Dec. 19, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Startup Sioux Falls.

When you’re working with entrepreneurs, it’s important to keep it real.

 The team at Startup Sioux Falls was reminded of it early one February day this past year, preparing to open the organization’s new downtown Sioux Falls headquarters.

 “We were so excited. We all got here early and were waiting by the door,” executive director Brienne Maner said. “And then one person came through the door at 8:05 a.m. So it was funny. We were excited, but it reminded us we had things to learn. Entrepreneurs operate on their own clock.”

Fast-forward 10 months, and there’s now a constant stream of entrepreneurs and those who support them visiting Startup Sioux Falls every day. Maner has gotten to know many of them but still is continually surprised by who walks through the door next.

“Sometimes, it seems like a blur,” she said. “A year ago, we were trying to anticipate so many things. We were moving toward a new business model, new offerings, changing membership models, and we still were learning who would really be interested in what we have to offer. In many ways, we felt like a startup ourselves.”

Today’s Startup Sioux Falls is “incredibly active,” Maner continued. “It ranges from remote workers who want a community to plug into — a place that isn’t their basement — to longtime members of the startup community to people who just relocated here and to those who want to book meeting rooms, host events and reach entrepreneurs.”

CO.STARTERS, a 10-week entrepreneurship program, continues to be a foundational piece of the resources offered by Startup Sioux Falls. To date, it has served 350 founders, bolstered in part by an SBA Community Navigators grant that “helps with awareness, building goodwill across the state and has been a catalyst for building programs,” Maner said.

“A goal we set a couple years ago was building programming that serves the entire founder’s journey, and because of the success of CO.STARTERS, we’re now positioned to execute on that.”

Startup Sioux Falls has started offering a weekend boot camp-style program ahead of the 10-week accelerator “to help people work through their idea, is it viable, is it something to pursue and start to connect to our community,” Maner said. 

Next year, a new program, Growco, will be offered for those ready to take the next step in their growth.

“This is a smaller, yearlong cohort with a lot of accountability,” Maner said. “We’re defining growth by revenue, profit and number of employees. It’s heartening to see we have entrepreneurs ready to take this next step.”

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The Startup Sioux Falls meeting spaces, which include meeting rooms, conference rooms and the MarketBeat Theater, have drawn extensive interest from those using them for various events.

“We’ve seen everything from multiday regional conferences to nonprofit events to some great content hosted by our partners at South Dakota State University, which also has an office here for the Ness School of Management,” Maner said.

“We even had an opportunity thanks to SDSU to tour Tom Patterson, founder of Tommy John, through the space and expose him to the work we’re doing. It truly takes a community to make this a hub of innovation and connection, and that’s what we’re seeing start to take shape.”

Looking ahead to next year, Maner said to look for continued growth in programming, including key events like Founders Day in March and the newly launched Startup Sunrise, a monthly chance to connect and hear about topics of interest to the startup community.

“We felt like a startup at the beginning of the year, and in many ways, we’re still trying to figure out the most effective paths forward, but we’ve made a lot of progress,” Maner said. “We just want to continue to make sure that a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem is part of the fabric of our economic development engine. And we have felt validated in the work we’re doing, especially in the past year because of the people we’re getting walking in the door and the growth of our programs.”

You can get a look at the entire 2023 experience through the Startup Sioux Falls annual report. Click here to give it a read.

Looking to connect with Startup Sioux Falls?

To walk through the digital “front door” of Startup Sioux Falls, click here. 

But Maner suggests just stopping in the building too. You’ll find it at 100 E. Sixth St. in downtown Sioux Falls.

“Stop in for a tour, come to one of our networking events like Startup Sunrise or a meetup,” she said. “We have groups for people with specific interest, whether it’s moms in business, e-commerce entrepreneurs or those interested in AI. We know the journey is not a straight line. Every individual has different needs and experiences, and we want to be accessible for all. We’re going to make sure when you walk through the door you feel welcome.”