The Minnesota Cup competition allows emerging Minnesota entrepreneurs and start-up companies to compete for the opportunity to meet investors and win prizes, including seed capital.

History The Minnesota Cup competition started in 2005 by entrepreneurs Scott Litman and Dan Mallin. The first competition drew 600 entries who competed for $37,500 in prize money and professional services. The second annual competition introduced a student division and began on May 26, 2006.Suzukamo, Leslie Brooks (April 2, 2006), "Prize offered for bright ideas," Pioneer Press (St. Paul) archived on breakthroughideas.org The competition has grown over time with the top prize increasing to $50,000 in 2008.Suzukamo, Leslie Brooks (March 31, 2008), "Minnesota Cup doubles top prize to $50,000," Pioneer Press (St. Paul). In 2009, the competition expanded with the inclusion of categories for High Tech, Clean Tech and Renewable Energy, Social Entrepreneurship and BioSciences to go along with the existing General and Student Divisions. Additionally, prize money grew to $130,000.Grayson, Katharine (March 29, 2009), "Minnesota Cup Accepting Entries," Minneapolis/Saint Paul Business Journal (Minneapolis). In 2016, The prize money for division winners and runners-up was $30,000 and $5,000, respectively. The grand prize winner got additional $50,000.

Grand Prize Winners 2005: ArcSwitch, Inc.Diggins, Arthur F. "Breaking New Ground" Twin Cities Business Magazine. pp. 2-3. 2006: Vast EnterprisesKennedy, Patrick (September 8, 2006), "Eden Prairie paver firm wins innovation prize", Star Tribune (Minneapolis). 2007: Muve Inc.Johnson, Adam (September 12, 2007), "Minnesota Cup Winner Thinks it Has a Better Idea For Weight Loss" Finance and Commerce. 2008: CoreSpine TechnologiesMinnesota Cup 2008: Breakthrough Entrepreneurs Twin Cities Business December 2008. 2009: Alvenda Commerce AdvertisingMinnesota Cup 2009: Most Promising Entrepreneurs Twin Cities Business December 2009. 2010: EarthClean 2011: AUM Cardiovascular 2012: PreciouStatus 2013: Preceptis Medical Hummingbird Ear Tubes 2014: 75F 2015: Astropad 2016: Stemonix 2020: Blue Cube Bio 2021: Nanodropper 2022: BKB Floral Foam 2023: Carba 2024: Momease Solutions Inc. 2025: AcQumen Medical

See also OrthoCor (2012), BioScience Division winner

References