Innovate MN SPOTLIGHT Business Experience

Innovate MN brings together the brightest minds and a set of people with super diverse experiences, skills, and perspectives to work on solutions to your organization’s unique challenges. It is truly a FREE “think tank” like no other.

Apply Now. This short survey allows us to connect with you to discuss in a 1:1 if being a Spotlight Business for an Innovate MN event is right for your business and challenge area. Additional Information

Apply Now

EXAMPLE CHALLENGES

Customer Engagement

What creative approaches can we use to increase customer engagement on our digital platforms?

What innovative strategies can we implement to position our products for our customers?

AI and Brand

What are innovative ways to integrate AI into our existing product line?

How can we leverage social media to build a stronger community around our brand?

Market Expansion

What are effective strategies for entering a new international market with our product?

How can we adapt our marketing strategy to appeal to a younger demographic?

Product Innovation

What features can we add to our product to make it more appealing to eco-conscious consumers?

How can we use customer feedback to drive innovation in our next product iteration?

Since the Innovate MN Business experience is so unique, here are a few additional things that can help to know:

Unlock Free Innovation

The value of the collective brainstorming capacity of the diverse Innovate MN community at any event is estimated at $10,000- $20,000. By being our Spotlight Business for the event, this collective power for imaginative solutions is yours and is free; it is our gift to you!

Never the Same Event Twice

Innovate MN is committed to providing the local member community with unique business experiences with diverse challenges for the community to jam on. So, no two events are the same!

Apply to Be a Focus Business

Innovate MN hosts a limited number of free events throughout the year; be sure to fill out the form right away to be considered. If you have questions about the process, reach out to matt@innovate.mn. We rotate business areas (i.e., healthcare solutions, technology and AI tools, education, environmental sustainability, etc.) as well as challenges (engagement, brand recognition, agile solutions, fundraising, scale, creating alignment, lol…everything for startups, etc.).

For example: if the Spotlight Business at the last event was related to community growth and engagement for a local non-profit organization, a similar organization or issue will not be featured again for several months.

The Mystery Element: Enhancing Engagement with Surprise

As you may know, organizations are kept as a “mystery” until the day of an Innovate MN event to entice members from a broad array of experiential areas continually. This ensures that your organization will be “jammed” for Innovate MN members who offer fresh perspectives and are committed to the process of collaborative problem-solving.

Flexible Brand Exposure

For most organizations, sharing your brand name and challenge area at the event is the best way to elicit specific, helpful solutions from the Innovate MN community. However, occasionally, an organization may want to omit identifying information. Innovate MN accommodates brand sharing and omittance for Spotlight Businesses at events.

Expert Facilitation for Effective Brainstorming

Don’t want to present your challenges to the Innovate MN community yourself? No worries! Our seasoned facilitators will smooth the way for informed brainstorming.

Post-Event Insights: AI-Enhanced Recap and Analysis

All event notes are collected, analyzed by AI, and provided for your organization and the Innovate MN community following the event. Past Spotlight Businesses have found this to be very helpful as they communicate results from the event with their invested board members, community stakeholders, and teams. The jam analysis is also often beneficial for idea recall, project or initiative prioritization, and furthering ideations. See past event recaps here.