learn how your website can be your most powerful sales enablement tool. When built with revenue-generation as the primary goal, you won’t need to hire a huge sales team right away—you can let your website do the heavy lifting. Join 25-year industry veteran, Kitty Hart, for fresh takes on how to build a powerful, sales-focused website that drives growth for your business.
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
Launch Marketing for Purpose-Driven Founders: How to Build the MVP of your Marketing Plan
The long term success of purpose-driven organizations hinges on their ability to efficiently grow their audience, but they are also the least likely to have access to the expert marketing support that can make that happen.
We’ll talk through the MVPs of your essential marketing assets to get started and how to use them to create something actionable.
- Building your marketing personas
- Mapping your buyers journey
- Identifying your key messages
- Planning actual campaigns and content
This workshop teaches a new approach to marketing that will leave you feeling confident in your strategy and ready to dive in and execute!
Social Enterprise Showcase: Panel + Marketplace
Are you trying to grow a social enterprise, or thinking about launching a new venture? Hear from leaders in the Twin Cities ecosystem of mission-driven businesses, discussing strategies for success. Also, meet social entrepreneurs and shop with purpose at the virtual Social Enterprise Showcase marketplace, featuring dozens of local vendors and changemakers.
Using Data Visualization Tell Your Story and Grow Your Business
65% of people are visual learners, and only 17% are data literate. Because graphics are an important method of showing complex systems - visuals (including data visualization, infographics, and visual storytelling) can be a useful tool to help audiences relate to and connect with ever-growing mountains of data.
This presentation will walk participants through a case study showing how better data visualization of complex value chains can help an organization connect with customers, partners, and funders. When everyone can see the benefits of your product, service, or partnership, selling it is as easy as a pie chart.
Closers Media presents :: Cocktails&Closers
Twin Cities Startup Week is thrilled to invite last year's Twin Cities Startup Week Impact Award winner back to headline this year’s Sales + Marketing track day.
From the team that brought you Coffee&Closers, comes the debut of their brand new show Cocktails&Closers ::
A [live], libations fueled, happy hour conversation between a few of today’s top Sales + Marketing minds as they tackle the challenge of how to successfully work collaboratively to drive revenue.
Expect to learn in between laughs how these related, yet often disparate groups can achieve greatness when their superpowers align.
Founders, solo ‘treps, sales/marketing leaders, and more… this show is for you, join us.
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 30 minute Q&A.
Happy Half Hour
Mix up your favorite cocktail and join the speakers of Closers Media presents :: Cocktails&Closers for Q&A!
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Experience Money Differently.
"Experience Money Differently." will be a founder presentation followed by a panel event featuring four diverse individuals from our company. This event will focus on storytelling and sharing experiences around money. Money is generally seen as taboo — we don’t talk about it at all, and are never taught about money management in school. This leaves us feeling like other people don’t go through the same things we do when it comes to money, when in reality we as a community share a lot of similarities when it comes to our experiences with money. We’ll talk about these experiences, as well as ways we can all go about practicing getting rich. Changing our financial situations comes form relating to one another and practicing for the real world, not just “learning” financial literacy.
Creating a Diverse Culture on Day One
On research and best practices for instilling diversity in startups
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
I failed... what now?
Join us to have an engaging, fun and frank conversation that pushes beyond the platitudes and cliched catchphrases and dares to take a look at the honest role that failure plays in our personal and professional growth and development.
Why Every Startup Needs To Think Like A Lobbyist - Even Yours
From startups to Fortune 500 companies -- every business needs to build a leadership team that is public policy literate for both compliance and delivering on their growth strategy. Join Shawntera M. Hardy, Cofounder + Chief Strategy Officer at Civic Eagle, in a discussion about the core principles to building a public policy engagement strategy that empowers businesses to track, analyze and influence the policies that matter most to their bottom line. No matter if it’s people, profit and/or planet.
Equity Investing
Following this session join a 15min discussion in the Community Lounge.
Fundraising During COVID-19
An inside scoop from VCs on what's changed, and how to stand out
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 30 minute Q&A.
Unleashing The Power of YOUR Idea
The ILT Academy delivers extensive educational experiences to cultivate problem solvers, innovators, and entrepreneurs. We empower problem solvers and innovators to rethink and redesign problems, solutions, customers, and context. We equip entrepreneurs with the skills needed to commercialize ideas, develop successful ventures, and create high-growth businesses.
Uplifting Founders: Delegate to Elevate
Learn how career, top-level executive assistants integrate into their principal's lives to free up their time and increase their productivity.
gBETA St. Thomas Virtual Pitch Night
Join us as we take our Pitch Night virtual! The Summer gBETA St. Thomas companies will each present a five-minute pitch followed by Q&A. Come prepared to learn all about these companies' innovative ideas and enter to win a variety of prizes!
Founders Live Minneapolis
Founders Live is an unforgettable happy hour competition where up to five companies pitch their business, but YOU decide who wins.
Five handpicked companies take the hot seat, with only 99 seconds to pitch their company and describe their value proposition in front of an eager audience. After the pitches and audience Q&A, the crowd votes on a winner who will not only receive an award but recognition from the crowd and the opportunity to talk more about their product or service. It's like Shark Tank, but you decide who wins it all!
What's in it for you? Bring your friends, co-workers, grab some food and drinks, get to know your local entrepreneurs, and vote for who you think will be the next big thing in Minneapolis!
What's in it for the companies? We at the Founders Live Minneapolis team are excited to announce ALL presenting companies who are chosen to give their 99-second pitch at a Founders Live event receive $5,000 credit towards their web hosting on Amazon. "Amazon Web Services provides startups with low cost, easy to use infrastructure needed to scale and grow any size business. AWS Activate is a program designed to provide startups with resources they need to get started on AWS." The winner gets an extra $5,000 credits, bringing their total to $10,000!
Pitch Applicants: We are currently accepting innovative pitch applications!
This is an opportunity for your startup to gain more recognition in the Minneapolis startup community. Tell us your story--who you are and what you do. We'll send you more details and you may become one of the finalists who pitch.
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Code Switch
Have you ever had an idea to strengthen your community? Do you have a desire to use your skills or knowledge to solve critical social problems? Code Switch is for you. We are looking for techies AND non-techies — from developers to entrepreneurs, artists, educators, business professionals, concerned citizens, everyday people and more! We believe everyone has a role to play in improving our communities, and Code Switch provides that opportunity. Join us and leverage your knowledge and skills to reduce the gaps that exist in Minnesota.
Code Switch is in its fifth year as a civic hackathon where community members connect to co-create solutions that disrupt inequity. This year, our virtual hackathon will kick off on September 12, the National Day of Civic Hacking. Participants will then have one month to work on projects in teams before our final celebration and sharing of projects in late October.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
THE “MN AFTERSCHOOL ADVANCE” STORY: COLLABORATE TO INNOVATE
Out-of-school time programming has been consistently underfunded in Minnesota, and disparities in access to these activities is one of the leading drivers of the achievement gap. Learn how Youthprise and Venn Foundation, two local nonprofits, combined their expertise to leverage two underutilized tools—program-related investments (PRIs) and the K-12 Education Tax Credit—to pilot and implement an innovative financing model to help low-income families pay for afterschool and summer activities. But the innovation didn’t stop there. Hear how the organizations pivoted in the midst of a global pandemic to use their model to rapidly respond to the distance learning needs of low-income students as well.
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
Mentor Morning: Financing Scaling from Traction to IPO!
Minnesota Innovates welcomes the Founders of five companies as they share insights and their experiences funding the growth of nationally and internationally successful companies.
Developing Culturally Relevant Content to Improve Student Engagement
Success Stories: How Interest in Workforce Equity & Record Unemployment Can Narrow the Tech Skills Gap
As the economy works to recover from pandemic conditions and our country reckons with systemic inequality, addressing the tech skills gap especially among unemployed and underemployed Americans is more important than ever. Hear success stories from graduates of technical job training programs created to address these issues head on.
Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness for Personal and Professional Relationships
Join us to learn about Emotional Intelligence, Mindfulness, and Relationship-building with interactive discussions and practical tips for how you can leverage these fields to improve your results in your professional and personal life.
The Empathy Challenge: Practice Identifying your Blindspot
Your goal is to provide value for the people who use your product or service. But it can be hard to recognize our own biases about who users are and what they want — not to mention people indirectly affected by your business. Learn how empathy-driven research and design can help you see past biased thinking, understand diverse viewpoints, and create successful products with a positive impact.
Immersive Technology 101
Here at REM5, we are big believers in immersive technology as the next computing platform - like its predecessors PC and mobile - it will change the way we work, play, learn and socialize. And COVID-19 has only accelerated the need and adoption of immersive tech across industries. In this session, we will cover the basic technologies including virtual reality, augmented reality and WebXR, and hopefully make sense of all those confusing XR acronyms. From there we will take a deeper dive into real world case studies for these platforms ranging from k-12 education, social engagement and cultural competence training. Post session, we will offer a social hour in a REM5 virtual space that can be accessed through PC - No VR or experience required.
Stories from EdTech Founders
Each founder will have a few minutes to showcase their education startup and tell us about their personal background and entrepreneurial journey. Then, we'll talk about adjustments and pivots we've been making in light of COVID-19.
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
UnPub – Re-imagining Education and Collaboration with a Purpose
Hear two recent college grads share their experience starting a for-profit, collaborative based, eLearning company. And how their passions for social justice inspired a new form of business accountability and structure.
Social Justice in a Digital World
COVID-19 has accelerated the evolution of human interaction and information consumption towards digital platforms. From social media, to video chats, to virtual reality, these digital platforms are now clearly front and center. Now add a global social justice movement. Are digital platforms good for social justice? Are they bad? What challenges do they create? And what opportunities?
Both RFTP and REM5 are rooted in leveraging technology and data to reimagine cultural competence education in the fight for social justice. In this session, we will cover how RFTP is innovating their powerful model to go virtual, how REM5 is using high-end virtual reality to democratize learning experiences, and how the two organizations are collaborating to create cutting-edge, digital learning experiences. Post session, we will offer a social hour in a virtual exhibition space that can be accessed through PC - No VR or experience required.
Managing Global Tech Teams During a Pandemic
Today’s technology teams thrive on collaboration and agile processes to deliver innovative solutions. Managing a mix of on-site and remote professionals was easy, but what happened when everyone suddenly was remote. How did management change? What was easier? And harder? Hear from local technology executives about their highs, lows and learnings during this time and what changes they predict are here to stay. They’ll address how they hired, onboarded, trained, and promoted individuals, as well as how their solutions stayed on course and how they spurred innovation.
OnRamp Education & Workforce Innovation Accelerator: Big Plans and Big Expectations
Learn about the new OnRamp Education & Workforce Innovation presented by ECMC Group and gener8tor
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
Scaling Customer Success Through Growth
When companies are small, customers often receive personal attention support. But what happens as a company grows? How can a business continue to serve and support their customers in a personal, but scalable, manner? Hear from some of today’s leading customer success executives on how their businesses are serving thousands of customers using data analytics, segmentation and specialists to deliver customer value.
DRONE RACING & THE UNSTOPPABLE NEW STEM SPORTS
An Immersive STEM program that wildly engages students, adapts to our COVID-19 world, and re-imagines what learning can be today. Featuring a live online demonstration of drone racing and a conversation about the future of competitive STEM.
Marty Wetherall with Anne Dougherty, Dr. Michael Wulf, Dan Atkins, Jen Nowlin, and David Roberts.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Keeping the Fire Alive: Finding Balance and Preventing Burnout
80 hour work weeks. Double-booked meetings. Late night phone calls. More than ever, it seems like the norm is to be working out of a space of busyness and overwhelm. Being under constant stress not only makes us less productive, effective and creative, but it can also lead to burnout. In this workshop, you'll learn about what burnout is and what causes it. More importantly, you'll walk away knowing that you don't need to sacrifice your health and run yourself ragged in order to achieve professional success. It's not only possible to integrate your work with self-care, but it's essential in order to be at your best every day.
Food Fights: entrepreneurs fighting COVID with science & nutrition.
While COVID is a biggest issue of today, its death toll pales by comparison to Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer and countless diseases caused by food. The entrepreneurs in this session tell the tale of two battles: just being entrepreneurs and fighting the unpopular fight of nutrition in a world with adverse interests to health. Over $3 trillion is spend in “sick care”, caused by unhealthy food. Imagine what we could do with that money and how the affected people would thrive in absence of those diseases. We’ll explore the issues, uncover the dichotomies, tell of trials, tribulations and triumphs, and pose solutions to the gargantuan problems of wellness and wellcare.
How Healthcare is Using Impact Measurement to Promote Equity
The microscope on the structural and systemic issues that have been laid bare and/or exacerbated by the realities of COVID and racial inequity have never been more important in our communities or in our healthcare system. Join us for a panel discussion to hear about strategies, challenges and innovations from policy, payor, provider, and community perspectives. Opportunities for entrepreneurs exist as vendors and service providers, changemakers, and community supporters. Connecting entrepreneurs to the accelerator and investment community will be critical to driving change, increasing equity and expanding opportunity along the way.
The Art of Holding People Accountable
Accountability is WORK. As leaders and visionaries, it’s our job hold people accountable, including ourselves. Accountability is different than shaming and blaming. Shame is a tool of oppression — It's "you're a bad person” vs. "you're not doing your job.” When leaders shame themselves or their teammates, they kill empathy — the foundation of love and justice. When we are fully immersed in empathy, we are focused and invested on understanding the other person’s experience. In a time of blaming and shaming, Ellen Melon is going to teach leaders the art of holding yourself and others accountable.
How To Create Breakthrough Connections for Breakthrough Team Performance
Can your startup make it with 20% worker disengagement? The global average is 65% according to a 2019 Gallup report. You're way ahead of the curve at only 20%.. What would it take to get to 100%. Can you scale that?
Join us for an exhilarating session of actionable insights and rejuvenating encounters of the human kind. In only 30 minutes, you'll take away a treasure trove of transformative ideas about the central role of human connection in personal wellness, employee engagement, and team performance.
The research is in: Books like Social Physics, and The Trust Factor, and The Happiness Advantage, and Team of teams are chock full of scientific evidence of what makes great teams great. It's not top talent: Top pro sports teams and mediocre ones all have million-dollar talent. It's not rocket science either: Almost any 5th grader can see the difference between top teams and the ones that envy them. A common vision or sense of purpose and human connection.
We're excited to help startup leaders level up their understanding of how greater human connection is the key to greater employee engagement and wellness, superior business results, and a better world, not just for your team, but for everyone your team knows, and for everyone who knows someone who knows your team. That may sound crazy, but we all know how hard it can be your best, when you've had a bad day at work..
Celebrating Minority Owned Businesses in MN
Monday, September 21, 2020
Want to angel invest? Here’s how to write your first check
Minnesota has a burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem complete with a healthy pipeline of emerging startups from a variety of industries, mentor networks, accelerators, competitions, and more. The State of Minnesota is also home to tens of thousands of professionals who meet the Fed's description of an accredited investor.
In this session leaders from Gopher Angels & Groove Capital will be focusing on how to connect angel investors with investment opportunities in the area's top early stage startups.
If you've ever thought about angel investing, but have not yet taken the leap, this session is for you. The session will cover high level topics like qualifications for investing, reasons to include venture in your investment portfolio, how to assess an early stage investment opportunity, best practices for writing your first check, and options for investing alongside other angels.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Program-Related Investments: A Capital Tool for Social Enterprises
Learn about Program-Related Investments (PRIs), what they are, how they fit with your fundraising plans, and what to expect when pursuing PRI capital. Hear first-hand from a social enterprise about its experiences with PRIs and how it effectively uses them.
Unlocking New Revenue for Social Innovation
Whether targeting impact investments or growing new revenue streams, organizations need to think differently about partnerships, finances, and change. It can be difficult for mission-driven leaders to know where to start.
Join this workshop as experts from 20 Degrees, provide a systematized approach to growing revenue and acquiring new impact capital. The team from 20 Degrees helps nonprofits and social enterprises add complementary revenue streams to their existing income, enabling organizations to test holistic revenue models and bring more predictability to income.
Together we will walk through the key steps to unlocking how an organization can blend charitable and non-charitable dollars into one cohesive approach. Walk away with tangible ideas that can ensure that your mission is driving the budget, not the other way around.
BETA's & Matchstick's Commitment to Diversity
BETA and Matchstick Ventures both recently made public, measurable pledges to support Black founders. During this sessions we'll discuss how we decided on these actions, how we're doing so far and how you and your organization can follow suit.
Unconscious Bias: Nip It in the Bud
As a startup business owner, you don't want to leave anything on the table. Did you know that 99.999996% of what our brains process every moment is unconscious? Learn how to raise awareness of your biases and replace them to act in alignment with your mission and values while you build your business.
This session provides a definition of unconscious bias, a quick dive into how to understand it, a framework for how to address it, and tools to help you move forward with actions and activities to be more successful.
This session will help open your eyes and open your mind.
Building a Social Impact Business: Lessons Learned from 4 Early-stage Founders
Join us for a moderated panel of four early-stage social entrepreneurs (all alumni FINNOVATION Fellows) as they share their lessons learned from building a social impact business in Minnesota.
FROM FOUNDER TO FOUNDER: SEED SPOT SPOTLIGHT SERIES
Meet Minnesota based Sheletta Brundidge, the founder of the SHElettaMakesMeLaugh.com online podcasting platform. Sheletta is an Emmy award-winning comedian, radio host, television anchor and newspaper columnist. She is the co-host and executive producer of the Two Haute Mamas podcast on Radio.com. She also hosts Laughing With Letta which you can find right here on SHElettaMakesMeLaugh.com. With her new show, Taking Authority Over Autism, Sheletta hopes to educate and inspire parents who have special needs children. Three of Sheletta’s four children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.
Values-based Entrepreneurship
Values aren't an add-on. Rather, they're core to everything your business does. Make sure your company represents what you want it to. Start with a strategic approach, understanding to elevate values in every part of a company. We'll look at how this framework applies for early stage ventures, and dig into visuals and worksheets to help you apply the takeaways for companies of any size.
Addressing Microaggression in the Workplace
Want a work place more inclusive and open to all communities of color, gender, ability, and sexual orientation? Come learn what is microaggression, how to identify it, why microaggression hurts your bottom line and how to address it.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://spmcf.zoom.us/j/98432844829?pwd=VHRRZHRzRWZUT215S3pyS1J5d05KUT09
Meeting ID: 984 3284 4829
Passcode: 616086
How Your Startup Can Be Anti-Racist: A Leader's Framework for Racial Justice
Join Donte Curtis of Catch Your Dream Consulting for a short overview session that invites business and startup leaders to explore the ways that racism is playing out in business culture. This session will give participants the opportunity to reflect on how the dominant culture shows up in our work and will explore some tools and strategies to start your anti-racist journey as a founder or leader.
After Donte's session, you'll have the opportunity to join a circle group discussion on how his presentation applies specifically to startups, businesses, and social enterprises; giving space for individuals to openly discuss and connect on ideas, reflections, and next steps.
#CovidComeback - Business Accelerator for Digital Success
Power-up company growth with key insights for digital transformation. Engage the value of brand storytelling, content strategy and marketing, with tactics to expand digital presence. Live assessment during the session!
AI & The Black Experience
Rapidly advancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithmic decision-making have proven to be a force for good. These technologies can also amplify forms of inequality, discrimination, and bias.
This conversation will focus on opportunities for more digital inclusion through Data Policy and opportunities via immersive Virtual Reality experiences.
We will discuss creating a more inclusive narrative that addresses racial and social inequalities which bends into the metaverse thus improving AI & The Black Experience.
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
Turning Passion into Purpose: Becoming Social Entrepreneurs
In this interactive seminar, we will dive into a few myths around what a social enterprise is and empower anyone who’s been considering launching a social enterprise to get started! We’ll talk about measuring social impact and why return on community is important. We’ll also identify some of the hurdles to starting a social enterprise and offer guidance on how to strategically navigate them. Participants will leave with a roadmap to success.
Founders Panel: Lessons Learned in Growing Your Social Enterprise
Join us for a panel discussion to listen and learn from three social enterprise founders their lessons on bruising shins, empathy and humility, and harnessing the power of outcomes and impact and the value it provides in ops, strategy, and marketing & communications.
A Gay Jew, A Black Man & A White Mom Walk into a Boardroom
Openness. Support. Collaboration. Diversity. We're going to have a frank conversation about the acceptance of others and a sense of duty to support the startup community here in the Twin Cities & beyond.
Sustainable Development: Is There Such A Thing?
Julia Eagles
Institute for Market Transformation, Associate Director of Utility and Regulatory Strategy
This conversation focuses on environmental sustainability. We touch on policies, funding, building codes and why action is needed now.
Following this session join a 15min discussion in the Community Lounge.
How to Incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals into Your Startup: Hosted by Impact Hub MSP
The world needs more purpose-driven leaders. But how do we know we are making an impact? The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs or Global Goals) offer a framework against which your startup can align, measure and explain its actions to operate more responsibly and deliver positive social, environmental and economic impacts.
Hear from a panel of local social entrepreneurs and changemakers who are putting impact at the center of their business and learn how the SDGs can help you:
- Define your aspirational purpose in a way that is relevant and inspiring to stakeholders
- Allow purpose to become the foundation for your business strategy
- Ignite long-lasting positive change
Climate Tech Meet & Greet & Show & Tell
An opportunity for anybody interested in climate technology solutions to meet each other, chat about what we're working on, and get help moving forward with their startup.
We’ll start with a round of introductions, potentially in breakout rooms depending on attendance. Next, we will have a (yet-to-be-named) investor discuss what they are looking for specifically when it comes to funding startups focused on climate tech. We’ll wrap it up with an opportunity for anybody that wants to hold the floor for 3 minutes - to get feedback on their elevator pitch, bring up a specific discussion topic for the group, or anything else constructive.
Let’s start building the Minnesota climate tech community!
Disrupting the Status Quo in Your Organization and Community
Are you trying to move your organization, or even your community, out of the status quo? Are you looking for effective ways to disrupt while keeping your credibility and social capital? If yes, join us for practical strategies on how to successfully move toward more innovation and more modernization. That is, how to disrupt without being disruptive.
ImpactSKU Preview Showcase
Hear from 9 purpose-driven consumer brands that participated in the first every ImpactSKU accelerator! ImpactSKU is a collaboration between Minnesota's FINNOVATION Lab and SKU from Austin, TX, and is supported by CPG greats, 301 INC and The Stable. This year's Preview cohort went through six weeks of CPG-specific curriculum, tapped into a great mentor network, and wants to share their visions for high-growth, impactful brands in food, personal care, and apparel.
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
Innovation to Execution: Turning your ideas into a plan that gets done!
Come with a goal in mind! We'll spend a couple minutes at the start talking about how to structure your goal for success then dive into the planning process. At the end of the session, attendees will understand how to draft a basic execution plan and have the tools to bring the process back to their teams. No project management experience or software is required!
Kickstart your service-based business that makes a difference
This interactive event is geared for participants who have a skill set that they want to monetize while building a business that has a social impact. A workbook will be available for participants attending this workshop. This session will help you:
*Clarify what skill set to offer and monetize
*Identify and build a social impact component into your business concept
Create a preliminary action plan that helps you quickly start earning revenue and making a difference
Building a B Corp: A Panel Discussion
Are you building a business as a force for good? One that balances purpose and profit? B Corps are driving a global movement of business as a force for good. Join us for a panel discussion with three Minnesota B Corp founders and hear about their journeys becoming B Corps, benefits and challenges, and their recommendations for businesses considering B Corp certification.
Fuckup Nights Twin Cities (FUN)
FuckUp Nights Twin Cities - Twin Cities Startup Week Edition is presented by tech.mn. Glad we got your attention, but we want you to know that we're not just about bad words - we're all about sharing lessons from professional and personal failure.
FuckUp Nights is a global movement born in Mexico in 2012 to share public business failure stories with hundreds of people attending each event around the world. Every few months speakers will be invited to talk about their FuckUp stories; we’ll learn about their biggest mistakes, what they learned, how they moved on- all whilst sharing invaluable advice along the way.
We’re here to break down stigmas, and amplify the message that failure is healthy and essential to learning and growing. Fuckup Nights Twin Cities events feature a safe space, captivating speakers, and a community of people open to embracing failure and the balance it brings to Minnesota. We will have four speakers joining us virtually to share their fuckup stories. *Note: This is not a kid friendly event, headphones are encouraged!
MN Cup Final Award Ceremony
Join the Minnesota startup community as we present live pitches from 18 of the top businesses that emerged from the 2020 MN Cup competition season. They're vying for a share of $500,000 in prize money that will be awarded live during the event. You won't want to miss this!
MN Cup is a startup competition for early-stage companies hailing from anywhere in Minnesota. Thanks to an incredible group of sponsors and the time and talents of our volunteer mentors and judges, we are able to offer all programming and prize money completely free for participants. We take no equity in exchange for the seed capital we award, and are here to connect Minnesota founders to the education, resources and capital they need to build and scale successful companies.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-16th-mn-cup-final-award-ceremony-tickets-117138096199?aff=TCSW
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Smart City - Smart North. Session 1: Getting Back To Better
During this pandemic, we hear the refrain over and over “I can’t wait to get back to normal.” There is an honest and earnest feeling behind that sentiment, however, we have been asking ourselves - is “normal” what we want to get back to? In many ways our past “normal” was not nearly good enough and even exasperated many of the problems we are facing during this pandemic. In this session we’ll outline some of those not-so-good “normals,” how they put us in a worse situation relative to an international crisis and how we have the opportunity to “get back to better” through acknowledging the bad, identify technology and non-technological solutions to address a better tomorrow by making our cities smarter and more responsive to our communities. “Smart North” is a collaboration of people working in and around smart city development thinking deeply around how our cities and communities can better work together and more efficient in building a better normal.
Smart City - Smart North. Session 2: Can 5G Enable Equitable Digital Access for All?
COVID 19 has further exposed the catastrophic
gaps in equity to digital access that in
turn impact access to healthcare, education,
employment among-st many others. In this session
we will explore the role of 5G in making this a reality.
Smart City - Smart North. Session 3: Building Smarter Sustainable Communities and Cities
The Twin Cities have come together to build smart and sustainable collaboration centers to foster entrepreneurial-ism and innovation around energy solutions that deliver resiliency, minimize climate impact and assure healthy sustainable working environments. Join entrepreneurs and sustainability leaders from the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as they share how their city plans, development and implementation have leveraged smart, sustainable technologies for climate and human livelihood.
Smart City - Smart North. Session 4: Building Smarter Resilient Community in the Midway Corridor
The Midway area of St. Paul has a rich history, combined with the diverse surrounding communities, aging infrastructure, and the busiest intersection in the state (at Snelling & University). Many stakeholders have been working to create a more resilient and vibrant community in Midtown, in addition to heightened near-term demand from 2020 COVID-19 and social justice unrest along University Avenue. Minnesota entrepreneurs bring a wealth of offerings to the equation, leveraging connected technology and data to help (re)build a better community.
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Innovative Solutions Across the Impact Venture Sector: A Conversation with the Founders
Social impact ventures can take many forms and tackle a variety of problems – from supply chain resiliency, sustainable farming, homelessness and hunger, and others. Listen in as these founders discuss how they have found innovative ways to solve these problems, the challenges they face scaling their business while also scaling impact, and why consumers and Big Food should take note.
Following this session join the speaker(s) in the Community Lounge for a 15 minute Q&A.
Food Justice: Playing for Plants w/ Youth Farm
Lean about the impactful work Marcus Kar is leading in North Minneapolis and then join a discussion with Jonathan Banks in the Community Lounge.
What is Food Justice? What is a Food Desert? What are the calls to act?
Regenerative Ag and Equity in the Future of Food Production
The why, the how, and the who of regenerative agriculture. How large CPG and Ag companies, community supporters, and farmers are thinking about regen ag. How and why we must mobilize capital to create innovation and demand. How regen ag practices and impact compare to traditional practices. How traditionally under-represented farmers and startups can find opportunity, promote innovation, and discover connections to accelerators, investment, and aligned professionals and networks.
Too Good To Waste
Have your beer and eat it too. Find out about food upcycling and how it helps food & beverage manufacturers can eliminate food waste and feed the world.
Workplace Inclusion - The Time is Now!
80% of people with disabilities are unemployed or under-employed. Listen to Nicole Rabinowitz of Inclusive Networking & Tasya Kelen of Isadore Nut Co discuss steps to bring people with disabilities into your company. The panel aims to shine a light on inclusion from multiple perspectives. Joining them are Isadore Nut Co employee Abby Pearson and Allianz employee Ajani Lewis-McGhee.