Featured Stories

Four-way entrepreneur Don Smithmier: they told him to "focus," and luckily, he didn't listen

Michelle Bruch Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Don Smithmier starts companies without worrying about crafting a single image for himself. In fact, he calls the Minneapolis office of Matter Worldwide, his umbrella company, "the physical manifestation of my weird brain." It contains four companies he founded or in which he's a partner: a music studio, a web design firm, a web news aggregator, and a bold new venture in online learning. And then there's his country-and-western band...

Arts and Culture, Cooperation/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship

The MOJO Minnesota "agitators" want investors to get risky--and innovators to get what they need

Dan Haugen Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The eleven people who formed the "innovation advocacy force" called MOJO Minnesota have been working hard to make it easier for smart money to reach bold entrepreneurs. They pushed hard for the recently passed Angel Investor Tax Credit, and, as Innovation and Jobs editor Dan Haugen found out when he talked to two of them, they're still on the front lines of the effort to fire up our state's startups.

Creative Leadership, Emerging Technology, Strong Local Economy

For designer/marketer Garrio Harrison, social media aren't a tool--they're a revolution

Elizabeth Millard Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Garrio Harrison believes that social media like Facebook and Twitter aren't just the latest slick marketing strategy--they've fundamentally changed the way we do business by making everything, including buying and selling, more personal, more connected, and more human. And he's founded the all-social-media-all-the-time marketing firm Doublethink to prove his point.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship

Downtown/Lowertown

Will tweet for food: gardeners and farmers share social-media savvy in St Paul

Meleah Maynard Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Our techno-skeptical writer (and master gardener) Meleah Maynard showed up at a gathering of Twitter- and Facebook-friendly farmers and garden folk--last month's Social Media Breakfast at the State Fairgrounds. The scene was a little strange (half the audience was tweeting or texting during the presentations) but Meleah found herself warming up to the new ways Minnesotans are using the social web to get the word out about healthy food.

Emerging Technology, Green Jobs

Midway

Can Minnesota be another Silicon Valley? Techies meet at MinneBar conference to mull it over

Holly Dolezalek Wednesday, June 02, 2010

What can we do to do leverage the abundant high-tech talent in Minnesota into more startups? At the MinneBar 2010 conference, geeks and investors gathered to grapple with that question--among others--and to assess the state of the tech biz in the Gopher State. The verdict: More risk-taking, more mentoring, more connectivity are needed here--but everybody can keep their cabins.

Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Leadership, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, Regionalism, Strong Local Economy

Super subcultures, great neighborhoods: 14 experts on what makes the Twin Cities special

Jon Spayde Wednesday, May 26, 2010

What's the special sauce that makes so many bright people who come here stay here--and a lot people who go away, come back? (And what do we need to make that sauce even richer?) Some local creative types weigh in.

Arts and Culture, Coordination/Collaboration, Creative Economy, Creative Leadership, Design, Emerging Technology, Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Strong Local Economy, Transit Oriented Development

Downtown/Lowertown, North Side, Downtown, Seward, West Side, Northeast

Emerging Technology : Featured Stories