May 20, 2021

Zeal Center for Entrepreneurship is making some big changes, starting with a new name and continuing with a potential new location.

The center of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Zeal now will be called Startup Sioux Falls.

Startup Sioux Falls was founded by Matt Paulson as an effort to build a community of startup founders that would feed into Zeal and other ecosystem partners. It merged with Zeal in 2019.

Zeal began as a program of Forward Sioux Falls in the early 2000s when it was envisioned as an incubator for tech companies.

“Although the past 12 months exacerbated the challenges of starting a new business, it underscored the value we provide to our clients and community of new business owners,” Startup Sioux Falls executive director Brienne Maner said in a statement.

“By developing the tools and events to keep founders connected and moving forward, we also saw our role evolving from facility managers to community facilitators. With the rebranding effort now complete, we have our sights set on a clear and exciting vision.”

That vision includes a new location. Zeal has been at 2329 N. Career Ave. since it opened in 2004. The organization announced that it plans to move to a new space in downtown Sioux Falls in the next year, making its transformation from an incubation facility to an ecosystem organization.

“Founders will find Startup Sioux Falls to be a more focused resource with concrete tools, systems and processes to support them on their journeys,” said Startup Sioux Falls board chair Bill Anderson. “We know that being a founder is hard, and I believe that our rebranding, a renewed focus on people instead of place and our move downtown will make it easier for founders to access startup resources and realize value from working with a new Startup Sioux Falls.”

A location hasn’t been secured yet.

Over the past year, the startup organization has cemented its role as the central resource for founders in the Sioux Falls area by launching programs such as the cohort-based curriculum for CO.STARTERS and its new mentorship network. Its online community is a network of 7,300 area entrepreneurs who posted nearly 2,000 topics, events and requests for help over the past 12 months, receiving 23,000 responses in the same time frame.

Startup Sioux Falls also helped its community of founders navigate pandemic hardships by keeping them informed about government relief programs and connected through online events such as Startup Socials, Entrepreneurship Day and Startup Pitch Nights.

The newly rebranded Startup Sioux Falls will include a new location and redesigned website.

“The needs of startup founders in our community continue to evolve, and Startup Sioux Falls must also evolve to meet the needs of today’s entrepreneurs,” Paulson said.

“Startup Sioux Falls’ new programs, rebrand and downtown move are the biggest changes in the organization’s 17-year history. While there’s more work to do, these moves are absolutely the right direction for the future of our startup community.”