Innovation + Job News

Fundraising in the Digital Economy
April 2
CoCo Minneapolis
400 S. 4th St., 4th Floor
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
free
 
INVESTyR co-founders Patrick Donohue and Phil Pogge deliver an overview of the types of tactics used to harness digital media for fundraising. Geared toward entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and companies of any size, the talk gives attendees tools for raising capital and strengthening relationships with investors and financiers.
 
TechBiz Minnesota 2013
April 5
Earle Brown Heritage Center
6155 Earle Brown Dr., Brooklyn Center
9:30 am - 3:00 pm
$25
 
Organized by Advance IT Minnesota, this conference brings together employers of IT-related talent and local students. During the event, student projects will be showcased, giving students an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and employers a chance to see accomplished learners.
 
Hedgeye Embraces Minnesota: CEO Keith McCullough Talks Social Media
April 10
Macy's Oak Grill
700 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
$20 members, $45 non-members
 
Hosted by the CFA Society of Minnesota, this talk by Hedgeye Risk Management founder Keith McCullough addresses social media in the context of finance and investment. With more than 20,000 followers on Twitter, McCullough can articulate how he uses the medium to engage audiences and spark innovation.
 
Access the Western Hemisphere Conference
April 23 & 24
Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis
7:30 am - 5:00 pm
registration from $249 to $349 depending on type
 
Bringing together 10 senior commercial diplomats and sponsored by the Minnesota District Export Council, this conference will provide insight on how attendees can identify new export opportunities, develop strategic relationships, and increase market share in specific countries.
 

There's a certain kind of power to a really good metaphor, and for a top example, just consider Bicycle Theory.
 
The St. Paul-based brand marketing firm, started in 2001 by entrepreneurs Ben McCoy and Jeremy Burgeson, got its distinctive name in part from McCoy's love for cycling, but also from the company's mission.
 
"It's a great metaphor because when we chose it, we were working with small brands and we could see how bicycles were representative of brand marketing," says McCoy, noting that a strong brand is similar to a well-designed, well-maintained bicycle that can carry its rider farther and faster than a poorly constructed bike. Even the wheels can be metaphorical, he adds--they stand for the two primary media that carry campaigns, print and web.
 
The idea for a brand management company was first sparked when the founders were just out of college and working for a creative agency. McCoy jokes that they were both the kind of kids who knew how to program VCRs in the 1980s, so they gravitated toward technology, and in 2001, the Internet was still like the Wild West.
 
"We started in a basement, and then moved into larger spaces over the years," he says. The firm has five full-time employees, and McCoy notes that they're ready to grow, but want to be methodical about expansion.
 
"There's so much innovation going on, and every day brings a new round of problem solving," he says. "We're excited about the possibilities, but at the same time, our goal isn't to be on the bleeding edge, it's to be on the cutting edge. We always want to make sure our solutions will work."
 
Source: Ben McCoy, Bicycle Theory
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

As the housing market continues to rebound, real estate agents and house hunters will have a powerful tool in the search for fresh properties, thanks to a new app called 400 Doors.
 
Created by real estate agent Bill Pauling, designer Nils Hansen, and programmer Robert Nelson, the app allows buyers to get a glimpse of properties potentially coming onto the market before they're formally listed, providing a crystal ball into new listings. Sellers are able to use the app to gauge what sort of price they can get for a property, as a way to determine if the timing is right for them.
 
"Right now, a lot of buyers are frustrated because there's very little inventory on the market, so when something good does get listed, it's very competitive," says Pauling. "From a seller's standpoint, they want to know if they can get the price they want before they list."
 
The idea came to Pauling when he was sitting in a weekly meeting at his agency and chatting about pre-listings. This is common practice at every real estate firm, he says, but it's done on such an informal basis that the information isn't captured in any useful way for those who can't make the meeting. Some systems have been created at certain agencies, but they're in-house and agency-specific, so they don't benefit the entire real estate community.
 
The app's name is a nod toward all the doors that open as a result of getting a deal done, Pauling says. Funded by sponsors like plumbers and electricians, who pay to get their names to users, 400 Doors is free for agents. Launched in February, the app is taking off already, with agents from over 20 brokerages signing up, and more new members every day.
 
"This model should work anywhere, and the feedback so far has been outstanding," says Pauling. "We try to be modest in our goals, but once we perfect it here, there's no reason we can't go nationwide with the system."
 
Source: Bill Pauling, 400 Doors
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

In Internet years, The Foundation is practically an institution by now.
 
Founded in 1999, the Minneapolis-based company began as a managed IT firm for printers, graphic designers, and architects, and even after 14 years, the focus still remains on creative professionals. In the past decade, the company has blended in other services like project implementation and remote network monitoring, but its laser focus on one industry has made The Foundation a go-to IT resource for creatives.
 
"The difficulty in that particular industry is that they're increasingly reliant on technology, but many of them don't have time to learn about the technical side," says Matt Woestehoff, Director of Business Development and Operations at The Foundation. "We help them get back to work quickly when a problem comes up."
 
The company's 14 employees tend to come from creative fields--Woestehoff jokes that he's a "failed designer"--and are passionate about supporting the creative community. In addition to getting clients back on track, The Foundation has also seen an uptick in implementation requests. For example, a creative agency might want to deploy 1,000 iPads in retail stores and set up a dedicated help desk for the effort. Not only can The Foundation take on that task easily, but it can also set up relevant apps and handle technology updates.
 
Mobile technology efforts like that are driving big growth at the company, which looks forward to adding at least five people to its employee roster over the next year. But even if the firm didn't get a major boost from mobile, there would still be contentment with its founding mission, Woestehoff believes: "We have a purpose, and we can see how our work affects the bigger creative community."
 
Source: Matt Woestehoff, The Foundation
Writer: Elizabeth Millard 

Back in the old days of Internet business startups (think mid-1990s), usability tended to be a big deal, sparking hundreds of articles about best practices and online navigation strategies. Although the term isn't used as often these days, it's still a vitally important component for companies that want to build effective user experiences.
 
Founded in 2002, Minneapolis-based Straight Line Theory has focused on information architecture and usability for over a decade, resisting the urge to broaden its offerings into other areas like web design or online branding. The company has no web designers or developers, just usability experts who know how people interact with each other and with companies online.
 
The business name, says co-founder John Dusek, refers to the route someone would take to get from point A to point B: a straight line. "It's a good metaphor for what we do," he says. "We see what clients are trying to accomplish, and we help them satisfy those goals as efficiently as possible."
 
With the rise of mobile technologies, usability has become even more important in some ways, giving Straight Line Theory a steady stream of clients. They now do a large chunk of work on mobile devices, tablets, and even mall kiosks and ATM machines.
 
With seven employees, Straight Line Theory has been conservative in terms of growth, Dusek says. Usually, the firm adds one employee per year, and that rate of expansion keeps the company nimble, notes Dusek: "We don't have layers of project managers and account people, just clients and interface design professionals working directly with one another."
 
Source: John Dusek, Straight Line Theory
Writer: Elizabeth Millard 

Mobile apps can provide everything from online banking capability to restaurant reviews, so why wouldn't they be able to untangle your love life, too?
 
A unique new app, Dear Appvice, is willing to give it a shot. Developed by Todd Gross at media company New World Productions, the app's name is a nod toward popular advice column Dear Abby, and it's designed to make any user into a budding expert on relationships.
 
Featuring a simple interface, the app lets users pose a question and get up to five responses. Other users can give advice or see what's already been written. The categories are love, sex, dating, and relationships.
 
Gross thought of the idea after working on corporate projects at New World. Looking for a venture he could do independently, he was struck by a morning talk radio show that featured callers who gave each other advice on love.
 
"It occurred to me that I could put that in an application, and let people talk to each other, with the same level of anonymity you'd get from a call-in show," he says. "Sometimes online, it feels like everyone is running their own promotional campaign for themselves, but this is something where they could interact instead."
 
Of course, the app launched on Valentine's Day. Since then, the reaction has been strong, and users are embracing the concept. A couple of very heartfelt interchanges let Gross know that he was on track with his goal of creating something useful and important to users.
 
"You always think, what can I do to make the world a better place, to increase communication?" he says. "Matters of the heart affect all of us, and that's why I think this app is so well received. I'm excited to see where we can take it."
 
Source: Todd Gross, Dear Appvice
Writer: Elizabeth Millard 

Fundraising for nonprofits and political campaigns seems to be as much of an art as a skill. Harnessing innovation can help, and that's where PoliMobile comes in.
 
Founded by entrepreneur Curt Prins in 2011, the startup initially began as a software-as-a-service platform, until both President Obama and Mitt Romney announced they were adopting Square to help them fundraise. Prins and his team saw that moment as a hook for PoliMobile's platform, showing that new technologies could be used to raised money.
 
The company switched its focus to mobile, working with a mobile app development agency to create a tool that could be used across a variety of campaigns. Last year, PoliMobile set up mobile capability for Minnesotans United, the major effort to defeat the proposed Marriage Amendment, as well as a mobile project for the organization against the proposed Photo ID Amendment. Prins notes that PoliMobile's market tends to lean toward progressive organizations right now, but could work across the political spectrum.
 
"Coming out of the 2012 election cycle, campaigns we worked on had an 80 percent win rate, which is pretty decent," Prins says, adding that the PoliMobile platform was able to identify specific communities using census data and send tailored messages that were helpful for building awareness and developing fundraising opportunities. For example, a campaign that wanted to send a customized message to Somali residents could find the top three zip codes for those voters and push out a note to their mobile devices. For populations such as Somali, Hmong, and African Americans, mobile technology is often the only way to reach individuals.
 
Because of its unique niche, PoliMobile's future looks bright, especially since there will always be political campaigns, from local elections to presidential races, with every level in-between.
 
"We believe that next year will be big, and if we continue to play it right, 2016 will be even larger," Prins says.
 
Source: Curt Prins, PoliMobile
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Rochester is ready to see a fresh burst of startup activity, thanks to a new business accelerator put together by the Mayo Clinic and the Rochester Area Economic Development Initiative.
 
The Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator at the Minnesota BioBusiness Center features space that can be leased by entrepreneurs, startup companies, venture capitalists and professional service provider. According to Dr. John Noseworthy, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, the accelerator was put together to spark the growth of healthcare-related businesses in the area.
 
"The accelerator is an example of the strength of a strong partnership between Mayo Clinic and the community, to make it easier and more affordable for companies to start and locate in Rochester," Dr. Noseworthy says.
 
There are seven founding tenants, including Versant Ventures, a venture capital firm that specializes in investments in medical devices and biopharmaceuticals, and Evidentia Health, an IT company focusing on healthcare clients. Other tenants include Resoundant, Zumbro Discovery, and VitalHealth Software.
 
Mayo Clinic aims to provide a nurturing space so that companies can avoid the type of startup roadblocks that might hinder growth.
 
Dr. Noseworthy added that the accelerator fits in well with Destination Medical Center, a $5 billion economic development initiative that is projected to create up to 45,000 new jobs in Rochester and other parts of the state.
 
Startup companies are willing to locate in Rochester, Dr. Noseworthy notes, but they need to infrastructure to stay in the city. "Without that, they are vulnerable to leaving not only Rochester, but the state of Minnesota."
 
Source: John Noseworthy, Mayo Clinic
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Getting young professionals involved in philanthropy is crucial to the health of nonprofits, but often, there's little or no training for how to function on a board of directors, or contribute to a larger mission.
 
Engine for Social Innovation intends to change that situation.
 
The startup, founded by local entrepreneur Jim Delaney, draws on his experience working in the for-profit corporate world and participating in nonprofit organizations as a board member for groups like the YMCA. While serving, he began to see a gap between savvy professionals and organizations that could use their skills.
 
"I had smart friends who wanted to be helpful and make a difference, and at the same time, I saw nonprofits that needed that kind of talent," he says. "But for some reason, there wasn't a solid mechanism for bringing those two groups together." After a pilot project at the YMCA, followed by an Executive Director stint at Free Arts Minnesota, Delaney decided to create Engine in 2010 to fill the gap.
 
The program features an extensive training curriculum using a cohort model. Corporations send their top candidates to Engine, where they are put in a team of four to five people, with three teams running at a time. The teams work on the type of skills needed to thrive in environments of ambiguity, Delaney notes. At the same time, nonprofits participating in the program determine their strategic needs and benefit from the team-based approach to addressing them.
 
Companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Thrivent have sent participants through the program, and nonprofit clients have included GiveMN.org, Finnegan's Foundation, and Minnesota Jaycees. Currently, Delaney is developing a program for Engine alums to do a global exchange where they can work overseas for two weeks with a social enterprise.
 
With the expertise available at Engine for Social Innovation, it's likely that the gap between talented young professionals and nonprofits will close up quickly.
 
Source: Jim Delaney, Engine for Social Innovation
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

A new program at the University of Minnesota could boost the number of startup companies and innovative products in the state, with faculty putting a whole new spin on "office hours."
 
The Entrepreneurial Leave Program will facilitate temporary leave for faculty inventors who want to assist an external organization in commercializing a product or service that might use university-derived intellectual property.  
 
The university decided on the step because as a land-grant institution, the school wants to stay connected to the local business community, notes Russ Straate, in the Office for Technology Commercialization at the University of Minnesota. That connection is strengthened when technology makes it out of the university and into the marketplace, a transition in which faculty usually plays a key role.
 
"We put this together to help faculty translate their work into the commercial sector," says Straate. "It gives them permission and time to explore."
 
Most importantly, the program also gives them benefits. In the past, faculty were granted leaves of absence to pursue projects, but had to give up their health insurance and other plum university benefits. That left many putting their projects on a back burner instead of pursuing commercialization.
 
"It's important for faculty to continue to grow and learn, that's what sabbaticals are about," Straate says. "When doing a leave of absence, though, you shouldn't be negatively impacting your family and yourself."
 
The program will be officially in place in July, but Straate notes that there's already buzz among faculty members who've wanted to take their research and development to the next level.
 
Source: Russ Straate, University of Minnesota
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Wildly popular with consumers, sites like LivingSocial and Groupon aren't always relevant for young adults, believes entrepreneur Chad Olsen.
 
"There are so many crazy good deals, but it felt like there wasn't much for college students," he says. To change the situation, he created ByME, an app that focuses on that demographic, and also puts a different spin on the online coupon model.
 
Unlike Groupon, those using ByME don't need to buy ahead for their deals. They can just bring a smartphone into a participating retailer or service provider and present the e-coupon on the spot. That's an advantage, because it doesn't create a deluge of orders for a small business, and it doesn't lock users into a certain deal before they start shopping.
 
Olsen got the idea for the company while running a web development agency. One of his clients called, in tears, because a Groupon deal had overloaded the company, and eventually drove it into bankruptcy.
 
"When I heard that, I thought there must be a way to start with good deals for students, and drive traffic for these businesses, without overwhelming them," he says.
 
The app does create a bit of a frenzy, however. A recent deal at Noodles & Co. was so popular that the restaurant ran out of food. Olsen jokes that the company's new tagline is "We made Noodles run out of noodles."
 
As the company approaches its one-year mark, Olsen and his business partner Alec Bronston are already working on the next version, incorporating tweaks that will make ByME even more useful. He says, "We're able to learn from our mistakes to become more agile and lean."
 
Source: Chad Olsen, ByME
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Sometimes, great ideas spring from mundane situations--such as watching a delivery person show up multiple times to the same building within a half-hour timeframe.
 
"While I was working in a corporate setting, there was one day where I saw a delivery driver from a restaurant five blocks away come to our office building five times within about 20 minutes," says Ben Cattoor (see photo at left), "I just thought to myself: there has to be a better system than that."
 
The idea sparked Foodsby, a startup launched last May that allows restaurants to streamline their deliveries. The company focused on wooing eateries that were smaller, and didn't have delivery service already in place, since Foodsby tends to work best for that type of restaurant.
 
The app works by allowing restaurants to choose their delivery times and locations. Users can go to the Foodsby site and place orders, relieving the restaurant from taking time to jot down individual orders and deliver them separately.
 
Because of the efficiencies realized by the app, many customers are finding that they don't have to hire delivery drivers, and can depend on existing employees. For example, if a restaurant decides to deliver to just one certain nearby office building on Fridays, an employee can zip over in less than 15 minutes with all the orders.
 
Currently, about 20 restaurants use the system, and Cattoor says Foodsby is using Minneapolis as a test market with the hope of going nationwide at some point. "We really think this model is useful, and it gives restaurants much more control," he says. "We're excited to see where it can go from here."
 
Source: Ben Cattoor, Foodsby
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The Stir
March 14
Minneapolis City Center Marriott
5:00 pm - 8:30 pm
$75
 
Hosted by the Women's Foundation of Minnesota as a fundraising event for the organization, The Stir is a networking event with dinner and drinks. A keynote from Jacquie Bergland, founder and CEO of Finnegans, will kick off the evening.
 
TechFuse
March 21
Minneapolis Convention Center
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
$349
 
Geared toward IT professionals, TechFuse is now in its sixth year, and going strong with a couple sold-out shows in the past few years. The one-day event covers a range of topics, from app-specific sessions on Windows 2012 and PowerShell v3 to broader discussions on change in professional development and IT as a business.
 
Mobile March 2013
March 21
Earle Brown Heritage Center
6155 Earle Brown Dr., Brooklyn Center
8:00 am - 6:00 pm
$115
 
The popular Mobile March conference should prove especially lively this year since the Twin Cities seems awash in mobile app development. Attendees will hear presentations on topics like game development, user experience, and mobile advertising, as well as case studies of local businesses that have found success in the mobile space.
 
Connect India
March 23
Crowne Plaza, Bloomington
5:00 am - 9:30 pm
$40 - $50, depending on membership
 
Over a sumptuous Indian dinner, attendees at this business event can hear speakers from the Indian-American community discuss their role in the wider economic community. Scheduled to speak are Vikas Narula, creator of Keyhubs, Marie Pillai at General Mills, and Sri Zaheer, Dean at the Carlson School of Management. 

As cabin fever continues across the metro, many local food lovers are signing up for community supported agriculture programs and eagerly looking forward to this year's farmers markets.
 
That mentality created ideal timing for a recent Living Social sign-up offer from Twin Cities Local Food, an online marketplace and food delivery system that pairs local consumers and growers. Now entering its second year, the company used the deal-making site to offer a discount on its usual membership price, and was rewarded with a stunning surge in new memberships. Within only four days, the firm sold all of those discounted memberships.
 
"We were amazed, it was a really intense couple of days, and we had no idea it would take off like that," says co-founder Josh Kelly, who started the venture with his wife, Natalie. He left the corporate world to pursue his dream of providing fresh, healthy food to the local community, and after slow-but-steady growth last year, it already looks like they'll need to expand infrastructure to meet demand.
 
With the Twin Cities Local Food model, farmers and producers of other goods like honey and maple syrup benefit because they can directly market, sell, and package their own products, but skip distribution. Customers can order online weekly and then pick up their food at one of the company's drop-off sites in locations like South Minneapolis, St. Paul, Eagan, and Osseo.
 
The model has been tried in other states, but so far, Twin Cities Local Food is the only business of its kind here. From the recent reaction to the Living Social deal, it's obvious that demand is strong. As the farming season gears up, it's likely that more new memberships and referrals will be on the way.
 
Kelly says, "It felt really good to see so much interest and enthusiasm, not just for us, but for local food. Healthy, whole, real food is getting the attention it deserves, and that's bound to drive growth for us."
 
Source: Josh Kelly, Twin Cities Local Food
Writer: Elizabeth Millard
 

Considering the economic storm that creative placement agency True Talent Group survived in its first few years, the sunny skies ahead are more than welcome.
 
Started in 2008 by entrepreneur Stacey Stratton, the company began during a dismal time for startups, she believes, but she took a chance anyway. She established a basement office, did sales recruiting, and took only a year to bring on three employees (see previous coverage in The Line about her start-up track).
 
Over the past year, Stratton has found even stronger footing, and she notes that the agency is on track for double-digit growth again in 2013. In addition to business revenue growth, True Talent Group has added to their team by hiring staff to help with recruiting and client retention, and the company is now a robust enterprise. What it lacks, however, are actual offices.
 
The accounting, marketing, legal, and advisory teams consist of individuals and organizations outside the corporate entity of True Talent Group, and Stratton believes that the model demonstrates the strength of a virtual office strategy.
 
"While we focus exclusively on marketing, interactive, and the creative industry, we think it would be disingenuous for us to build capacity in the categories of legal, accounting, and especially marketing," she says. "We rely on experts with perspective and savvy to deliver for us, just like our clients expect our talented team to deliver for them."
 
She adds that they company's impressive 90-percent referral rate is keeping the company on track, and it's more than likely that True Talent will keep going strong.
 
Source: Stacey Stratton, True Talent Group
Writer: Elizabeth Millard