Minnesota Report
For those of you who don’t work in the entrepreneurial space. All week long, there was an annual event that draws people from throughout the state to the Twin Cities to attend discussions and interact with Founders-those who are building what’s next i.e. people who start new companies; Funders– those who put their money behind their thoughts and invest in innovative idea companies; Students– those who striving to learn and are actively developing this type of mindset; Builders– those who are making it real; and the Communities that embrace these members of their ecosystem.
Entrepreneurs are those small businesses that can become bigger, constantly striving to do things differently and always on the cutting edge. As an entrepreneur, our publisher, Shawn Towle, follows the operational mantra Problem-Cause-Solution, derived from the scientific method.
To this end, while writing this piece, he offers the following insight:
- The next Governor, expectedly Amy Klobuchar (DFL-MN), should create a new Department for Entrepreneurship.
- The State of Minnesota should create an Entrepreneurship Investment Fund.
- The value would be a shot in the arm to this community, but also derive a potential economic benefit.
- If these investments, which render a percentage of their equity (25%) in exchange for capital infusion, could be added to the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) is a state agency established in 1885 that manages and invests the assets of Minnesota’s public retirement systems, state cash accounts, and various trust and tax-advantaged savings funds.
- This would, in turn, embody the concept first offered by Governor Rudy Perpich (DFL-MN) for Minnesota to be the Brain Power State.
- With St. Paul’s downtown being hollowed out, it is the perfect place to act as an incubator for entrepreneurship and a place to actively test out ideas.
With tonight’s final event taking place at Alary’s in St. Paul, there are opportunities for people of interest to come and rub elbows with those who will reshape the current landscape and build a stronger economy.