Minnesota's top accelerators, active investors and fervent startup supporters are uniting through Forge North, an initiative from local economic development organization Greater MSP, to boost the state's startups and small businesses.
Forge North has been working quietly in the background of Minnesota's startup community for several years. The initiative started in earnest with support from the Bush Foundation, Beta, gener8tor, Bunker Labs and others who wanted to work together in partnership year around. It wasn't enough to just meet for happy hour every couple months – they wanted to share ideas and resources to help startups inside and outside of their networks.
Already, Forge North is expansive and far-reaching. It includes a coalition of Minnesota's big-name startup organizations, including MN Cup, Techstars, Beta, Lunar Startups, Minnestar and others.
There is also a group of active investors looking to back early-stage companies. The investor group has two simple criteria for membership: First, members must be part of a larger funding group, not just investing on their own. And second, they need to have cut a check to a Minnesota company within the last 12 months. The group currently consists of individuals representing 15 to 20 different funds.
Another faction worked together to create the Minnovation Collective, a group for individuals working in corporate innovation departments that focuses on how large companies engage with the startup community. There are 60 to 70 people in the Collective, representing companies like Target, 3M, Securian, Thrivent and U.S. Bank.
Last month Forge North hosted an event, called Horizon, to mark the formal launch of what these groups have been building over the past few years. In the coming years, they'll work together to take on big challenges facing Minnesota's startup community.
Minne Inno talked to Matt Lewis, vice president of strategic initiatives for Greater MSP, to learn more about what Forge North hopes to accomplish.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Minne Inno: What is the first challenge that Forge North hopes to tackle?
Matt Lewis: Right now we're building a council to steer this effort. We're putting together a diverse group of actors that includes entrepreneurs, higher-ed institutions, government representatives and investors of various stages. Between now and November, we'll also focus on setting a three-year goal for the initiative, and we'll be engaging with the community to help determine what that is.
MI: Any idea what that focus might be?
ML: Beta led a survey of some issues in the area, and we found things that we could work on. We could focus on expanding on capital and investment and helping startups grow their teams. One thing the coalition has been talking about is developing connections across the country and around the world to provide Minnesotans with more resources, customers and potential team members.
MI: Why is it important to support entrepreneurs in the first place?
ML: It's part of who we've always been. For generations, Minnesota has been a place that's grown companies solving real problems that matter. We've turned startups into Fortune 500 companies. We can be inspired by that past, but we can't rest on our laurels. Our future depends on today's entrepreneurs. They're critical to our economy and our way of life. We need to get them involved in the ecosystem.
MI: Did Greater MSP look to other communities or initiatives for inspiration while creating Forge North?
ML: Yes, we did. Rise of the Rest and the Kauffman Foundation were very helpful in that area. We were also pointed toward specific communities like Fargo and Chattanooga, which have done great things to catalyze their startup scene. We can learn a lot from them. We can also learn from the examples of more mature ecosystems like Austin and Boston. But we're not looking to copy what they're doing – what works there might not work here. Minnesota needs to look in the mirror and ask, 'What is our unique preposition?'
MI: Why did Greater MSP decide to focus in on Minnesota's startup community?
ML: It's part of our new strategic plan. Greater MSP wasn't in the space of supporting entrepreneurs before, and we wouldn't be doing it today if the scene hadn't grown. We can only do this work because of what's happened here over the last few years.
