Innovation + Job News

When Amanda Axvig and her "rockstar team of developers" decided to establish a company for creating social media applications, they ran into just one hitch: many of their potential clients weren't even on Facebook or Twitter yet.
 
So, their company, SocialBundle, was forced to switch tactics. She says, "We decided to take a step back and get people on social media in the first place, and then we could go back to the app development."
 
The firm specializes in helping clients work out an overall social media strategy, including content development, scheduling, and site monitoring. For those who don't have time to craft multiple Tweets, put them up regularly, and watch how people are responding, SocialBundle is a boon.
 
Recently, the company has been seeing an uptick in interest from creative agencies that want to add social media to a broad client strategy.
 
Axvig notes that SocialBundle's growing reputation for social media insight comes from an ability to work with clients, rather than simply post and Tweet for them. She says, "We can handle everything if that's what someone wants, but we also enjoy working with people to help them learn how social media works, and how they can add to various conversations."
 
Now that so many businesses are flocking to social media, it's likely that SocialBundle will get back to its original purpose, and start focusing on app building again. But it'll never abandon its larger intent to make social media simple and effective for every client.
 
Source: Amanda Axvig, SocialBundle
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Can you make the world a better place by building software for companies that do great things? Casey Helbling and his team at Software for Good are willing to give it a shot.
 
Helbling started his own software consulting firm in 2003, and found success over the next handful of years, but as he brought on more clients, he felt like something was missing.
 
"I realized that I wanted to create alignment between my need to do good in the world and my day job," he says. "Then, everything would be perfect."
 
He came up with a model that became Software for Good, a startup firm he runs in addition to his regular consulting work. The new company builds software for progressive companies, nonprofits, and companies that focus on world-changing work.
 
Recent projects have included revamping the website of the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance, creating software for a diabetes prevention program, and doing bug fixes on the registration site for the National Down Syndrome Congress annual conference.
 
"We're still too young as a company to pick and choose our projects, so we do some clients that aren't part of the model," Helbling says. "But we hope to get to that point soon."
 
The company employs five full-time software engineers, but expects to bring on more in the near future. Helbling notes, "I think people are getting the message about what we do, and they like the idea of doing something more with their time than the usual 9 to 5 tasks."
 
As Software for Good increases its pace over the next couple years, Helbling is hopeful that he'll find the alignment he seeks, and do good while doing well.
 
Source: Casey Helbling, Software for Good
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Forget the Olympics: for a truly ferocious competitive environment, take a look at the Minnesota Cup.
 
The annual competition seems to keep gaining prominence and momentum every year, and recently announced the semi-finalists for its eighth go-round.
 
Designed to accelerate the development of the state's most innovative business ideas, the Minnesota Cup gives applicants the opportunity to compete for a share of $200,000--up from $185,000 last year--and to network with individuals and organizations that can help turn a business plan into a reality.
 
Judges chose 49 entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators for the second round of the competition, and Cup co-founder Scott Litman notes that this year is full of exciting and strong business ideas.
 
"We love seeing all the excitement around the program, and it does seem that we see more applications every year," he says. "Everyone is very supportive of the competition."
 
The range of semi-finalists is broad, from a yoga studio that specializes in pre- and post-natal classes to a holistic treatment company to a web application developer for forms processing. Companies include BuyerCurious, Omnicron Health Systems, QuadROI, and EnergyPrint.
 
During this round, the semi-finalists will be paired with entrepreneurial mentors who will help them refine their business plans and presentations. Finalists will be chosen in late August, and winners announced in early September.
 
Source: Scott Litman, Minnesota Cup
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Twin Cities residents looking for information on urban food growing, zoning changes, permits, community kitchens and other food topics now have a one-stop online location, thanks to the City of St. Paul.
 
The Healthy and Local Food site is intended to aid the growing number of community organizations and individuals who are working on local food issues like food security and backyard farming.
 
"One of the things we kept hearing from the community was that they'd like to have a central source of information about local food issues," says Anne Hunt, the city's Environmental Policy Director. "We developed this to help people navigate all the information that's available, especially since there's such a growing interest."
 
Through the site, visitors can find out about permits for having chickens in their yard, for example, or the rules regarding compost on an urban property. The site also offers guidance on finding resources like gardener networks and food share programs.
 
St. Paul supports numerous initiatives designed to increase the production and distribution of sustainable, locally grown food. Recently, the city broke ground on the development of a huge greenhouse on Rice St. where fruits and vegetables will be grown for Twin Cities grocery stores.
 
The Healthy and Local Food site lists a few of these projects, including micro-farm collective Stone's Throw Urban Farm and a master plan for turning Lowertown into a massive urban farm.
 
"We're trying to make things really clear and straightforward for people," Hunt says. "Hopefully, this will accommodate even more access to urban agriculture."
 
Source: Anne Hunt, City of St. Paul
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

For Christine Kropp, inspiration came in the form of a thought-for-the-day calendar.
 
"It sounds so cheesy, but my dad gave me a page from one of those calendars when I was going through a crossroad in my career," she says. "The next day, I founded a company."
 
The page read, "When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did."
 
That was back in 1998, and since then, Kropp has been aiming toward a regret-free life with Bluewater, a firm that combines brand strategy with smart technology in order to grow brands.
 
Recently, the company launched a new branding initiative for itself, to reflect the latest evolution of its capabilities and offerings. A new logo, images, and messaging blended together for a revamp of the company's website, and Kropp and her team have been infused with new energy as a result.
 
"The whole rebranding effort is geared toward showing clients how Bluewater can help them grow their brands by using one-to-one marketing techniques," she says. "We want to show that we're not just marketing automation tools; we're real people who love our jobs."
 
In the past few years, Bluewater has expanded its service offerings to introduce more multi-channel marketing programs. The company debuted a platform, Fusion, that combines mobile, web, email, and direct mail in order to help clients connect more closely with their customers.
 
"It's really fun to help a client grow, and then to watch them build on their strategies," says Kropp. "We're looking forward to what's ahead."
 
The company is on its own growth track, and has added eight employees in the past year. Kropp expects that they'll keep expanding, and continue to ditch any regrets.
 
Source: Christine Kropp, Bluewater
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The world of micro-robot systems just got bigger.
 
Edina-based ReconRobotics, the fast-track robotics company that's been growing quickly, announced that it has established an international headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland.
 
The move is part of the company's multi-year global expansion plans, and the HQ there will oversee all sales, marketing, and customer service for operations outside of North America.
 
ReconRobotics has seen a robust amount of traction within the past couple years, garnering some major contracts from U.S. military and law enforcement agencies. Now, the company intends to broaden its international footprint, according to President and CEO Alan Bignall.
 
The Lugano subsidiary, known as RRI Global SAGL, will expand the company's international reseller network, which currently extends to 33 countries.
 
Formed in 2006, ReconRobotics started as a way to commercialize technology developed at the University of Minnesota Distributed Robotics Laboratory, with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), among others.
 
The company's mini-robots are particularly attractive to the military and law enforcement, since they can be sent into dangerous situations and navigated remotely in order to collect intelligence. For example, a SWAT team can throw one into a house and use the robot's cameras to assess a hostage situation.
 
"These robots are just the beginning of what we're seeing in terms of capability," Bignall says. "There are so many applications for this technology, and we're seeing expansion in both geography and in usage."
 
Source: Alan Bignall, ReconRobotics
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Although mobile devices like the iPad are wildly attractive to children, local app developer Christopher Black found that the tools don't have many apps that are geared toward that audience.
 
"You can find some storybooks from major brands like Disney, but there didn't seem to be many options for kids' books, especially from small local publishers," he says. "We wanted to create something people hadn't seen before."
 
About two years ago, Black founded his own contract work and app development firm, Blacktop Interactive. When his girlfriend had an idea for a children's book, the pair realized it could lend itself well to an online storybook, and "Turtle's Day at the Beach" was born. The interactive storybook, designed for ages 3 and older, is available as an app for Nook, Blackberry, and Apple devices.
 
That app has been followed by "Rainbows are Colorful," an app to help children learn about colors, and coming soon is a painting app that allows kids to digitally color illustrations of animals.
 
"Now that we have the platform, we wanted to continue reusing that and going down that path," says Black. "It just makes sense in terms of our strategy and our interests."
 
Black hopes to have at least eight apps on the market by the end of the year, and to keep going strong after that. So the next time kids reach for a coloring book, they'll want to make sure it's got a full battery charge first.
 
Source: Chris Black, Blacktop Interactive
Writer: Elizabeth Millard 

The Role of Diversity in a World of Opportunity
 
May 31
Walker Art Center, Skyline Room
5:30pm - 8pm
$35 (rsvp required)
 
What does diversity in business really mean? It goes beyond race and culture, and extends into creating meaningful messages that resonate with consumers. In this presentation by Chris Roberts, president of Cargill Kitchen Solutions, attendees will hear about how we can check our own biases in order to do good work. All proceeds go to benefit The BrandLab, a non-profit that brings students from diverse backgrounds together with people in the marketing industry.
 
Eyeo Festival
 
June 5 - 8
Walker Art Center
9am - 2pm
Pre-conference workshops: $125; festival ticket price: $549
 
Artists, designers, and coders come together for a series of workshops and mixers to transform digital culture. The festival attracts a wide range of talented individuals, including those interested in creative code, data visualization, design, experience design, 3D printing, architecture, and gestural computing.
 
d.school Crash Course
 
June 5
CoCo Minneapolis
6pm - 8pm
$50
 
A quick introduction to "design thinking" methods and mindsets. In this session, students will take a common experience and redesign it completely. This crash course is based on the original Stanford Design Program d.school curriculum. See The Line's coverage of CoCo's d.school here.
 
TechMasters
 
June 5
Benchmark Learning training facility
4510 W. 77th St., Suite 210, Edina
7:40am - 9am
free
 
TechMasters is a new Toastmasters chapter in the Twin Cities, dedicated to helping technology professionals improve their skills in public speaking and presentations, impromptu speaking, critical thinking, and communicating with non-technical people. Every week, the group rotates roles to practice speaking in a friendly and supportive environment.
 
Womens Excelerator Workshop
 
June 16
St. Catherine University
CDC401 Board room, 4th floor
8am - 12pm
$89
 
In this workshop, attendees will develop a level of comfort with pitching their business, and will learn to create a value proposition statement. Each entrepreneur will have 10 minutes to present her business to her peers and facilitators, followed by a feedback session to identify which parts of the elevator pitches need work.

School outreach and scholarship program The BrandLab has been growing steadily since its inception in 2007, and this year, the organization is kicking off its summer season with a whole new offering: a work-ready training week.
 
Started by OLSON and expanded to include other agencies, The BrandLab creates opportunities in the marketing industry for students with diverse cultural and economic backgrounds (see The Line's previous coverage here).
 
This year, executive director Ellen Walthour was chatting with a 3M executive about wanting to broaden the initial training that's done when the students arrive. Since the participants range in age from 17 to 20, most haven't had a professional job and sometimes have trouble adjusting to a business environment.
 
3M offered to pay for a week of training, and that kicked off a flurry of networking and workshop development, with a range of topics planned. Students will learn about how to act at a business lunch, what to wear, how to write in a professional manner, what to expect in an informational interview, and how to brand themselves.
 
"It's been amazing to see how this has all come together," says Walthour. "People are so eager to help, and we have workshop leaders from several agencies in town."
 
The main goal, she adds, is to give the students confidence when they're walking into their 7-week internship. From there, they can learn about how to eventually stand out in a competitive job marketplace and compete against a large pool of talented professionals.
 
If all goes well, it's likely that The BrandLab will implement the week-long workshop again next year, and keep the business insights buzzing for its fortunate interns.
 
Source: Ellen Walthour, The BrandLab
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

When it comes to predicting a product's shelf life, or detecting leaks or aromas in packaging that could affect flavor, people around the world turn to Minneapolis-based MOCON.
 
For over 40 years, the company has been a leader in the development of testing services and instruments, and its capabilities are impressive. Numerous clients depend on the firm for insights on packaging, cost reduction, sustainability, and food safety.
 
Because it's often considered the industry standard when it comes to such tests (many scientific papers note that researchers did a "MOCON test" to demonstrate a specific result), it's not surprising that the company is growing at a nice clip. Now at 150 employees, some have been brought on as the result of acquisition, while the rest were hired to meet demand.
 
"The packaging industry is a hidden but huge industry," says the company's marketing manager, Guy Wray. "Think about everything around you that has packaging, and you'll get an idea of the scope of this work."
 
MOCON's expertise lies in detecting moisture and oxygen levels within packaging, as well as other factors. Those two issues in particular can destroy food flavor, affect product safety, and significantly shorten shelf life. After all, nobody wants soggy potato chips.
 
About 90 percent of the company's product development is done locally, but it also relies on scientists and engineers in Germany, China, Texas, and Colorado.
 
"We feel very lucky to have gotten to the point we're at," says Wray. "We've become the Hoover or the Kleenex of the industry."
 
Source: Guy Wray, MOCON
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Imagine being out with your real estate agent and expressing interest in a certain neighborhood. The agent holds up a smartphone, taps a few buttons, and voila! You have for-sale property listings for a multi-block radius, complete with the ability to arrange a viewing.
 
That future is now, with a mobile app called HomeSpotter, created by MobileRealtyApps.com and recently integrated into the technology mix at NorthstarMLS. The organization serves more than 13,500 realtors in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
 
"Using this app really increases the 'wow factor' for local agents," says Tom Flaherty, director of marketing and communications for NorthstarMLS.
 
HomeSpotter uses a technology called augmented reality, which can overlay property info on a device's live camera feed. Using an iPhone or iPad (with Android soon to come), an agent can get data on surrounding properties for sale, including photos of the interior, property specifics, and other relevant details.
 
"These days, everyone expects a realtor to have information at their fingertips, and with this app, we can meet that expectation," notes Flaherty. "We're finding it to be very beneficial."
 
The developer is working on a consumer version, but it would only be available if the user is working with a licensed real estate agent.
 
Since its introduction at NorthstarMLS earlier this year, Flaherty is seeing robust interest and numerous downloads. He says, "Agents tell us that it makes them look good to clients, because it shows that they have the latest technology tools available."
 
Maybe in the not-too-distant future, people will be be able actually buy a house with a few clicks of a smartphone...
 
Source: Tom Flaherty, NorthstarMLS
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

What happens when a former executive "fails" at retirement, longing for the type of daily success that only work can bring? Or when a senior director wants to make a switch to another company, but hasn't updated her resume in decades?
 
In situations like these, Navigate Forward is ready to assist.
 
Started in 2008 by management consultants Teresa Daly and Mary Kloehn, the firm works with executives in transition. Daly says, "We really saw an opportunity in the marketplace to help this group of people. In the big firms, transition services have changed, they've become more standardized. We felt people needed more personalized services to meet them where they're at."
 
She adds that many of those in the Baby Boom generation are at a particular crossroads right now in their careers. They've been used to trailblazing, and are now seeing work change as they get older. In the later stages of their careers, they may prefer to switch industries, work longer into their supposed retirement, or even shift into starting their own companies.
 
"Careers aren't always a straight line," says Daly. "Because of that, making career transitions isn't just about updating a resume or tapping into a network."
 
Navigate Forward specializes in helping executives to "build their brand," which means packaging themselves based on where they're going, not on where they've been. Daly notes that a resume is helpful for detailing experience, but it's a "look  backward" that doesn't usually capture the essence of a person.
 
The firm prefers to create a "brand profile" instead that captures someone's interests, passions, and personality. Clients often tell Navigate Forward that they come out of the process with more clarity than they've ever had.
 
"They're able to tell a story about who they are, and what unique contributions they can bring to an organization," Daly says.
 
The firm currently employs nine people and expects to grow organically as it develops an even stronger foothold in the local executive transition space. Daly notes, "There's such a big trend of seeing the value of a whole generation of executives, and understanding what they bring to the business world."
 
Source: Teresa Daly, Navigate Forward
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Founded in 1991 by entrepreneur Tom Salonek, Intertech has grown from a one-person operation to the largest combined software-developer training company in the state.
 
The firm's consulting services and software development give the company an even greater edge and now with more facility space, Intertech is making a splash nationally as well as locally.
 
Recently, the company moved to a new building, and although it stayed in its hometown of Eagan, it nearly doubled the amount of square footage of its offices and training rooms.
 
In addition to expanding geographically, the company took the opportunity to boost its virtual technology as well, giving its training spaces a high-tech flair that's increased its client base as a result.
 
"People have greater ability to attend classes virtually, and that's significantly increased enrollment for us," says Salonek. "Also, it's driven our consulting to a higher level as well." For example, the company just signed a consulting contract with a firm in South Korea, and will conduct business via the virtual technology at the new facility.
 
Salonek believes that the growth will remain robust, and he predicts that the company should bring in about $12.5 million this year. Several new employees have been added just in the past month, and hiring should continue at a steady pace, Salonek notes, especially in the sales and technology departments.
 
"We're looking forward to building out additional offerings and bringing on more clients, in addition to serving existing clients," he says. "It's an exciting time for us."
 
Source: Tom Salonek, Intertech
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

For most business owners, having a website is essential, but they can be tricky to manage for those who aren't IT-savvy.
 
Local web technology firm Origin Eight believes that it doesn't have to be that way. The company, which brands itself as a consulting group rather than an agency, specializes in a core set of technologies based on Drupal, an open source framework.
 
(Quick primer for non-techies: "open source software" involves freely available source code that anyone can use for building applications, and Drupal is an open-source content management system that's used specifically for developing websites.)
 
Because of the use of Drupal, Origin Eight's clients have more power to tweak their own sites, notes company founder Seth Viebrock.
 
"A lot of existing sites are built on solutions that make it difficult for users to edit their own content," he says. "Redoing these sites in Drupal is worth the effort, because it allows the end user to embrace this new way of doing things. Basically, our growth comes from people looking to make their lives easier."
 
Founded in early 2010, the firm has built some high-profile sites, including ones for Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, and Rihanna, as well as Boston entrepreneur hub Greenhorn Connect and social networking site swapbeats.com.
 
For the future, Viebrock notes that the company wants to grow in a sustainable and consistent way, and expand into other sectors like education. "We're always looking at other ways to differentiate ourselves, in addition to building awesome websites," he says. "But of course, we'll keep doing that, too."
 
Source: Seth Viebrock, Origin Eight
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

A "quad" is a measurement of energy, and the massive unit is used by the U.S. Department of Energy when discussing national and global energy budgets.
 
The United States uses nearly 100 quads of energy each year, and local entrepreneur Mark Brown (as well as many other experts) believe that the majority of these quads are wasted.
 
To address the issue, Brown started QuadROI, a Minneapolis-based firm that intends to boost productivity and innovation in the energy industry through the use of better business intelligence. "Regulation is not our enemy," the company's webpage notes. "Waste is our enemy."
 
Brown believes that waste can be minimized by utilizing existing documents and reports, and tweezing out data that can be used by utility companies and others to create benchmarks and goals. He aims to develop a single, searchable repository of information where subscribers can see high-level trends as well as project-level ROI stats. He also hopes to cultivate an online community where ideas can be shared, and collaboration can occur.
 
"There's so much information that's available out there, but it can be hard to make use of, especially when it comes to comparison with other programs," he says.
 
Right now, the site is in beta testing, and Brown expects it to be in full force by the end of the summer. After that, it's likely that QuadROI will assist in making sure those quads aren't getting wasted.
 
Source: Mark Brown, QuadROI
Writer: Elizabeth Millard