entrepreneurship : Featured Stories

In the world of handmade guitar gear, Twin Cities inventors are known by guitarists the world over for bringing a range of experience and creativity to products that for decades were mass-produced.

Scott Ervin has opened the first micro-distillery in Minneapolis, Norseman Distillery.

Heather and John McDougall, who are siblings, have designed the bamboo Bogobrush, a "buy one, give one" product that provides toothbrushes to people in need.

A look at four heritage restaurants in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, their origin stories, their participation in their neighborhoods, and why their loyal patrons—and new generations of diners—keep coming back.

A husband-wife team (he's a techie, she's a psychiatrist) are developing fun-to-play (but scientifically sound) game-style apps that can help diagnose ADHD and other psychiatric problems in kids.

What do Black Hawk Down star Josh Hartnett, Tony award nominee Laura Osnes, and Comedy Central writers Charlie Sanders and Colton Dunn have in common? They all once belonged to this stellar Minneapolis youth theater company.

Across America, creative reuse organizations are popping up to "upcycle" and sell stuff that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Artisans and artists are, in turn, turning this would-be detritus into artworks and products.

Three about-to-open brewpubs and a new facility for a well established fourth are turning the Central Corridor area in Saint Paul and Minneapolis into the newest brewpub hot zone. And the architecture is as ambitous as the beer.

The rooftops of some prestigious locations are buzzing as local institutions hop aboard the global urban beekeeping bandwagon. The idea is to play a role in restoring declining bee populations, with the help of the U of M and some intrepid honey-oriented entrepreneurs.

It's been an article of faith since Central Corridor light rail (Green Line) construction began that, despite all the disruption and traffic chaos of the building stage, the line would eventually become a magnet for local entrepreneurs. That scenario appears to be playing out; here are three entrepreneurial ventures that were lured to the line by light rail's promise.