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Forge North Goals
In 2019-2020, the Forge North Leadership Council engaged coalition members and others throughout the Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) startup community to set shared multi-year goals and strategies for the region.
In 2024, the Leadership Council re-committed to goals within the same pillars, with more specific desired outcomes.
Dive into our goals for MSP
1. Early Stage Capital
Startup ventures need fuel to get off the ground. Our goal is to increase the number of startups in MSP raising early-stage capital year-over-year. We also aspire to increase the MSP startup ecosystem's success relative to peer regions. We set this goal because a vibrant startup community needs more than a handful of unicorns. It needs a diverse range of companies that can access different forms of capital as they grow.
From 2018-2020, 354 unique startups in our region raised early-stage capital. From 2021-2023, 359 unique startups in MSP raised early-stage capital. The number of startups raising early-stage capital increased by only 1.4%.
Although the number of companies raising rounds did not change, capital raised by early-stage deals increased over 50%.
Comparing local and national trends helps identify regions that we can learn from.
For example, although only 12% more startups raised capital in Austin TX in 2021-23 as 2018-20, the total amount of early-stage capital that they raised doubled from $3.6B to $7.1B. Higher average valuation per deal in key sectors may be a driver of this funding trend.
If you would like to contribute your perspective on national trends or learn more about a different peer region, please reach out to Forge North Coordinator Ben Ihde at hello@forgenorth.com.
2. Racial Equity
MSP experiences some of the country’s worst economic disparities by race. Our goal is to see scalable startups led by founders of color raise funds proportionate to their share of the region’s population – approximately 27% and growing. As a first step toward that aspiration, we set the goal that scalable startups led by founders of color will raise at least 16% of the early-stage venture capital raised in Minneapolis-Saint Paul by2026. We set this goal because business ownership can help transform our region’s economy, and our startup community cannot reach its potential without intentional action that translates to impact.
Only 13 companies led by a founder who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC) raised venture capital in our region in 2018-2020. That number stayed constant in 2021-23, though the amount of funding that BIPOC-led companies raised increased to 12% of early-stage capital raised in our region.
The number of BIPOC-led startups raising capital in Minneapolis-Saint Paul and the amount raised each year have decreased since a peak in 2021.
We are seeking to learn from regions that followed a more equitable path after their peak of funding for BIPOC-led organizations in 2021.
Chicago, where the percentage of investments going to BIPOC-led businesses did not fall significantly from its peak in 2021
Atlanta, where 20% more BIPOC-led companies raised capital in 2021-23 than in 2018-2020, while the total number of companies raising capital stayed constant.
3. Enterprise Participation
MSP is home to the country’s highest concentration of large corporate headquarters. Our goal is to increase the number of billion-dollar enterprises in Minneapolis-Saint Paul that support the startup ecosystem in one or more of these ways:
Directly investing in an MSP-based startup
Investing in an MSP-based venture capital firm
Providing staff time, sponsorship, or other meaningful support to an event or entrepreneur support organization with staff in Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
We set this goal because these corporations can play a critical role as customer, investor, or strategic partner - especially in key industry sectors of strength.
Our research about trends in enterprise participation is still ongoing. Stay tuned for more details.
Forge North's leadership council identified the following peer regions as a mix of regions with similar populations and industries to Minneapolis-Saint Paul and regions to which our startup ecosystem can aspire.
Tracking our goals against peer regions can help us compare the ways that Minneapolis-Saint Paul responds to prevailing economic trends.
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
- Chicago, IL
- Denver, CO
- Indianapolis, IN
- Phoenix, AZ
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Seattle, WA
Forge North's ecosystem goals from 2021 are archived here.
Forge North's Project Fellows work every day to bring these goals to reality.
Learn more about their work here.
Want to help advance the goals?
