Ignite MN

Ignite MN Ignite is an innovation center focusing on business acceleration, supporting workforce development

We advance innovation, technology and entrepenueurs by bringing together like-minded individuals to create a thriving community. We provide resources, networks and needed expertise for students, startups and businesses to succeed.

A big thank you to Lillian Cotter, for joining us at Friday’s Ignite Your Morning and generously sharing her knowledge, ...
08/30/2026

A big thank you to Lillian Cotter, for joining us at Friday’s Ignite Your Morning and generously sharing her knowledge, experience, and insights with our community! 🔥☕️

We love starting the day with opportunities to learn, connect, and walk away with new ideas we can put into practice, and we’re grateful to Lillian for helping make this month’s session such a valuable one. (recording will be available soon!)

Ignite Your Morning is taking a short break in September, but we’ll be back the last Friday of October with even more opportunities to learn, grow, and connect.

Stay tuned for what’s coming next! 🚀

If you lead a team, this is more than an event to attend.This is a professional development opportunity to experience, t...
08/26/2026

If you lead a team, this is more than an event to attend.
This is a professional development opportunity to experience, together.

On September 16, IgniteMN is bringing Michelle Beyo to Red Wing for Trust and the Future of Finance, a conversation about the technologies and shifts that are already changing how organizations operate, make decisions, protect information, and build trust.

We’ll explore topics including:
- AI
- Cybersecurity
- Digital identity
- Open data
- Emerging financial technologies
- The changing expectations of customers and communities

This is the kind of conversation that can be especially valuable when several people from the same organization hear it together, because the real value comes afterward, when your team can ask:

What should we be preparing for? And where are the opportunities?

Consider bringing members of your leadership team, technology staff, finance professionals, or others responsible for thinking about what comes next.

And for those who want to go deeper, our $75 VIP ticket includes an advance copy of Michelle's new book, Mastering the Future of Finance, giving you a resource to continue the conversation, long after the event.

📅 September 16 - 2 PM
📍 Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts, Red Wing, Minnesota
🎟️ Individual and VIP tickets available -https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1995391371306

Bring a colleague. Bring your leadership team. Come ready to think differently about the future of trust, technology, and business.

08/21/2026

If your business is working, but you’re still the one doing all the work, it may be time to build what comes next.

Applications are now open for the next Grow Boldly cohort at Ignite.

Grow Boldly is a 10-week virtual accelerator designed for established business owners who are ready to move beyond founder-driven growth and start building the systems, strategy, and momentum needed to scale.

Beginning September 17, we’ll meet virtually on Thursday evenings from 6–8 p.m. for a highly practical mix of:
- Expert guidance and SME Q&A
- Hands-on working time
- Peer learning and accountability
- Practical marketing strategies
- AI tools that can lighten your workload
- Growth planning, milestones, and operational systems

You won’t just leave with ideas. You’ll finish with a 90-day action plan, 12-month roadmap, and clear next steps for your business, plus the opportunity to access up to $5,000 in potential funding and technical assistance.

And because this is intentionally a small cohort, only five companies will be selected.

Ready to build a business that can grow beyond you?
👉 Apply: https://bit.ly/GrowBoldly
Learn more: https://ignitemn.org/accelerators/

Small business ownership can be exciting, but it can also be complicated. Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can hav...
08/15/2026

Small business ownership can be exciting, but it can also be complicated. Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can have is the right person to help you think through what comes next.

Our partners at the Southeast Minnesota Small Business Development Center - SBDC are hosting a FREE Small Business Support Series in Rochester this September, bringing together experienced professionals and community partners to help business owners work through real-world challenges.

📅 September 1, 8 & 15
⏰ 2–3 p.m.
📍 Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce
💻 Virtual access available if needed

Topics include:
• Financial decision-making and managing debt
• Marketing that works when every customer counts
• Connecting with local small-business resources

Registration also includes the opportunity to sign up for free, confidential one-on-one support with the SBDC.

Whether you're starting something new, trying to grow, or working through a challenge in your existing business, you don't have to figure it all out alone.

➡️ Register: mnsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/11632

If there’s a teenager in your life who loves technology, asks a million questions, likes solving problems, or simply has...
08/12/2026

If there’s a teenager in your life who loves technology, asks a million questions, likes solving problems, or simply hasn’t figured out yet what they’re interested in, encourage them to apply to this AI Hackathon in Red Wing.

Sometimes one new experience is all it takes to help a young person see a future they hadn’t imagined for themselves.

👉 Learn more: markcubanai.org/students
👉 Apply: markcubanai.org/apply

The future of finance isn’t just about money. It’s about trust, and the technologies rapidly changing how that trust is ...
08/10/2026

The future of finance isn’t just about money. It’s about trust, and the technologies rapidly changing how that trust is built, protected, and sometimes challenged.

During Twin Cities Startup Week, on September 16, Ignite is bringing Michelle Beyo to Red Wing for the first conversation in our Ignite Critical Conversations series:

Trust and the Future of Finance

We’ll explore how AI, cybersecurity, digital identity, open data, and emerging financial technologies are reshaping the way businesses operate, and what those changes could mean for organizations and communities here in our region.

This won’t be a technical lecture or a distant conversation about what might happen someday. Michelle will dig into what leaders should be paying attention to right now, where the opportunities are emerging, and the questions we need to be asking as technology moves faster than many of our existing systems and expectations.

We’ll then bring the conversation home with a panel of regional leaders who can connect these global shifts to what they are seeing on the ground.

📅 Wednesday, September 16
🕑 2:00 PM
📍 The Sheldon Theatre | Downtown Red Wing

If you work in banking, business, entrepreneurship, economic development, technology, or simply want to better understand where our economy is headed, I hope you’ll join us.

Register here: https://bit.ly/BeyoFutureofFinance



Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
LegalCORPS
Twin Cities Startup Week

Finding new clients through LinkedIn can be hard. The algorithm can work against you if you don't know the ways to optim...
08/07/2026

Finding new clients through LinkedIn can be hard.
The algorithm can work against you if you don't know the ways to optimize your page and presence to work WITH it.

Last month and coming up at the end of this month, we're hosting Lillian Cotter, an expert on helping you navigate using LinkedIn as a tool for both your personal brand and your business presence.

Check out this highlight from her first session in July: https://ignitemn.org/how-to-make-linkedin-work-for-you-and-your-small-business/
..and then register for Lillian's next session on 8/28 now, so you don't miss out. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/making-linkedin-work-for-your-small-business-tickets-1993094161289

08/04/2026

Let’s be honest: there has been a lot of uncertainty around Ignite.

Are we open? Are programs still happening? What comes next?
Those are all fair questions.

Ignite has been through a significant period of transition and leadership change, and we know we have not always communicated as clearly as we should have.

That is why we are hosting State of Ignite this Thursday.

We will introduce our team, share what we have learned, outline the progress already underway, and offer a clear look at our strategic vision for the future.

Whether you have supported Ignite, partnered with us, questioned our direction, or wondered just what has been happening, we hope you will join us.

📅 Thursday, August 6
⏰ 4:30 p.m.
📍 Ignite Innovation Center

We listened. We learned. We’re building... and we hope you’ll be part of what comes next.

Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1992163569865

Address

419 Bush Street
Red Wing, MN
55066

Telephone

+16513272626

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