creative economy : Innovation + Job News

Silicon Valley and Silicon Prairie are ready to meet.
 
On Wednesday, February 20, coworking and collaborative space CoCo hosted a major kickoff with new partner Google for Entrepreneurs, announcing a two-year schedule of events, conferences, and social mixers at CoCo's Minneapolis office.
 
Focusing on technology and startups, the events are aimed at boosting entrepreneurship in the state, and draw on Google's extensive history of innovation and development. The company's Google for Entrepreneurs initiative was created to support entrepreneurs worldwide, and boasts an array of successful programs already, including Campus London, Women on the Web, and The New Orleans Community Leaders Program. The company even provides guidance and training for child entrepreneurs with Lemonade Day, a nonprofit that teaches children how to start and operate their own businesses.
 
John Lyman, Entrepreneurship Manager at Google, remarked in a release that the company believes entrepreneurship drives innovation and economic growth. "We see that happening in Minnesota and particularly at CoCo," he noted.
 
An announcement about the local partnership was made during an all-day conference at CoCo that began with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak talking about innovation and entrepreneurship. The jam-packed event was free, but filled up quickly, as tech leaders and aspiring business owners jockeyed for a spot at one of the afternoon's sessions with visiting Google employees.
 
A full 2013 event schedule is still being finalized, and will be released soon, but CoCo did give a glimpse of what's to come. The event series will include affinity and user groups, including Google Developers Group Twin Cities, Android Users Group of Minnesota, and House of Cards, as well as one-day and multi-day conferences. Social and networking events will also play a large role in the partnership, with a particular focus on connecting startup founders with mentors.
 
Also slated are classes and educational sessions, including online-only instruction geared toward appealing to entrepreneurs across Minnesota who may be far flung from CoCo's office space.
 
The event series will rely on Google technology, including Google+ Hangouts, a video conferencing app that allows users to connect directly to multiple participants, or to broadcast an event through Google+, a YouTube channel, and a website. The app also lets users record the broadcast so that it can be shared later.
 
In a release, CoCo founding partner Kyle Coolbroth noted, "This partnership with Google will allow us to continue to expand our mission of creating a robust community of individuals pursuing the work of their dreams."

Writer: Elizabeth Millard
 
 
 

Minnesota Cup Final Awards Event
 
September 6
University of Minnesota, McNamara Center
5:00pm - 7:30pm
free
 
One of the liveliest entrepreneurial competitions, the Minnesota Cup has been a source of innovation and fresh ideas since its founding. (Read about this year's finalists here.) In its final awards event, attendees will get to hear elevator pitches from the division winners and hear the announcement of the grand prize winner. The event promises to be an ideal networking opportunity for the state's entrepreneurial community.
 
Work/Life & Flexibility Expo
 
September 13
Minneapolis Marriott Southwest
8:30am - 4:30pm
$50 - $150, depending on registration type
 
As the economy recovers, engaging highly skilled talent will be crucial for all organizations, and employee retention will be vital. This conference offers insight and strategies for building a work environment that attracts the best talent and positions a company for future growth.
 
Minnesota Blogger Conference
 
September 22
Allina Health
Midtown Exchange Building, Minneapolis
9:00am - 5:00pm
free
 
The first Minnesota Blogger Conference, in 2010, was such a success that organizers decided to keep it rolling. The highly popular conference--tickets are released at strategic times, as for a rock concert--will feature speakers who've taken blogging to new levels, including turning their blogs into business opportunities. Last year's sessions also included insights on legal issues, writing topics, and video blogging.
 
Food + Justice = Democracy
 
September 24 - 26
Radisson Plaza Hotel
35 S. 7th St., Minneapolis
Ranges from $85 - $195 depending on registration type
 
A distinctive national meeting, this event brings together food-justice activists with the aim of pushing political leaders to prioritize a fair, just, and healthy food system. Instead of traditional breakout sessions, the meeting features "People's Assembly sessions," connecting attendees with fellow participants in order to craft elements of a national food-justice platform.

For some creative agencies, staying small and nimble means creating strong areas of specialization like logo creation or social media management. But for Deephaven-based DW Creative, sticking with full service sets them apart.
 
"There aren't many boundaries for what we can do creatively," says Ryan Benson, the firm's director of business development. "We're multi-channel focused, with expertise in all different types of areas." The firm does videos, catalogs, web, print, retail, direct mail, and other materials.
 
The agency started almost 16 years ago by three former NordicTrack executives, he adds, which kicked off the business with a healthy amount of media savvy. NordicTrack was a pioneer in the direct marketing space--sometimes selling thousands of units every day--and that knowledge of creative approaches became a bedrock for DW (short for "Design Write").
 
The firm employs six people, and Benson feels that the size and the cohesion of the staff kept the clients coming in even during the tough economic climate of the past few years.
 
"We've not only survived what went on with the economy, but we're poised to grow, and not too many small agencies can say that," he says. "We take quite a bit of pride in that."
 
In the past couple years, marketing and ad dollars were significantly reduced in the general business community, and many creative agencies felt the pinch, but DW Creative was able to stay afloat through its breadth of services.
 
"Our clients see the value in our work, and that will only help us grow," Benson says.
 
Source: Ryan Benson, DW Creative
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

In a January opinion piece in TechCrunch, entrepreneur Jon Bischke suggested the most successful urban leaders are those who view cities like startups. CEOs for Cities, a national network of urban leaders dedicated to creating next-generation cities, will examine that premise at its 2012 Spring National Meeting: The City As a Startup--Creating Demand, Attracting Talent, Taking Risks, and Going to Scale.

The meeting is set for May 17-18 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati and is made possible with support from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation. Former AOL Chairman and CEO Steve Case will deliver the morning keynote and also sit on a panel conversation about Startup America.

CEOs for Cities will also release its latest City Vitals report, a framework for measuring the success of cities. Other panels include considering Songdo, South Korea as the planet's smartest city and using the collective-impact approach to catalyze social change. There will also be opportunities to tour Cincinnati attractions and examples of success.

Register here. View a draft agenda here.

Issue Media Group, the parent company of The Line, partners with CEOs for Cities in exploring new options for urban growth.

"Definitely, everyone here is caffeinated," says Andi Dickson, principal at St. Louis Park-based creative agency SixSpeed.
 
In some ways, he's joking about how energy drinks fuel innovation at the agency, but on a more figurative level, his comments point to the secret of SixSpeed's success: wild energy, properly harnessed.
 
Dickson started the agency three years ago with co-founder Tom Cusciotta, and each brought a background in agency work mixed with action sports and marketing. For example, Dickson worked for Red Bull for some time, where he pulled together some stunningly creative events.
 
In creating SixSpeed, the pair aims to blend traditional agency abilities with event management and, quite simply, a little bit of crazy. They've attracted edgy, fun clients like Polaris, Two Gingers Irish Whiskey, and Colt 45.
 
"We do lifestyle marketing, that's been a major piece of what we offer," says Dickson. "We provide content generation and events, as well as social strategy. Basically, we provide good old-fashioned hard work, and it's allowed us to grow as a result."
 
The agency has doubled in size every year since its founding, and recruitment is never much of a problem. The staff skews toward a younger demographic--no one, including the founders, is over 35 years old--and a recent move to new offices included an aerialist show and craft beers.
 
"We're having a great time, and we're working hard and loving it," says Dickson. "Also, our new offices are attached to a brewery. So, what more could you want?"
 
Source: Andi Dickson, SixSpeed
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Some ad agencies specialize in certain sectors like apparel, sports, or retail. Minneapolis-based Broadhead may be the only one that deals so extensively with cows.
 
The firm tends to do most of its work for clients in rural America, says CEO Dean Broadhead. That encompasses companies that focus on food safety, agriculture, farm veterinary services, dairy, and fertilizer.
 
Started in 2001, the agency came together after Broadhead worked at some major agencies in the Twin Cities. He'd always wanted to set off on his own, he notes, and after working with clients involved in rural businesses, he decided to keep following that route.
 
Recent projects have included creation of a crop nutrition guide for The Mosaic Company, and the development of a program to help wounded veterans through sponsorship by beef and dairy producers.
 
He stocked his firm with people who have a passion for rural life--either out of interest or because they grew up on farms--and the result has been strong growth and a robust client roster. The agency has consistently grown about 25 to 30 percent per year over the last few years.
 
"We're very happy with double-digit growth," says Broadhead. "That allows us to expand at the pace we want to expand. It makes us more well-rounded and a better value to the client."
 
Source: Dean Broadhead, Broadhead
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Innovators & Entrepreneurs of the Twin Cities
 
February 2
Joe's Garage
1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis
5:15 pm - 7:00 pm
Free
 
This casual networking event aims to bring together those who are starting their own businesses or independently developing new products and patents. Founded last June, the group hopes to keep  introducing innovators to entrepreneurs so they can learn from each other and make the journey more enjoyable.
 
MN Society of Women Engineers Career Expo
 
February 4
University of St. Thomas
2115 Summit Ave., St. Paul
Murray-Herrick Campus Center, 3rd Floor Lounge
Noon to 4:00 pm
Free
 
Fire up the business attire and spiff up your resume. This career fair is designed to bring together talented job seekers and innovative companies, and is hosted by the Society of Women Engineers. Companies attending include Hormel Foods, Starkey, Nycor, Medtronic, EV3, Loram, Target, and St. Jude Medical.
 
 Minnesota 2012 Entrepreneur Kickoff
 
February 8
Boy Scout Base Camp at Fort Snelling
5:30 pm
Cost ranges from $5 to $25
 
The Entrepreneur Kickoff brings together investors and startups, in advance of this year's state business competitions like Project Skyway, IDEA Competition and TiE CONS. Now in its second year, the event features business pitch evaluations and ample networking opportunities.
 
How to Leverage Digital Media to Raise Capital
 
February 23
CoCo Minneapolis
400 S. 4th St., 4th floor, Minneapolis
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
$75
 
Speaker Patrick Donohue gives a presentation on why digital media is changing the world of finance. He'll demonstrate tactics for using digital media to achieve business goals, and give an overview of tools that can be used to raise capital.  
 

In the past year, the economy didn't rebound with as much bounce as anyone would have liked, but a few fascinating things are happening on the way to recovery: the Twin Cities business community seems to be getting closer, more creative, and in some ways, more relaxed. The past year has seemed less like a slog and more like a fresh start.
 
In covering the innovation and jobs beat for The Line, I've spoken to dozens of entrepreneurs, some CEOs of large firms, and quite a few non-profit folks, and the trends are the same across every sector. The recession delivered a blow, certainly, but rather than going right back to business-as-usual, many companies here are seeing success through different measures. They brag about flex time for employees, community-based projects, and buying locally. It's as if the economic storms brought many enterprises under the same roof, and now they've learned that rather than survive independently, they're better off thriving together.

An Incubator Boomlet
 
For example, look toward the business incubator boomlet, and the wealth of services for entrepreneurs, like CoCo, WorkAround, MOJO Minnesota, the Economic Gardening Network, Homegrown Business Development Center, Minnesota High Tech Association, and so many others. The University of Minnesota, in particular, is a powerhouse of advice and skill building. Even the engineering school is teaching its students how to play well together in a business setting. 
 
This level of closeness to each other has created a business community that supports new endeavors so enthusiastically. Look at our recent feature on Kindred Kitchen, an effort in North Minneapolis that supports food entrepreneurs, for just one example, but there are many others. A sampling of companies that got their start this year include Sophia, DogWonderful, BuyerCurious, Pashen, and CRAM.
 
Through strategic hiring and expansion of services and products, many companies are showing a sense of starting anew, even if they've been around for years. For instance, just look at Bulk Reef Supply, an aquarium supplies service that has done such tremendous growth through increased product offerings that it landed on the Inc. 5000 list.

Companies Chillaxin'
 
Finally, there's the relaxation factor. Business can always be a bit of a meat grinder at times, but as companies learned to operate lean and get creative, they started to identify different measures of success, like happiness. As Chris Trifilio, co-founder of Primordial Soup noted, "We don't want to be a 50-person firm. We want to keep going down the path we're on, because it's fun and we love it." That's a sentiment that I heard often this year, leading me to believe that if a company didn't start fresh in terms of operations, then maybe they did in terms of attitude.
 
In the year ahead, I predict that these trends will keep rolling strong, because they contribute to the health of the business community, and make the Twin Cities a strong and vital area. Happy, satisfied entrepreneurs and business owners are creating a business climate that's sweeping away the economic clouds of the recent past with something awfully close to a sunny outlook.

Elizabeth Millard, Innovation and Jobs Editor

CIO Panel
 
December 6
7:30--9:30 a.m.
Minnesota High Tech Association
Free for MHTA members, $85 for non-members
 
The annual CIO Panel at the MHTA is an educational forum aimed at addressing key technology issues, trends, and challenges that CIOs are facing. This year's panel includes Abdul Bengali of the Mayo Clinic, Joe Topinka of Red Wing Shoes, and Ranell Hamm of Patterson Companies.
 
 
LifeScience Alley Conference & Expo
 
December 7
Minneapolis Convention Center
From $70 - $525 depending on membership and different attendance options
 
Now in its 10th year, LifeScience Alley is a must-attend event for medical technology professionals from around the globe. Session topics cover finance, IT, sales and marketing, product development, research, and other issues.
 
 
Doing Business in Africa

December 7
Carlson School of Management
321 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis
Suite 2-206
Free
 
This panel discussion about education and workforce development is being put on by the Carlson Global Institute of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, the Corporate Council on Africa, and Books for Africa. The panelists include Hussein Samatar of the African Development Center, Trevor Gunn of Medtronic, and Michelle Grogg of Cargill.
 
 
Kindred Kitchen Food Show and Buyers' Fair
 
December 15
6:30 p.m.
1200 W. Broadway, Minneapolis
Free
 
Participants in Kindred Kitchen's food business incubator program have the opportunity to meet industry professionals, food retail buyers, and the general public as they showcase their delicious creations. 

Innovative marketing firm d.trio is boosting its account services and interactive offerings with the addition of three new employees in the past few months, according to one of the firm's partners, Megan Devine.
 
"We've been building a comprehensive team for a multi-channel focus," she says. "We bring together a team of people to really develop a plan based on what the client needs. As opposed to hiring out for certain services, we've been developing one in-house that will give us greater breadth."
 
The agency--named after the trio of co-founders Devine, Maureen Dyvig, and Fred Driver--has clients like Gander Mountain, American Red Cross, Rasmussen College, Synovus, and the University of Minnesota. The marketing group offers strategy, digital services, print production, creative work, and other services.
 
In its location just a block from the Minnesota Twins stadium, the company prides itself on a culture that's lively and unique, which helps to draw candidates, Devine believes.
 
The new additions to the 13-member company bring more strategic savvy, she adds. They'll give d.trio the ability to approach new industries and extend the firm's reach into areas like healthcare, retail, and non-profits.
 
Although many companies claim that clients come first, that's truly the mantra at d.trio, Devine adds: "We think about what we can do to kick up a campaign. Our creative is tied to strategy, and we feel that growing those happy client relationships is what's going to keep us growing."
 
Source: Megan Devine, d.trio
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

A new group is hoping to bring more jobs and investment to the Twin Cities, and is amping up its marketing campaign to achieve its ambitious goals.
 
Called Greater MSP Partnership and based in St. Paul, the organization has developed a website that contains resources for local companies that want to grow their businesses, information for firms that are considering relocation, and tools for finding commercial and industrial properties.
 
A news feed features upbeat items, such as recent profit increases for St. Jude Medical and Supervalu. For companies looking at the Twin Cities from other parts of the nation, Greater MSP includes information on what makes the region so noteworthy, highlighting areas like our high rate of volunteerism, the arts and culture scene, and healthy lifestyle factors.
 
Covering the 13-county area around the Twin Cities, Greater MSP is a public-private partnership funded by charitable donations. The partnership works with dozens of partners and intends to set a strategic vision for regional economic development, among other aims.
 
Helming the effort is Michael Langley, who ran an economic development consulting practice on the East Coast before coming to Greater MSP. Recently, Langley noted that there are already at least 40 projects in the works, and the hope is that the number will expand to 150 to 200 over the next year.
 
Source: Greater MSP
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

At creative agency Periscope, high demand and a growing client list mean that desk space is getting to be valuable real estate. In the past year, the Minneapolis-based firm has hired 83 people--bringing its employee total to 330--and its Human Resources engine isn't idling yet.
 
"We've been very fortunate to see our business development efforts translate into several consecutive years of growth," says Lori Sharbono, Periscope's VP and Director of Business Development, adding that the most growth has come from existing clients, but that new clients are always coming into the mix as well.
 
To meet client needs, Periscope has worked on expanding its services in the past few years, adding services like an end-to-end packaging operation and a brand advocacy unit that organizes events. One newer department handles social media and other online community strategies.
 
"We're always trying to stay ahead of what our clients will need," says Sharbono. "We try to make sure we have subject matter experts. Someone isn't an art designer one day and a digital person the next day. Having experts in their field makes us more efficient, and more able to help clients."
 
In expanding their expert-packed offices, Periscope has worked to maintain its distinctive culture, she adds, since many employees note that it's the environment that drew them to the firm. Unique perks include a fitness center, weekly yoga classes, quirky contests like spelling bees, dog-friendly offices, and an opportunity to join a variety of teams like triathlon runners or bowlers.
 
Sharbono believes that being a privately held firm allows Periscope to be as funky as they like, and it's a formula that's working well. She says, "We offer things that other agencies don't, and the people who apply here know that. So, we plan to keep hiring and keep having fun along the way."
 
Source: Lori Sharbono, Periscope
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

As the economy works toward a level of robustness, creative agency GdB (short for Gabriel deGrood Bendt) is ready to grow along with it. In the past four months, the firm has hired three people, with two of them coming into new positions--director of strategy and director of public relations--bringing the company's employee total to 32.
 
Headquartered in Minneapolis, the agency reports about $40 million in billings from advertising, PR, direct mail, and interactive campaigns. Recently, GdB added three major clients: AmericInn, Anytime Fitness, and Abbey's Hope, a charitable foundation.
 
Public relations director Dan Hauser joked that the account wins have seemed like a professional version of Sesame Street, with today's letter being "A." He noted that they'd now be delighted land more business with companies starting with "B," "C," "D," and the rest of the alphabet.
 
"I think advertisers are demanding greater nimbleness, and efficiency from their agency partners," says partner and creative director Doug deGrood. "That's one of the drivers of our recent new business success. We are nothing if not streamlined and efficient."
 
The agency has worked for clients like Goodwill, Andersen Windows, Activision, and Gold'n Plump, as well as having created those distinctive billboards for Black Forest Inn ("Schnitzel happens," reads one).
 
GdB will share the wealth when it comes to the new projects, partnering with local interactive company The Nerdery for web development on the AmericInn account.
 
"In terms of goals, we don't necessarily want to get bigger," deGrood says. "We want to get better. And so that means bringing in people with new and unique talents, including disciplines outside the ones we currently offer."
 
Sources: Dan Hauser, Doug deGrood, GdB
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

A new type of networking event is on the calendar for early October: a flea market that brings together entrepreneurs so that they can barter their services with one another or embark on collaborations.
 
That's the hope, anyway. Organizer Kareem Ahmed, an entrepreneur himself, envisions the event as a connection point for those who are trying to grow their businesses.
 
He hopes to draw a broad array of professionals, including content creators, illustrators, and marketing experts along with musicians, video producers, artists, and fashionistas.
 
The event's site notes that the flea market was created because Ahmed has heard too many people say, "I have this great idea for an app but I just don't know how to find a programmer," or "I have this great idea for a product but I don't know anyone who can help me create a prototype."
 
Ahmed says, "As an entrepreneur, I feel like I have a ton of ideas, but I need the connections to help bring them to reality. I think that's very common, so I came up with a way to network--not to find clients, but to grow a network of fellow professionals who can be helpful for projects."
 
Planned for October 5th at Urban Bean in South Minneapolis, the flea market has only a few spots still open as of this writing, showing that demand for an event of this type is strong.
 
Ahmed anticipates a monthly flea market where entrepreneurs can share ideas, present case studies, and talk about the future of their particular industries. He says, "We all go through challenges and struggles, and we can learn from one another."
 
Source: Kareem Ahmed, Entrepreneur Flea Market
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Highlighting the strength of the state's technology sectors, the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) announced finalists for the 2011 Tekne Awards.
 
The award program, now in its 12th year, recognizes innovations from 2010 that represent the brightest in development, commercialization, and management of technology in Minnesota. Forty-two finalists were named in fourteen categories.
 
The MHTA noted that recent growth in Minnesota's educational and robotic technology sectors were particularly visible this year, but that all technology sectors are staying strong.
 
In the education category, finalists are Capella University, Sophia, and Naiku--which recently won the recent Minnesota Cup award. Finalists in other categories represent a range of companies, from large firms like Imation Corp. and Digital River to smaller businesses like Xollai and QuickCheck Health.
 
The awards are designed to showcase these types of companies, and draw attention to the innovative and competitive companies in the state, according to MHTA president Margaret Anderson Kelliher. They're part of the organization's larger mission to boost education and entrepreneurship along with technology development.
 
"We're very excited about the opportunities available to technology companies here," says Kelliher. "In general, we believe that individuals and companies in the state have more potential than they do challenges. We're proud and happy to support them in any way we can."
 
The Tekne Awards will be presented on November 3 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
 
Source: Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Minnesota High Tech Association
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Last April, web development firm The Nerdery announced that it was about to double its Bloomington headquarters. Now, it turns out that's not enough room.

The 8-year-old firm has been growing at such a steady clip that it's been consistently outgrowing its space for the past two years. In 2009, the company began knocking down walls and taking over other parts of its headquarters to allow for more employees, and recently, it built a 225-seat theater for all-company meetings.

But even that space may have to include significant standing-room-only areas in the near future, according to CEO Mike Derheim, who says the company seems to be always expanding.

"We have a deal right now where we're about to take another 6,000 square-feet of space, but in the meantime, we're looking at another 9,000 square-feet on top of that," he notes. "We're also looking at other geographies in terms of opening offices."

The growth is driven by high demand for Nerdery services, he says. The firm partners with ad agencies and design firms that need the type of creative technology expertise that The Nerdery provides.

To fill that extra office space, the company has a position known as the "Nerd Hunter," who's in charge of recruiting and interviews candidates every day. Three other employees create nerd-finder events and post job openings on career sites. The company has also begun doing a "Nerdery Roadshow" to different parts of the state, in an effort to recruit more talent.

"What's unique about us is that we find people who wake up every morning excited about developing the coolest new technology, and we have clients who recognize that," says Derheim. "That's what's fueling our growth."

Source: Mike Derheim, The Nerdery
Writer: Elizabeth Millard

Pub Standards MN
Thursday, July 14, 6–8 p.m.
Psycho Suzie's
1900 Marshall Street NE, Minneapolis

Join in the monthly meet-up of Pub Standards MN to "drink, talk shit, complain, and commiserate" with other web professionals, as their website states.


Annual UEL Summer BBQ
Wednesday, July 20, 3–6:30 p.m.
University Enterprises Laboratories
1000 Westgate Drive, St. Paul
Free

Call 651-641-2804 or email to rsvp for this annual gathering at the biosciences research center and early-stage company incubator.

Creativity in the Digital World — MIMA event
Wednesday, July 20, 5:15 p.m.
McNamara Alumni Center, U of M Campus
200 Oak Street SE, Minneapolis
Free to $45

Heath Rudduck, chief creative officer at Campbell Mithun, will present at this event from the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA). Registration and cash bar at 5:15 p.m.; presentation at 6 p.m.; networking, food & cash bar at 7 p.m. Pre-register for $40 (free for MIMA members and students) or walk in for $40–$45.


Hacks/Hackers Twin Cities
Hacked! - Why You Should Care about Privacy in Social Media
Thursday, July 21, 6 p.m.
Public Radio International
401 Second Ave. N., Suite 500, Minneapolis

Join the newly established Hacks/Hackers Twin Cities for a conversation about privacy and security in social media.


Bootstrappers Breakfast
Thursday, July 28, 7:30–9 a.m.
Wilde Roast
65 SE Main St., Minneapolis
$10
Early stage technology startups compare notes on operational, development, and business issues with peers who "eat problems for breakfast." Moderated by start-up lawyer Kevin Spreng.


CoCo/Project Skyway Grain Exchange opening party
Saturday, July 30
400 South Fourth Street
details TBA

The early news is that CoCo and Project Skyway will celebrate the opening of their Minneapolis space at the Grain Exchange on July 30. Watch for details on their websites.


Visit Tech.MN for a full listing of tech-related events.

St. Paul co-working group Co-Co and tech accelerator Project Skyway have joined forces to establish Co-Co's second location, this one on the old trading floor of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange building in Downtown Minneapolis.

The16,000-square-foot trading floor of the 1903 building will offer alternative office space for Co-Co's clients: freelance professionals, small businesses, and corporate workgroups; and it will provide working and meeting space for Project Skyway's twice-yearly classes of tech entrepreneurs, according to a press release. The space will also hold educational and social events hosted by CoCo.

The space is set to open July 5.

Project Skyway, billed as "Minnesota's first tech accelerator program for motivated entrepreneurs," is currently in its first round of assisting early-stage tech companies. Project Skyway will hold a weekend–long bootcamp, June 10–12, for 25 select companies at CoCo's flagship St. Paul location, which opened in 2010. Ten of those companies will be the finalists to go through the inaugural three-month program in the new Minneapolis space, starting in August.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, whose office encouraged the move, said in the release that "entrepreneurs built our region in the 19th century, and their partnership will help a new generation of startups do the same in the 21st century."

Cem Erdem, founder of Project Skyway,and founder and CEO of the educational software company Augusoft, dubbed it "the Brain Exchange."

The organizations promise to post detailed space designs, images and videos in the coming weeks. In the meantime, they invite folks to visit the evolving space, every Wednesday through June 29, between 1 p.m and 5 p.m. (Email first.)

Source: CoCo, Project Skyway
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

Mobile Technology: Adoption, Design, and Sustainability Lessons
Friday, May 6, 8:30 a.m.–11:!5 a.m., Room 2-206, Carlson School of Management
321 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis
registration required

Alina M. Chircu, associate professor in the Information and Process Management department at Bentley University, will present at this U of M MIS Research Center seminar. Chircu will discuss mobile technology adoption and usage patterns; related mobile phone design practices in developing and developed countries; recent research on sustainability principles employed by top phone manufacturers; how these principles impact business processes for new mobile products design, production and distribution; and more.


MinneBar
Saturday, May 7, 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Best Buy headquarters
7601 Penn Ave. South, Richfield
Free, register online

Registration is open for the "(un)conference" that brings Minnesota's tech and design communities together. Sign up to attend or lead a discussion. Sessions will run throughout the day, and light breakfast and lunch will be provided. An after-party with beer and wine will follow.


Living Green Expo
May 7–8
Minnesota State Fairgrounds
Creative Activities, Education, 4-H, Fine Arts and Progress Center buildings
Free

The 10th annual expo will feature dozens of workshops and presentations on green topics ranging from energy efficiency and sustainable design strategies to the soybean--along with an actual "green wedding." Take a look at the full list.


MedTech Investing Conference
May 18–19
Graves 601 Hotel, Minneapolis
$895–$1,395, registration limited to 300

The 10th annual  MedTech Investing Conference will bring together medical device investors, entrepreneurs, and corporate business development executives to network and foster the development and financing of companies. This year's event, with the theme "The New Era of Innovation," will feature more than 45 industry experts as well as clinical specialty sessions.


Mobile Twin Cities
Tuesday, May 17, 7–9 p.m.
Refactr Offices, 11 NE 4th St., Suite 300, Minneapolis

The May installment of this monthly meeting, sponsored by Recursive Awesome, LLC, will feature review and   topics from the Mobile March Conference. Contact Justin Grammens at for more information.

Ignite Minneapolis
Tuesday, April 12, 6:30–9:30 p.m.
Heights Theatre, 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights
ticket information online

The lineup is set for the third round of Ignite Minneapolis, a high-energy evening of "5-minute talks by people who have an idea." Eighteen speakers will muse on topics ranging from "Can the US government deal with a technically sophisticated citizenry? to karaoke tips, and a history of the vibrator.

The organization will make a donation to Children with Autism Deserve Education, a volunteer-run organization that supports families affected by Autism. Admission includes two free beer tickets.


Greening Your Business Conference
Thursday, April 14
Marriott City Center, 30 S. Seventh St., Minneapolis
Free to $75

The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council expect 100 exhibitors and 1,200 attendees at this year's conference, which will include a kickoff address by Mayor R.T. Rybak, a keynote panel presentation, a lineup of workshop speakers, and exhibits at which attendees can learn about sustainable and eco-friendly products and services for the workplace.

A free morning workshop on energy management and efficiency is funded by the City of Minneapolis' Climate-Change Grant. Exhibit-hall passes are $15, while a $75 fee grants admission to the entire conference.


Minnesota High Tech Association Spring Conference
Thursday, April 14
Minneapolis Convention Center
$159–$199

Minnesota innovation is the theme at the MHTA's spring conference.

Keynote speakers include Ira Flatow of NPR's Talk of the Nation Science Friday; Geek Squad founder and Best Buy chief technology officer Robert Stephens; Amit Mital, corporate vice president of the Startup Business Group at Microsoft; Carolyn Parnell, the State of Minnesota's chief information officer; and Theresa Wise, senior vice president and chief information officer of Delta Air Lines.

An impressive list of high tech executives will lead more than 20 breakout sessions, as well.


MOJO Mixer: "Speed Mentoring"
Wednesday, April 13, 5 p.m.
PSoup HQ, 287 E. Sixth St., Ste. 160, St. Paul

MOJO Minnesota and Minne* present the first MOJO mixer, described as an evening of "speed dating for entrepreneurs," who will meet, greet and mingle and receive guidance and advice from professional subject matter experts on a wide rang of topics involved in startups.

The educational/inspirational/networking event is open to entrepreneurs who have begun the launch of a business. See website for more detail and a list of experts and topic areas.


Momentum 2011: Hans Rosling
Tuesday, April 26, 7:30 p.m.
Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 S. Fourth St., Minneapolis
$20 ($15 for U of M students, staff, faculty, alumni, UMAA members)

International health guru Hans Rosling will speak on a fact-based world view for this second of three monthly events hosted by the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment. Rosling co-founded the Gapminder Foundation, which promotes "a fact-based world view by converting international statistics into moving, interactive, understandable and enjoyable graphics."

Comedian Cy Amundson opens, and MPR's Kerri Miller will host the event. You can submit a question online for Rosling to answer.

Note: the Launch.MN kickoff event originally scheduled for April 2 has been postponed until May. Watch online for information.

It's a good way to feed your head, 21st-century-style: through the rapid-fire delivery of ideas that will be Solutions Vol. 4.

Since its first gathering in 2007, Solutions Twin Cities has been packing houses (local theaters, to be precise) with audiences eager to hear about the work of "solutionists" from a broad range of disciplines, but with a common goal: to improve the world and the lives of the people who live in and on it.

The evening will include video, music, performance, and conversation on a broad range of ideas in a fast-paced, digestible format: "20 images x 20 seconds each = 6 minutes, 40 seconds."

Solutions Twin Cities is now a project of Works Progress, a West-Bank based "network of creative collaborators" that is behind a growing list of past and ongoing projects.

The event will take place on Friday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at the Capri Theater, 2027 W. Broadway Ave., in Minneapolis. A social hour follows at 9 p.m. Tickets are $8–16 ("pay what you can").

Organizations and individuals may also sponsor some of the 50–100 tickets that Works Progress has set aside for adults and teens in the community through the Northside Residents Redevelopment Council (NRRC), says co-founder Colin Kloecker.

This is Solutions' first foray into North Minneapolis. NRRC member Ariah Fine, whom Solutions Twin Cities co-founder Troy Gallas had met at a separate Works Progress event, was instrumental in bringing the forum to the North Side.

"The more we learned about him, and about the council, it just seemed like a natural fit to work with them," says Kloecker.

While this fourth volume is the first in two years, Kloecker says Works Progress would "like this to happen twice a year, all over the city, and in a new place every time." They hope to direct the content, as much as possible, toward the community into which it is held, he says.

Among the local presenters, for instance, Vol. 4 will feature North Minneapolis resident, educator, artist, organizer, and writer Amoke Kubat, author of Mothering Mothers and founder of the Yo Mama Institute.

Other "solutonists" will include:

Daniel Klein, producer, host and chef of The Perennial Plate, an online video series about "socially responsible and adventurous eating."

Laura Zabel, director of Springboard for the Arts, an economic development organization located in Lowertown St. Paul that connects independent artists "with the skills, information and services they need to make a living and a life."

Joseph Adamji and his students from the Kitty Anderson Youth Science Center, at the Science Museum of Minnesota, that "empowers young people to change their world through science."

Mirelle Zacharis, artist and co-curator of No Assumption, "a collaborative art exhibition that took place inside a foreclosed home in Northeast Minneapolis."

Matt Olson, co-founder of rosenlof/lucus, ro/lu, (ROLU), an independent design and art studio focusing on "landscape work, furniture design, relational architectural projects, urban planning and innovative collaborative public art."

Virajita Singh, senior research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Building Research, who is "working to raise funds for communities that need sustainable design services."

Hamilton Bell, project director of the Wilder Foundation's Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood, a "cradle-to-career" community-wide effort to ensure that children in St.Paul's Summit-University and Frogtown neighborhoods "succeed in school and life."

Scotty Reynolds, founder of Mixed Precipitation, a performance group that produces short-form projects "highlighting social engagement, and encouraging the exploration of public and private spaces, as well as collaboration across disciplines."

Source: Colin Kloecker, Works Progress
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

When Tom Fugleberg joined OLSON, he was one of three employees at the Minneapolis-based ad agency. Thirteen years later, that number has skyrocketed to more than 375--well more than double the company's head count at the beginning of 2010.

Following the acquisitions last year of Denali Marketing and public relations firm Dig Communications (see our coverage here and here), 2011 has begun with a steady stream of new creative directors.

Fugleberg, now executive creative director, downplays growth as a byproduct of success in an industry that has changed dramatically since his early days.

"We were born in age when we thought advertising was going in a very different direction," says Fugleberg. The traditional ad is now just one tool in the box, alongside newer platforms and strategies such as public relations, mobile and social media, customer relations management, and more.

The result is a talent pool working holistically, says Fugleberg--a "protean company" focusing on brand communities, "built to follow wherever they'll be next, however they are going to connect next," he says.

Fugleberg cited OLSON's Bauer Hockey campaign, which began with the "brand anthropology" that is "at the core of every move we make," he says.

"Before we did anything creatively, we lived with hockey-crazy kids everywhere from Minneapolis to Moscow," says Fugleberg, "to understand them and how they interact as a community."

At the heart of that community is not NHL and Olympic superstar Sidney Crosby, he explains, but "the 17-year-old varsity captain" and the hockey moms that know all too well the ubiquitous aroma of hockey equipment celebrated in OLSON's best-selling "smell my bag" t-shirt campaign for Nike/Bauer.

Even in the new ad world, however, traditional measures of success still count. Fugleberg notes the agency's 22 Effies in the past nine years among its accolades. In 2010, OLSON added the Minnesota State Lottery, Boston Scientific-CRV, Discover Boating, Naked Juice, IZZE Sparkling Juice (among other "wins") to the dozens of clients on its roster.

Source: Tom Fugleberg, OLSON
Writer: Jeremy Stratton

You don't always want to bore your Facebook friends with work-related updates, just like you don't always want to share personal details with your LinkedIn colleagues. Some video gamers have another layer of identity to manage: their online gaming personality.

A Minneapolis startup is developing a social network called Evolve that's built specifically for PC gamers. Echobit has raised $270,000 in angel funding and it hopes to find another $750,000 in funding by summer. The site is currently in a closed beta testing mode. (Sign-up here if you want to try it out.)

"To a slightly younger set we would describe it as Fight Club for gamers, sort of a discreet social network that helps gamers find each other," says co-founder Adam Sellke. And to an older set? "We just say, essentially, it's a knitting circle, but a lot cooler."

Most multiplayer, online games for PCs have social aspects built in already. You can chat with other players or receive updates on their play. The problem is that all of these networks are siloed by game or publisher. Unless you happen to be playing the same game as a friend, you have no idea what they're doing.

Evolve is different in that it's game-agnostic--it doesn't matter what game you or your friends are playing. A pop-up dashboard that can be toggled on and off the screen lets you chat with, and see updates from, all of your gaming friends, regardless whether they're playing the same game at the moment.

Why might that be useful? Maybe you're playing Counter-Strike but you notice a friend is playing World of Warcraft. Maybe you decide to hop over to that game instead, or perhaps you ping him a chat message telling them to join you in your game.

The founders demonstrated the software at this month's MinneDemo event. See the video below via TECHdotMN:



Source: Adam Sellke, Echobit
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What would cause a person to pour their life savings into converting their suburban home into a jungle-themed tropical birdhouse?

That would be the entrepreneurial drive.

Rainforest Cafe founder Steven Schussler gave a pep talk to the Twin Cities entrepreneurial community last week, speaking at a MOJO/Minnesota event in downtown Minneapolis. His talk centered around stories and anecdotes that appear in his recent book, It's a Jungle in There: Inspiring Lessons, Hard-Won Insights, and Other Acts of Entrepreneurial Daring.

"Life has been very interesting to me," said the New York native, who's been in Minnesota for 27 years and now considers it home.

The three and a half years Schussler spent trying to sell investors on the Rainforest Cafe were both financially and emotionally draining. Unable to convey his vision in words, Schussler began building the concept in his St. Louis Park home.

First he painted the walls black. Then he covered them with greenery. His tropical bird collection grew from a few to a few dozen. He added a couple tortoises. Then a full-scale waterfall, which required punching a hole in the roof. Then lights and mechanical displays. Then generators in the back yard to keep his house from blacking out the entire neighborhood. All while neighbors, then eventually he himself, began to question his sanity.

Luck and persistence paid off, and Schussler eventually found his angel investor. The Rainforest Cafe opened in the Mall of America on Oct. 4, 1994, and expanded to 45 locations on three continents over the next seven years. Schussler sold the business in 2000 for $75 million.

Today, Schussler spends his time working as a creative consultant for the retail, restaurant, and entertainment industries. He employs eight full-time people at his creative laboratory in Golden Valley, where they've developed new restaurants and attractions for Disney World, among other partners.

Source: Steven Schussler, Schussler Creative
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When the economy fell apart two years ago, tens of thousands of architects nationwide lost their jobs as the planning and financing of new projects ground to a halt.

Apartments have recently emerged as a source of hope for builders. Now, another bit of information to fuel tepid optimism: a local architecture firm tells us they've been adding employees again.

BWBR Architects in St. Paul hired about a dozen new employees in 2010 as maintenance and small remodeling projects started to trickle in again.

"We typically are not doing developer buildings where somebody builds the building and then flips it to someone else within three, four, five years. The clients of our buildings own their buildings and own them for 50 or 75 or 100 years," says Peter Smith, BWBR's vice president.

As a result of that longer-term focus, Smith says their clients are typically more interested in maintaining the quality of their buildings, and that means small but regular remodeling projects over the course of a building's life. He says BWBR has managed to maintain longer-term relationships with its clients.

Another fortunate factor: "We don't do retail. We don't do housing. Those things tend to have been hit much more severely over the last two years," says Smith. Instead, much of BWBR's work involves projects that require a higher level of sophistication, such as health care facilities, science and research buildings, and correctional facilities.

Completed projects include Maple Grove Hospital, the 3M Innovation Center, the Elmer L. Andersen Health and Human Services Building, and Lawson Commons. The 89-year-old firm is based in the Lawson Commons building in downtown St. Paul. It started 2010 with just under 100 employees and now has 111.

Source: Peter Smith, BWBR Architects
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A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth gets its shoes on, according to an old proverb. And that was before Twitter and other social networks wired the world.

That's the challenge a St. Paul nonprofit media project is grappling with: how to help the facts around important environmental topics catch up with all of the misinformation that can spread so easily and quickly online these days.

Dialogue Earth is a collaboration between the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment and the Foundation for Environmental Research. This week it announced the completion of a pilot project involving a crowdsourced video contest.

The mission is to find ways to inject timely, trustworthy information into the public debate on environmental issues, without advocating for any particular action or solution.

Its recent video project demonstrates one way in which that goal might be accomplished. Dialogue Earth sponsored a video contest in which all entries had to incorporate information from a list of 12 objective facts about ocean acidification. The other rule: videos couldn't make any specific call to action.

"The only thing we're advocates for is getting good information out," says Dialogue Earth founder Kent Cavender-Bares.

First, participants made short pitches for their ideas. Seven concepts were chosen, after which participants were invited to create 90-second videos based on one of the winning concepts.

The result: a collection of creative, factual videos, ranging from a cartoon starring a snail reggae band to a black-and-white public service announcement parody. The idea is to build a collection of videos that can educate, rather than polarize.

"In order for media to be consumed, we feel that if it's science-based, ultimately it's got to be trustworthy. We also realize it's got to be engaging," says Cavender-Bares.

It also needs to be relevant. The next phase will involve finding ways to produce videos more quickly so that they can be released while a topic is still timely. This contest lasted six weeks, an aeon in Internet attention span.

Dialogue Earth is also preparing to launch a social media/public opinion analysis tool in early 2011 called Pulse, which will seek to track what environmental topics people are talking about. That data could then be used to plan topics for future videos.

Source: Kent Cavender-Bares, Dialogue Earth
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A copywriter at a growing Minneapolis creative shop this week is laboring away like one of Santa's elves.

Only instead of toys, Tristan Jimerson's gifts to the world are ideas. One every 15 minutes. All day long. Every day this week.

It's called an Ideathon, and it's the holiday gimmick/brainchild of Modern Climate (previously Wolfmotell), a creative agency with about 30 full-time employees in downtown Minneapolis.

Jimerson is sitting in a room with a pencil, a Sharpie, a ruler, three markers, three books, a stack of paper, a fax machine and a web cam. Anyone can go online and request an idea, and the fax machine will spit it out for Jimerson to skim.

The rules: Jimerson has two minutes to choose an assignment. Then he has 15 minutes to come up with an idea to address the assignment, and then another two minutes to present the idea to the web cam. Then it starts again.

Keith Wolf, co-founder and chief creative officer, says the concept was about creating a fun holiday promotion, as well as a discussion about the creative process.

"It was really about looking at the creative process," says Wolf, "and pushing it in a direction so the...creative process is what gets discussed."

As of late last week, it appeared to be working already. The experiment earned a mention on Agency Spy and other blogs, and the Twitter feed had picked up a couple hundred followers. The reaction has been a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism.

"Some people," says Wolf, "are kind of scratching their heads and saying those guys in Minneapolis are banging pots and pans."

The Ideathon will continue through 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17 at http://www.modernclimate.com/ideathon/

Source: Keith Wolf, Modern Climate
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'Tis the season for "prize philanthropy."

StoneArch Creative, a Minneapolis company that specializes in health and medical marketing, is giving away $1,000 a day this week to the causes that generate the most tweets for its campaign.

Anyone can vote for a non-profit by posting a public message to Twitter that includes the tag #MyTweetWish. At the end of each day StoneArch will tally a winner.

"My hope would be that we get a nice response from across the country or globally versus just locally," says Jessica Boden, StoneArch's executive creative director.

Boden says StoneArch is celebrating "a great year." Its focus on health and medical marketing has made the 26-year-old agency less vulnerable to economic ups and downs.

Health and medical companies make up 95 percent of StoneArch's clients. The agency bolsters that specialty by hiring employees who come from both the medical and creative worlds, Boden says. That's key to understanding  the technical aspects of products they support.

"It's just a much different dialogue than talking to someone who's buying shoes," says Boden.

Until a few years ago, the company's clients were almost entirely based in the Twin Cities, but in 2010 StoneArch continued to gain traction nationally, says Boden. Highlights included winning work as the agency for Abbott Vascular's drug-eluding stent business.

Source: Jessica Boden, StoneArch Creative
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A St. Cloud software marketer is trying on a new avatar: mobile video game publisher.

W3i was founded ten years ago in a dorm room at St. Cloud State by three brothers, Rob, Ryan and Aaron Weber. Their mission: to be a leader in the distribution of consumer applications.

At the time, that meant Windows desktop software -- a lot of clip art, wallpaper and screensavers. Windows is still a good business, but they now see mobile gaming as the best bet for future growth.

Last summer, the company made headlines for a new service called Apperang, which pays mobile users 25 cents every time they install an app by one of W3i's clients.

Last week, the company announced the launch of a new subsidiary, Recharge Studios, which is seeking to invest at least $1 million in mobile gaming in the next three to six months.

The market for mobile video games is anticipated to grow somewhere between $4.5 billion and $10 billion over the next few years.

"We think there are going to be a lot of developers who are going to try to go after that market, and we believe we can help them," says Rob Weber, W3i's vice president of business development.

In most cases, Recharge will look to help finance, develop and market new mobile gaming apps in exchange for a share of revenue. In some cases it may seek to acquire full ownership.

The studio already has a handful of games under production and plans to release its first title by the end of the month, followed by a few more in the first quarter of 2011.

Source: Rob Weber, W3i
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Give, and you shall receive. That's a lesson learned for Minneapolis branding and design consultancy Imagehaus.

Creative Director Jay Miller started a giving program when he founded the company in 2000. Last month, the firm calculated that it's provided more than $2 million worth of services to nonprofits.

When Imagehaus saw its big-box retailer work shrink in recent years, it was able to fall back on some of those same nonprofits when they returned as paying customers, says Miller.

Twin Cities nonprofits are invited to apply for a grant on Imagehaus' website. The company chooses about one per quarter. Alumni can later get additional services at cost.

The four-person firm recently purchased an 1,800-square-foot commercial condo in the SOHO Lofts building and will be moving there from the other side of downtown early next spring.

As a branding firm, Imagehaus helps retailers come up with names, logos, and store concepts. Besides its nonprofit work, Miller says they benefit from having a mix of large and small clients.

"Our business model has always been very diversified," says Miller.

That's helped them in terms of stability, but also in a creative sense. They're able to take what they learn from working with big-box retailers and apply it to mom-and-pop stores, and vice versa.

"We learn from both--different things," says Miller. "When you have your smaller companies and smaller budgets, it challenges you to be creative in different ways."

Miller says he expects owning instead of renting will reduce the company's overhead and hopefully help it add employees in 2011.

Source: Jay Miller, Imagehaus
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A trio of experienced Twin Cities software developers want to take their startup sensibilities and apply them to projects and products for more established companies.

Dan Grigsby, Tom Brice, and Pete Schwamb this week announced the launch of Drivetrain, an app development agency for mobile, web, and social networks.

Grigsby, who has successfully launched companies in the Twin Cities and Silicon Valley, says startups fundamentally need to be nimble and efficient with software projects. "Startups have to launch quickly, have things in the marketplace, and can't afford to get lost in the minutia and constantly push out launch dates," he says.

Drivetrain will aim to apply that same pace beyond the startup world. The Twin Cities is rich with large companies, many of which have a growing need for new software. Grigsby sees strong demand for marketing and branding apps, as well as business automation apps for managing in-house functions such as production and inventory.

Grigsby previously founded Mobile Orchard, a one-man mobile app development shop. His challenges with that company included scaling, as well as switching gears between selling and coding. He hopes a three-person company will alleviate those issues.

Grigsby, Brice and Schwamb will host a Drivetrain launch party 5:30pm Thursday, Dec. 2, at Pizza Luce in downtown Minneapolis. The new company was also preparing to announce the beta launch of one of its first projects, for local custom stationery shop RedStamp.com.

Source: Dan Grigsby, Drivetrain
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"We usually just say we're an interactive entertainment company," says Shad Petosky.

He and his team of creative minds at Puny Entertainment in Northeast Minneapolis have had their heads down of late, cranking out everything from cartoon and Flash game animations to restaurant and TV-show concepts.

The company's official capabilities list reads like this: Interactive Programming, Design, Animation, Illustration, Concept/Scripting. And Petosky says Puny is expanding those capabilities, too, branching out into social media work and digital media purchasing.

Petosky co-founded the company in 2007. It's biggest success has been winning animation and web design work for the Nick Jr. show Yo Gabba Gabba! Other clients include the Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, General Mills, and The New Yorker.

The Yo Gabba Gabba! work typifies Puny's aesthetic. The show is aimed at preschool kids, but it appeals to hip adults, too, with cameos by indie musicians and actors. "We like to do stuff that works on two levels, where it works for kids and adults," says Petosky, citing The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show as inspiration.

Another common thread that ties the company's varied, multi-media work together: Petosky says "clients tend to want something that's more playful, fun, humorous. I guess it's mostly light-hearted, but with a classic, strong design sense."

That fun, playful vibe often translates well into social media, he says, which is why Puny is preparing to add new services related to social media.

After a quick growth spurt out of the gate in 2007, Petosky says the company is being more deliberate these days. With 20 employees, they're being more selective about clients and jobs and looking to avoid growing faster than they can integrate new employees.

And a new development: One of Puny's partners has acquired a 25 percent stake in the company. Petosky wasn't yet ready to announce details, but said the investment and the expertise it comes with should help Puny Entertainment manage growth.

Source: Shad Petosky, Puny Entertainment
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As the nation recovers from a recession, it's still a depression for teenage job-seekers. The unemployment rate for teenagers was a staggering 27.1 percent last month, nearly three times the overall rate.

The recession appears to have been particularly damaging to teenagers' employment prospects, as laid-off adults trade down to jobs traditionally held by students. A new Minneapolis web startup is aiming to help put some cash in kids' pockets by connecting them with odd jobs around their neighborhood.

Rock Your Block is the brainchild of Sarah Young, who took the idea to last month's Startup Weekend event in Minneapolis, which we covered in a video. The web app will be a place where kids can search for work and advertise their services for things like raking, shoveling or babysitting.

"I wanted to provide a quick, easy, simple way for teens to find odd jobs within their neighborhoods" and avoid the hassle of putting up fliers or knocking on strangers' doors, says Young, whose income as a kid included pay for things like babysitting and dog walking. There is no Monster.com for these kind of chores, and that's what Rock Your Block wants to be.

Young and her team are in the process of working out safety and security issues. Before a child can set up an account, they need to get an adult to vouch for them and pay a sponsorship fee and for an optional background check. When they complete a job, customers can post feedback about their work, which will appear on the teenager's job history.

The company is self-funded for now. They hope to roll out a test version of the site this year with a wider beta launch in 2011.

Source: Sarah Young, Rock Your Block
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Could the clothing we wear someday help us monitor our heart rate, track our performance, or even recover from injuries?

That's the future Lucy Dunne is exploring as an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota's apparel design program

Dunne studies wearable technologies, sometimes referred to as "smart clothing." The term describes to clothing or accessories that incorporate come sort of electronic component.

It's an emerging field with a lot of interest but few products on the shelf so far. One example would be Nike shoes that can send information to an iPod or iPhone. Then there are tackier, or should we say more novel, applications, like the mp3 player jacket or light-up T-shirts.

More serious applications, though, revolve around sports and medicine. One challenge with integrating body monitoring technology into clothing, says Dunne, is that in order to pick up a quality signal, such as a heartbeat, most sensors need to be tightly affixed to the body, often with a strap or a patch.

"I was originally a clothing designer, and in clothing design you can't ask the consumer to make those kinds of compromises, where they're uncomfortable or they feel like they look weird," says Dunne. "So my interest is in translating those sensing techniques into everyday clothing."

Dunne recently received a garment-tech innovation award for her work studying how signal quality is affected by looser fitting clothing (or "Joint Sensing in Everyday Clothing: Analysis of Garment Ease and Signal Noise in a Garment-Integrated Optical Bend Sensor.")

The hope is that her work will one day lead to everyday smart clothing that does more than light up or play music.

Source: Lucy Dunne, University of Minnesota
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You may not have heard of Scales Advertising, but if you buy office supplies from 3M, odds are you've seen their work.

The under-the-radar St. Paul agency does design, packaging and advertising for a variety of 3M products. Other clients include Scotch, C.H. Robinson Worldwide and the Minnesota High Tech Association.

Scales recently announced the hiring of a new associate creative director, Peter Winecke, and also a new client, Red Wing-based Capital Safety.

The nearly 40-year-old company touts a focus on "becoming part of our clients' daily operation, knowledge base and potential."

"We're going after business from a more integrated standpoint versus just a project-by-project basis," says marketing director Holli Maines.

And it appears to be working. The company's revenue was around $6.5 million last year, and they expect to improve on that by between $500,000 and $1 million this year.

Maines says what helps set the agency apart is its range of in-house services, which include strategic planning as well as packaging design and production, photography and international file preparation.

Source: Holli Maines, Scales Advertising
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Stacy Becker knows there's already a million online dating sites.

But she also knows too many people--herself included--who are disappointed, disillusioned, and uninterested in them all.

So she banded together with a few like-minded singles to create Plume Blue, a local dating site that attempts to offer something different.

"We're really trying to rethink how online dating is done," says Becker, the site's founder and CEO.

The result: a site that's centered around events and things to do instead of personality profiles. Users post their ideas or plans for a night out (Say, Walker Art Center on Thursday night), and other users can respond and make plans to join if the plans fit their idea of a good time too.

Becker says too many online dating services lead to meetups that begin with an awkward coffee shop "interview" instead of having fun.

The site, which launched Oct. 26, is a side project for Becker, who also works as a public policy consultant. She developed some web experience while working on a social networking project for the Citizens League.

Her first goal is getting usership up to a critical mass. The first 250 people to sign-up receive a free lifetime membership. After that, Becker plans to charge $12 for the first two months and $7 per month after that.

Source: Stacy Becker, Plume Blue.
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Luis Fitch makes sure marketers' messages don't get lost in translation.

Fitch founded the UNO Hispanic branding agency in Minneapolis in 1999. A gallery exhibit opening Thursday at Metropolitan State University will celebrate a decade of his work.

The Mexican-born creative director previously worked for agencies including Fame, a division of Martin Williams, and John Ryan Group, which specializes in branding for banking.

Fitch started UNO after seeing U.S. Census figures that confirmed what he already knew: that the U.S. Hispanic population was surging in terms of size and purchasing power.

UNO does some work in Mexico and Latin America, but its focus is on the U.S. Hispanic market, which is incredibly diverse, as Fitch recently explained to a new client:

"They wanted to go after the Latino market, and we said, well, which Latino market?"

UNO uses a method called Filtros (or "filters") to better define who a client is seeking to target. The branding strategy will vary depending on things such as language, religion, and country of origin.

Much of the agency's work involves in-store retail displays or package design. It also helps local advertising agencies adapt their campaigns for Hispanic audiences.

The company has five employees, along with a circle of freelancers. Clients include local Fortune 500 companies such as Target, General Mills, and Nash Finch.

"Ten Years of Hispanic Posters by Luis Fitch of UNO Branding" opens with a reception 4-7pm, Oct. 14, at the Gordon Parks Gallery (645 E. 7th St., St. Paul).

Source: Luis Fitch, UNO Ltd.
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A recent campaign by Preston Kelly encouraged people to lose weight and get rid of their "fatpants." Meanwhile, the Minneapolis ad agency is loosening its own belt.

The sixty-year-old agency has added seven new people this year, bringing its team to a total of 45 people.

Chuck Kelly, president and principal, says the agency has seen growth from both existing and new clients. Last year, for example, it added Grand Casino to its client list, which also includes HealthPartners, the Mall of America, and the Minnesota Zoo.

What's working? Kelly says customers are coming to them for "iconic ideas."

"What we say is an iconic idea is an idea that motivates people and inspires them to take the desired action," says Kelly. "I think our insights lead to iconic ideas, and iconic ideas lead to results."

Preston Kelly was named Advertising Age's 2010 Midwest Small Agency of the Year in July. Last week, it won a 2010 Radio Mercury Award for a campaign it did for the YMCA, which encouraged people to lose weight and then donate their old "fatpants" to charity.

"All of a sudden there is a double good," says Kelly.

Kelly says the agency is growing its content management and working on new digital strategies to balance  traditional advertising.

Source: Chuck Kelly, Preston Kelly
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Online advertisers go to great lengths to gather information about web users. They glean terabytes of data from web searches, social media profiles, and other sources in an attempt to target certain advertisements to certain audiences.

The problem, according to entrepreneur Aaron Weber, is that a lot of this information is outdated, incomplete, and still dependent on guesswork. For example, are those baby clothes you ordered a gift, or are you a new parent?

Weber's solution: instead of forcing advertisers to cyberstalk and guess what consumers want, why not let consumers just tell advertisers what they're interested in?

Weber is co-founder of Inveni, an online "taste profile" that lets Internet users consolidate product ratings from various websites and choose to anonymously share them with advertisers. In exchange, users get help finding other products they may like and hopefully get more relevant advertising at sites they visit.

"The whole goal is to align the interests of advertisers and consumers," says Weber.

The service launched in beta last week. For now it only supports movies and television programs, but Weber says Inveni plans to expand to include books, music, video games, and perhaps other products and restaurants after that.

Inveni will be incorporating display advertising on its site in the coming weeks. Users who choose to share information with advertisers will also have their anonymous information stored in a web cookie so advertisers on other sites can match ads to their taste profiles.

Weber previously co-founded W3i, an online software marketing company that he and his co-founders grew from their dorm rooms in St. Cloud to a $30-million-a-year company.

Source: Aaron Weber, Inveni
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If inefficient data storage is the corporate equivalent of searching for your lost car keys, Digitiliti provides valet service. The downtown-St. Paul–based company offers an integrated data management service that files, stores, secures, and backs up company data seamlessly and automatically--functions that are typically spread across half a dozen software platforms.

"The biggest problem is that for data, there's a point solution for every problem," he says. "If you want to store your data, you buy backup software. If you want disaster recovery, you take it offsite. If you want to be able to collaborate, you buy software for that. We've integrated it into one system."

For this nifty achievement, the company picked up a Tech Award Circle gold medal in July and a nomination for a Tekne Award from the Minnesota High Tech Association in September.

The company launched in 2005 with a data protection service, but quickly identified the need for a broader product, explains Ken Peters, executive vice president in sales and marketing. The company's DigiLIBE (Digital Library) product launched two years ago, and has fueled remarkable growth for the tech company right through the recession, doubling the company's workforce to about two dozen.

In growth, Digitiliti has maintained its flexibility. Headquarters are located in St. Paul's artsy Lowertown neighborhood, an environment that "fosters innovation," according to Peters. And rather than bulk up on staff, they've taken a nimble approach to growth: "We have built a flexible workforce, both internal and external," he says. "Our approach is, hire the best talent. It doesn't matter where they're located."

Source: Ken Peters, Digitiliti
Writer: Joe Hart

Some folks toss the fundraising pitch from their alma mater; others reach for their checkbooks. The St. Paul–based Reeher company aims to help colleges and universities determine which category you fit—before the direct mailers go out.

This task requires "predictive analytics" that crunch data collected about individuals to sort who is likely to donate, and why. "Traditionally, institutions would build that kind of system themselves, which is expensive and requires pretty specialized people," explains company founder Andy Reeher. "We can give them that functionality within a matter of weeks."

Reeher is further differentiated by the fact that its service is web-based, which eliminates any need for software installation and minimizes training.

Growth of the company has been rapid, fueled in part by lean budgets and diminishing funding sources at institutions of higher ed. A number of larger institutions, including Tulane and Johns Hopkins, have signed on for the service. Two weeks ago the company signed up McGill University, one of the oldest and largest institutions in Canada, and it just inked a deal with the University of Kentucky which Reeher says will be announced shortly.

"We're doing very well as a business right now," Reeher says. "With the economy in a tough situation, organizations are learning to use their resources more wisely." Reeher's service helps them do so--and save money while they're doing it.

Source, Andy Reeher, Reeher LLC
Writer: Joe Hart

A local mobile app developer's profile is rising like, well, a weather balloon.

Sevnthsin has doubled in size over the past two years to 14 employees today. The company's mobile site is on display this week as the Mobile Site of the Day for Wednesday, Sept. 22, on the Favorite Website Awards, a site where marketers and developers go for ideas and inspiration.

And last week it landed on the front page of the Pioneer Press for attaching a cooler full of cameras and mobile devices to a weather balloon and sending it into the upper atmosphere. "We are doing this out of curiosity, as a way to test the limits of mobile-phone technology," Sevnthsin owner Jamey Erickson told reporter Julio Ojeda-Zapata.

Sevnthsin was originally the name of Erickson's band, which never took off. But his web-building business did. During college he started doing web work for various local bands. As those contacts generated more work, he eventually started a full-time company in June 2006.

Erickson's company still does work for local musicians, including Doomtree and Rhymesayers Entertainment, but his clients now also include the likes of Target, Caribou Coffee, and Toyota.

"We basically help clients build a conversation with a twentysomething audience," says Erickson. It's a younger, tech-savvy audience that expects more two-way communication.

Sevnthsin has grown through the recession, and Erickson believes it's because the economy is encouraging companies to experiment with new technologies that cost less than mass media.

"People are trying to innovate and come up with new solutions as the world is rapidly changing around us"--from both a technological and an economic standpoint, says Erickson. "We see people willing to experiment with these new technologies, and experiment with them more seriously."

Sevnthsin plans to launch another weather balloon on Friday, Sept. 24.

Source: Jamey Erickson, Sevnthsin
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If you're familiar with the concept of software-as-a-service, consider this lawyering-as-a-service.

The Glover Law Firm in Minneapolis has launched a new practice aimed at serving tech startups, with a billing model inspired by the flat-rate, tiered pricing associated with many web applications.

"We're trying to build a firm that feels similar to the types of businesses we hope to represent," says owner/founder Sam Glover.

Clients choose from one of four service plans that range from $150 to $1,200 per month and include document preparation, annual reviews, and weekly, monthly or quarterly check-ins.

It sounds simple, and that's what makes it such a departure for the legal industry. Since the 1960s, law firms have almost universally charged clients based on "billable hours." Attorneys tally up every six-minute increment of work they do for a client and add it to their tab.

But that system, says Glover, rewards inefficiency and encourages clients to put off asking questions, even though a quick answer might help prevent bigger problems down the line. Glover's model allows an entrepreneur to call with a question without worrying about a new bill.

"It's great for the clients because they know how much they're going to pay next month," says Glover. "It's great for us because we know the money that's coming in next month."

Glover started his law firm in 2005 focusing on business and consumer protection law. He and business partner Aaron Street started signing up clients for the startup practice last month at startuplawyer.mn.

Source: Sam Glover, The Glover Law Firm, LLC
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The Nerdery's plot for global domination is going according to plan.

The Bloomington-based web/mobile development shop opened a Chicago office on Aug. 1. Now it's taking notes on what works and what doesn't in preparation to open another remote office next year.

"As it stands right now, the Chicago office is working really well," says owner Luke Bucklin.

"We're not running into as many challenges as we expected, so I think we're well on our way to global domination through opening new offices," Bucklin deadpans.

He's joking about that global domination thing, right? The Nerdery's numbers suggest maybe not: The 7-year-old company started the year with 101 employees. Today it has 147 (including seven in Chicago.) This year's revenue is on track to hit about $14 million compared to $8.6 million in 2009.

The company's primary clients are advertising and marketing agencies, which are having a harder time keeping up with the increasingly specialized programming demands of their customers.

Just five years ago, an agency could more easily get by with a handful of in-house developers. A team of generalists could stay up to speed with all the programming disciplines necessary.

Today, though, advertising and marketing clients are demanding more interactive work, while at the same time the technology has splintered into more and more specialties. Agencies now need to offer development for iPhones, iPads, BlackBerry, Android, mobile web, social media.

"The list is significantly longer now than it used to be," says Bucklin. "We've solved that problem in a way the agencies aren't able to," by hiring teams of specialists in each area. "Today we have specialists in technologies that didn't even exist three years ago."

The Nerdery is looking into Dallas, New York and San Francisco as possible expansion locations in 2011.

Source: Luke Bucklin, The Nerdery
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A few years ago, a group of Twin Cities advertising leaders realized they were missing an opportunity by not better marketing their industry to students with diverse backgrounds.

Their concerns led to the creation of The BrandLab, a school outreach and scholarship program, which is expanding to a dozen metro-area classrooms this school year.

Twin Cities agencies routinely create campaigns for diverse populations around the world, says BrandLab executive director Jim Cousins. Yet if you look around at the makeup of the staffs creating them, they don't always match the target audience.

BrandLab was started by OLSON in 2007 and expanded to include other agencies the following year. Its goal is to create opportunities in the marketing industry for students with diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Since the pilot at South High School, the program has expanded to two, then six, and now twelve classrooms at schools in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Bloomington.

"You can't really ask for a job in an industry that you don't know exists," says Cousins.

That's why the program starts with exposure, explaining to students what kind of careers exist in marketing. The hands-on curriculum is often integrated with an existing media arts or mass communication class. The most promising and energetic students then have a chance to apply for internships and scholarships, with two of each awarded per class.

Schools participating this year include South, North, and Patrick Henry high schools in Minneapolis, Arlington High School and Community of Peace Academy in St. Paul, Kennedy High School in Bloomington, and Minnesota Transitions Charter High School.

Source: Jim Cousins, BrandLab
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An interactive marketing agency that counts Hulk and Spider Man as clients has developed a superpower of its own: growing in a downturn.

Antidote X, based in Minneapolis, has been working on interactive campaigns for some major entertainment companies, including comic book giant Marvel. The company recently hired six new employees, more than doubling its size since the start of the year from five people to an 11-person team today.

The company has been around for more than a decade, formed in 1998 by a pair of former developers from Campbell Mithun and Carmichael Lynch. It specializes in designing and developing integrated multi-platform strategies-- campaigns that look and feel the same whether a person is accessing them through a mobile app, their Facebook page, or a micro-website.

"The experience is only different in regards to the platform that it's being delivered on," says co-founder Paul Nealy.

Other clients include DreamWorks, video-game publisher THQ, and bath and kitchen product manufacturer American Standard, whose Antidote X-designed website was recently reviewed as one of the best corporate-designed websites.

While some companies have cut their marketing budgets in recent years, Nealy says in general they're observing an increase in spending on online and interactive--a good thing for a city that's a hub of interactive marketing.

Source: Paul Nealy, Antidote X
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A former Medtronic manager has found a second career giving greeting cards a second life.

Last fall Christy Eichers started selling kits to help consumers reuse old greeting cards. Regreet kits come with fresh envelopes and recycled-paper labels to affix over the original signatures.

They also come with tracking labels that let users go online and see how many times the cards have been reused and where they wind up (as with the Where's George? dollar bill tracker.)

Eichers describes the inspiration as "a bit of necessity and a bit of red wine."

She was back home visiting family and friends in Mankato two winters ago when the idea struck. She couldn't motivate herself to go out into the cold to buy a birthday card for a friend, so her her mother suggested reusing one of the cards her father had just received for his birthday.

Her first thought: Where's the White Out? But later she started to wonder whether her crafty solution might contain a business idea. She took that thought to a WomenVenture class, developed a business plan, and started her company in October 2009.

Along the way she decided to take a voluntary severance package from her former employer, Medtronic, where she worked as part of the community affairs team. "A little bit of craziness," she says," but sometimes you just have to take the leap."

Regreet's card reuse kits are now for sale online and in 14 retail stores in seven states. And cards with the labels affixed have logged more than 138,000 miles around the globe.

Eichers doesn't have any employees, but she has a regular circle of consultants and creative professionals who work on contract, and she recently started signing up sales reps, too. Much of her energy is going toward building awareness and educating consumers about the product.

The $11.99 kits come with supplies to repurpose eight greeting cards, which works out to about $1.50 per card. In September, $2 from every purchase will support breast cancer research and awareness through the the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Source: Christy Eichers, Regreet
Writer:

 

A Minneapolis marketing and branding firm is growing into its arty new digs in the Lyn-Lake neighborhood.

Zeus Jones is a few months into its fourth year, and it appears to be its best on a record so far, according to founding partner Adrian Ho. It's grown in the past few years from four partners to about 20 employees, and it's still hiring.

Zeus Jones was founded in March 2007 around the idea that actions speak louder than words. Traditional advertising was, and still is, becoming less and less effective, the four co-founders thought, and there had to be a better way.

"Our whole thing was like, look, let's stop annoying customers and take some of that money and start doing things that actually enhance the product or experience," says Ho. "If you do that, people will do a lot of the talking for you." An example: a recent Zeus Jones project for Nordstroms involved putting photo booths next to the junior department dressing rooms so teen girls could share photos with friends or parents before deciding whether to buy.

Over the past few years the firm has outgrown its 1,100-square-foot Uptown space, and so when its lease ran out it made the move to more spacious digs in the Soo Visual Arts Center building near 27th and Lyndale. The gallery's director, Suzy Greenberg, had been looking for a tenant to help share costs, and "it seemed like a great match," says Ho. " She wanted a creative company and we like the idea of helping to support the arts through our rent."

The reasons for the company's growth, says Ho, likely have to do with the fact that businesses know they're getting less and less for their money via traditional advertising, and that Zeus Jones' small size and flexibility make it easy for companies to experiment. The company's clients include General Mills, Nestle Purina, and Haagen-Dazs.

Source: Adrian Ho, Zeus Jones
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The Adholics have taken a step toward proving their business model.

The freelance advertising collaborative last week signed up its first client, a local web startup company, which they don't plan to name for at least a couple more months.

The Adholics is the brainchild of Josh Fedie, a new business and account manager for various small and mid-sized agencies over the past decade.

The advertising industry is increasingly relying on freelancers. What's bothered Fedie in recent years is the lack of transparency around that trend. Clients are paying top dollar for an agency's work and often don't realize the work is being farmed out to the least expensive freelancers on the market, he says.

"That's not what's being sold to the client," Fedie says.

About six months ago, Fedie started scouting for freelance professionals to join a virtual agency. The result is a 17-member, full-service advertising and marketing shop. Its members' expertise covers most of the major disciplines, from web and graphic design to copywriting and social media strategy.

What separates The Adholics from other collaboratives, Fedie says, is its transparency. All of its partners are listed on its website. It has a photography studio and one partner has donated office space, but the model eliminates most of the overhead associated with running a conventional agency.

Fedie believes the model will allow The Adholics to compete with any agency in town. He says the goal is to win business that would be out of reach for a solo freelancer:

"That's the number-one goal: to go after dream accounts," says Fedie. "We want to work for enthusiast brands. We want to go after those accounts that all of us have always wanted to work for and it's been hard to get to on our own, but I think with a group like this it's definitely in reach, and definitely within our capabilities."

Source: Josh Fedie, The Adholics
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"Little" might be in the company's name, but a Twin Cities design shop is thinking big with its web video series.

Little & Company, a strategic design firm that employs about 40 people in downtown Minneapolis, is preparing another batch of videos for its Thirty Conversations on Design project, and they feature some high-profile names, says creative director Joe Cecere.

The series started last year as a celebration of the agency's 30th anniversary. It reached out to 30 creative professionals around the world and asked them to answer, via video, two questions: "What single example of design inspires you most?" and "What problem should design solve next?"

The results were posted on a website where designers, authors, architects, marketers and others could go to find inspiration, as well as participate in a conversation around the videos. In the spirit of TED talks, Little & Company now plans to build on the archive, adding more videos each year.

Little & Company cast a wider net with this year's interviews. Cecere says they wanted to expand beyond graphic design and marketing and include creative fields such as architecture, fashion, and filmmaking. The selection process was the same as last year.

"We get a group of us here. We get together in a room and we put our dream list together," says Cecere.

They draw ideas from pop culture, magazines, and design annuals. Cecere then starts reaching out to people on the list, and if they agree, they box up a digital video camera with instructions and drop it in the mail. This year's confirmed participants include design editor Allan Chochinov, author Daniel Pink, and skateboard entrepreneur Tony Hawk.

"The nice thing about the questions is they're universal enough and they're kind of timeless," says Cecere. "What's going to be interesting every year is to have a new perspective based on what's happening in the world and how those answers change."

Cecere says this year's website, which is scheduled to launch next month, will be more robust, with better tools for interacting with other viewers and sorting and searching the videos. The company is also considering staging a speaking event or series involving some of the participants.

Source: Joe Cecere, Little & Company
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Call it organic growth. A south Minneapolis design shop is finding success in a downturn by focusing on food co-ops and other "mission-oriented" clients.

In fact, the past few years have been the best on record for Spunk Design Machine, a 14-year-old creative boutique in the Nokomis neighborhood.

Founder Jeff Johnson says the shop's work is up at least 30 percent from a year ago, and much of it is in a niche he's coined "mission-oriented branding."

"I feel incredibly excited and bullish about this trend," says Johnson. "All of the clients that are doing mission-oriented branding seem to be succeeding."

They're organizations like the Seward Co-op, Peace Coffee and Galactic Pizza, which, like Spunk, pay attention to a triple bottom line that looks at financial, environmental and community factors. From Johnson's vantage point, it seems that companies selling good products with a clear message are "rocking it" despite, or perhaps because of, the recession.

"We've been just really fortunate that we've been attracting a lot of those clients in the past couple of years," says Johnson. Its current roster includes about 30 clients.

Among the projects he's most proud of: a compostable pizza box he designed with Galactic Pizza. Standard pizza boxes can't be recycled because of the grease content. The solution they came up with was to collect and compost the used boxes. The entire box is a $1-off coupon. After they're turned in, they're composted in a bin behind the store, and then the finished compost is sold for roadside planting projects.

Spunk Design Machine opened a New York office a couple of years ago, but Minneapolis remains its home base. Johnson says he's yet to come across a better town to build a creative business: "Minneapolis is just filled with a lot of dorky, humble, very smart people who make amazing stuff."

Source: Jeff Johnson, Spunk Design Machine
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Mono, a fast-growing Minneapolis advertising and branding agency, has entered into an agency-of-record relationship with cable news network MSNBC.

According to an NBC Universal press release, mono "will be MSNBC's creative and strategic partner for marketing campaign development and advertising efforts."

"Mono has a strong track record of success and we're thrilled to have them as our strategic and creative partner." Sharon Otterman, Chief Marketing Officer of MSNBC, said in the announcement.

Mono's managing partner, James Scott, said that his firm is "thrilled" to help MSNBC continue to build momentum in the competitive news space, but neither company is saying much else about the deal.

It could be that they're just plain too busy. Mono is one of the fastest growing agencies in the country, adding more than 20 employees in the last 12 months. It expects to add at least 12 more in the coming months. A spokesman says new business is up 65 percent year-to-date compared to 2009, with new clients including Parsons The New School for Design, HGTV, Johnson & Johnson's Rolaids brand, and MSNBC.

Mono was recently named one of the best small agencies in the country by Advertising Age magazine.

The company has a track record in television, too. Mono's very first client was Sesame Street, and it also was behind USA Networks' "Characters Welcome" campaign.

Source: Jim Scott, Mono
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From indie radio to indie T-shirts: A former Twin Cities radio personality is turning music-inspired clothing into an at-home small business.

Pop Frocks started last fall when Mandy Cox bought a T-shirt press and started making toddler and infant clothing inspired by her favorite rock and soul music legends. The goal was not only cool clothes for her then 1-year-old son, but also building a business that would reconnect her with her former music career.

Cox started out her radio career in the mid-'90s as an intern at the late-great Rev 105, and later took that experience to KFAI, where she hosted an overnight music program. She also worked behind the scenes at 89.3 The Current during the first year of the station's existence.

As she settled down a bit and had a kid, she found herself missing her old music lifestyle. "I really missed that, and thought: what can I do from the house that can bring this element back into my life?"

When the Electric Fetus recently invited her to participate in one of its MinnEconomy events (Pop Frocks is one of this month's featured artists), Cox decided to create a whole new series of shirts all inspired by Minnesota artists.

"It all started off by asking (89.3 The Current DJ) Mary Lucia if I could put her face on a T-shirt," says Cox. Since then she's received enthusiastic OKs from more than a dozen local bands and personalities, from punk pioneers The Suicide Commandos to current buzz-band Communist Daughter.

"I'm totally jazzed about the way it's turned out," says Cox. "It's nice to get that e-mail from [Duluth musician] Alan Sparhawk saying, yes, go ahead! Do it! Send me one for my daughter!"

The limited-edition collection (Cox is limiting each design to between 30 and 50 shirts) is for sale at The Electric Fetus and will soon also be available on the Pop Frocks website.

Source: Mandy Cox, Pop Frocks Apparel
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A local boutique marketing firm is doing well by focusing on good.

Marketing That Matters is a three-year-old company started by Lori Schaefer, who has a background in corporate communications, public affairs, and progressive politics.

The emphasis is on clients Schaefer believes are making a difference in the world, including nonprofits, public sector agencies. and social entrepreneurs.

"I really wanted to see if you could take what works from the for-profit marketing world and brand/strategy world and bring some of that expertise to the nonprofit sector," says Schaefer.

The recent growth in her client list suggests you can.

Schaefer has done work for major foundations, as well as the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative (a sponsor of The Line). After working on her own or with a small group of independent contractors for the past few years, she's now preparing to hire her first one or two formal employees.

"One of the best pieces of advice I've received," she says, "is you can't be afraid to take the leap when you see the growth starting to happen."

Schaefer credits the growth to her team's hard work, as well as the company's clearly focused niche, which seems to be timely. More for-profits appear to be recognizing the importance of social responsibility and their role in the community , she says. Meanwhile, President Obama's campaign seems to have started to change the way nonprofits and public agencies think about branding and marketing issues.

Source: Lori Schaefer, Marketing That Matters
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A Minneapolis video game developer scored second place last week in a Boing Boing Arcade contest for a game called Infiltration at Dusk.

Creating video games is actually a hobby of Zachary Johnson, whose day job is working as a user experience developer at Worrell, Inc.

The Boing Boing contest asked developers to build a game inspired by a piece of chip music, the chimey tunes used in old-school video games.

Johnson guesses he's made about a dozen video games since the mid-90s. This one took about 30 hours to create and incorporates unique controls. No memorizing buttons. Just mash your keyboard in the direction you want to shoot.

The premise: you're the last gunman protecting a village from a "horde of biomechanical abominations" trying to rid Earth of all humans.

Sound pretty dark? Well, things are looking brighter for indie video game makers.

"The indie game market is big right now," says Johnson. The cost and accessibility of computing power have given hobbyists tools that professionals could have only dreamed about two decades ago.

Meanwhile, indie video game developers have open markets to sell and distribute their creations via mobile devices or web browsers. That said, Johnson has no plans for quitting his day job.

"It's still a hobby for me. For me, it would be more exciting if I made a game that resonated with thousands of people," says Johnson. "It might earn me enough money that I could pour into another game."

Source: Zach Johnson
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A Minneapolis digital communications firm is grabbing attention--and bystanders--with a new interactive billboard in Times Square.

Space150 recently became the agency of record for Forever21, the trendy youth fashion chain. Its first project: creating a giant high-tech display for the retailer's flagship store in New York's Times Square.

In most places, a 61-foot-tall video screen would be enough to turn heads, but not in Times Square. Over the past decade the center has been overtaken by increasingly enormous screens to the point that it now looks like a sports bar for giants. Space150 decided to go different instead of bigger.

"We looked at it and said this is almost like a giant computer screen, versus a television screen where you just have the one-way interaction," says space150 founder/CEO Billy Jurewicz.

The firm created a series of interactive "episodes" that rotate across the screen. One displays recent tweets that include the phrases "love" and "Forever21." Another is "Forever Runway," an ongoing loop of user-generated videos showing fans walking from one side of the screen to the other.
 
The real eye-catcher, though, is a bit called "getting picked up by a model." A super-high-definition camera mounted on the billboard displays a real-time stream of the people standing below. A superimposed model enters the screen, then reaches out and plucks a person's image from the live video feed. The model might kiss the person, or put them in a shopping bag, or flick them away.

"This is sensational. It's a live image of the crowd. People just start mobbing like they're watching the World Cup or something," says Jurewicz. "If you see it, you're going to say that's something you want to do as a tourist in New York, to go get picked up by a model at Times Square."

Jurewicz founded space150 in March 2000. The company recently celebrated its tenth anniversary in the midst of an expansion. The firm has grown to about 140 employees from about 90 at the start of the year. It's hired about 20 in the past three weeks alone.

Source: Billy Jurewicz, space150
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The job market for web and app developers in the Twin Cities appears to be picking up, according to a major IT staffing firm.

An official with Robert Half Technology in the Twin Cities says the agency has seen a significant spike in demand for IT skills, especially in temporary contract positions.

"If you compare this quarter over the same quarter last year, our business is up substantially," says Kathy Northamer, senior regional vice president in the Twin Cities. "Specifically we're seeing a big increase in the application development or the web development space. We're just seeing such a huge increase in need."

Northamer wasn't able to provide specific numbers about the increase. She attributes the activity to a couple of factors. Some companies are feeling more confident about the economy, but others have simply put off website redesigns and other projects as long as they are able to. Also, companies are putting more of their marketing dollars into online campaigns, which require developers.

The company has also noticed growing demand for network administration and help-desk professionals, Northamer says.

Northamer's observation fits with new employment figures released last week by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Temporary hiring was 14.5 percent higher in May than it was the previous year, marking the largest rate of gain since mid 2006.

Source: Kathy Northamer, Robert Half Technology
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Minneapolis branding agency OLSON announced this week that it's acquired Denali Marketing, the fast-growing loyalty marketing firm we wrote about last week.

Denali Marketing helps companies manage customer loyalty programs, including Best Buy's Reward Zone and Sun Country's Ufly Rewards.

OLSON has been interested in developing or acquiring loyalty expertise for a few years, and about six months ago started a nationwide search for a partner.

"Sometimes you don't know what's in your own backyard until you scour the country," said OLSON President Kevin DiLorenzo, who has been named the new agency's CEO.

The combination of OLSON and Denali creates a 300-person agency, the largest full-service ad agency in Minnesota with clients that include some of the state's biggest brands (Target, Best Buy, Sun Country, General Mills, Land O'Lakes).

And instead of reducing employees, as is common following many mergers and acquisitions, DiLorenzo said they plan to add about 50 new hires as they combine.

DiLorenzo said Denali's culture and client roster are both complimentary to OLSON's business. There's also connections and familiarity among management teams, he said.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"Joining forces with Denali is a very good fit for us, and the fact that they happened to be here in our own backyard makes integration issues much more seamless and easy to manage for us," DiLorenzo said.

Source: Kevin DiLorenzo, OLSON
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An ad agency whose clients range from Sesame Street to Steve Jobs is growing to keep up with new business.

Minneapolis-based mono announced last week that it's made two new hires, a designer and a project leader, to keep up with recent client growth. They follow three previous hires announced in April and bring its employee count up to 43.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad at Apple's annual winter gala earlier this year, the giant graphic on stage behind him was designed by mono.

The six-year-old branding and advertising firm is also responsible for producing back-to-school and other seasonal in-store displays for Apple Stores.

Other clients include Macy's, Rolaids, Herman Miller, General Mills, Sesame Street, and Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day.

The most recent hires by mono were in preparation for another large client that's expected to be announced soon.

James Scott, a co-founder and managing partner, said the company is as busy as it's ever been. It grew last year despite the recession, and it expects to grow more this year.

"I think it was because we were able to retain and maintain a really, really smart and talented bunch of people," Scott said.

While others were downsizing, mono manged to avoid layoffs, and that's helped it win new clients, such as Macy's and Rolaids, which it might have missed had the company scaled back, he said.

"We were able to capitalize in a very tough year on opportunities that came our way, and we grew."

Source: James Scott, managing partner, mono
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Boston's Fenway Park is already known for the Green Monster, its towering, forest-colored outfield wall.

Now, a growing Minneapolis agency has been hired to make fans associate the ballpark with environmental "green."

GreenMark is the world's first environmental sports sponsorship agency. President Mark Andrew plays matchmaker between sports teams and facilities and companies that have environmental causes or products to promote.

"We create opportunities for companies to showcase their green products and services from a sports platform," Andrew said. "It's very experiential. We don't do signs on walls."

The concept first came to life at Target Field when Pentair signed on as "The Official Sustainable Water Provider" for the Minnesota Twins. The sponsorship centers around the high-tech rainwater recycling system Pentair installed under the field.

GreenMark's clients include the Twins and Wild, as well as Target Center and TCF Stadium. It also represents the San Francisco 49ers.

"The reason we want to be in sports is that sports buildings are enormous platforms to tell sustainability stories," said Andrew, a former Hennepin County commissioner and state DFL chairman who started the company in 2006.

The Boston Red Sox last week announced the hiring of GreenMark as the team's green sponsorship agency for Fenway Park. Andrew and his team are now scouting for green technologies that might be incorporated into the century-old ballpark. The brainstorming includes the obvious question of how to best incorporate the iconic Green Monster in left field.

The company has about half a dozen full-time employees. Andrew expects it to grow to about a dozen by the end of 2011.

Source: Mark Andrew, President & Founder, GreenMark
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