The Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul region solves the world’s biggest problems. Our people’s ability to pioneer new innovations like the supercomputer, pacemaker, and open-heart surgery is how Minnesotans turned 50 local startups into Fortune 500 companies and became the Startup Capital of the North.

Every October that spirit of innovation shines through during Twin Cities Startup Week. In little more than five years, this celebration of our community has turned into one of the largest startup festivals in the country – championing new ideas and the people who power them. The weeklong festival, powered by local startup accelerator BETA, has also unlocked a cascade of other events that celebrate our region’s leadership in food & agriculture, health care, financial services, technology, and more.

This October, there are no excuses for missing out on all the action. Twin Cities Startup Week has grown from a handful of events with hundreds of attendees to hundreds of gatherings with thousands of attendees per day. This year, TCSW19 is presented by three of the world’s top companies – Target, 3M, and Cargill. The week itself – which includes everything from startup demo events to expert speakers, workshops, tours, free co-working, and more – has proven itself as both an incubator and magnet for some of the country’s premier gatherings of problem solvers. For instance, this year you can register to attend one of these events presented by some of the world’s top companies and leading organizations:

Food Ag Ideas Week (FAI): This 6-day series of speakers, events, tours, and demo showcases in Minneapolis and Saint Paul is powered by Grow North & designed to drive connectivity across the food & agriculture sector, inviting leaders from around the world to examine the most important emerging issues, like innovation in regenerative agriculture, while engaging with the people and companies in Minnesota’s ecosystem that are leading the way to the future of food.

MANOVA Summit: This global health event brings together innovations and ideas on the frontier of health and wellness. The MANOVA Summit is built around global content and speakers that cover some of the World Health Organization’s leading issues. The event invites leaders from across the planet to engage in critical conversations here in Medical Alley, the global epicenter of health innovation and care. For example, the President & CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will discuss the global pediatric cancer crisis.

Future Finance Forum (F3): Many of the country and world’s leading financial services companies, like U.S. Bank, Allianz, Securian, Wells Fargo, and more, have joined forces to create the Future Finance Forum to examine the latest trends in Fintech by connecting hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate executives from across the industry for a daylong event at Saint Paul’s Allianz Field. The event will include a pitch competition celebrating Fintech startups tackling issues of financial empowerment.

BITCON 2019: Blacks in Technology is a global platform for black leaders in technology. When the national organization decided to convene hundreds of tech pros for its very first annual conference in 2018, the group looked to Minneapolis-Saint Paul due to its global leadership, headquarters firms, and the energy around Twin Cities Startup Week. BITCON returns and will be even bigger in 2019, including a pitch competition, career fest, and more.

When combined with the scores of individual events and meet ups open for registration as part of Twin Cities Startup Week – events like the Techstars Farm-to-Fork Demo Day, the Minnesota Cup finals, the MEDA Million Dollar Challenge, MinneDemo, BETA Showcase, and so much more – you’ll discover there’s no problem we won’t tackle here.

So, no matter whether you work in a startup, you help power a large corporation, you’re a freelancer, or play another role in the ecosystem, if you are solving problems in the Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul region, it’s time to clear your calendar, browse the agenda, and join thousands of your peers at Twin Cities Startup Week.

And if you’re working anywhere else in the world, come and join us. There’s even a fly-in program to help make it easier to visit the region and find your next big job or business opportunity.

Matt Lewis is Vice President, Strategic Initiatives for the GREATER MSP Partnership.