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| Twin Cities Startup Week | |
|---|---|
| Name | Twin Cities Startup Week |
| Status | Active |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location | Minneapolis–Saint Paul |
| Country | United States |
| First | 2012 |
| Attendance | ~10,000 (varies) |
Twin Cities Startup Week is an annual entrepreneurial festival in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area that convenes founders, investors, developers, designers, students, and civic leaders. Held across venues in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the event showcases startups, accelerators, co‑working spaces, universities, and corporate innovation programs through workshops, panels, pitch competitions, and networking receptions. It positions the Twin Cities alongside regional innovation hubs such as Austin, Seattle, Boston, Silicon Valley, and Denver in efforts to attract capital, talent, and media attention.
Twin Cities Startup Week aggregates programming from institutions including University of Minnesota, Minnesota Cup, Techstars, Gener8tor, Enhanced Capital, Living Cities, and industry partners such as Target, Best Buy, 3M, Medtronic, and Ecolab. Sessions occur at incubators and accelerators like Beta.mn, Mears Park, CoCo Minneapolis, The Switch, and Impact Hub Minneapolis, while corporate sponsorships have included U.S. Bank, Piper Jaffray, Wells Fargo, Donaldson Company, and Mayo Clinic. Attendees often include representatives from venture firms like Flyover Capital, Lafayette Square, Drive Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz alongside angel groups such as Minnesota ANGEL Fund and Titanium Angels.
The festival was launched with organizers drawn from local entrepreneurship initiatives including MN Cup, Tech.mn, Greater MSP Partnership, and accelerators such as Gener8tor and Cambia Health Solutions. Early editions featured talks by leaders from Etsy, Kickstarter, Mozilla Foundation, and regional success stories like Code42, SPS Commerce, Grammarly (regional users), and Calabrio. Growth tracked alongside milestones in Minneapolis–Saint Paul tech history: the expansion of University of Minnesota research commercialization, the scaling of Medtronic's innovation units, and the rise of startup neighborhoods around Nicollet Mall, Northrup King Building, and Station 280.
Programming is curated by a steering committee composed of representatives from StartUp Minnesota, Greater MSP Partnership, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Metro Transit, and municipal innovation offices from City of Minneapolis and City of Saint Paul. The format mixes hands‑on workshops led by practitioners from Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, and Salesforce with mentor hours from accelerators such as Techstars Minneapolis, Gener8tor, and AlphaLab. Pitch competitions are adjudicated by panels including partners from Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs, Kleiner Perkins, NEA (New Enterprise Associates), and family offices active in the Midwest like Cargill-affiliated funds.
Core offerings include themed tracks for healthcare startups hosted with partners like Mayo Clinic, Allina Health, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota; fintech sessions with involvement from U.S. Bancorp and Minnesota Department of Commerce; and design and developer meetups that draw engineers from Databricks, Pinterest, Airbnb, and regional firms such as SPS Commerce and Jamf. Signature events have included hackathons co‑sponsored by Code for America, demo days with Techstars, roundtables featuring Minnesota State University, Mankato, and student‑centric tracks with Carleton College, Macalester College, St. Olaf College, and Hamline University. Social events frequently partner with cultural institutions like the Walker Art Center, Guthrie Theater, and Minnesota Orchestra.
Speakers and alumni have included founders and executives from Code42, SPS Commerce, Grammarly (users and partners), Calabrio, Jamf, Puppet Labs, Aptera, RaiseRight (formerly ShopWithScrip partners), and venture leaders from Drive Capital and Flyover Capital. Past presenters have been affiliated with national organizations such as Y Combinator, Techstars, 500 Startups, and international delegations from Tel Aviv, Toronto, London, Stockholm, and Berlin. Universities represented include University of St. Thomas, Concordia College (Moorhead), Augsburg University, and research labs from Mayo Clinic and University of Minnesota Medical School.
Organizers and partners attribute increases in deal flow, co‑founder formation, and talent retention to the festival, citing follow‑on funding rounds by alumni who later raised capital from firms like Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, Foundry Group, and regional partners such as LHB Corporation and Carlson. The event has been tied to growth in coworking and accelerator capacity at sites like CoCo Minneapolis, Beta.mn, and economic initiatives from Greater MSP Partnership and Minnesota Commerce Department. Civic and philanthropic collaboration has involved Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation, and Bush Foundation‑funded programs to increase diversity in entrepreneurship, along with workforce initiatives involving Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
Critiques have focused on access, diversity, and the concentration of resources, with commentators from MinnPost, Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Minnesota Reformer, and academics from UMN pointing to disparities in representation among founders of color and women. Debates have involved local policymakers from Mayor's Office and Saint Paul Mayor's Office regarding public subsidy, venue equity, and the role of major corporate sponsors like Target and Best Buy in agenda setting. Some startups and community groups have argued for expanded support for rural entrepreneurs from Greater Minnesota and closer ties to workforce programs run by Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
Category:Startup events in the United States