Members of Minnesota’s tech, business and startup communities converged in downtown Minneapolis Wednesday night to celebrate Minne Inno’s Inno on Fire, a party honoring 50 of the most innovative companies and individuals in the state.
Hundreds of the city's top entrepreneurs and innovators appeared at the packed event for networking and a celebration of the Twin Cities' best and brightest. In addition to honoring our 50, we also announced the category-winning Inno Blazers in our community.
This year's Inno on Fire kicked off a few months back when we asked for nominations from the community. Minnesota followed through, and we received nearly 100 suggestions for who was the most "on fire" in the ecosystem.
Minne Inno then selected 50 companies and individuals that are making major moves in the community, looking at growth, impact, new product launches, market expansion, funding and much, much more.
If you've seen the list of this year's Inno on Fire winners, you probably noticed that there isn't a neat, unifying thread that ties them all together. It's eclectic, just like the Twin Cities startup community. In Minnesota, there are startups driving innovation in just about every industry and corner of the state. We thought the best way to honor them was to get them together in a room so everyone could see how they're lighting their little part of the ecosystem on fire.
After choosing our 50 winners, we reached out to members of the startup community to help us rank the top three in each of our seven categories. We tallied up all their votes to choose our category-winning Inno Blazers. Each of these winners was awarded a – you guessed it – a bright red blazer. Check out pictures of them blow.
Let's get to the list of winners.
The 2019 Inno Blazers:
Technology (large) Dispatch: This B2B delivery startup launched in the Twin Cities and has since grown to a dozen markets across the country and raised more than $10 million in funding within the last year. Dispatch also won Minne Inno’s second annual Tech Madness tournament.
Technology (small) HabitAware: HabitAware won the 2018 Minnesota Cup, beating out 89 other local companies and walking away with combined winnings of more than $80,000. Earlier in the year, HabitAware was awarded a $300,000 federal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to further develop Keen. Keen was also named on Time Magazine’s list of Best 2018 Inventions.
Education/Government Civic Eagle: In early 2018, Civic Eagle pivoted its business model to become B2B with the goal of helping corporations and nonprofits track legislation relevant to their organizations. Since then, Civic Eagle has raised $600,000 and gone from zero to $8,500 in monthly recurring revenue. It’s also part of the Techstars 2019 class.
Medical/Health/Wellness Bright Health: In late 2018, Bright raised a $200 million Series C – likely the largest venture capital round in Minnesota history. Within the last year, the company has tripled its geographic footprint and enrollment.
Software Total Expert: In October 2018, Total Expert raised a $20 million Series B round led by Emergence Capital to fuel the growth of its Marketing Operating System, which helps mortgage lending giants retain customers. The company has also increased its headcount to 180, an increase of 113 percent over the last 12 months.
Food/Agriculture/Lifestyle Foodsby: Foodsby, a Minneapolis-based startup that delivers restaurant food to office buildings, announced big expansion plans after closing on a $13.5 million round of funding led by Piper Jaffray Cos.’ merchant banking business. Foodsby also expanded its leadership team, hiring Alex Ware, a former Buffalo Wild Wings and Pepsi executive, as president. Ryan Johnson, formerly vice president of engineering at BuzzFeed, also joined the company as its vice president of engineering.
Supporters Adam Choe: As the managing director of gener8tor Minnesota, Choe has assisted more than 35 startups within the last 28 months. He has helped these companies raise millions in funding and connected founders to opportunities on a global scale. In his spare time, he has also built his own startup, Yonder, which supports children through the anxiety of medical proceedings like dental cleanings.
Meet the 2019 Minne Inno on Fire Winners and the Blazers
Inno on Fire Party Pics
