Minnov8

Minnesota’s innovators require many resources to be successful and a new entity, MOJO Minnesota, has been formed to thwart what the founders see as “an innovation crisis in Minnesota” and since “entrepreneurial advances and business revolutions thrive in a culture and community of risk and innovation.”

The catalysts for MOJO Minnesota read like a “Who’s Who” of successful entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and intellectual property experts such as: Brad Lehrman; Ernest Grumbles; Kim Garretson; Mary Meehan; Tim Bachman; Rick Brimacomb; Andy Halper; Joy Lindsay; Damien Novak and Marti Nyman.

As they so engagingly point out, “Minnesota has amazing creative, technical and financial capital – yet new business launches and exits are scarce agitation is needed to – promote a culture of risk – and to – support innovation on the path from launch to exit the need for leaders Minnesota needs business revolutionaries to:

• boost emerging business and technology models
• spark the innovation community; and
• promote use of risk capital
• the path to mojo – a movement.”

The Minnov8 team met with the founders Wednesday to talk about their vision and what’s next. Here’s a snippet of that conversation where Phil Wilson asks Brad and Ernest for an overview of MOJO MN: