emerging technology : Innovation + Job News

Employee performance reviews: the three little words that no one likes to hear.
 
"Almost universally, it's been a process filled with dread," says J. Forrest, founder and president of Minneapolis-based technology company Alignamite. "Who looks forward to performance reviews, even if they're largely positive?"
 
Forrest wanted a better strategy, so he built one. Alignamite's new software tool is designed to create alignment between an enterprise's goals and an employee's success. With a dashboard that tracks employee performance and a system that brings in colleague opinions as well as management views, Alignamite looks like it could change how performance is measured.
 
Founded in 2011, Alignamite got started when Forrest decided to quit building performance tools for other companies and start his own enterprise instead. He envisioned a system that would be more employee-centric, where staff members could get a grasp of their performance on a continual basis and an ongoing sense of how well they were meeting company goals, rather than relying on annual performance reviews.
 
After completing a beta testing period, Alignamite recently launched a robust, full version and is already seeing strong growth, particularly with clients of about 50 to 200 employees.
 
"There's great scalability in the tool, so that makes it exciting for organizations," says Forrest. "Most important, though, is that it significantly improves communication within an enterprise, and that benefits everyone."
 
Source: J. Forrest, Alignamite
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

The Lean Startup Conference
December 3
University of Minnesota
Carlson School of Management
11am - 7pm
free
 
Those who aren't able to attend The Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco can still see great speakers, thanks to this simulcast event that showcases the conference's experts. Presented by the university's Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship and the Minnesota Lean Startup Circle, the event will help attendees jumpstart their businesses.
 
Women in the Boardroom
December 4
University of St. Thomas
Law School Atrium, 11th St. and Harmon Place, Minneapolis
3pm - 6pm
$105
 
An organization designed to assist women in pursuing board service, Women in the Boardroom hosts several types of in-person and virtual events throughout the year. This signature event brings together a panel of experts, including the Chief Administrative Officer of the Mayo Clinic.
 
Automation for the Cloud
December 5
Open Book
1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis
4pm - 5:30pm
free
 
Hosted by cloud management company enStratus, this event looks at extending automation to cloud environments, including auto-provisioning, auto-scaling, and setting automated backups. Attendees will learn more about cloud management and see a product demo.
 
No Coast Craft-O-Rama
December 7 & 8
Midtown Global Market
3pm - 8pm on Dec. 7; 9am - 5pm on Dec. 8
free
 
Started in 2005 as a way to feature designers, artists, and creators of handmade crafts, the No Coast Craft-O-Rama has grown into a true showcase for artisans of every type. From letterpress operators to knitters to jewelry makers to many others, the breadth of work is staggering--and the fair is showing up just in time for holiday shopping, too.
 

Highlighting technology leaders in the state, the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) announced winners for the 2012 Tekne Awards, handing out top honors to companies like MakeMusic, ReconRobotics, JAMF Software.
 
The award program, now in its 13th year, recognizes innovations from 2011 that impact the lives of Minnesotans, through lifestyle improvement or education. Forty-four finalists were named in fifteen categories. Winners were unveiled at a special event on November 1st.
 
According to MHTA president Margaret Anderson Kelliher, the awards draw attention to the breadth of innovative and competitive technology companies in the state. Greater awareness of the efforts being done here will boost Minnesota's stature as a "silicon prairie" where tech companies can thrive.
 
Fifteen winners show the range of businesses here, and the list includes both large companies like Seagate Technology (winner in the advanced manufacturing category) and smaller companies like Code 42 Software and SparkWeave.
 
Other winners included  PeopleNet, Agosto, GiveMN, OrthoCor Medical, Starkey Hearing Technologies, Imation, and The University of Minnesota Rochester.
 
In addition to showcasing the work of technology-fueled businesses, the awards also honored seven individuals who provided leadership to advance technology and innovation in Minnesota, particularly in state government. The public officials led the effort to consolidate IT services from more than 70 state agencies into a single organization called MN.IT Services.
 
Speaking about all of the awards, Kelliher says, "This year's recipients, once again, raised the bar with the quality and originality of their entries and should be very proud of their accomplishments."
 
Source: Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Minnesota High Tech Association
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Founded in 2000 by a group of technology educators, Atomic Learning now boasts customers in more than 45 countries, and it's likely that its reach will keep growing.
 
The Little Falls-based company has worked for over a decade to provide the K-12 market with tools for teacher development, classroom technology integration, and software support, among other areas. The company focuses on promoting the practical application of technology in education by giving educators the training and resources needed to teach tech-savvy students.
 
"I think a big part of what's driven our growth is the same thing that allowed us to break into the market in the first place, and that's staying true to customer needs," says Lisa Barnett, Atomic Learning COO. "We adapt as those needs change, and we're always thinking about how to have a meaningful impact."
 
That focus has allowed the company not only to weather difficult economic storms, but also to keep growing by expanding into higher education. Barnett notes that Atomic Learning recently worked to bring its insights and experience into that market after realizing that the tools used by K-12 teachers would also be relevant for higher education instructors and professors.
 
"Customer demand really drove our expansion into the higher ed space," says Barnett. "We saw those at colleges and universities finding ways to bring us into their environments, but they had to twist and turn to make it work." The company developed tools specifically for those environments, and the result has been continued growth and interest.
 
"We have a central theme here, and that's guiding learners from awkward to awesome, no matter where they are," says Barnett.
 
Source: Lisa Barnett, Atomic Learning
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

With so much information being stored in digital form, it seems inevitable that computer forensics and e-discovery would surge toward growth.
 
The strategy is used by companies of all sizes to create a digital paper trail that identifies issues such as file theft by departing employees or misuse of company resources. In this competitive arena, Minneapolis-based LuciData is hoping that expertise wins out.
 
"Our guys come from the IT security world, not the law enforcement world," says CEO Jeremy Wunsch. "You see a lot of companies that hire former cops, and that's fine, but you need a deeper understanding of how technology works to really be effective. That's what we provide."
 
These days, the most common client requests come from companies fretting about intellectual property theft, he notes. If someone leaves a job and takes information along, that can burn not only the former employer, but also the new company as well. Hiring a seemingly stellar new employee and then getting hit with an IP theft lawsuit soon after can be a nasty surprise.
 
"We've seen that situation happening much more frequently," Wunsch says. "That's why clients are asking us for more safeguards and prevention measures, so they can detect theft as it's happening."
 
Because LuciData employs technologists with deep expertise in security, the company can watch the movement of data more easily, Wunsch believes. Called "internal threat management," or "proactive forensics," the field might be burgeoning right now, but look for it to boom in the near future as companies work to protect themselves at every level.
 
As that happens, Wunsch expects that LuciData will stay on its current growth track, and live up to its name. "We bring clarity to data," he says.
 
Source: Jeremy Wunsch, LuciData
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Blaine-based Infinite Campus is continuing to build momentum as it heads into another school year, helping K-12 districts to become more cost-efficient, streamlined, and productive.
 
The company delivers student information systems, and distinguishes its development from competitors, says Karl Beach, whose company title is Evangelist: "We build what districts need, rather than waiting to find out what they want. That puts them ahead in terms of having systems that work for the future, not just for today."
 
Infinite Campus manages more than 5.3 million students in 43 states. One recent implementation has been Clark County School District in Las Vegas, which selected the company's system for management of over 300,000 students.
 
Over the past year, Infinite Campus has worked to enhance its systems, and recently released new instructional management tools that assist teachers in offering blended instruction. For example, teachers can post assignments and hyperlinks through a campus portal, allowing students to submit homework online. Capabilities like these reduce the need for data entry, and make information available to administrators, parents, and students as well as teachers.
 
The systems can even track behavior data such as violence, bullying, and drug use. This type of tracking is crucial for federal grant funding tied to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. With Infinite Campus' Behavior Management Tool, districts can streamline incident reporting and improve communication throughout schools.
 
"Public education can be divisive, fragmented, and resource-constrained," says Beach. "We're working to change that. We want to transform education."
 
Source: Karl Beach, Infinite Campus
Writer: Elizabeth Millard
 

Thanks to the recent elections, healthcare has been a hot topic lately, and politics aside, it should continue to lead policy debates for some time to come. But apart from competing visions of what healthcare in the U.S. should look like, the issue comes down to a more fundamental level, believes Dr. Peter Mills. "How can providers interact with patients in a more effective way?" he asks. "That's the real question to be asking."
 
Mills has worked to combine technology with health care in a way that increases doctor-to-patient communication. Previously, he launched employee wellness software firm vielife, which was sold to Cigna in 2006, and now helms a new effort called nGage Health.
 
The cloud-based online platform is geared toward creating a more robust relationship between doctors and patients, so health activities can be tracked with more accuracy. For example, a patient can input information about exercise and food intake, and a doctor could monitor that data remotely to make sure the person is on track with preventative measures.
 
That type of system is a radical departure from existing healthcare interactions, Mills says. Currently, most doctor visits occur because a patient is ill, leading to treatment of symptoms rather than an understanding of factors like lifestyle and behavior that can be tweaked to avoid illness.
 
"I felt that we have so much technology at our fingertips, and it's transformed how we do banking, communication, travel, almost everything," says Mills. "Yet, healthcare is delivered in the exact same way as it has been. Why not use that technology to change the relationship between provider and patient?"
 
Source: Peter Mills, nGage
Writer: Elizabeth Millard
 

Employee recruitment and online technology have blended together with mixed results in the past decade--Monster.com may have led the way initially in applying innovation to job postings, but these days, talent acquisition calls for more sophisticated tools.
 
Founded by Jeffery Giesener in 2011, St. Louis Park-based SourceMob aims to meet the need. The startup helps companies expand their recruitment efforts by utilizing social networks more effectively. With modules called Social Media Career Centers, the service taps into major sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, tracking active jobs and conversational content.
 
"We saw an opportunity to bring a new lens to the talent acquisition space," says Giesener. "There's an e-commerce angle that hasn't existed before."
 
One particular strength for SourceMob is reaching passive candidates, who are open to new opportunities, but aren't actively sending out resumes or perusing online job boards. These candidates, highly prized by HR departments, have been tricky to acquire, but SourceMob makes the process easier since clients can access them through social platforms.
 
Better recruitment is particularly crucial right now, Giesener believes, since there are many jobs like software development going unfilled. Regardless of industry, companies are desperately trying to fill those vacancies in order to thrive, and depending on a more robust solution like SourceMob can boost their talent acquisition strategies.
 
Giesener self-funded the venture, and expects significant growth in the year ahead. He says, "It's getting really exciting to see the potential for what we've built. We're really in the right place at the right time with this."
 
Source: Jeffery Giesener, SourceMob
Writer: Elizabeth Millard
 

Tekne Awards
 
November 1
Minneapolis Convention Center
4:30pm - 9pm
$195 for individuals; $1,750 for table of ten
 
The Tekne Awards program, now in its 13th year, recognizes innovations from 2011 that impact the lives of Minnesotans, through lifestyle improvement or education. Forty-four finalists were named in fifteen categories, and this event unveils the winners. Just as importantly, the gathering provides ample opportunity for networking with a "who's who" of Minnesota business, technology, and politics.
 
Women's Excelerator Workshop: Practice Your Pitch
 
November 14
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.
 
Tap the Power of Primal Branding
 
November 21
Risdall Marketing Group
550 Main St., New Brighton
8:30am - 11am
$99
 
Led by Patrick Hanlon, the author of the popular book "Primal Branding," this workshop lays out a blueprint for more effective brand marketing. Hanlon advocates creating "brand zealots" who spread a company's message across multiple channels, a process that builds a stronger customer base. After Hanlon's presentation, representatives from Risdall Marketing Group will showcase how primal branding helped a number of their clients.
 
Selling Globally in a Borderless Society
 
November 29
The Woman's Club of Minneapolis
410 Oak Grove St.
7:15am - 9am
Fees range from $20 to $60, depending on registration type
 
Hosted by the Sales & Marketing Professional Association, this expert panel addresses the challenges and benefits of selling and marketing internationally. Participating will be international trade specialists Matthew Woodlee, Mike Danielson, and Jim Thomas. Planned topics include marketing support, hiring consultants, cultural issues, and current political and economic affairs.

St. Louis Park-based software development firm Warecorp doesn't see boundaries--geographically or otherwise.
 
Founded in 2004, the company has been growing at a steady pace, thanks in part to expansion into Minsk, Belarus, a hotbed of engineering talent. Warecorp has added about 30 employees there in the past six months, and has also brought on a Montana-based Vice President of Development, Sarmeesha Reddy.
 
The firm specializes in software engineering, and boasts projects in open source, social media, and software testing. One particularly compelling new project is Drupal Squad, developed by Warecorp engineers who use the programming language to design custom modules for other clients.
 
"Drupal Squad is an exciting development for us, and one that grew organically," says company cofounder Chris Dykstra. "We just converted a service we'd created to manage our own customer base, and it ended up being something that was really needed in the marketplace."

 Because of projects like these, Warecorp is poised for growth, and Reddy notes that she's been tasked with bringing the company from $5 million in annual sales to $20 million. After working on $100 million projects at Motorola, she's ready for the challenge. "This is a company that's full of heart, with a super smart team," she says. "When you bring that together with so many great ideas, it's magic."
 
Source: Chris Dykstra and Sarmeesha Reddy, Warecorp
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Founded in 2004, Minneapolis-based tapQA began to see an interesting inflection point a few years ago, says consulting partner Mike Faulise.
 
The company specializes in quality assurance, including software and systems testing, and Faulise notes that clients began to ask about offshore services, and to do pricing comparisons in terms of project costs. When tapQA compared the numbers, the firm founds ways of matching lower offshore pricing and, in some cases, coming in below those figures.
 
"We use local, Minnesota talent and we compete against offshore rates," says Faulise. "Because of that, we continue to grow, and to be effective in a competitive marketplace."
 
The company focuses on clients that tend to need contractors for a significant portion of work, particularly for technology projects. Faulise points out that the IT industry in the state is below zero percent unemployment, so finding in-house talent is especially challenging. Because of that, many companies have turned to outsourcing, and tapQA has stepped up as a resource to fill that need.
 
"We're able to separate strategic from tactical resources; that's one of our strengths," he says. "At the beginning of a project, you need strategy, and we can provide that. During a project, you depend on tactical skills, and we've focused on creating a solution that's just as affordable as offshore contracting, but without the hassles."
 
As tapQA contines to expand its contractor and client pools, the company anticipates more growth in the years ahead, particularly as it establishes more partnerships within the technology industry.
 
Source: Michael Faulise, tapQA
Writer: Elizabeth Millard
 

Social media marketing has become crucial for all types of companies, since it allows them to connect with current and potential customers, but there's also a way to boost those efforts: digital advertising.
 
Minneapolis-based agency 90 Degree Media has been honing the advertising options it offers to clients, and these now include display ads, search advertising, video, mobile, and other selections. Clients can choose how ads get served up within a single medium, like mobile, or they can blanket the Internet with end-to-end solutions.
 
Since the agency has a couple of key partnerships in place, it offers advertising options at a much lower rate than companies might find if they were to make deals on their own, according to founder Jamison Geisler.
 
He started the company in 2009, after working in digital marketing and web development since 2001, and noticing that the majority of companies lacked good customer service. "I felt that so many of these companies really just didn't care about their clients or their business," he says. "It was merely a paycheck. Something needed to change." He decided to strike out on his own as a way to provide stellar customer service while developing customized digital advertising campaigns.

The company currently has six employees, but increasing client numbers will likely result in hiring in the year ahead, Geisler says.
 
He chose the name 90 Degree Media because it implied a sharp increase in profits, the image of a graph line that takes a sudden turn upwards. He says, "Although it's nice to think of that image in terms of our company, we really look at it as that kind of movement in profits for our clients and partners."
 
Source: Jamison Geisler, 90 Degree Media
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Minneapolis health and medical marketing agency StoneArch unveiled an iPad-based mobile selling platform designed for medical device manufacturers and their sales forces.
 
The platform, dubbed VOLLEY, was developed in response to an observed need, according to company president Jessica Boden.
 
"Most of our clients are medical device manufacturers, and they depend on their direct sales forces to sell their products," she says. "When the iPad launched, the medical device industry was an early adopter, but because they lacked a strong platform for the industry specifically, the devices became more like toys than tools."
 
StoneArch brought together a cross-functional team to address the issue, and ended up with its first proprietary application, which launched on Oct. 16th.
 
VOLLEY allows for customized content across diverse target audiences, and features a sales rep coaching tool that can help reps deal with challenging customer situations. Use of the application also comes with StoneArch support, including training and deployment, and the agency offers rental iPads for small and mid-sized companies.
 
Boden says that VOLLEY is already being well received in the industry, and the agency is planning its next iteration after getting feedback from users. The project hasn't just filled a need in the marketplace, either--it's also created some new bounce at StoneArch.
 
"It's been really fun to develop this; the organization has gotten energy out of making it happen," Boden says. "It gives us fuel for thinking about other ways we can use innovation to help our clients accomplish more."
 
Source: Jessica Boden, StoneArch
Writer: Elizabeth Millard
 
 

 Most conferences feature a tradeshow floor, and exhibitors often compete to have the most innovative, eye-catching booth. That's where Skyline Exhibits shines.

The Eagan-based company designs and produces portable and custom modular exhibits for the tradeshow industry, and their work is seen both at conferences and at museums, mall kiosks, and public events. Skyline's designs combine soaring, two-story graphics with interactive displays, or more compact screens that are lightweight and portable. If you've been to a tradeshow lately and been wowed by the sheer creative force of an exhibit, chances are good that Skyline designed it.
 
The company employs more than 250 people and is hiring at a steady pace. Customers report that with Skyline's help, they're selling more at trade shows and are distinguishing their services more easily from competitors. In addition to a 270,000-square-foot facility in Eagan, the company has a location in Shanghai, as well as in the four largest venue cities in North America--Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, and Toronto.
 
But not long ago, Skyline faced some challenges as the economy struggled. Company president Bill Dierberger notes, "After watching the industry suffer the economic consequences of 9/11 and the dot-com bubble burst, we recommitted the company to innovation and re-energized around it."
 
The firm developed a product commercialization process that spurred growth, and these days, new product sales are increasing 10 percent faster than legacy product. Dierberger credits "sustained innovation" as the secret sauce that's keeping Skyline adding jobs and boosting sales. "We provide unique solutions to the trade show industry," he says. "That helps our clients achieve their objectives."
 
Source: Bill Dierberger, Skyline Exhibits
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Minneapolis-based startup BuyerCurious has certainly piqued the curiosity of investors: the company recently announced completion of the final phase of its $1.75 million first round Series A funding, led by private angel investors.
 
The funding should help the firm take advantage of the online real estate transaction platform it's developed, notes co-founder Jim Lesinski. Launched late last year, the service allows homebuyers and sellers to connect and to negotiate with one another--reducing the control of intermediaries like realtors, appraisers, and bankers.
 
Before the launch, BuyerCurious had to iron out numerous kinks related to real estate regulation, Lesinski says. That proved challenging, since the company was determined to build an offering that could be used in any part of the country.
 
"From the start, we wanted a very robust platform," says Lesinski. "We've looked toward national expansion before it even rolled out." The new wave of funding should assist in that effort, he adds, and allow the company to pursue a major marketing strategy for the year ahead.
 
The company had previously secured about $1.4 million from Gopher Angels and other investors, and also became higher profile when it reached the semi-finals round of the Minnesota Cup.
 
Lesinski looks forward to getting some strong traction for BuyerCurious in the near future, thanks to more financial resources and a platform that's been earning adoptions. "This represents a transformation of the buyer/seller mindset," he says. "We're excited to be offering this first step in creating an electronic marketplace for real estate."
 
Source: Jim Lesinski, BuyerCurious
Writer: Elizabeth Millard