Sixth Annual Twin Cities Startup Week Announces Schedule of Events

The sixth-annual Twin Cities Startup Week (TCSW), the nation’s second-largest startup week featuring talented entrepreneurs and individuals from the startup capital of the north, has announced their 2019 schedule of events and opened ticket registration. Prominent startup leaders and notable figures, including St. Paul Mayor Melvin Cater, Target Vice President of Innovation Gene Han, Loup Ventures Managing Partner and Cofounder Gene Munster, Inc. Staff Writer Emily Canal, Geekettes Founder and Facebook Diversity Specialist Jess Erickson and other soon-to-be-announced enterprise pioneers, will headline almost 250 events throughout the week-long phenomenon from Wednesday, October 9 to Wednesday, October 16.

Earlier this year, Beta.MN, organizers of TCSW, named Casey Shultz as the Director of TCSW, the first woman to spearhead the event. This year’s event will also introduce three industry-focused tracks and three partner events, including:

• Retail Track, presented by Target (Oct. 10)

• Tech Track, presented by Microsoft for Startups (Oct. 15)

• Healthcare Track, presented by Allina Health (Oct. 14)

• Partner event Manova Summit, focusing on the progress of global health (Oct. 14 to 16)

• Partner event Future Finance Forum (F3), focusing on trends moving the fintech industry forward (Oct. 11)

• Partner event Food | Ag | Ideas Week, focusing on elevating and connecting Minnesota's food and agriculture ecosystem (Oct. 10 to 16)

Taking place across the Twin Cities, TCSW is a celebration of the greatest ideas, activities, people and spaces the Twin Cities has to offer. The event, presented by Target, Cargill and 3M, provides the tools and resources to help turn ideas into successful businesses and encourages companies of all backgrounds and sizes to come together and make a positive impact. This year’s event will also focus on accessibility and walkability, with most of the events taking place in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the fly-in program will once again give 50 startup enthusiasts from outside the Twin Cities the chance to experience the innovative atmosphere of the Startup Capital of the North.

“From our humble start of 15 entrepreneurs organizing only 50 events in 2014, to almost 20,000 expected registered attendees at almost 250 events in 2019, Twin Cities Startup Week continues to reflect the sensational growth of the Twin Cities’ entrepreneurial spirit over the last decade,” said Shultz. “As a former fly-in program participant, I’m honored to build on previous years’ foundations to make TCSW accessible to the broader Minnesota community.” 

The 2019 program includes a variety of premier events, informative panels, networking opportunities, pitch and demo opportunities, parties and more covering a wide-variety of industries, including technology, healthcare, EdTech and training, food and agriculture, FinTech, impact and inclusion, marketing and sales, and wellness.

In 2018 Twin Cities Startup Week hosted more than 200 events and 17,000 attendees, compared to the 150 events and 12,000 attendees at the 2017 event. Innovation occurs in all communities, and therefore all communities are welcome to participate in TCSW.

To view more details on specific events happening in the Startup Capital of the North, to register for events and view the official event schedule, visit the Twin Cities Startup Week website at www.twincitiesstartupweek.com.

ABOUT TWIN CITIES STARTUP WEEK

Twin Cities Startup Week (TCSW) is a volunteer-lead event to showcase the best of the Twin Cities startup community. Lead by the area’s top startup organizations and supported by the region's globally-recognized companies, the sixth annual TCSW is taking place October 9 to 16 with thousands of participants convening for almost 250 events in seven days across the region. Learn more at www.twincitiesstartupweek.com and follow along on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.