Twin Cities Startup Week has announced the finalists of the Minnesota Startup Awards this year.
The winners in each of the eight categories will be announced at the end of startup week, which is run by Beta, a nonprofit that supports Minnesota-based founders. The finalists, which must have local impact, include companies, organizations or individuals. They were selected by a panel of judges, who chose them out a pool of nominees.
“We’re really proud of the startup awards because it’s ... community-driven,” said Alex Skjong, content manager for Beta, adding that the purpose of the event is to strengthen the startup ecosystem.
The awards serve as "an extra bit of recognition for the work they're doing,” he said.
The decision on who wins the final award in each category is now up to the community vote, which is open until Sept. 8. Vote here.
The winners will be announced Sept. 23 at Finnegans House before the startup week’s closing party. They will receive a "unique award," crafted by St. Paul-based Woodchuck USA, Skjong said.
Twin Cities Startup Week is an annual event that has presentations, panels and workshops, bringing together the local ecosystem’s entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders. This year’s event will be hybrid – both in-person and virtual – and take place over Sept. 16-23.
The finalists in each of the categories are:
Emerging Startup Award – to a new company in Minnesota’s startup ecosystem
- Cadre
- Twin Cities App Dev
- Voloco
The Bootstrapper Award – to a company that has successfully bootstrapped
- Cadre
- IntelligentRX
- SitEat
The Corporate Champion Award – to an enterprise intrapreneur who is pushing innovation, support and collaboration within the Minnesota ecosystem
- Boston Scientific
- Lunr Capital
- Noma Capital
- Trinet
The Impact Award – to an individual making the state a better place for startups
- Allison Hohn
- Neela Mollgaard
- Danielle Steer
The 10K Lakes Award – to a company or organization supporting the Minnesota startup ecosystem from outside the metro
- Discussify
- Leah Labs
- Voloco
The Company Culture Award – a company providing exceptional organizational performance and employee engagement
- Fulcrum
- TurnSignl
- Vivacity
The Inclusion Evolution Award – a company or organization supporting a more inclusive, safe, thoughtful and engaging community
- Culture Booster
- Hayaa
- TurnSignl
The Startup of the Year Award – a company that shows the best of the Minnesota startup community this year
- Fulcrum
- TurnSignl
- Zeus Electric Chassis
