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Startups Aren’t Everything…They’re the ONLY Thing

24. August 2010

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On my continuing quest to discover new sources of data and insight about startups, I came across a very interesting read today—and received something from TheDeets’ Ed Kohler—and wanted to share both with you. A new study (PDF) by the Kauffman Foundation paints a very different picture about the importance of startups: When it comes [...]

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MPR: Where is innovation in Minnesota?

28. July 2010

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Minnesota Public Radio has a subsite called MPRNewsQ with an online poll for ‘select’ Minnesotans: Where is the innovation in your field? At the head of the poll they state, “Innovation: The health of the economy depends on it. Our schools are meant to encourage it. But innovation isn’t a widget that can be stamped [...]

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Why Small Business Needs to Innovate

26. July 2010

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It is likely you’ve heard many times that small business is the engine of the U.S. economy and employs more than 50% of workers in our country. Over a recent 15-year period small businesses created some 65 percent of the net new jobs in the private sector according to a report, “Analysis of Small Business [...]

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Is Perception the Reality with MN Venture Funding?

16. July 2010

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All the effort underway to kickstart innovation and entrepreneurial activity ((e.g., MHTA; MNCup; MOJO MN; Minnedemo/Minnebar; Minnov8; tech.mn) is clearly a reaction to the nearly terminal decline of risk taking and venture funding in Minnesota. Wherever there is a vacuum, something will fill it! How true is the perception that Minnesota lacks funding and risk-taking venture capitalists? If you read [...]

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The Joy of Infiltration Champions Open Game Development

15. July 2010

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The mind of Zach Johnson is an interesting place. While much of it remains unexplored it’s filled with plenty of ideas, projects and fun. We last talked with Zach about Scribbls, a great site where doodles can give birth to hilarious results that he and his Watermelon Sauce partner Paul Armstrong developed. His most recent [...]

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Method Patents: Good or Bad?

15. July 2010

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Let’s say you’ve founded a startup and think you have a completely original idea no one has thought of before with new approaches to the way an old process works. You might then think all you have to do is patent that process and you can achieve the protection patenting is all about: excluding others [...]

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MixMobi Moves Closer to Being Named One of The PepsiCo 10

13. July 2010

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Local mobile marketing start up MixMobi emerges from hundreds of entries to  join 40 other emerging technology firms in advancing to the the semi-final round of brand giant PepsiCo’s PepsiCo10. MixMobi’s CEO, Lisa Foote noted, “Pepsi’s brands (Quaker, Gatorade, Frito Lay and Pepsi) are global, multi-channel brands that can benefit from MixMobi’s approach to mobile [...]

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W3i Lights Up the ‘Net with Its Latest App News

29. June 2010

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Okay, so there’s this company named Apple that I hear makes phones.  And people tell me there’s been, uh, a bit of news lately about some new phone of theirs?  Well, that media firestorm didn’t stop Minnesota’s W3i LLC from deciding to jump in with some news of its own, which is actually related to [...]

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iKenex Platform from DoApp

18. June 2010

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The team at Rochester, MN-based DoApp just announced their new iKenex real estate platform built in collaboration with California MLS software firm Concentric Mobile. iKenex brings all the real estate data a realtor or buyer would ever need to their preferred mobile smartphone device, whether it is an iPhone, iPad, Android or Blackberry. Taking advantage of [...]

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MN Cup Announces Semi-Finalists

15. June 2010

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Out of a field of 1,000 participants from around the State, 48 of them have been chosen as semi-finalists to enter the next phase of the competition. If you don’t know the Minnesota Cup, it,  ”...presents entrepreneurs and start-up companies with a unique opportunity in these challenging economic times. More than $130,000 in seed capital [...]

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