Innovation Grants Return in July
July marks the start of a new fiscal year for Launch Minnesota, which means Innovation Grants are back! These grants provide up to $35,000 for business operations, which includes research and development, direct business expenses and technical assistance.
Since inception, Launch Minnesota has awarded a total of $4.8M to 149 innovative Minnesota companies. More than 60% of our Innovation Grants have been awarded to targeted businesses, which includes those that are woman-owned, veteran-owned, BIPOC-owned or located in Greater Minnesota.
Applications for the new round of Innovation Grants open July 10. Check out the Innovation Grant page on our website for additional information and to see if your startup might qualify.
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MN Venture Selects Startups for Pitch Event
Minnesota Ventures is a quarterly event connecting investors, both local and national, to Minnesota startups ready to receive investment and scale their business. To date, MN Ventures has helped local companies raise more than $1M in venture capital.
Launch Minnesota partners with the University of Minnesota’s Office of Technology Commercialization, Medical Alley and MNSBIR/STTR Accelerator to host quarterly MN Venture pitch events. These 11 startups were selected to pitch during the event this week:
G-Works Joins the Minnesota Exchange
G-Works is General Mills’ corporate venture studio made up of founder teams that have both internal and external entrepreneurs. Kinetic is providing the solution to enable G-Works to expedite meaningful conversation to accelerate relationships and progress within MN’s startup ecosystem.
Learn more about the Minnesota Exchange
Spave Wins Best in Show
Launch Minnesota grantee Spave was selected as one of the Best in Show winners at Finovate Spring 2022 in San Francisco last month. Spave offers a free app that allows users to save and give by spending money on everyday items.
“It was immeasurably exciting for us to make such an impression, given that Finovate events are known for showcasing the best in FinTech innovations and the very best of our industry,” the company said in a statement.
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Friday Forum -- June 24
Launch Minnesota’s Friday Forums are an opportunity to discuss the topics facing Minnesota’s startup community. This month’s meeting is Friday, June 24 at 8:30 a.m. and the topic is Launch Minnesota Network. Get to know a handful of the organizations working across Minnesota to level the playing field for all entrepreneurs across the state.
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Lunch With Launch -- July 14
Lunch With Launch is a new, casual meetup for grantees and community members to connect and collaborate. University Enterprise Laboratories hosted the first Lunch With Launch at its space in St. Paul earlier this month. We had a great turnout and enjoyed connecting with grantees and UEL members alike to learn about their successes, challenges and upcoming projects.
Launch Minnesota grantee Buncha is hosting this month’s Lunch With Launch at their office in Minneapolis on July 14 from 12-2 p.m. We hope to see you there!
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Upcoming Events
June 22: Launch Minnesota Office Hours
June 23: F.U.N. Q2
June 23: Sparking Innovation: Fostering Big Ideas to Realize Impactful Change
June 30: Minnedemo: Back to Campus
More events on Launch Minnesota’s Startup and Small Business Calendar
Resources for Entrepreneurs:
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