TECHdotMN: News about Minnesota Startups

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Minneapolis startup Evolve announced their partnership with Twitch back in December and the fruits of labor are bearing this spring in San Francisco.

The two will be live broadcasting on Twitch during the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) Wednesday (3/27) and Thursday (3/28), including interviews and demos with a lineup of game developers, designers, and publishers.

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Minnesota tech (IT, SaaS, web, mobile, hardware) entrepreneurs fundraising for their startup are invited to to the fourth TECHdotMN Capital Call on Thursday, January 24, from 6-8pm at CoCo in Minneapolis.

This gathering will be an intimate experience focused on one thing: money.

Two guest speakers will be sharing their respective insights: tech entrepreneur Adam Sellke and angel investor Eric Gustafson:

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Thank you to Split Rock Partners  for underwriting the Entrepreneur 2 Entrepreneur series.

Adam Sellke has been around the entrepreneurial block before, having started multiple tech companies and — more importantly — seen some through.  His current and most ambitious pursuit is Evolve, a social gaming platform with roots dating as far back as 2006.

Over time, through trial and tribulation, Sellke has lead Evolve through funding milestones driven by a mix of traction and tenacity.  And if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, or perhaps risk, he’s recently teamed up on a more experimental project called *Slinger.

When asked about a theme that personally resonates with your own entrepreneurial experiences so far, you chose ‘risk’. Why?

“Risk” seems to be a frequent topic of interest amongst curious onlookers and aspiring entrepreneurs. It’s also an interesting variable on the investment side of startups.

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Minneapolis startup Echobit has recently closed a $350k ‘Angel II’ round of equity financing for the expansion of core gaming product Evolve, according to co founder and CEO Adam Sellke.

Evolve is pioneering an open communication and collaboration platform for multiplayer gamers, starting with PC-based games. 

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Beta Byte is a series underwritten by Bust Out Solutions for that early stage tech found somewhere between idea and reality. Equally exciting as it is raw. Are you in this phase?

What is the name of the company and/or product? Where is it found online?

*Slinger is a product of Lift.

What problem does this solve?

*Slinger is an impulse mobile gifting platform for events, hospitality, and entertainment venues.  As the mobile payment space continues to expand, mobile gifting is that adjacent space that connects friends to a brand.

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Minneapolis startup Echobit is raising $350k to finance the expansion of core product and gaming startup Evolve, according to a disclosure recently filed with the SEC.

Co founded in 2006 by Adam Sellke, Soren Dreijer and Michael Amundson, the venture appears to be gearing up for a Series A round, having raised an approximate $500k to date. 

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Minneapolis-based Evolve has developed a discrete social network that may be just what you need: a place for that secret gaming alter-ego.

Co-founded by Adam Sellke, Michael Amundson and Soren Dreijer — Parent company Echobit started in 2006 (when Michael and Soren were still in college) with LAN Bridger, an easy-to-use VPN Client for online gamers to connect and share within a P2P environment.  As the demand for LAN Bridger grew, the trio began to see the big picture, in that hardcore gamers are human and they need to interact just like every other human, but in their own unique ways.

“We make sense in the same way that LinkedIn does in a world that’s dominated by Facebook,” says CEO Sellke, “there are different social graphs for different social contexts and a lot of gamers don’t want their friends, neighbors and bosses to know that they spend 20-30 hours a week playing video games online.”

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The 9th production of MinnDemo will take place on Thursday, January 13, 6:00pm at St. Thomas’ Schulze Hall.

MinneDemo happens roughly 2-3 times per year to showcase real, working technology products made in Minnesota. In January, ten companies will give 7-minute demos of functional hardware and/or software. In addition to the Minnesota tech buzz, the event is known for facilitating some of the best startup networking in town.

Organizers Ben Edwards and Luke Francl have moved the event to St. Thomas from its previous location at Intermedia Arts in Uptown. “We’ve had such a huge level of interest in this event that we’ve needed to move it around as space has become an issue. We’re always looking for better venues,” said Ben. In the past the event has been held at Chang Mai Tai, Acadia Cafe (before it moved), O’Gara’s, and Intermedia Arts.

Updated 1/5/10 12:45 – The 10 demonstrations include:

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