An unfolding narrative shows how two local women are taking the charge to rally local females within Minnesota’s technology industry.

Jacque Urick is the new Managing Director of Girls in Tech Minneapolis-St.Paul chapter.  Girls in Tech was founded in San Francisco (2007) with the goal of empowering, educating and elevating status of women in technology fields, and aims especially to inspire young women to pursue entrepreneurial technology careers.  The  networking group has a strong emphasis on supporting the next generation of females and features quarterly meetups — the next one scheduled for June 29th at Moscow on the Hill.

Liz Tupper is Managing Director of She’s Geeky, an annual 2 day unConference exclusively focused around bringing together women in STEM fields. The inaugural Minnesota She’s Geeky took place last August and drew around 100 local women together around technology, lifestyle and business; the second local event is scheduled for September 23 & 24th at the Science Museum of Minnesota (details to follow).

Liz and Jacque originally met at TR’s FindLaw and soon realized their shared passions were the foundation for something bigger, hence their motivation to raise the profiles for their gender as it pertains to technology careers. In addition to their community initiatives, the duo is also pursuing a startup of their own called SieEnt to develop episodic RPG-style video games.

“My ultimate goal is to make Girls in Tech irrelevant, hopefully we can get to a point where we don’t need it anymore,” says Urick.

Check out our 31st Get to Know podcast to hear more about these two local leaders.

Rochester-based mobile developer DoApp has come a long way since the founding trio left the security of their corporate jobs three years ago this month.

“We had a very schizophrenic anti-MBA go to market,” says co founder and CEO Wade Beavers, speaking to inception. “When we got started, we did a variety of things thinking that one thing would take off — and in some dysfunctional way, they all did.  It has created as much opportunity as challenge.”

The firm was one of  the first 2500 companies approved to develop for Apple’s iPhone, having created three of the first 500 apps (there are over 350,000 today).  “People will pay for flatulence,” Beavers says reflecting on the dubious honor of having the first app ever to be banned by Apple — Whoopie Cushion.

Collectively, DoApp’s mobile apps have experienced over 12 million downloads; today, the company has four flagship products and 11 full time employees:

Mobile Local News – content delivery platform for TV, newspaper and radio stations.

iKenex – robust white label application for real estate agents & brokers.

adagogo – hyper local advertising platform (beta).

mRemedy – medical library and custom health tracker app created in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic.

“If you think your marriage has ups and downs, try a startup…it’s going to get tense…the key is to know that you’re in it to the end. Check your ego at the door — it’s about the end product.” — Wade Beavers, CEO, DoApp.

Tune in to our podcast interview for a candid first-hand perspective on starting and surviving the first few years…

Local technology entrepreneurs now have a second major resource of late, when Minnesota’s first tech-oriented accelerator program begins accepting first round applications tomorrow.

Six months in the making, Project Skyway will choose up to 10 early-stage tech companies in SaaS & mobile to participate in a three-month long, mentor-driven startup acceleration based out of Minneapolis.

“Our emphasis is on building tech companies with long-term, sustainable value, ethical practices, mentorship, and strong networks,” Project Skyway founder Cem Erdem reiterates.

The program offers $6k in seed funding per founder (1-5), mentorship, co-working space (TBA), dedicated outsourced software development and connections-a-plenty.   In exchange for participating in the program, companies give 6 – 9% of founders stock.

“Almost any other accelerator program will bounce you if you don’t have a tech co-founder as part of your team,” says co founder Casey Allen, touching on a unique aspect. “Not Project Skyway. We are looking for applicants with the ability to execute over the ability to code the viable and fund-able prototype themselves.”  The accelerator will also accept sole founders.

The deadline to apply is midnight, May 1, 2011 — after which the top 25 applicants will then be invited to participate in the 2nd round weekend boot-camp being held June 10-12, 2011.  In late June, invitations will be sent out to finalists ready to start building August 1 through ‘demo day’ in October.

For more background and details, tune in to our Get to Know podcast with Cem Erdem and Casey Allen.

“My business philosophy is simple — human pain equals market demand,” says tech veteran and lifelong entrepreneur Chris Dykstra.

Chris has been using technology to solve real world problems for the past 15 years and is currently engaged in three distinct impact businesses:

Zanby is a white-label enterprise ‘group of groups’ social collaboration startup he co founded in 2005. With strong domestic and international reach, Zanby was used to facilitate discussions between private business, NGO’s, government and cotton collectives to curb Walmart’s child labor practices in Uzbekistan.

Warecorp is an onshore/offshore software consulting and development company he co founded in 2004 as a spinoff from a previous venture.  One recent WareCorp project facilitated crowdsourcing funds to build an orphanage in Haiti.

The Uptake is a citizen-fueled, online video news gathering organization focused on government transparency (think CSPAN for the web). Started in 2007, he chairs the board of this nonprofit journalism upstart.   “Better storytelling at the local level about business and more transparency about political processes can lead to prosperity,”  he says.

The Uptake received Center for Public Integrity’s “top ten websites of the year” award in 2008, in addition to five society for professional journalism awards since inception.  “We filmed every minute of the Norm Coleman Al Franken recount trial, including 40 different recount stations live…the result of that effort was that Minnesota has preserved its reputation as a good government state, ” he confidently concludes.

And as if three businesses wasn’t enough already, he recently added diary-based blogging network SoapBlox to the mix.

To streamline operations (and maintain sanity), Dykstra recently rolled his holdings into a B Corporation called Global Contribution. The B Corporation represents a fresh approach to modern business, in that it wraps a for-profit model around a named benefit which serves as the primary operating objective.   With Global Contribution, it’s all about spreading entrepreneurship (more on that to follow).

Chris can be hard to pin down — if only because he’s consumed with action wherever he goes. The collective mission in all that he does is to “create more connected, better informed, healthy and sustainable communities.”

A month ago,  he was in Kansas visiting with the Kauffman Foundation, then his media company went to Wisconsin to cover the chaos next door, and now he’s in Austin, Texas for the CoWorking Unconference.  His work regularly takes him around the world to places like Mexico, Europe and Russia where he’s expanding business relationships, consulting, and speaking about social entrepreneurship.

“I look at all these as business problems…they’re the ones I want to focus on…for me, they’re the richest opportunities. I would encourage people to consider becoming an entrepreneur and reaching for the empowerment that it provides in personal life…think about what market opportunities exist around our shared social problems.”

Tune in for an outstanding story of how one Minnesota entrepreneur applies technology towards the betterment of societies — an innovation of the mind.

Behind all the talk about innovation, startups and entrepreneurship in Minnesota are two men who have (modestly) been building the local tech community for years through a series of initiatives culminating under the brand umbrella Minne*.

It started back in 2006 with Minnesota’s first barcamp unconference aka MinneBar, followed by “show and tell” MinneDemo (next up: Jan 13), and more recently the introduction of MinneSpark.

“When we created barcamp, I had no idea what Minne* was going to be…I just thought Minnesota needed a barcamp…and we had one and it was a good time…then Luke Francl and Dan [Grigsby] picked up the Demo events, and it became a number of events and we needed something to support all these things,” says Minne* Catalyst Ben Edwards.

As Minne* events have become synonymous with Minnesota tech, the team (sans Grigsby) continues to push the envelope of experimentation for the benefit of the community. Last years MinneSpark awarded multiple conceptual startups with cash prizes, connections and ongoing mentorship. Currently in the works are plans to organize a new experience, namely MinneStart, which is essentially “MinneSpark on steroids” — bigger cash prizes, supporting services packages, and increased visibility.  (If you or someone you know is involved in a startup, keep an eye on the opportunities here as they unfold)

The duo initially incorporated Minne* as an LLC, but have since converted the business to a non-profit and brought in Adrienne Peirce as third partner to support the growing demands of running the operation.

When not catalyzing Minnesota tech, Edwards runs Minneapolis design/development company Refactr and works closely with a (then) quasi-Minnesota company formerly known as CloudProfile which was acquired for $8.8m in March 2010 by ReachLocal which in turn completed a $54m IPO in May 2010.  Francl is known for his 2009 participation in Y-Combinator with  FanChatter, a company he has since left to pursue his own consulting business — yet he remains open to being a part of “the right” Minnesota startup in the future.

It is probable that TECHdotMN would not be around today without the ongoing efforts, sacrifice and connections from two of Minnesota’s longest running startup champions; no doubt there are countless others who have experienced the benefits of participation over the years. Tune in for the details…

Justin Kaufenberg’s entrepreneurial blood has been flowing since the days when his family would gather for the monthly “make dad rich” meetings.

“By the time I was 18 years old and off to college — the idea of ever going working for someone else was just a non option — it was really a foregone conclusion at that point that I was going to do something for myself,” he asserts.

While in college at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire studying economics,  Justin met designer/developer Carson Kipfer and the duo quickly setup shop and launched Third North Creative (Third Floor North Wing in Murray Hall).  The custom web development business was growing during the first two years, as was the desire to “own and iterate on a single product.”

“Third North was the stepping stone…we spun TST Media out with Mike Lewis from Travelocity.com and Greg Blasko. The four of us went heads down for two years…26 months without a paycheck.”

At the same time, moving from western Wisconsin back to Justin’s Minnesota roots in 2005 to setup shop in NE Minneapolis was a key strategic move for the startup.

“The benefits were immediate,” he notes, “just being immersed in this tech culture really began to push this business in the right direction. Our first software hire (Luke Ludwig) who we met at the RubyMN group is still with us today.”

But it isn’t all as sexy as it sounds — you’ll hear Kaufenberg explain life during those initial years when he had taken out a second mortgage on his house in Wisconsin, maxed out the credit cards, and ate canned chili for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  While the average person might ask “why”, all  this calculated entrepreneur saw was simple logic:

“You have this unique window of opportunity as a young individual to do something while your (future) family is not depending on you and you have this window of time where the relative cost of failure is reasonable, all things considered. Looking back, I always tell [aspiring entrepreneurs] the single most important thing they can do is to keep their personal overhead low and their personal financial situation in such a place that it gives them the time to truly see what their business is made of.”

By 2008, TST Media had a fully-developed product (NGIN),  grown from four to ten employees and went to the markets to raise its first round of investment capital.  “It didn’t work as planned, which was very humbling,” Justin recalls while describing the “re-grouping” that did lead to a successful $1m raise in 2009 led by Twin Cities Angels.

“To a degree, the worst is behind us, but we still perform at top capacity every day.”

With around 40 on payroll, TST is ready to continue stoking the growth trajectory through another funding round/ acquisition streak.  “We’re very excited about what’s next,” he says, “It’s not about lunch money anymore, the stakes are higher everyday. Our employees, partners (myself included) now have families and are paying mortgages and depend on this company. That’s makes us proud.”

What a class act.

As a subsidiary of Capella Education Company (NASDAQ: CPLA), Minneapolis-based Capella University is Minnesota’s third-largest University based on enrollment — and it’s all done online.

Founded in 1993, Capella University offers accredited graduate degree programs in the fields of business, information technology, education, human services, public health, public safety, and psychology, as well as bachelor’s degree programs in the fields of business, information technology, and public safety.  More than 38,000 students are currently enrolled, representing all 50 states and 52 countries.
Seventy-eight percent are pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees.

Keith Koch is vice president of next generation learning where he leads Capella University’s award-winning efforts to provide a high-quality and relevant online user experience for Capella learners and faculty.

His team develops and maintains the company’s online course rooms and course room applications; external and internal Web sites, collaborative environments and interactive experiences, such as:  simulations, discussion forums,  networking sites and online multimedia.

Koch joined Capella in 2000 as the company’s first manager of Web strategies. Keith was named director of next generation learning in 2004 and promoted to vice president in 2009. He previously worked as an ecommerce brand manager and Web designer at Fingerhut Companies. Koch earned his bachelor’s degree in Retail Marketing and Management from the University of Minnesota, then self-trained in the nascent field of Web site development and ecommerce before returning to the University of Minnesota for a master’s in Human Ecology, with a self-directed focus on virtual environments and new media design.

Podcast recorded by Aaron Bannin

Brent Gensler began traveling to China at age 19 to explore new fabric manufacturers for his parents’ upholstery business, which has been in the family since 1950.   A few years down the road and fresh off a business degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brent started going back to China…only this time it was to scout manufacturers for his own company.

In April of 2008, Brent launched Defy Supply — an e-commerce company headquartered in Minneapolis which sells furniture directly from Chinese manufacturers  to customers across North America.  “Throughout my experiences, I realized just how many middlemen are between the original manufacturer and the end customer,” he says. “Our company basically defies that traditional supply-chain using an e-commerce model.”

In the beginning, Brent hit the books and learned an entire new industry — from global logistics, currency fluctuations, taxes, tariffs, import, export, etc. . “I remember sitting in the library for months, learning everything I could.  Eventually, I was so proud of myself [that I figured out how to get the products to the end user] — then I thought, “Hell, I don’t know how to make a website…that was probably hurdle number 12.”

Starting with$50,000 in personal savings and two transactions (four bar stools), Defy Supply has since expanded to include 3,700 unique products from 45 suppliers. The company currently has 10 employees in China and five in the U.S. between Minneapolis and Chicago;  Brent expects 2010 sales to double up  from last years $2.5mm.

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? “It’s not a path that I would recommend for everyone by any means…”

Tune in for an intriguing conversation around how one local success story began with an incredibly motivated entrepreneur who seized the opportunity.

“I looked around at all the models and unfortunately we are behind the curve when it comes to early stage investment of time, capital and resources,” says  Cem Erdem, President and CEO of Minneapolis-based Augusoft.

As a Turkish immigrant, Cem started Augusoft 16 years ago to provide Internet strategy consulting at a time when the Internet was still nascent at best. Over the years, Augusoft has become a “highly profitable” software development firm specializing in a learning management system called Lumens.

Finding his own success through “pain and patience”, Cem believes that there is not  only room for improvement in early-stage Minnesota technology, but specifically a great opportunity to play to the strengths of the talented yet underserved entrepreneurs within the educational system.  By creating an “innovation center” aka Project Skyway to “focus on building sustainable businesses that generate long-term value,” Cem Erdem describes his vision for a supportive entrepreneurial environment designed to bring Minnesota back where it belongs.

“I feel like I just got off the airplane again [16 years ago] and I can smell the opportunity in the air…We will be opening our first innovation center in July 2011 by highway 169 & 394…and I’m going to need help so I invite everyone to help the new generation of entrepreneurs to chase their dreams, which is now my dream.” – Cem Erdem, President and CEO, Augusoft.

Listen in.

As an observer of the Minnesota high tech scene for over 30 years, Harlan Jacobs thinks so.

Harlan moved from Des Moines to the Twin Cities in the early 70′s to be a part of  “a burgeoning high tech mecca.”  In 1979, he became the CFO of FilmTec Corporation (now Thin Film Technology), a (then) publicly traded thin-film composite venture started in 1977 by four scientists turned entrepreneurs.  After Dow Chemical bought the company in 1985 for $75m, Harlan began to re-invest his rewards through Genesis Business Centers, an incubator/consulting firm focused primarily on capital advisory services.

According to Harlan, Genesis has experienced two distinct high tech successes (NT International – sold to Entegris; Visual Circuits – sold to Focus Enhancements) as he continues to provide CFO & consulting services to other Minnesota tech companies by which he has a vested interest in, such as Cima Nanotech, Cymbet and Zivix.

“Over the years,” he says, “the halcyon days of abundant seed capital and wide/well practiced risk taking” have essentially eroded.   “It was once a good time and place for entrepreneurs, but sadly, looking back, we’ve lost our edge.”

“We have some talented people with world class technology — a good natural resource — but we’re a backwater when it comes to seed capital and the early stage venture capital needed to help these companies get started.  Too often I’ve seen companies have to move to the coasts because the investors who understand the opportunities and are willing to invest in early stage tend to want their companies in their own backyard…While we used to be known as ‘Moneyapolis‘,  it’s now more like ‘Miserapolis’ because of the paucity of seed capital. I’m concerned about a long-term secular trend — we’re in danger of becoming a larger (and colder) version of Omaha or Des Moises, who have stable but not dynamic high-tech economies like the Twin Cities have enjoyed over the past 50 years.  Now some people might say, ‘that’s fine’ and others would say ‘that’s not fine’; I’m in the latter category, I want Minnesota to be a leader…If the trend is not reversed, we’ll have done a darn good job of creating high tech jobs on the coasts at our taxpayers expense.”

Later in the conversation, he concludes  “…you wrap it all up and it could be the financial version of a perfect storm (although I don’t think it has to be that way permanently), but public and private policy leaders need to come to grips with the implications of this.”

Problems are easy – what’s the remedy?

“It’s going to take, somehow, the spirit of risk taking and the risk/reward ratio becoming attractive to people again.  I think there’s a generational problem:  profits used to be recycled into the next company and that’s not happening much anymore. There’s also awareness issue: reaching out to the money centers on the East and West coast so that they can invest in our companies [encouraging them to look at the arbitrage advances of investing here in Minnesota where the valuations are lower than on the coasts because the companies are domiciled here] while leaving them here.  But, I’m a perennial optimist and I think we can come out of this.”

And what about entrepreneurs?

“Work hard, work smart, be resourceful, make your cash go as far as possible. Keep knocking on doors, smile at people when they say no and hope for better times.”

While I played devils advocate to some extent, it’s difficult to challenge grounded reasoning from someone with such historical context — especially when, in the back of my mind, I know his sentiments are felt by many of Minnesota’s more talented and ambitious tech entrepreneurs. While it’s true that some Minnesota tech companies are receiving seed and early stage equity investment (not an absolute), the question is “why aren’t there more?”  As one Minnesota Internet entrepreneur recently put it, “It’s easier for me to raise $1m than it is $250k…too bad I don’t need $1m.”

Interestingly, this re-recorded interview was a few notches down from our original podcast recording (damaged), which was a few more notches down from our initial conversation (off the record). Still, consider it a rare moment of Minnesota candor…