Minnesota Cup 2008

Assists From the U

In addition to connecting semifinalists with alumni entrepreneurs, student entrants tap into the U’s Multi-Profession Business Law Clinic where third-year law students help entrepreneurs with business formation and transactional law.

Each spring, the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship matches undergraduate students with 30 start-ups where they assist with business planning, market research, logistics, and more. Past interns have served many Minnesota Cup businesses, including previous winners Muve, ArcSwitch, Picc Stat, and Vast Enterprises.

“Our mission is to inspire and educate the next generation of entrepreneurs,” says John Stavig, professional director of the Holmes Center. “You don’t do that in an ivory tower—you do that by engaging the business community in the process. The Minnesota Cup is a great program for us to pair our student interns with emerging entrepreneurs.”

Litman and Mallin say they get many e-mails from participants explaining the boost they get from the Minnesota Cup. One such e-mail came from semifinalist Robert Ziebol, CEO and founder of Pursuit Medical, a Blaine-based company that works with physicians to make medical devices.

“The Minnesota Cup has been tremendously valuable to us in many ways. It led to our first business plan being written earlier than it would have been otherwise; it resulted in some excellent contacts; it has given us valuable exposure; and it helped us identify and focus on the most important issues necessary to get our business off the ground.”

It’s this type of assistance that prompts many entrepreneurs to re-enter the Minnesota Cup several times with refocused ideas. Last year, two of the finalists were semifinalists in 2006. This year one finalist returned after being a semifinalist in 2007.

“In Minnesota, we are tremendous benefactors of past successful entrepreneurs, whether we’re talking about 3M, Best Buy, or Digital River,” Litman says. “These success stories create jobs, and they create a strong work environment that benefits our community. We rely on constant reinvention and idea generation, and that comes from entrepreneurs. It’s important for our future that Minnesota be a successful place to build great businesses, and we want the Minnesota Cup to play a role in that.”

Minnesota Cup Process

Any Minnesota entrepreneur, inventor, or small-business owner can enter the Minnesota Cup. Entrants in the planning stages to those operating companies—as long as the business has been generating revenue for less than five years, and with no more than $1 million in revenue—can enter.

Participants submit an executive summary of their ideas at minnesotacup.org between March and May each year. A selection committee picks 30 semifinalists who then have one month to craft a detailed business plan. Five finalists are selected in the next round of judging, and the Minnesota Cup announces winners in September.

What do winners get? First place lands $50,000 in seed capital, and access to multiple business resources. Second-place and third-place teams earn $10,000 and $5,000 respectively, and the student winner receives $5,000.