Beta Executive Director Shelisa Demuth Resigns
Shelisa Demuth has stepped down from the top spot at Twin Cities startup advocacy group Beta.
On Tuesday, Demuth announced via LinkedIn that she has resigned from her position as executive director of the nonprofit. She started the job in January of 2022. In the post, Demuth said she plans to spend the next few months traveling with her seven-year-old daughter and “diving deep on the role of cultural competence in community growth and organizational identity.”
“Thought leadership — and truly thoughtful leadership — requires space and time to reflect,” Demuth wrote. “I look forward to prioritizing this. … Inclusion is at the heart of innovation and I am so inspired by how this innovation economy is developing. Continue to support each other. I’m rooting for us!”
Demuth’s departure comes just about three months ahead of Twin Cities Startup Week, Beta’s annual event aimed at connecting local founders, investors, and other startup advocates. The event is also designed to shine a national spotlight on the Twin Cities’ startup scene.
On its own LinkedIn page, Beta thanked Demuth for her leadership over the last 1.5 years and said that Startup Week is still on.
The group said it’s “putting together a transition plan to manage operations and events for the short term and will have more to share in the next couple of days.” Beta doesn’t plan to name a new executive director until the fall, according to the post.
Beta was founded a decade ago by Reed Robinson, Ryan Broshar, and Justin Cox. Robinson and Broshar would go on to found their own venture capital firms: Groove Capital and Matchstick Ventures, respectively.
To date, Robinson was Beta’s longest-serving leader. After he stepped down in January 2020, Casey Shultz took over and held the job until October 2021.
Aside from Startup Week, Beta also runs its own accelerator program, as well as startup-focused news site tech.mn, which was acquired under Shultz’s leadership.
