Breakthrough Ideas 2007

The success of the Minnesota Cup inspired Litman and Mallin to start GetGo earlier this year. After seeing how hard Cup entrants worked to create business contacts, the two decided to help them expand their networks by building what amounts to a MySpace-like network for the local entrepreneurial community.

"We wanted to extend some of the benefits of the Minnesota Cup to an audience beyond the semi-finalist and finalist," Litman says. "This would provide more visibility to all Minnesota entrepreneurs; creating access to tools to use through the year as they build their ventures."

Litman says companies use GetGo to invite colleagues, advisors, investors, and partners into their networks where a secure, collaborative environment exists for blogs, forums, shared files, emails, and calendars.

Another valuable resource being offered to Cup entrants is the James J. Hill Reference Library's HillSearch tool. HillSearch offers numerous resources, many of which are not available elsewhere on the Internet, that can help broaden and sharpen business plans.

"At least 4,000 entrepreneurs a year use some part of our HillSearch portfolio to start and grow their business," says Jim Poole, the library's membership development manager.

All told, the Hill library helps nearly half a million budding and growing businesses each year. That's not surprising, considering the deep access points available, including more than 14,000,000 U.S. and Canadian companies, nearly 6,000 trade periodicals, 1,200 newspapers, 10,000 e-books.

Another resource for Cup competitors is the CEO Roundtable, a nonprofit organization that assembles CEOs from fast-growing companies to share ideas and solutions. The experience in the CEO Roundtable is a great boon to Cup semi-finalists, who turn to the group for mentorship and coaching.

"Our mentors met with 15 of the semi-finalists this year to provide feedback and advice on their business plans," says John Stavig, director of the Gary Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship, which works with both the Minnesota Cup and CEO Roundtable. "Our mentors see this as a means of giving back and learning about the exciting new businesses being developed in Minnesota."

Another valuable helping hand for Cup contestants is the Early Stage Investors Network (ESIN), a group of nearly 80 local angel investors who meet eight times annually to review business plans and hear entrepreneurs' pitches.

"We help give them a place to have their business plans screened by a group of knowledgeable investors, and potentially present to a meeting of 20 to 30 private investors," says Michael Moore, who runs ESIN and is on the Minnesota Cup review board. "With the advent of the Minnesota Cup and GetGoMN.org, participants become part of the early-stage community, receiving feedback, and making contacts that might lead to funding or other relationships."

With that multifaceted group at their disposal, it's no wonder entrepreneurs are clamoring for the Minnesota Cup. Mallin and Litman plan to make the competition even stronger in coming years.

"Our goal is to keep growing the program," says Mallin. "Next year, we will work to add more partners and provide more help to our entrants. We'll focus on awareness, so that more entrepreneurs can find out and participate in the Minnesota Cup."