Synergy TT and Hopkins Crit

Synergy Time Trial

The Synergy Time Trial was on Saturday and I was going out there to protect my first place standings on the Cat 3 ROY competition. I knew that I would lose time to Tyler Olsen and David Jones, as they are both stronger in the TT than I am. During the St. Peter TT, my position was very uncomfortable. So I played with my bike and flipped my seat post around and pushed the seat foward all the way and was 100% more comfortable. I believed that this would help me quiet a bit in being able to produce a decent TT.

The course for the TT was out in Withrow, MN and I had done it before about 5 plus years ago. It was rolling hills and always had wind on the course. At least it was sunny, not too humid, and the winds were light. I went off early in the order of riders and my goal was to conserve on the first lap and up the effort on the second lap. The first 1/3 of the course was fast as the wind was with you, as I turned into the wind, I definitely felt my efforts increase and I tried to temper them so as not to burn out to fast. As I turned south, the combination of hills and wind made it difficult to find a comfortable position and gear on the bike. I had to constantly take my hands off of my clip on handlebars to shift. I knew that everytime I did this I lost a bit of time. Turning back towards the finish line on lap one, I was with the wind again and really felt that I was flying again. Lap two was a repeat of lap one efforts, but the wind felt as if it had gotten stronger. The effort coming south again hurt more, however there were more riders on the course to focus on.

I place 6th in the race and limited my losses in the ROY competition as Tyler placed 4th and David 3rd, keeping my 1st place in ROY safe for the moment. I averaged 25 MPH for the effort and did not get passed by anyone in my field, and only got passed once by a Cat 1/2 racer.

Sitting in during the Hopkins Crit

Sunday was the Hopkins Crit, one of my favorite races during the year. The crit is located in Downtown Hopkins, only 15 minutes from my home. The crowds tend to be a bit bigger, my family can come out and watch, and the fields are always a bit larger. My goal for the day was to simply finish ahead of Tyler and David, as I needed to earn some points to pad my lead in the ROY standings. When I got to the race, I was unsure if I would have any teammates to work with or if I would be riding on my own. Lucky for me I ended up with 4 teammates, Taylor, Greg, Brady, and Jeff. We all agreed on a plan, I poined out who was dangerous and who I needed to beat, and then we put the plan in motion.

Right from the start, the team was great in chasing down risky breaks, keeping me out of the wind and overall keeping the pace high. I was able to sit in and watch the race unfold. We had some new faces to the 3/4’s field and some sketchy riders. After the second lap, someone blew a tire in a corner and took a few guys down. I was constantly having to put my hands on other riders to push them out of my way. Some guys simply think they can barge their way into a wheel. Not the case!

After one of the Prime sprints, I noticed that Tyler had gone for the sprint and just then David rolled up on my outside. I went by him and said “Let’s Work” and we created a small gap on the field. A few riders bridged up to us and we stayed out front for a few laps, but eventually we were brought back. Eitherway, it made the group work harder while I did not expend too much energy.

With 7 laps to go, we put our plan in motion and all 4 of my teammates hit the front of the peleton. They rotated in front of me taking turns pulling us along, allowing me to stay 100% protected. In the process, we strung out the field and that forced guys to get a bit aggressive. 2 crashes occured behind us, but we kept our heads down the pace high. With 3 laps to go, Nick and Adam from Flanders moved up on our inside trying to disrupt our nice lead out train. Eventually Nick succeeded in pushing us of our lines and coming into the last lap, it was everyone for themselves. I jumped and slotted in at about 4th or 5th wheel back.

Coming into the final corner, I took the inside line and Don and Adam took the outside lines. As the sprint started my only tactical error was not jumping around Don to grab Adam’s wheel. Instead I let Don in and sat on his wheel thinking I could slingshot around both of them. About 150M from the line I started to jump around Don, but Adam was already too far in front to catch. As we approached the line, Don and I both threw our bikes and landed 3rd as he took 2nd.

Finishing Sprint - Hopkins Crit

After the race, I found out that Tyler had crashed and actually broke his frame. That is a huge shame as Tyler has been riding really well, plus you hate to see anyone break a frame. David came in 13th, so I ended up accomplishing my goals of beating both Tyler and David. I have to give a huge THANK YOU to my team as I have never experienced a team pulling off a well orchestrated run to the line. With a bit more practice together, I think we could become very competitive and threatening in the field. Two more ROY races to go, and I keep my fingers crossed that my luck and fitness continue.

Northfield Crit

I went down to Northfield, MN for the annual 4th of July crit race for the first time. I have always wanted to do this race as I have heard great things about it. The race certainly lived up to its aura, as the course is wide open, good roads, some tight turns and a short but steep hill. The crowds were great coming through the start/finish line and the field was strong.

The course was very fast coming through the finish as we had a downhill approach to the last corner, which continued through the finish line. Coming up to the first corner into the steep hill section, the road narrowed considerably making it important to have good position so you did not have to brake.

For this race, my goal was to acquire some ROY points. I was mainly concerned about beating Tyler Olson and Jordan Cullen so I could gain some points on them. I was 20 points behind Tyler coming into this race. I was unsure of my form as I injured my lower back pretty bad earlier in the week and Tyler has been riding really strong as of late. The race started out at a decent pace, with one rider going clear. I stayed in the pack for the most part and hovered near the front. As the race got on, I started to stay near the front and took turns as necessary pulling. About 1/2 way through the race a Flanders rider, Nick got off the front and the rest of the Flanders team started to just disrupt the chase. The chase efforts were pretty weak as no one really wanted to work together. As we neared the final laps. I made sure to stay on Adam Gorski’s wheel as he has been the strongest in the 3’s field in the Crits for several weeks now. I figured I could ride his wheel to a strong finish. I found myself on the front of the peleton on the second to last lap through the finish line. At this point, I figured I would keep a very high pace untilt he climb and punch it on the climb to gry and get a gap. I got a small gap up the hill but could not hold it coming into the back section. I swung off the front and worked my way back onto Gorski’s wheel. As we came towards the final corner, the group started to bunch up at the front with riders taking some risks trying to get to the front.

This made me nervous enough to taket he inside line so as to not be washed out by a falling rider. Good thing, as some riders crossed wheels and guys hit the pavement. With this crash, I ended up with a 5th place finish and accomplished both of my goals of finishing in front of Tyler and Jordan. Unfortunately for Tyler he was caught up in the crash. Luckily he did not lose any skin, but his bike did take a beating. Tyler being Tyler, he ran acrosst he finish line to get some ROY points. Huge kudos to him for that.

Next race is the Synergy TT, followed by the Hopkins Crit. Should be some good racing.

Here are a few more pictures:

Victoria Circuit Race

Originally I had not planned to race this race due to family commitments, but a last minute change freed me up and off I went. I raced Cat 3’s again and the usual suspects where there with Tyler Olson and Jordan Cullen. A newer racer to me that is going well is Nigel Kinney, a mechanic at Gear West. SPBRC had a few riders there and were intent on making the race hard with a rider going off ASAP from the start. I hovered around the front and put in a few digs on the group to keep the pace high. The course was rolling, but nothing that was definitive for a selection and the winds were quiet. The first lap was fast, but the second really slowed down once we hit the back section. Jordan kept making small acceleration to pull out riders or to try to tire legs of his competitors. However, nothing really seemed to make a difference. One thing I did notice was that Tyler Olson who is usually upfront covering every gap, was much more reserved and seemed to be saving himself for the finish.

Coming into the 3rd lap we were all together again. I kept waiting for attacks to come, but nothing really did. A few accelerations, but all was brought back quickly. Coming into the last steep hill before the finish, Jeff Anderson rolled up to the front and I got on his wheel. I kept yelling at him to keep the pace high with an thought of trying to go on the hill and hold unitl the finish. However, as soon as I made the jump around Jeff about 1/2 way up the hill, I noticed that everyone was just sitting on my wheel. So I eased off and just rode tempo through the remainder of the hill. Things got a bit swarmy as we neared the final turn and Jeff made one more move to string things out before the turn coming through on my right and literally shoving me out of the way so he could get through. I jumped and ended up sitting 3rd wheel with Nigel coming through the turn on the inside. As we made it around the turn and the accelerations came, my legs were dead. This is the 3rd race in a week where I felt my legs did not have the required snap to finish strong. I rolled in a dissapointing 8th on the day.

I felt kinda crappy after the race and by Monday had the Stomach flu. My legs as a whole are fried and I have decided to take the week off from racing. This is mentally really hard for me as my instinct is to be out there riding hard, but the goal for this week is easy training and manage the diet. I hope to be back to racing next Tuesday at the State Fair Crits.

St. Peter Time Trial

Heading out on the course

Heading out on the course

I normally don’t do time trials. For two reasons, first they really hurt and you have to dig very deep. Second, because I never feel satisfied about my effort afterwards. So going into this race I had a few goals. 1. Ride under 1 hour, 2. Average 26 MPH, 3. Don’t get passed by my 30 second guy.

At the start line, I went out controlled and felt pretty good on the bike. The course had a fast start and had one small climb about 2 miles into the course. I went up that climb well and got to the top to realize that I had been spinning in my 42t chain ring. A quick shift into my 53t chain ring and I started to feel the speed pick-up. The weather was optimal and the course zig zagged a bit and had a few small risers/decents. I was racing with no computer so I had no real idea of how hard I was going or how fast. I could make out the racer in front of me, but did not feel like I was gaining ground on him.

I did learn that if I control my breathing I can slow my heart rate down and actually dig deeper. So as I pushed myself harder throughout the race, I would have to remember to control my breathing to ensure my best performance. Just before the turnaround on the course, I was passed by my 30 sec guy. Coming into the turn around, I passed him back and led for a while after that point. I was also pretty quickly passed by two Grandstay and a Synergy 1/2 racers. The whole way back to the finish line, I played cat and mouse with my 30 sec guy. I would pass him on the small risers and he would pass me back on the decents or flat sections. As we came into the decent of the one hill on the course and only 2 miles from the finish I let him get in front of me so I could use him as a rabit.

Coming into the final 500m or so I put down my all and pushed pass my 30 sec guy to finish in the same order we started. As for my goals, I acheived number one, finishing in 58:51. Failed at number two by averaging only 25.3 mph, and I believeI acheived number three by finishing in front of my 30 sec guy, even if we did play cat and mouse on the course.

Overall, I took 6th in the Cat 3’s. Tyler Olsen took first, putting him into 1st place on the ROY competition and me into second, 20 pts. back. He beat me by 4 minutes… When I looked at the 1/2 category racers, I would have finished dead last if I had been racing in that group. Goes to show I have some work cut out for me… or maybe I need to purchase that time trial bike to get better!

Coming into the finish

Coming into the finish

Target Criterium

My goal in this race was to make it a hard race. I decided to attack from the gun, which I did and then spend the first 3 laps out front on my own. I had a racer bridge up on lap two and help for about a lap then he fell off pace. Shortly after, the main group had made up enough ground to catch me. But the precedent was set and racers kept going off the front to make the pace hard. A few laps later, I took another dig and went off for another lap. From there, my teammates Jeff and Brady took several flyers off the front keeping the pace high.

The course was a great one with only two sharp corners and a small rise on the back of the course. We also had full use of the roads and no traffic, which is unusual for any race. The avg. speed was 26.7 mph and matched that of the 1/2/3 race which was cool. The Bike Throw Racing team brought 4 or 5 of their guys to the race and with the likes of Don and Frye, I knew which wheels I wanted to follow. With about 10 laps to go I slipped onto Frye’s wheel and just sat there.

As the front changed a bit, Frye would drift back and then move up. I was able to keep on his wheel and not give up my position. As we got down to the last 5 laps, Frye got his team to the front to keep the pace high. With 2 to go, it looked like Frye’s team would control the front right up until the last corner of the race. That is until my teammate Cobra miscalculated the laps and went for the sprint with 2 to go stringing out the group and breaking up the rhythm of Frye’s lead out train. Ben launched to chase down Bryan and a Flanders guy and Frye chased their wheels. Cobra was pretty pissed when he realized he went for the sprint 1 lap to early…

As we entered the last corner, Frye started to open up his sprint and we dragged to the line for about 300m. Someone came between Frye and I and I over shifted and my chain started to skip. I shifted again and got my traction to take second. I was pretty psyched with that after being out front and on the front the whole race.

Lester Prairie Road Race

On Saturday I headed out to the road race of the new MN Memorial Classic Omnium race. I was feeling pretty good and had a lot of confidence coming off of last week’s win at the Birchwood Road Race. The day was to be a hot and windy one. The course of the race was 2 laps of a 23 mile loop. The terrain was flat with no hills or even sizeable rollers to speak of. I was racing the 3/4 category and had 4 teammates with me, Bryan, Shane, Brady, and Jeff. I knew that Ben of Silver and Garret of RVCC were going to be the key competition as both are very strong and this course was perfect for Ben.

The first lap was not too hard. The crosswind sections on the course were tame by comparison to other days of racing. Making it hard to force a selection of any kind. When we came through the start/finish line on the first lap, it gave me a good sense of what it would be like coming into the finish. With a strong tailwind and a slightly downhill approach, the finish was going to be very fast.

The start of the second lap I thought I had a mechanical on my hands as my bike was making this awful clinking sound everytime I pedaled. At first I thought maybe I had a broken spoke, but the noise only happened when I put pressure on the cranks as I pedalled. It was annoying, but are you going to do.

I hovered around the front of the race letting others put their noses in the wind, including Brady and Jeff, who were really covering the front of the race and protecting me from the wind. I knew Bryan would be lurking back in the pack ready to pounce as we neared the finish. Coming into the final cross wind section, I jumped early to make the turn on my own. I set a moderate tempo pace, knowing that would force others to work behind me with the hope a few would bridge up and we could work together. Garret showed up with two others and we started rotating. Garret I took equal pulls, but our other two breakaway partners were not quiet pulling their weight. We were caught about a mile later. A few other attempts were made to force a break before we hit the final stretch of road, but nothing really came of it. We did fracture the main pack and about a dozen of us were rolling towards the finish line.

With about 2K to go, Brady and Jeff hit the front of the race with me sitting third wheel. Brady was working it really hard on the front to keep the pace high as we neared the finish line. When he pulled off, we hesitated a bit and lost the front of the race. Now I was concerned on getting boxed in. With about 500m to go, Garret jumped on the left side pulling Bryan out and Ben jumped chasing the two of them. I had to squeeze by on the right side shoulder and tried to catch onto the back of Bryan’s wheel.

It was a long sprint and I simply did not have the legs to get around anyone. Ben came up on my left and Garret got me for third just on the line putting me in fourth. I was really excited for Bryan for taking the win for the team and bummed that I just did not have good position in the last kilometer of the race. We came through the finish line at 40mph, which has to be one of the fastest sprints I have ever done. For the first time ever, my hamstrings cramped really bad after the sprint was over. I contribute that to the heat of the day. It was a fun race and I continued my streak of top 10 finishes for the year with the last 4 races being top 5 finishes.

1 203 Bryan Loecken
2 221 Benjamin Schinke
3 204 Garrett Ping
4 226 Marc Kermisch
5 217 Michael Moriarity

Birchwood Road Race

I am on the left side - We are coming up one of the gravel roads (Photo - Skibby)


I was pretty psyched for today’s road race. Birchwood always puts on a great race with a neutral feed support. This makes the race so much nicer, knowing you can get water on each lap.

The course this year was full of punch hills, but the key sections were the 3 dirt roads we traversed. The first section was somewhere around 2 – 3 miles long, the second was steep and very soft gravel for about 1.5 miles, and the last was maybe a half a mile, but it came less than a half kilometer from the finish.

We were set to do 6 laps, 72 miles. Our field was small, just 11 at the start line. The weather was humid, but not too hot. The clouds were covering the sun and it looked like it could rain.

The first lap rolled out relatively easy. As we neared the first section of gravel road, it ramped up as we fought for position entering the 1st section. I was sitting about 4th position and Jordan was killing the pace stringing us out. The roads were a lot more sketchy than last week when I pre-road them. It look liked they had been graded, which made the dirt softer and there were sections that just seemed to swallow your wheels. My rear wheel was fish tailing all over the place. Making the gravel section very nerve racking.

As we existed the first gravel section, we looked back and had shed the field down to eight of us. As we hit the next section, one rider flatted and another got caught behind and was trailing us. The six of us soldiered on, but as we left the last section we eased up a bit, as no one really wanted to pull.

Each lap, you could tell riders were getting a bit more tired. The gravel sections were always hard and we seemed to regroup on the paved sections. Two stragglers caught back on to us and pretty much were were eight guys until the 4th lap.

On the 4th lap, the rain came down making the dirt roads muddy. This also made it hard to see, so the glasses came off and then the dirt immediately got into your eyes.

Coming through the feed zone on the 5th lap, Jordan attacked. I bridged and pulled through. For awhile Jordan drifted back and I was on my own. I was not pushing too hard, but figured I would make the bunch catch me, hoping to soften some legs. Jordan then bridged up to to me, and we worked together for a few miles, hoping to make it to the gravel section alone, where we figured we would be gone for good. Unfortunately we got pulled back about a mile before the gravel started. 1/2 way through the gravel section on the 5th lap, our official told us this would be our last lap as lightening and thunder was all over the sky.

When we found out our course was shortened we were about 5 miles from the finish, with the hardest section of gravel left. I moved into second position behind Jordan entering this section and just put my eyes on his rear wheel and stayed close.

As we got back onto the pavement, just 2 or so miles out there were only 4 of us left. We hit it hard entering the last kilometer and as we entered the finish straight I was sitting 3rd position. About 300m out Jordan jumped, then I jumped. I came around him with about 200m to go and powered through to the finish for the win. I looked back and I had a great gap of maybe 25 – 50m, but was too tired to raise my hands over the finish line.

Even though our overall field was small and the course shortened by a lap, I was happy with my win today. So far this year it has been a 4th, 9th, 3rd, and a 1st.

Sibley Road Race

Taking 3rd at Sibley RR (Photo - Jim Cullen)

Grinding it all the way to the finish

Saturday I went down to Henderson, MN for the Sibley Road Race. This is one of my favorite courses as the hill makes the course tough, but the winds are what can define the course. When I woke up, the temps outside were just 34 degrees… This was kinda crazy considering it is May and the temps should be much higher. There was actually frost/snow on the ground in areas. The forecast was for dry, but cold weather with light winds. In actuality it was semi-dry with moderate to strong winds at times. On the second 3rd and 4th lap of the race we got a nice 5 minute shower of stinging hail.

The weather kept the fields small for everyone and for the Cat 3’s it was just 17 of us. The usual suspects were there and the field was comprised of the stronger racers. For LSC is was just Jeff and I. My strategy for the race was to cover breaks and keep out of the wind as much as possible. With a week off of racing, I was not sure how the legs would respond. They felt a bit dead and simply lacked some snap. My hope was that the hill would be a nice tempo pace up and that the harder racing would be fighting for wheels in the wind. At 72 miles, the distance was definitely at the top end of my training.

I knew that Jordan, Keith, Garrett and the Synergy guy would be ones to watch. Interestingly enough Garrett and the Synergy guy spent a lot of time in the wind making small attacks here and there. Nothing got away and whenever things did start to get away the breakaway never worked together. I came to the front a few times trying to just keep the pace high and thin our small field of 17 down to 5 or 6, but we always came back together. I never really felt like guys were consistently pulling through. So I simply followed wheels.

As we came through the 3rd lap into the fourth I was a bit nervous as I was not feeling great. I was cramping a bit and still lacking energy. Making it over the hill for the 4th time with one more to go, I definitely gained some confidence. A few moves were tried but again to no avail as we toped the hill and entered in the strongest winds on the course. Once we started to loop around on the back side, the winds were at our backs for the most part and the pace was much higher, but easy to ride through. In the final stretch I expected a few more attempts at a breakaway, but nothing really formed and it was going to come down to the final hill. I knew there were a few guys that had done very little work and might still be fresh, but I also felt that I had the will to win the race.

As we got on the climb a few small attacks went, but I kept my head and let the group pull me back up. As we came the 1/2K to mark, I was close to the point I was willing to go for it on my own. About 30m before that, Jordan jumped. I had stayed on the outside so I would not be blocked in and went with Jordan as well. Keith was right on Jordan’s wheel and I was trying to bridge up. I was definitely at my limit. As I tried to down shift, I simply could not get my thumb to push down on the shifter to get into a harder gear. I had no idea if someone was right on my wheel or not, so I just kept digging and digging. I was a good 6 seconds back on Jordan and Keith, but rolled in solo with about the same time between me and the 4th place rider.

While the race was not as hard or exciting as Ken Woods, I took my first podium spot with a 3rd place finish. I felt good that kept my mind about me and was able to fight my body to get to the finish line. More fitness is under the belt now and I am looking forward to the Birchwood Road Race in a few weeks.

2010 Ken Wood Road Race

Ken Wood Road Race - Skinnyski.com

Do you think it is a bit wet out there?

Ken Woods is always a favorite of mine. The course is aggressive and the weather is always a factor. This year was no different. Driving down to the course, the rain was falling hard and the winds were getting stronger and stronger from the south east… This left the course wet and full of cross-wind. The finishing hill/straight was into the wind, making the last few K’s, hard and mentally draining.

The weather kept the field small, around 25 or, but bigger than last year when we had only 12. From the first corner, there were some attacks, with myself initiating one of the earlier moves. This was a great change of pace, because usually the Cat 3 races unfold gradually, vs. hard from the start. I like the aggressive racing and we definitely started to hurt the field early.

As we were coming up the finishing climb for the 1st of 3x, Jordan Cullen accelerated bringing two riders with him. We organized a chase group and worked hard for 3 – 5 miles to catch them. We ended up widling down the field to just 4 of us, plus the 3 in the breakaway. As we caught on to the break, we regrouped and pushed hard. The break was comprised of Mariusz Czarnomski, Joe Hamlin, Jeffrey Anderson, Jonathan Toftoy, Tyler Olson, and Jordan Cullen. Mariusz and Joe pretty much sat on while the rest of of pushed hard to keep the break alive. At the end of the day, we had a very large margin over the field and we probably could have backed down a bit.

Coming up the climb for the second time, the 5 of us that were working well together tried some short accelerations to drop Mariusz and Joe. We were unable to shake them. We struggled to regroup through the rolling head wind section and then tried to gutter Joe and Mariusz as we hit the cross section. About 1/2 through that section, Jordan did a massive acceleration and as I was coming around to grab Joe’s wheel, he accelerated and I was popped. Jeff, popped as well, but he was trying hard to chase back on. We were riding about 1/4 mile apart from each other.

As we got close to the second turn where the wind would be at our backs, two riders from the main group caught me, Tim Smith and Garrett Ping. I tried to grab their wheels and was successful for a bit, but they were flying and I was simply spent. So I trudged along solo for awhile. Jeff also tried to hang on their wheels, but was dropped as well. As we entered the back stretch of road Jeff and I hooked up and rode to the finish.

While I was hoping for a top 5 finish today, I definitely put more effort into this race than any race I have done. I worked hard, attacked, and organized well in the break. It is disappointing to be dropped out of the break, but I know my fitness is good and I will continue to see Top 10’s in the Road Races. The weather was just epic and it was one of the most fun races I have had in a long time. Below is the top 9 finishers. Jeff and I were just over 2 minutes behind the leaders, and the 10th place finishier was over 3 minutes back. So I know we worked hard!

1 Jonathan Toftoy 233166 Synergy
2 Mariusz Czarnomski 272490 University of North Dakota
3 Joseph Hamlin 225985 St Paul Bicycle Racing Club
4 Tim Smith 241621 Flat City Cycling Club Inc.
5 Tyler Olson 294937Garrett Ping Unattached
6 Jordan Cullen 229280 Minneapolis Bicycle Racing Club
7 Garrett Ping 246489 River Valley Cycling Club- RVCC
8 Jeffrey Anderson 279956 Loon State Cyclists
9 Marc Kermisch 80629 Loon State Cyclists

State of the State for MN High-Tech Start Ups

There was a great post on Minnov8 (@Minnov8) on the state of the state of the high-tech start-up community in MN. The post was only the beginning, the comments section tied to the article highlights the mood in the Twin Cities on what is needed to foster this fledging community. Below is a recap of the post I left in the comments on what I think is needed to help build a sustainable community:

I could not agree more with most of the comments on this site. I have to say that we need to get out of own way. I have to give a huge kudos to Refactr on their no more NDA policy and one for Jeff above on the let’s not keep secrets or control groups. My policy has always been to share openly and freely and tell everyone about what I am doing as that is the best way to find those undiscovered opportunities.

I also agree that MN is lacking some serious fundamentals when it comes to fostering a start-up community. Let me list my 2-cents:

1. Where is the University of MN? Seriously, they are no where to be found when it comes to supporting the local community let alone churning out new companies based on their research. Please, please try to model the WARF after UW – Madison.

2. Where is our state government? Really should it be that hard to pass an angel investor tax credit? They talk about job creation, small businesses, etc but there is not one piece of legislature that supports start-ups outside of the above mentioned tax credit.

3. Where are our companies? With 3M, Medtronic, St. Jude, Target, TCF, Cargill, General Mills, Carlson Companies, and so on and so forth?

4. Where are our start-up mentors from those successful start-ups we do have? Those that have had success or having success, what are they doing to give back to our community?

We seem to have a tremendous amount of engagement from our creative, marketing, PR, and Legal Communities, but how about a formal program that donates time to start-ups to assist them.

One of the best things about TechCrunch and Y-Combinator is not the $15K you get for a summer of work, but the $100k’s you get in free advice and consulting work from those willing to give back.

I have a small company called Activ8. It is not ground breaking technology, it is not a new idea, but I think I can outsell and out market to others to the niche that I am targeting. I would love help from our local experts on how best to structure my legal entity, how to set-up my merchant account, how to create buzz for my product, how to maximize concepts like SEO, how to generate leads, how to develop a salesforce… You name it. I would love the help. So where are our mentors?