The University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management recently announced entries for its annual MN Cup competition are now open, with a combined $400,000 in prize money up for grabs “with no equity taken or strings attached.”
Eligible businesses must be based in Minnesota with less than $1 million in annual revenue and cannot be past winners of the competition.
In addition to the prize money, winners will also have access to networking opportunities and mentorship by leaders in their respective industries.
The deadline to apply is April 3.
After the entry deadline, volunteer panels of judges consisting of industry veterans will select the top 90 companies to advance to the semifinal stage. Through a series of educational workshops and events throughout the summer, the semifinalists will “prepare and submit presentations, short videos and business plan summaries to be reviewed.”
The semifinal round will taker place between May 18 and August 7, according to the organizers, with a grand finale on September 14.
The grand prize winner takes home $100,000 while the runner-up receives $40,000. Besides those two main prizes, there are also nine competition divisions that companies can compete in, according to organizers: Education & Training, Energy/Clean Tech/Water, Food/Ag/Beverage, General, High Tech, Life Science/Health IT, Impact Ventures, Student, Youth.
Last year’s grand prize winner was Minneapolis-based AcQumen Medical for their UltraTrac system that helps doctors manage the heart function of critically ill infants and children. Proprietary technology by Minneapolis-based Swinergy that allows for the conversion of livestock waste into renewable natural gas and fertilizer won it the 2025 runner-up MN Cup prize of $40,000.
Since its inception in 2005, MN Cup has drawn participation from over 20,000 entrepreneurs and given away $5 million in seed money. Past winners have gone on to raise nearly $1 billion in capital.
For more details and to enter the competition, visit https://apply.younoodle.com/showcase/competition/mn_cup_2026
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About Tom Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the board of the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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