February 10, 2022

MINNEAPOLIS-SAINT PAUL, MN - Innovation leaders announced the launch of the Forge North Enterprise Playbook, a new resource to help corporations expand partnerships and engagement with startups in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) region. The Playbook is a project of the startup coalition Forge North, which is powered by GREATER MSP.

The Playbook helps guide corporations to take the new Forge North Enterprise Pledge, a commitment to launch initiatives and actions in 2022 that can help accelerate startup companies in MSP and benefit the corporations themselves. Leading corporations have already taken the pledge, including Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, CHS, Ecolab, General Mills, Huntington National Bank and Stella Ventures.

“We are thrilled to share this new resource with the broader local business and startup community,” said Stephanie Rich, Head of Platform at Bread and Butter Ventures, an early stage venture fund based in Minneapolis. “Our large corporations are important stakeholders in our startup community. Their active engagement can help us to distinguish Minneapolis-Saint Paul around the world.” 

Rich authored the playbook as a Forge North Fellow, working in partnership with local entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate innovation leaders. “We’ve designed the Playbook to be the first version of a tool that can be used by our local corporations to drive internal conversations and external engagement and support of our startup ecosystem,” Rich said. 

The Playbook is part of a broader regional push to ensure 100 percent of the largest corporations in MSP are meaningfully engaged with local startup firms. Forge North, a coalition of more than 100 entrepreneurs, investors, business executives, and leaders of entrepreneurial support organizations, set this objective in tandem with objectives to advance racial equity and increase early-stage investment in local startups.  

“Empowering entrepreneurs of all backgrounds strengthens and diversifies our local economy,” said Michael Jones, Huntington National Bank Executive and Forge North Leadership Council member. “Startups drive innovation and growth, and we all have an invested interest in fostering an environment where they can thrive.”

The Forge North Enterprise Pledge asks corporations to consider a menu of options to meaningfully increase their engagement with local startups. The impetus was a study of more than 30 of Minnesota’s largest corporations that revealed where leaders were motivated to engage. Participating companies are asked to identify specific actions in three or more categories during the 2022 calendar year, such as becoming the customer of a startup, partnering with accelerators and incubators, and directly investing in startups.  

“Minneapolis-St. Paul has a vibrant and growing startup community. There are many benefits to partnering with startups and tremendous opportunities for corporations to develop those partnerships in our backyard,” said Brett Carter, a Forge North Leadership Council member and executive at Xcel Energy. “This playbook is a great tool to help you get started.”

Amol Dixit, Disruptive Growth, General Mills added, ““We’ve always valued a culture of innovation and engagement with the startup community. The Twin Cities is home to a wealth of smart, passionate and diverse founders, and this playbook is a great step toward fostering ideas and brands that advance the entrepreneurial ecosystem in our hometown.

Entrepreneurs in the ecosystem also voiced support for the Playbook. "As an entrepreneur who has built a business here, I know firsthand how Minnesota’s corporations and business owners can impact a growing startup,” said Amy Langer, a Forge North Leadership Council member and Co-Founder at Salo. “It’s important that we make it as easy as possible for companies to learn what’s happening in our ecosystem and get engaged. That’s why I’m excited about this playbook.”

The Playbook was created with several goals in mind, including to intentionally highlight the need for large enterprises to take a more intentional approach to working with startups led by women, people of color and LGBTQ founders

A Forge North team led by Rich will work with participating companies throughout the year and report progress at events in late 2022. The playbook will be refreshed annually. 

ABOUT FORGE NORTH

Forge North is how partners across the Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul region are working together to make this the best place for people from every background to start and scale ventures. Forge North is more than an organization. It is a growing coalition of more than 100 leaders at startups, investment firms, corporations, entrepreneurial support organizations, and other groups, who are working in partnership to grow the region’s startup ecosystem. Forge North is powered by the GREATER MSP Partnership. Learn more at forgenorth.com