May 11, 2022

Startup Sioux Falls has started renovating its historic future downtown headquarters, thanks to a $1 million gift that made the project possible.

The donation from Matt Paulson, MarketBeat founder and benefactor of Startup Sioux Falls, will complete the transition announced last year, transforming Startup Sioux Falls from an accelerator facility to a startup ecosystem organization.

Slated to open in the first quarter of 2023, the new Startup Sioux Falls building at 100 E. Sixth St. is designed to be a central hub for entrepreneurial activity and provide flexible co-working space, workshops and training opportunities for startup founders.

“Since joining our board in 2017, Matt’s leadership has impacted not only our organization but also cultivated multiple components of the entire startup ecosystem,” executive director Brienne Maner said in a statement. “While this gift may overshadow the countless hours he and his team have contributed to our transformation over the years, I’m grateful for the opportunity to honor his leadership and underscore a legacy that will benefit every event, connection and business that is formed in this space.”

The organization will honor Paulson’s legacy and contribution throughout the facility, including naming its multipurpose space the MarketBeat Theater and its largest meeting space the Homegrown Capital Room, subject to City Council approval.

Today’s groundbreaking for the renovation launches the transformation of the building established initially as the Milwaukee Road Freight Depot in 1894 and that is owned now by the city of Sioux Falls, which agreed to lease it to Startup Sioux Falls for 10 years.

“This project has been a long time in the making and, when complete, will give new life to this historic downtown building and create a shared space to foster collaboration in the startup community,” Mayor Paul TenHaken said. “I look forward to watching this space become a growth catalyst for current and future entrepreneurs in Sioux Falls.”

The plan is to refer to the building as The Depot, and it not only will house the organization’s staff, startup founders and remote workers but also will continue the organization’s tradition of fostering connection, collaboration and entrepreneurial education. The relocation will improve startup founders’ access to timely connections and critical resources and also complete the organization’s transition into a nimble startup ecosystem organization that is capable of supporting high-growth startups as well as small-business owners, Paulson said.

“When we look at every inflection point of this organization’s evolution, there has always been an abundance of opportunities for contribution, founders who desire accessible connections to resources and each other, and collaborative leaders who’ve committed to building resources they wish they had when they started,” he said.

“While I hope this transformation provides for the needs of founders today and tomorrow, my time to hand the mantle of startup community leadership off to a new generation of founders is coming, and I hope this gift inspires them to grab the baton. To me, this building project is a final gift to the startup community before my day-to-day involvement with the organization comes to an end.”

As the founder of Startup Sioux Falls and a steward of its merger with the Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship from 2019-20, Paulson’s term on the nonprofit’s board of directors ends in 18 months.

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