Startup Ecosystem Survey_Make It MSP_Beta

Entrepreneurial
Ecosystem
SURVEY SUMMARY
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

2ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM SURVEY SUMMARY
FORMER 
FOUNDER
SERVICE 
PROVIDER
COMMUNITY 
BUILDER
INTERVIEWS & SYNTHESIS CONDUCTED BY:
Reed 
Robinson
@INDEEDITSREED REED@BETA.MN

3
CARSON 
KIPFER
ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM SURVEY SUMMARY
JOY
LINDSAY 
THOMPSON
ADERINKOMI
DAN 
MALLIN
PAUL 
HINES
CASEY 
HELBLING
KYLE 
ROLFING
RYAN
BROSHAR
DANIELLE 
STEER
MELISSA 
KJOLSING
MARK 
MOE
DAVID 
AMOR
PAMELA
YORK
Respondents
QUESTIONS? CONTACT REED ROBINSON | REED@BETA.MN

Respondent Breakdown
8
3
8
FOUNDERS
INVESTORS
COMMUNITY 
BUILDERS
4
9
MALE
FEMALE
2
11
NON- 
WHITE
WHITE
GROUP GENDER ETHNICITY

TEMPERATURE CHECK
How are
we doing?
Our respondents were asked,
“On a scale of 0 to 10 (where “0” is
nonexistent and “10” is the most
perfect example of one) how would
you rank the Twin Cities as a startup
community?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MEAN: 5.8
MEDIAN: 6

General Consensus
FOUNDERS
6 INVESTORS
5.7 COMMUNITY
BUILDERS
5.8
MALES
5.8 FEMALE
5.8 WHITE
5.7 NON-WHITE
6

Why are we a 6 
and not a 0?
WHAT IS WORKING

WHAT IS WORKING
Quality
of Life
Working in a startup is stressful.
Thankfully, we have the foundations
in place to alleviate a portion of these
pressures in the form of a functioning
infrastructure, affordable housing
and office space and positive peer
pressure that embodies a healthy
work-like balance.
The Twin Cities is an attractive place to live;
it’s possible to have a good life here.”
We have phenomenal parks
and recreation options all year
long, which I don’t equate to
the success of a startup, but it’s
a nice relief from the pressure.”
We have good amenities and
we’re generally keeping up with
technologies that other cities
enjoy – Uber, Lyft, etc., which
are fundamental things that are
required to be a startup hub.”
WE HAVE THE BASICS
When you’re a startup, you’re
living in squalor, but our
squalors are better here.”
There is accessible and
affordable workspace.”
IT’S AFFORDABLE
“
We have a quality of life here
that is important to founders.
It can be an advantage to
those that want to work in this
field at a sustainable pace.”
On top of that other benefits
like good schools and
aﬀordable housing, nature
and work-life balance are
also attracting outside talent.”
WE STRUCK A BALANCE
“ “ “
“
“
“

Talent
Minnesota’s workforce tops lists
for higher education and we rank
second in most Fortune 500
companies per capita (with 17).
We’re one of the few major metros
with a large student body adjacent
to downtown. And we have a
population base that volunteers its
time more than most other states.
I’ve always been struck by the sheer number
of incredibly talented people in the area.”
People’s willingness to
volunteer their time is
amazing. People seem to
make it a priority to make
themselves available.”
A lot of people are willing 
to engage in the form of 
hours, time and energy in
organizations that support
startups.”
GENEROUS, ENERGIZED
We have a strong group of
mentors with deep domain
expertise – retail, clean tech,
med tech, etc.”
The level of knowledge –
business practices, technology,
etc. – is second to none.”
SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS
“
We have a lot of talent, and
it’s younger, which is a better
indication of our future upside.”
Our education system – 
MAC, St. Thomas, the U, etc. 
– breeds a lot of young
people who are ambitious 
and talented.”
YOUNG, AND GROWING
“
“
“
“
“
“
WHAT IS WORKING

Corporate 
Resources
Minnesota’s corporate community is
very big and very diverse; our 17
Fortune 500 companies represent
these industries - healthcare, retail,
agriculture, manufacturing, food,
energy, transportation and financial
services.
We have one of the best corporate communities.”
There’s a saying that great
things happen at the
intersections of disciplines; 
we have a richness of
industries that is very rare.”
We have diversity in terms 
of industry, which maps well 
to the same diversity we see 
in our local Fortune 500
companies.”
EXCELLENT DIVERSITY 
OF INDUSTRIES
We have a strong industry
knowledge in certain industries;
this is due to the large
corporations we have in town.”
There are so many Fortune
500 companies, with people
that are very talented, that end
up being corporate escapees.”
DEEP INDUSTRY 
KNOWLEDGE
“
We’ve also started working
well with local Fortune 500
companies that are interested
in supporting startups, without
getting in their way.”
The corporate environment 
is becoming more engaged;
they are taking meaningful
steps to figure out their role,
and they have the resources
to back it up.”
BEGINNING TO ALIGN 
WITH STARTUPS
“
“
“
“
“
“
WHAT IS WORKING

Startup 
Community
Many have witnessed the incredible
growth of the Twin Cities’ startup
community. As recent as five years
ago just a handful of gatherings
existed that were sparsely attended;
now, nearly every vertical has its own
showcase events, each drawing
hundreds of people.
The community tries to support each other. 
We regularly share resources and feel 
comfortable asking for support.”
Visibility and access for
entrepreneurs is plentiful 
– MN Cup, Beta.mn, etc. Not
all of them know how to enter,
but once they are in, they are
in for good.”
We have a lot of great
grassroots organizations 
that are helping to build a 
better community – Minne*, 
Beta.mn, etc.”
WE’RE CELEBRATING
OUR STARTUPS
Area services (legal, design,
marketing, etc.) are well
capable of supporting startups.”
Services are coming online that
will help create an even better
startup workforce (Prime
Academy as an example).”
OUR SERVICES CAN 
SUPPORT OUR STARTUPS
“
We have a strong University
(the U of M) that continues to
produce valuable IP.”
Being able to find someone
via the SciTech experience
(through the U of M) has been
game changing for helping us
find talent.”
EDUCATION 
IS INVOLVED
“
“
“
“
“
“
WHAT IS WORKING

Momentum
Claims like “the fastest growing state
for tech jobs” and “one of the top
states for Millennial startups” are
stacking up as national publications
have begun to take notice of our
resources, enthusiasm and
accomplishments.
We have momentum; things are heading 
in the right direction. And the energy that 
we are seeing at events is incredible.”
Our startup community has
been getting a lot of national
attention in the form of
investments, media,
accelerators, etc.”
The outside attention we are
getting is building and that is
very good for us.”
AWARENESS IS RISING
Historically, we’ve been known
for healthcare, but recently,
we’ve started to expand
beyond that vertical into retail
(with Techstars), Food & Ag
(with Grow North) and others.”
Companies like Microsoft, Google,
Amazon, etc. are opening offices
here because they are seeing
local opportunities.”
VERTICALS ARE EXPANDING
“
We’re also seeing the region
becoming more comfortable
with investing in startups; it’s
more normal for startups to
be a part of an individual’s
investment portfolio.”
MONEY IS MOVING
“
“
“
“
“
WHAT IS WORKING

We’re seeing the region becoming more 
comfortable with investing in startups; 
it’s more normal for startups to be a part 
of an individual’s investment portfolio.”
Momentum–
Investments
Awaveofyoung,profitable,growing
tech startups is forcing local and
national fund managers to rethink
their attitudes towards investment
opportunities in the Twin Cities. 
 
We should also expect to see a
string of meaningful exits in the 
next two years.
There is far more activity now
than there has been in the last
20 years; there’s more startup
groups, more entrepreneurs
and more angel investors.”
There’s a growing desire for 
all things startup - the MN Cup,
Beta.mn, investments, the angel
tax credit, etc.”
APPETITE FOR INVESTING
IS GROWING
We’re just getting to the end of
a cycle where some startups
have exited, and theoretically
should soon be reinvesting.”
We’re on the cusp of multi-
generational success, where we 
will start seeing a number of local
success stories begin to reinvest.”
REINVESTMENTS 
ARE ON THE HORIZON
“
The Angel Tax Credit rebate
has been incredibly helpful.”
NEW FUNDING OPTIONS
ARE NOW AVAILABLE
“
“
“
“
“
Equity crowd funding is now
an option; that’s cool!”
“
WHAT IS WORKING

Why are we a 6 
and not a 10?
WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE

I don’t see anything that stands in the way of
us being more successful. The momentum is
there; it’s just a cultural thing that takes time.
It’s just something that needs to play out.”
“
Culture
Damn this conservative, agrarian
heritageofours!Theverysameplanful,
pragmaticnaturethathasproduceda
rich,stable,diversecorporateculture,is
the same influence throttling us from
modern progress.
Prominent people in this
community are afraid of failing.
I’ve been in conversations with
some who have told me that
even if they had 100 people
behind them, they would still
be reluctant to take a risk.”
We have a culture where failure
now means failure forever; some
people even feel the need to
move to restart. In other places
failure is a badge of honor.”
FEAR 
OF FAILURE
(On the supply side) people
are not ready to jump into
startups; they expect the
same level of compensation
and don’t fully appreciate the
tradeoffs of risk and reward.”
People are hesitant or unwilling
to take a big leap, both in the
form of joining a startup and in
investing in one.”
MISUNDERSTANDING
THE TRADEOFFS
Our corporate culture is too
risk averse, they are not
willing to be the first to work
with startup.”
We are conservative; the
strength of our big corporations
is great, but it’s safe and that
safety can discourage
entrepreneurial risks.”
CORPORATIONS 
ARE SLOW TO ADOPT
“
“
“
“
“
“

Generally speaking, there’s a lack of early
stage funding. And some of the reporting
on these activities is overstated.
We only have one or two
active Angel networks, which
is nothing compared to other
similar cities. If you don’t have
those types of networks, it’s
difficult to get some types of
companies oﬀ the ground.”
There is not enough seed
capital (below $1 million).”
MISSING EARLY-STAGE, 
SEED FUNDING
VC money has disappeared.
The ones we’ve had have
become too successful to 
make small investments (in 
the $5 million range), which 
has created a gap in funding.”
I wish we had more larger VC
firms – the people that want
to write $2 to $5 mil. checks.”
OUR VCS HAVE 
DISAPPEARED
“
If we don’t get some true
exits in the next few years, 
no one will take us seriously.”
There is a lack of funding,
which is less about having a
lack of VCs; we are missing
the multi-billion dollar exits by
past entrepreneurs that trickle
down to other startups.”
NOT SEEING 
MA JOR EXITS
Funding
Options
A well known gripe among local
founders... Though sometimes
overstated, there is a specific lack of
funding for certain startups and a
very critical time in their lifecycle –
early-stage or seed funding
“
“
“
“
“
“

We have a startup community, but there’s no
central hub. The communities are segregated;
there’s a lot of spokes, but no hub.”
“
A Hub
Though the various startup support
systems are meeting the goals of
their individual charters, there lacks a
central clearing house (both
physically and functionally) to
optimize the area’s startup activities.
We’re lacking a coordinated
eﬀort. It’s disjointed; some
may say that there are too
many groups and support
systems. We don’t need to
do more; we just need to
bring everyone together.”
There are a few areas with
concentrations of startup
activity, but it’s in pockets 
– the North Loop, CoCo,
Northeast, etc.”
ACTIVITIES AND 
EFFORTS ARE SILOED
There’s no central authority for
entrepreneurs; people don’t
know where to start.”
People want to start
companies, but they don’t
know where to start.”
FOUNDERS DON’T KNOW
WHERE TO START
We lack the nurturing
infrastructure that other cities
have, like what you’d find in
Chicago’s 1871 or Milwaukee’s
Gener8tor.”
We also suffer from a lack of
accelerators and other
formalized training that have
proven to help startups grow.”
NO NURTURING
INFRASTRUCTURE
“
“
“
“
“
“

If we want more successful startups we need a
broader set of people contributing to the process.”
DIVERSITY IN 
OUR FOUNDERS
MA JOR MEDIA 
COVERAGE
“
CORPORATE 
CONNECTION POINTS
Mind 
the Gap
Startups are tough, but can be
tougher for female founders and
founders of color, who have not
benefited equally from recent
momentum.
We’re sorely lacking consistent
storytelling of the activities of our
startups across all verticals. And,
corporate representatives who serve
as a bridge to gap the vast distance
between our startup and corporate
communities.
We have a serious diversity
problem – we have too many
white people and have the worst
inclusion of women in tech.”
We’re nowhere near the point 
we need to be to have solved 
the diversity issue; I can’t think of 
a single venture-backed startup
that is lead by a female founder.”
We need more/better local
media covering the startup
ecosystem. This type of
coverage legitimizes startup
activities, and makes it a more
common topic of conversation.”
There are some key
gatekeepers that dictate
awareness, which is creating
challenges.”
We haven’t found a way 
to connect the startup and
corporate communities.”
There’s a great opportunity with
our corporate community that is
completely missing, foundations
too. Both are not optimized for
the benefit of the startup
community.”
“
“
“
“
“
“

WHO AM I?INSIGHTS
What’s
going to
take us
from a
6 to a 10?
More residents that are
less risk adverse
More peer groups for 
startup founders
More angel investors
A central hub for 
startups to work together
More venture ﬁrms
More expansive 
media coverage
More employable 
startup talent
Better mentor/mentee 
opportunities for founders
More accelerators
Better educational 
resources
More startup community
support groups
A platform for 
connecting startups
Bolder leadership
Better governmental 
incentives
More opportunities for
startups and corporations
to work together

WHO AM I?
Re: a hub,
who needs
to be there?
Techstars
Local universities
Corporate
innovation groups
Local VC groups
Tech.mn
Prime Academy
(coding schools)
Impact Hub
CoCo
(co-working space)
The MN Cup
CoCreateX
Minne*
Venture Lake
Mentors
Healthcare.mn
Service providers
Accelerators
or incubators
Maker-space
Accel.mn
Greenhouse.mn
Local VC Groups
INSIGHTS

WHO AM I?
IT WAS BENEFICIAL
TO THE BUSINESS
I LIVED HERE
CURRENTLY OPERATING AS A STARTUP FOUNDER
Why did
you start
here?

WHO AM I?
Why did
you start
here?
“Our initial offering was
hockey specific, and the Twin
Cities was/is the epicenter of
youth hockey.”
“We had to convince global that
Minneapolis was the right place to
launch a new branch. It took us a
couple months, but in the process
we recognized that the Twin Cities
had the same ingredients as what
we had in the Bay, so we started
building plans to create a hub.”
“Medgineering started in
Florida, but we brought it 
to the Twin Cities to have
access to all of the healthcare
companies in the area.”
“With Grow
North we saw challenges
– silos, resources, awareness –
where resources were lacking that
we wanted to fill.”
“We were deciding between
Minneapolis, Chicago and Madison.
We picked Minneapolis because
there was a greater opportunity to
start something new. Here I could
recognize an immediate impact.”
“This is one of the best places
to start a healthcare company.”

WHO AM I?
Would you
encourage
a friend to
startup a
business
here?
8
5
EMPHATIC
YES!
YES, BUT..

WHO AM I?
Yes, but… “If the COMPANY WAS MORE MATURE 
(like at a Series B or C in their fundraising)
then yes, this is a good place to come to 
get acquired.”
“For FIRST TIME FOUNDERS, outside 
of healthcare, whose company requires
SEED CAPITAL to make it, I would say ‘NO.”
“There are CERTAIN PEOPLE who can  
walk into this community and do well 
– young, white, men who are confident and
outgoing, and who already speak the
language and know the culture. People who
don’t fit that mold require more effort.”
“This is NOT THE BEST PLACE to start some
businesses - pure consumer plays (like a social
network) require large populations to bring
something to life. We don’t have that here.”
“I think that WOULD DEPEND on the
business. There are areas of saturation
(nationally) – knowledge bases, mentoring,
funds, connections, etc. – that follow
verticals, which is the next generation 
of how regions are likely to develop.”
“It would DEPEND ON THE TYPE of company. 
If it was a software company, then maybe,
but Silicon Valley makes more sense. If it
was a med-tech company, this place makes
more sense.”

WHO AM I?
Yes!
“Here, you can TAP INTO A NETWORK
QUICKLY. I could introduce them to a few
people, and they would have access to 80%
of the people that the startup would need to
talk to find success.”
“Our ecosystem is BIG ENOUGH TO DO
SOMETHING INTERESTING, but SMALL
ENOUGH TO NAVIGATE.”
“PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO HELP and offer
their time. We have good service providers,
good talent and the WORK ETHIC is second
to none.”

What can we do
with this information?

Make It. MSP. – a collaboration involving 150+ companies, cities,
universities and nonprofits – is an initiative to better retain and
attract talented people in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region.
We believe a place that supports innovative people – from
entrepreneurs and social innovators to artists and “intra-preneuers” at
large institutions – is a place that does better retaining and attracting
everyone. With that in mind, Make It. MSP. is motivated to understand
what innovators need to come, stay, and thrive in our region.
We also know that a communities such as our startup communities,
are driven by individuals – doers, founders, changemakers and
builders. That’s why we are motivated to work with partners like
Beta.MN, which builds and supports its community by focusing on
founders. This report is the beginning of an intentional effort to go
straight to the source and listen to what people think is working in
the Minneapolis-Saint Paul region, as well as what could improve.
We are committed to working together to make this an even better
place to build what’s next.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Thank you. 
Questions? Comments?
REED ROBINSON | @INDEEDITSREED | REED@BETA.MN

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