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Comcast Dramatically Increases Internet Speeds in the Twin Cities

August 27, 2015 By Steve Borsch

Comcast_LogoIf you like, want or need ever-faster internet connection speeds, Comcast has delivered them for you this week. It’s also fairly certain we’ll see continued speed increases this year as the cable industry rolls out a new standard and Comcast in Minnesota delivers it.

The company just announced a significant internet speed increase in the markets they serve in Minnesota by doubling their 25 megabits per second (Mbps) tier of service to 50Mbps; their former 50Mbps tier to 105Mbps; and their 105Mbps to 150Mbps. As part of their launch, Minnov8 was invited to tour their Roseville data center facility and ask questions about this announcement and see their infrastructure, how they network monitor and manage the volume of subscribers and the data consumed, and a bit about their future plans.

Twin Cities Region leaders (l-r): Troy Lupe, VP of Field Operations for the Twin Cities Region; Patrick Galazen, Manager of Network Engineering; Dave Nyberg, Sr. Manager – Media Relations

Twin Cities Region leaders (l-r): Troy Lupe, VP of Field Operations for the Twin Cities Region; Patrick Galazen, Manager of Network Engineering; Dave Nyberg, Sr. Manager – Media Relations

Comcast’s senior manager of media relations, Dave Nyberg, met me at the door in their primary Roseville data center when I arrived and a team of five was awaiting my arrival (pictured at right with the exception of Emmett Coleman, VP of External Affairs, who had to leave early to get on a conference call).

We talked briefly and then started off with a tour of their data center at this cable “head-end” facility. What struck me from the outset was that this was a data center…not the type of traditional cable TV head-end I’d toured during my days working with Pioneer’s cable and new media group in Chicago back in the 1980s. In those days the world was TV-centric and so were cable companies. Today it’s all about data, and lots of it, and Comcast is forever changed as a result.

These two racks will give you a glimpse in to the support these Twin Cities data centers must provide for legacy set-top boxes and DVRs.

These two racks will give you a glimpse in to the support these Twin Cities data centers must provide for legacy set-top boxes and DVRs.

As Patrick Galazen walked me through the racks of servers and explained what was in each area, it was clear how they are poised to be in front of the trend of everything going digital. As a result of that trend the miniaturization of data center servers, switches, drives and other components have made it possible for Comcast to deliver substantially more capability in an ever-smaller space. They will need more space over time, especially since the migration from real-time video content to video-on-demand (VOD), streaming and enhanced services like Comcast’s new Xfinity X1 interactive platform, means the demand on these data centers (and on guys like Galazen) is going to continue to grow rapidly.

This means Comcast Twin Cities—an organization with three of these data centers (the other two are in Eden Prairie and Eagan)—will have to continue to invest, enhance, manage and extend the types of services they can offer. Make no mistake about this being “just another data center” if you’ve toured another one in the past, or that Comcast as an organization can afford any network outages. I know that I go ballistic when my Comcast internet has gone down but, fortunately due to the work of guys like Galazen and crew, that’s only happened a handful of times in 15 years!

server-rack

One of several rack rows that show the size reduction in various components which has resulted in increased efficiencies and more available rack space for future expansion.

The future holds alot of promise for anyone who is a current Comcast customer in the Twin Cities. It was impressive to learn more about (and see) their investments in fiber-to-coax; increases in faster solid state drive (SSD) based architectures; failover, backup, network operations management and more. In fact, we stopped by one area where I got a close look at a geo-location management software that can pinpoint an outage, narrow it down to a specific in-premise location, see if that outage is dependent on some other network node or layer, and then they can quickly fix it. Probably why their internet and TV outages are so rare since they’re on top of any trouble that may arise.

What I didn’t expect was the undercurrent to everything that was discussed on the tour and during our talks afterward: That their sole focus is to efficiently deliver the TV, phone and internet services we expect to get the instant we click a button on our TV remotes, pick up a phone, or when we click or touch a link in a web browser.

One of the technologies to watch (and they mentioned we’ll see some early rollouts here in Minnesota this year) is one that will deliver even FASTER speeds going forward: DOCSIS 3.1, a new cable technology currently installed and being tested.

DOCSIS 3.1 will support up to 10 Gbps downstream and up to 1 Gbps upstream network capacity. As we see other companies rollout gigabit (or multi-gigabit) speeds with fiber deployment (e.g., Google Fiber, USInternet and CenturyLink), it’s important to remember that delivering fiber-to-the-home by installing premise equipment and pulling fiber optic cable is so expensive that those rollouts are quite slow in coming. Still, we all know that competition drives incremental (and sometimes monumental) innovation and, with our market seeing fiber-based options increasingly available, Comcast has no choice but to drive forward and keep ahead of the competition curve.

As someone who has been concerned (and quite vocal) in the past about the lack of high speed options for internet access here in the Twin Cities, as the world shifts more and more of its media, information, learning, and knowledge consumption online, the competition will increase and that’s a good thing. But Comcast is an a unique position and their competitive advantages don’t rely solely on their coax, data centers and history as an internet service provider. They have relationships with media companies, peering agreements in place, long experience with delivering both TV and internet service, along with the people I met this week making it happen in the field.

I, for one, am excited to go faster!

COMCAST INCREASES INTERNET SPEEDS FOR TWIN CITIES AREA CUSTOMERS
Speeds To Be Doubled on Most Popular Tiers at No Additional Cost to Customers,
Just in Time for Back-to-School

ST. PAUL, MN – August 25, 2015 – Comcast today announced it will increase speeds for most Xfinity Internet customers in the company’s Twin Cities, Greater Minnesota and Western Wisconsin service area on Thursday, August 27. These speed increases are being delivered to customers at no additional cost.

Comcast will increase the speeds of its three most popular Xfinity Internet tiers: “Performance” will deliver speeds up to 50 Mbps, up from 25 Mbps; “Blast” will more than double to 105 Mbps, up from 50 Mbps; and “Extreme 105” will increase to 150 Mbps. The speed increases will be available for all Xfinity Internet customers who currently subscribe to these tiers.

“We continue to deliver the fastest speeds to the most homes to provide our customers a terrific online experience,” said Jeff Freyer, Region Vice President, Comcast-Twin Cities Region.  “Consumers want Internet service that delivers consistent speed, rock-solid reliability and great value, and we’re proud to meet that demand as the nation’s fastest Internet Service Provider according to Speedtest.net.”  Freyer added, “Comcast also provides the fastest in-home WiFi so everyone can get online at the same time, which is especially important as families get ready to go back to school.”

“We applaud Comcast’s commitment to increase Internet speeds at no additional cost for their customers across its service area,” said Margaret Anderson-Kelliher, President and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association and Chair of the Minnesota State Broadband Task Force.  “These faster speeds are a big leap forward for broadband in the state and will strengthen our future and our position as a great place to live, work and play.”

Ramsey County Commissioner Blake Huffman discussed the benefits of faster Internet speeds for the region. “In today’s world, being connected to the Internet isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.  The strength of our communities depends on a vibrant infrastructure, and this investment by Comcast is a perfect example of effective public-private partnerships that benefit everyone.”

Customers can take advantage of this speed increase beginning Thursday morning by ‘power-cycling’ their cable modem with the reset button on the device, or by unplugging the modem power cord from the electrical outlet, waiting a few seconds and then plugging it back into the outlet.  Customers can also reset their modem remotely by using the Xfinity My Account app, available for both Apple and Android devices, or by going online at www.comcast.com/myaccount.

Freyer commented on the available options for activating the new speeds. “The use of the Xfinity My Account app is one more example of how we’re working hard to transform the customer experience by giving subscribers more control over their service, and adding even greater value by increasing speeds and delivering their products anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

In addition, Comcast representatives will be on hand during the 2015 Minnesota State Fair at the Fan Central exhibit at Dan Patch Ave. and Underwood St. to assist customers with the speed increase. Customers can also stop by Comcast’s Xfinity Store locations across the Twin Cities and New Ulm. (See below for Store locations.)

Comcast also recently announced the doubling of speeds for Internet Essentials, the company’s innovative program designed to bring Internet access to low income families across the nation.

 COMCAST XFINITY STORE LOCATIONS


ABOUT COMCAST CORPORATION
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

Contact:
Dave Nyberg, Sr. Manager – Media Relations
Comcast Twin Cities
651-493-5291
Dave_nyberg@cable.comcast.com

Filed Under: News & Events

Mac Startups Is Back! Demo Day Sept 10th

August 26, 2015 By Graeme Thickins

MacStartups-logoStartups are popping up all over, and St. Paul’s Macalester College is no exception. It’s doing its part to support entrepreneurial students in its student body. The Mac Startups program is back for a second year after a successful pilot program in 2014.

Another group of motivated students has spent this summer learning about Macalester-logoentrepreneurship and developing their startup ideas into real products and businesses. The college says the program is similar to the fellowship model it uses for academic research projects. It provides the selected  teams of students with coworking space, housing, funding, and resources. But, essentially, it’s a student-run entrepreneurship incubator.

Here’s how the program works: the teams identify problems in the Twin Cities community (and beyond) and develop creative products and services to solve these problems. Their projects range from a mobile app for group decision making, to a platform for sharing homecooked meals, to a home composting pickup service.

While working on their ideas this summer, the Mac Startups students have also been engaging with the entrepreneurial community in the Twin Cities by attending meetings and hosting events on campus, as well as by holding workshops. Each Macalester-campusteam was paired with an alumni mentor with expertise relevant to their project.

On September 10th, from 12:30 to 2:00 pm, the teams will be showcasing their work at a “Demo Day” event on the beautiful Macalester campus. The event will feature short pitches from each of the Mac Startups teams, as well as a light lunch and some great networking with members of the startup community, faculty and student leaders, and some notable Mac alumni, including Seth Levine of the Boulder, CO-based VC firm Foundry Group. This year’s Demo Day is an official event of Twin Cities Startup Week.

Get ready to see some great demos from this year’s batch: ArtDefy, NÜDL, Plannd, Unanimus, VendFresh, CoArt Designs, and Hop In.

I attended last year, and I was honestly blown away by the energy and smarts of the highly motivated Mac students who presented! And their startup concepts were very well thought out. I’m betting this year will be even better.

I encourage you to attend. For details and to register, just go the Eventbrite page. See you there!

Filed Under: News & Events, Startups & Developers Tagged With: MN Entrepreneurs

SmartThings Next Generation Hub Available for Preorder Now

August 21, 2015 By Steve Borsch

st-v2-lgSmartThings, the home automation, Internet of Things (IoT) company now part of Samsung (and with engineering offices in Minneapolis), has announced their next generation hub is available for pre-order now.

The Samsung SmartThings Hub will be available to purchase in early September, and you are now able to pre-order the new Hub in their Shop, on Samsung.com, and on Amazon. In addition, upon its release they will be delivering a new lineup of sensors, plugs and more.

SmartThings had this to say about their new hub:

The Hub will deliver an enhanced experience that offers greater performance and reliability. Here’s why:

As we’ve announced, the new SmartThings Hub will come equipped with “AppEngine” functionality. This means that much of the processing that has previously existed in the cloud (ie: SmartApps and device types) can now automatically occur locally in the Hub. Circumventing the cloud will result in a much faster response time with automations.

It will also mean that certain automations (SmartApps; Hello, Home actions, etc.) driven by ZigBee, Z-Wave, or LAN-connected devices will continue to work even if you lose your Internet connection. And because the new Hub contains battery backup capability, certain automations can continue to work for awhile even without power.

Filed Under: Internet of Things - #IoT

TrackIf, Led By Doug Berg, Raises $5M Series A

August 18, 2015 By Graeme Thickins

DougBerg-TrackIfThree-time Minnesota entrepreneur Doug Berg announced today that his latest startup, TrackIf, has raised a $5 million Series A financing round, co-led by Origin Ventures and Grotech Ventures. Existing investor Chicago Ventures also participated.

TrackIf has developed a technology that allows transactional sites and mobile apps to add white-labeled product tracking, which captures future purchase intent and TrackIf-logoconverts it into revenue using personalized email alerts. The company says several of the largest online retailers in the world already rely on TrackIf to maximize revenue per customer. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN with key executives in both San Francisco and New York.

Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1999. It is based in Chicago and composed entirely of former operators and engineers. The firm invests in emerging software, marketplace, and content companies capable of exponential growth. Previous investments include Grubhub (NYSE:GRUB), DialogTech, Ahalogy, and Windsor Circle. CrunchBase says it has made 32 investments in 20 companies, and is currently investing out of its third fund. Its exits include one IPO and one acquisition.

Grotech Ventures is a early investor in high-potential technology companies. Founded in 1984, it’s headquartered in Vienna, VA. It seeks innovative, early-stage investments across the IT landscape and continues to invest and add value throughout the life cycle of each portfolio company. The firm has a strong combination of financial backing, industry relationships, and deep domain and operational expertise to accelerate growth. With more than $1.3 billion in committed capital, Grotech supports early-stage companies through investments starting at $500,000. CrunchBase reports it has made 77 investments in 54 companies, and its exits include one IPO and nine acquisitions.

The news release follows:

TrackIf Raises $5 Million To Fuel Its Growing Customer Centric Marketing & E-Commerce Solutions

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – TrackIf, a leader in online tracking and intelligent alerting for future purchase intent, today announced it has raised a $5 million Series A financing round, co-led by Origin Ventures and Grotech Ventures. Existing investor Chicago Ventures also participated.

TrackIf is an embeddable technology in leading e-commerce sites and mobile apps that, for the first time, gives shoppers options when they cannot or will not buy on their first visit to a site. With TrackIf’s white label technology, e-commerce companies can capture future consumer purchase intent and convert it into newfound revenue by sending personalized email alerts on changes such as price drops, new items and items coming back in stock.

TrackIf’s initial retail customers have seen tremendous results, with some capturing as much as $1 million in future purchase intent per day from their online visitors. TrackIf has sent over 65 million personalized emails to date, with nearly 50x better open rates and 20x greater conversion rates– results rarely seen with even the best retargeting campaigns.

TrackIf’s customers include several of the top 25 Internet retailers (including the largest home improvement retailer), Neiman Marcus (Last Call), Build.com, Cost Plus World Market, Joie, and many others.

Trackif integrates easily into e-commerce sites by installing a simple script which gives shoppers the ability to opt-in to get alerts on specific products, categories, or areas of any site. This means even the largest sites can deploy this capability quickly with very little integration and provide Pinterest-like capabilities that are branded to any site.

Among the tracking and alerting capabilities that TrackIf retail customers have deployed are:

  • Price Drops (on customer-specified products)
  • Product Availability (in/out of stock + limited quantities)
  • New Products Added (by category, brand, size, color, other)
  • New Reviews Added
  • Gift Registry Tracking (wedding, baby, graduate)
  • Favorite Products (Pinterest-like wish list with alerting)
  • Wish List Alerting (On existing wish lists within any site)

“We’re in a Pinterest economy now, where consumers want to pick and choose the products they want, from the sites they want, at the prices they want. Shopping sites that embed this type of experience into their sites will not only delight their customers, but can multiply their results,” said Doug Berg, CEO and Founder of TrackIf.

When successfully deployed, the TrackIf solution enhances retailers’ CRM systems, which traditionally are limited to only tracking what consumers have purchased in the past. TrackIf adds the capability to compile and act on data that signals what large groups of shoppers are going to buy in the future. Many TrackIf customers have altered their fulfillment and reordering processes as a result of the new demand intelligence they get from TrackIf’s products.

“TrackIf has impressive growth in this new category of customer-centric marketing. Many of the world’s most respected online retailers are getting instant results with measurable ROI,” said Jason Heltzer, Partner at Origin Ventures. “We believe this new category of marketing will be a must-have capability for any transactional site or mobile app that wants to personalize the consumer experience and maximize revenue-per-customer.”

As a part of the financing, Jason Heltzer from Origin Ventures and Lawson DeVries from Grotech Ventures will join the Board of Directors at TrackIf.

About Trackif

TrackIf is the leader in online tracking and intelligent alerting. Its technology empowers transactional sites and mobile apps to add white-labeled product tracking that captures future purchase intent and converts it into revenue using personalized email alerts. Several of the largest online retailers in the world rely on TrackIf to maximize revenue per customer. To date, TrackIf has sent over 65 million personalized emails, with nearly 50x better open rates and 20x greater conversion rates– results rarely seen with even the best retargeting campaigns. TrackIf is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN with key executives in both San Francisco, CA, and New York, NY.

About Origin Ventures

Origin Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1999, based in Chicago and composed entirely of former operators and engineers. The firm invests in emerging software, marketplace, and content companies capable of exponential growth. Previous investments include Grubhub (NYSE:GRUB), DialogTech, Ahalogy, and Windsor Circle.

About Grotech Ventures

Founded in 1984, Grotech Ventures is a leading early investor in high-potential technology companies. Grotech seeks innovative, early-stage investments across the IT landscape and continues to invest and add value throughout the life cycle of each portfolio company. The firm has a strong combination of financial backing, industry relationships, and deep domain and operational expertise to accelerate growth. With more than $1.3 billion in committed capital, Grotech supports early-stage companies through investments starting at $500,000.

…  [Read More…]

Filed Under: Innovation, News & Events Tagged With: ecommerce, funding, MN Entrepreneurs

Sofia Fund II Closes at Oversubscribed $5.5M

July 29, 2015 By Graeme Thickins

SofiaFund-logo-250wMinnesota likes women entrepreneurs, and here’s more proof. The Sofia Fund, led by a team of five women angel investors, has announced the closing of its Fund II at a higher than expected $5.5 million. The team will invest the fund in “early stage, growth oriented, gender diverse entrepreneurial companies that have women leaders on the management team and who own equity in the business.” (We wrote about the fund in April soon after it announced its first investment from the new fund.)

The Sofia team members, pictured below, are experienced executives and entrepreneurs who have been angel investing for many years. (To read their bios, click on “Our Team” at the Sofia Fund web site.)

Left to right: Cathy Connett,  Lisa Crump, Joy Lindsay, Barbara Stinnett, Dee Thibodeau.

Left to right: Cathy Connett, Lisa Crump, Joy Lindsay, Barbara Stinnett, Dee Thibodeau.

Here’s the press release:

Sofia Angel II Fund Surpasses Investor Goals, Raising $5.5 M

Today marks a significant achievement in bringing new monies into early-stage companies. The Sofia Fund, which invests in women-led growth companies and is led by a group of experienced investors, has tapped into an investor community passionate about Sofia’s mission. Investors have responded positively and voted with their dollars to be a part of the fund. Sofia Fund II is now closed to investors, oversubscribed, with a total of $5.5M.

“Angel investing is usually a long-term commitment with an opportunity to positively impact an early-stage company’s growth. We are pleased to see the Sofia Fund launched in support of Minnesota and the region’s innovative women entrepreneurs and the growth and jobs they bring to our economy.  Having an experienced fund management team that is serving a segment we are passionate about and stimulating innovation, led us to invest in the Sofia Fund”, said Ed and Val Spencer, long time early stage investors in their community.

The fund’s management team includes Cathy Connett, Lisa Crump, Joy Lindsay, Barb Stinnett, and Dee Thibodeau. All have been angel investors for decades, and are completely committed in unique and individual ways in the early-stage company market space: as board members, mentors, connectors, leaders, and investors throughout the U.S.

Brigid Bonner, VP of Customer Experience and Marketing at CaringBridge commented, “Great ideas come from everywhere and the world has not fully benefited from innovation stemming from women-based businesses.  The Sofia Fund is a leader in changing that.  I believe this is a unique investment opportunity and an excellent way to experience angel investing.” 

Sofia has already made its first investment in April 2015 in a women-led firm based in Minneapolis, Kidizen, which has experienced explosive growth during the past year. The Sofia Fund has invested financially and also holds a seat on Kidizen’s board, working with its management team to advise on growth and scale.

”It was a quick yes for me to invest with the Sofia Fund, as I have worked with this dynamic team in the past”, said Mary Blegen, an executive at US Bank. “Thanks to the Sofia leadership team I have learned about angel investing and have the opportunity to link my passion for helping women succeed with diversifying my portfolio.”

For further information or for companies interested in being considered for investment, www.sofiafund.com.

Filed Under: News & Events Tagged With: Minnesota

Rebecca Schatz, Who Inspired Thousands Of Youth To Take On Engineering Challenges, Passes

July 21, 2015 By Phil Wilson

rebecca_schatzI’ve had the true pleasure of working with Rebecca Schatz as she continued to inspire and encouraged kids and young women to get into the tech space. The news of her passing, succumbing to cancer on July 13th , was truly a blow.

Rebecca, a software engineer and network manager, founded The Works, a hands-on museum/discovery center that makes technology, science and engineering interesting, understandable and fun for young people in 1987. She went on to found Code Saavy in 2012. That organization spawned programs including CoderDojo Twin Cities, Northside Code Club, Get With the Program (for educators), Code Camps for Kids and TechnovationMN, of which I’m proud to be a board member. Each and every one of them is a source of inspiration for those that might not be exposed to the tech world including kids and young women.

Rebecca was passionate about getting more women into the innovative, exciting, and growing world of technology. I can personally attest to her drive and desire to drive others. She was never content with “what is”, preferring the “what could be.” I would even venture to say “what should be,” especially as it pertains to more women in tech.

Her passion was incredibly infectious. Jean Weiss, Executive Director of Code Saavy noted, “She knew that change is the work of many and she inspired everyone to stretch, grow and develop themselves.” She went on to say, “Rebecca left an inspiring, sustainable, and lasting legacy to encourage kids and teens to explore their curiosity, learn coding and creative problem solving, and for the volunteers, family members, and mentors who make it happen.”

Selfishly, I will miss the chance to work alongside of her to realize her vision. However, that vision will continue to inspire so many…and I know that, in spirit, Rebecca will be alongside of us.

Filed Under: Minnov8 News, Thought Leaders

Akamai’s State of the Internet for Q1, 2015

June 29, 2015 By Steve Borsch

akamai-logoAkamai just released their 8th annual report on the state of the internet for the first quarter of 2015:

Over the course of the last seven years, since the report was first published, the World Wide Web and the Internet have grown and evolved in significant ways. The number of Internet users has more than doubled to an estimated 3.2 billion in 2015, and while Cisco noted that the number of Internet-connected devices first outnumbered the human population in 2008, it now predicts that there will be three networked devices per capita by 2019, up from nearly two networked devices per capita in 2014. From rudimentary Internet-connected smartphones in 2008 to sensors in nearly any imaginable device in 2015, the so-called Internet of Things will continue to drive massive increases in Internet usage.

View this page on Akamai’s site with an executive summary, key figures from the report, various global regions as infographics (the one for the America’s is below) or download the full report: Akamai_State-of-the-Internet-Q1_2015 (PDF)

akamai-q1-2015

Filed Under: Internet & Web, Internet of Things - #IoT Tagged With: #IoT, Internet

TechnovationMN Makes Furst Class Appearance at World Competition

June 26, 2015 By Phil Wilson

We’ve kept close track of how the the Minnesota teams from TechnovationMN have fared as they progressed through the global Technovation Challenge competition. We’re happy to say that team Furst Class Techies walked away with the Audience Choice Award and an Honorable Mention in the Middle School Division at the World Pitch Technovation competition in San Francisco.

Andrea Richard, Rylee Melius, and Lydia Mindermann’s app, Mayo FreeTime, was developed to help patients at Mayo Clinic find things to do between appointments, helping them and their families reduce stress, anxiety, boredom, sadness, or loneliness. The team was guided by Coach Sharie Furst, Kasson-Mantorville Middle School STEM teacher and Mentor Kris Kendall, Software Engineer at IBM Rochester.

Team members commented, “Winning the Audience Choice Award was empowering, energizing, and we were really proud. The whole World Pitch experience was awesome!”

This competition brings finalists together from the Global Technovation Challenge, a technology entrepreneurship competition for girls. World Pitch recognized 10 finalist teams from India, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, and the United States.

Additionally, Jean Weiss, Executive Board Member of Technovation[MN] was also recognized by Technovation for her outstanding dedication and leadership as a Technovation Regional Ambassador. (As a board member of TechnovationMN I can say, without hesitation, there is no one more deserving than Jean to be recognized in this way).

Cheers to all involved with TechnovationMN, especially the young women who represent a bright future for technology.

(Programming note-Shawn Stavseth, Executive Director and Co-founder of TechnovationMN will join us for the Minnov8 Gang Podcast available on 7/27/15)

Filed Under: Innovation, Mobile Technology, News & Events

Why WeatherBug wants to program your (Honeywell) thermostat

June 22, 2015 By Steve Borsch

honeywell-weatherbugGermantown-based WeatherBug has partnered with Honeywell to equip WiFi thermostats with weather-tracking technology, a move that pushes the company squarely into the growing Internet of Things business.

Honeywell thermostats can now be automatically programmed to the ideal temperature setting based on local weather data, as well as data about the home itself — whether or not there are any leaky windows or doors, for example — to generate energy savings and lower the strain on power grids.

Read more here…

Filed Under: News & Events Tagged With: #IoT, Big Data

Assemble Shared Office to open third location in Minneapolis

June 17, 2015 By Steve Borsch

assemble-mplsAssemble is excited to announce the opening of its third location in Minneapolis, MN after the company recently opened locations in Chicago’s Gold Coast and West Loop neighborhoods.

Assemble’s Minneapolis location will be located on the 5th floor in the historic 15 Building at 15 South Fifth Street on the north end of downtown. The Metro Blue Line is right in front of the building and it is steps away from the Nicollet Mall and Warehouse District. The 15 Building is also connected to the skyway system.

The company has invested $1.2M in renovations and will keep the exposed masonry and original flooring. Assemble Minneapolis will have over 50 office spaces and look similar to Assemble Chicago offices (see images below). The aesthetically striking office space will come loaded with critical business amenities included in monthly memberships (members will access to all Assemble locations): printing, WiFi, coffee, conference rooms, etc.


Besides the amenities, low cost, and striking designs, one of the biggest benefits of being an Assemble member is the sense of community. With common areas and weekly networking events, members are encouraged to collaborate and communicate.

The office will officially open mid-September 2015.

Max Meyers, Principal & Chief Investment Officer @ R2 Companies, (who sourced the transaction) said this about the investment and build-out: “R2 Companies is undergoing a significant capital improvement project at the 15 Building in Minneapolis to make it the premier skyway connected Creative Office building in the market. Bringing in a fantastic shared office user like Assemble fits perfectly within the ethos of the retrofit.”

Learn more about the Minneapolis’ North Loop location or book a tour.

Filed Under: News & Events

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