Archive | Tech Investors RSS feed for this section

Best Buy Shakes Up VC Liaison Group

11. August 2008

0 Comments

The longtime head of the group within Best Buy Co. that served as liaison to the venture capital community is out, replaced by two senior VPs. Martin Nyman told me his position was eliminated June 30. He had been with the company for approximately seven years, with a recent title of Director-Global Innovation Network. At [...]

Continue reading...

Thirty Semifinalists Named in ‘Minnesota Cup’ Business Plan Competition

29. June 2008

6 Comments

I attended and Twittered a bit at a reception Wednesday evening, June 25, at the grand, old James J. Hill Library in downtown St. Paul. (You remember old J.J., don’t you, the Bill Gates of his era?) It was an event to honor the startups who made it to the next round of the Minnesota [...]

Continue reading...

Minnesota’s Internet Tech Crowd Flexes Its Muscle

12. May 2008

5 Comments

If one had any doubt about the intensity of our state’s information technology and Internet community, one only had to be anywhere inside the U’s Coffman Union on Saturday for the third annual Minnebar “unconference” (part of an international phenomenon called Barcamp). To say the joint was a-jumpin’ simply does not suffice. And numbers alone [...]

Continue reading...

State of the State: Technology in Minnesota. A Minnebar Panel Discussion

11. May 2008

3 Comments

One of the highlights of Saturday’s Minnebar was a panel discussion entitled, State of the State: Technology in Minnesota. The panelists included: Douglas Olson (Microsoft), Jamie Thinglestad (formerly of Dow Jones), Michael Gorman (Split Rock Partners), Robert Stephens (Geek Squad), Dan Grigsby (Unpossible), Matthew Dornquast (code42). Ed Kohler at Technology Evangelist has a post with [...]

Continue reading...

‘Minnebar’ Becoming Top Event for State’s Internet/Software Developers and Entrepreneurs

4. May 2008

1 Comment

An annual Minnesota event, playfully named Minnebar — which grew out of a grass-roots tech industry initiative called Barcamp — is happening for the third year in a row here in the Twin Cities this coming Saturday, May 10, at the U of M’s Coffman Union. By 8:00 am, somewhere between 300 and 400 software [...]

Continue reading...

The Latest on U of M Technology Innovation and Commercialization

19. April 2008

4 Comments

The University of Minnesota is among the top patent producers in the world, ranking #4 on Scientist Magazine’s list of “Patent Powerhouses,” behind only three other major American universities. Yet, quantity of patents hardly paints the entire picture. What about helping to start up companies to commercialize those patents? According to the U’s own business [...]

Continue reading...

Innovation in Early-Stage Investing? You Bet! And MN Firm Is Major Player

22. February 2008

3 Comments

It’s no secret the gap between friends-and-family financing and venture capital funding is big enough to drive a…well, a busload of entrepreneurs through. But I’m here to tell you, friends, there’s hope on the horizon.   The capital needs of early-stage companies used to be served well by VC funds, but the aforementioned gap has [...]

Continue reading...
Next Entries »