Education and Training

ChatLPO / Second Place

Rayen Inostroza understands firsthand how much extra time teachers spend on administrative work—roughly 400 hours a year. This additional effort can lead to stress and burnout, prompting many teachers to leave the profession. A teacher and education innovator, Inostroza sought to deploy artificial intelligence to lighten educators’ workloads.

Inostroza partnered with AI engineer Lyndon Carlson to start ChatLPO in 2024 in Minneapolis, aiming to build AI tools that save teachers time. They pivoted to providing educators with a comprehensive teaching platform, including ready-to-use materials like class plans and grading guides that save more than five hours a week. ChatLPO integrates features like research, strategies for students with special needs, and professional development.

Kicking off in Latin America in 2025, ChatLPO has more than 600 educator users who engage with the platform for their daily work. The company is working on signing contracts with more than 80 schools—which would reach 4,000 teachers—and launching ChatLPO domestically.

Better Together Cubed / Third Place

For Pam Ryan Mejia, a time of uncertainty during the pandemic led to innovation. As students struggled with isolation and disconnection, teachers faced the challenge of helping them foster well-being and build resilience.

Mejia created Better Together Cubed in 2020 to develop a social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. A seasoned teacher and leader in education, Mejia steered the Minneapolis company to develop a digitally delivered, customizable, and flexible platform that helps K–12 educators. The company’s evidence-based offering provides lessons, planning tools, and professional development to educators, leaders, families, and students.

Twelve states and two countries are using Better Together. It earned the CASEL SELect designation, the gold standard for SEL programs. Based on feedback from partner schools, the company continues to enhance offerings, adding features like AI-assisted teacher supports and interactive planning calendars.

Energy/Clean Tech/Water

VanGuard Pipeline Inspection / Second Place

VanGuard Pipeline Inspection operates with a dual purpose: reduce greenhouse gas emissions from leaking pipelines and save oil and gas companies money by identifying leak sources. James Aarestad and Nate Holmberg powered up the Maple Lake company in 2021, seeking to provide customers with aerial tools to monitor their pipelines.

Energy companies can utilize VanGuard’s Falcon-XL Aerial Methane Detector on fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The laser-based technology and sensors give customers an efficient, cost-effective way to monitor pipelines and detect methane.

As a small business, VanGuard has found it challenging to get its name out and compete with established players. Its leaders persevered by demonstrating VanGuard’s technology for potential customers, paving the way for contracts with large companies. Today, VanGuard has 10 systems in operation globally. It continues to forge a path in artificial intelligence for right-of-way threat detection.

ThermoVault Foundation / Third Place

ThermoVault Foundation developed technology that transforms buildings’ concrete foundation slabs into sources of clean energy. The slabs become dynamic thermal batteries that eliminate much of the expense and effort of geothermal heating and cooling systems.

Dan Hokanson founded ThermoVault in 2023 in Dent, working with co-designer Greg Smith on its technology. They first intended to create durable, energy-efficient homes using cellular concrete construction but quickly realized that the structures lost too much energy during storage and delivery. ThermoVault shifted to using the foundations as thermal batteries with intelligent controls that capture, store, and release heating or cooling as needed.

After piloting its systems in harsh Minnesota winters and with patents in hand, ThermoVault is focusing on the commercial sector. It is partnering with other industry leaders to meet ThermoVault’s goal of making thermal storage an industry standard.

Food/Agriculture/Beverage

FarmFlow / Second Place

As a second-generation organic farmer, Matthew Fitzgerald understands the complexity of the field. He established FarmFlow in 2023 to help farmers move away from paper records to easy-to-use management technology tools. Based on farmers’ feedback, the Glencoe company is evolving into a task management platform that includes compliance tools, grain inventory tracking, and operational insights.

Fitzgerald seeks to make FarmFlow stand out for its cost-effectiveness and simplicity, making it easy for farmers to set up and start using the app. The company has been beta testing its system with farmers in five states, partnering with universities, and raising funds from foundations and nonprofits. It has a waiting list of potential customers that will be ready to adopt FarmFlow when it launches in 2026.

FarmFlow emphasizes data privacy and peer-to-peer functionality so that farmers can learn from each other. In addition, the company plans to develop an AI-enhanced library of standard operating procedures to encourage farmer training.

BlueHorn Tea / Third Place

Yubi Hassan started BlueHorn Tea to deliver cups of deliciousness to Somali tea fans and introduce the beverage to the world. Shaah is a spiced black tea, steeped in Somali culture, that serves as a vehicle for connecting, sharing stories, and welcoming guests. Missing this taste of home, Hassan found an opening for shaah in the specialty tea market.

Hassan brewed up BlueHorn Tea in 2023 in Hopkins, initially making loose-leaf blends and selling them at farmers markets. Today, BlueHorn sells several of its spiced tea blends at retail outlets and farmers markets, on its website, and through other e-commerce and social media channels. Hassan’s plans for BlueHorn include developing new products like tea bags, bottled drinks, and K-cups.

Hassan overcame an early challenge of scaling production to meet demand by streamlining the company’s production process. BlueHorn also invested in more efficient equipment and forged partnerships with suppliers to secure consistent, high-quality ingredients.

General

Keote / Second Place

Annoying problems often lead to innovative solutions, and that’s what occurred for Rachael O’Borsky when she developed her concept for Keote. Intending to bring her reuseable bags on grocery shopping trips, she often would forget them at home. To help herself and others be sustainable, O’Borsky developed a key chain that unrolls into a fashionable and durable full-size tote bag: the keote.

Launched in 2023, Minneapolis-based Keote sells the keychain/tote bag on its website, plus additional key-ring sizes for different purses. Keote meets O’Borsky’s goal of helping customers look good while doing good. The company projects that regular keote users will each keep scores of plastic bags out of landfills.

O’Borsky knows her customers—about 66 million women ages 25–54 who juggle numerous responsibilities—and that gives Keote solid footing in the fashion accessories sector. She plans to expand by developing a portfolio of accessories that solve common problems with a splash of style.

SeeWeed / Third Place

It’s often the great unknown for water lovers: What do aquatic habitats look like and how are wildlife inhabiting them? The SeeWeed team wanted to create an underwater trail camera that answers these questions, giving users insights about life in the water.

Led by CEO Preston Huddleston, SeeWeed, founded in 2023, is bringing the first underwater trail camera to market to help fishing enthusiasts, conservationists, and waterfront homeowners understand their aquatic ecosystems. SeeWeed had to overcome significant trial and error to develop a hardy waterproof camera that enables long-term wildlife monitoring. Designed and built at SeeWeed’s Little Canada headquarters, the cameras will be available for sale next year.

Users can place cameras under the ice, below docks, or anywhere else they want to gather information. With SeeWeed’s app, customers can control their camera and interact with its output. The system’s analytics provide intelligence on fish movement trends, and perhaps a window into when those fish might be biting.

High Tech

Biometrica Health / Second Place

Remote patient monitoring is a vital way health care providers ensure patients are staying healthy. For many clinicians, it’s challenging to synthesize the data they collect from multiple devices in a user-friendly format. Enter: Biometrica Health, a Minneapolis company founded in 2020, led by Anthony Dann to help providers monitor patients with its software platform.

Instead of developing new devices, Biometrica concentrates on integrating data from any FDA-approved monitor. It created easy-to-use patient interfaces and a dashboard that alerts clinicians about patient data that might be concerning. Biometrica also helps providers track time spent monitoring patients. They can use this information to bill insurance companies and Medicare, generating revenue that supports their operations.

Biometrica especially seeks to serve rural and critical access providers, to provide them measurable clinical outcomes. The company is working to scale from hundreds of patients to thousands, to demonstrate its platform’s broad impact on population health.

Easy / Third Place

Former competitors in the financial technology space, Niko LeMieux and Andrew Fisher came together at Easy to reduce the time and cost associated with moving money. They started Easy in St. Paul in 2023 to share their knowledge of the cryptocurrency world, providing business customers with tools that reduce transaction fees and optimize their financial operations.

Easy’s system operates at the intersection of traditional financial technology and cryptocurrency. With Easy, merchants can benefit from lower money movement costs and higher returns on their idle funds. Easy then applies the savings as rebates on clients’ payment processing fees.

Easy is targeting the 1.9 million businesses in the United States that have $500,000 to $500 million in annual sales. It recently started onboarding about a dozen companies, bringing roughly $2 billion in annual payments into the Easy system.

Impact Ventures

SENSE-ational Spaces / Second Place

Many people experience sensory overload, causing them to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Occupational therapists Alexi Christensen and Marlee Olson sought to bring the benefits of sensory rooms to more people with their company, SENSE-ational Spaces.

The duo kicked off SENSE-ational Spaces in 2020 in Blaine. SENSE-ational Spaces helps clients incorporate sensory-friendly spaces into their homes to support family members with a diagnosed disability—about 20% of Americans. Today, it’s reaching more audiences by partnering with schools, organizations, and practitioners, becoming a verified provider for the Minnesota and Wisconsin human services departments. SENSE-ational Spaces also forged a relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, opening doors to work nationwide.

The company’s three service tiers match various budgets. Its platform provides downloadable resources, like on-demand continuing education and a subscription PDF library, with the goal to help people thrive in any environment.

Navatar Health / Third Place

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Though screening can vastly improve the odds of surviving the disease, many avoid testing or receiving follow-up care. Dr. David Perdue stepped away from his gastroenterology practice to address the bigger picture, developing tools to help connect people with vital health care.

Perdue launched Navatar Health in 2022 to develop AI-based education and navigation avatars. These Navatars are designed to provide culturally tailored health education in multiple languages, guiding people through medical challenges 24/7.

Navatar created a prototype and will soon launch pilot testing with several partners. It’s starting with colorectal cancer, as 50 million Americans are due or past due for annual screening. Navatar’s macro goals include becoming a trusted digital advisor that offers patient education, navigation, and guidance, ideally leading to behavior change.

Life Science/Health IT

Herald Therapeutics / Second Place

There are many causes for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) but few effective treatments. This contributes to its 43% mortality rate. University of Minnesota pulmonologists Dr. David Ingbar and Dr. Timothy Rich are bringing their scientific discoveries to the bedside through Herald Therapeutics.

Started in 2022, the Bloomington company is developing a thyroid-based medication for people with ARDS. ThyrOxy works to improve outcomes by reducing the hallmarks of ARDS: widespread lung inflammation, fluid build-up, and scarring. The Herald team advanced their understanding of ARDS during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many patients developed the condition. ThyrOxy also has potential as a treatment for acute congestive heart failure and infant respiratory distress syndrome, often seen in premature babies.

Herald is taking ThyrOxy through federal Food and Drug Administration clinical trials. The founders aim to eventually sell the medication to a pharmaceutical company.

Evanesce Medical / Third Place

Seeking to increase the frequency of opioid-free surgeries, Evanesce Medical is developing a nerve-blocking pain pump that people can use at home. Its Select hNB devices would provide a low volume of anesthetic that patients administer to themselves after surgery, potentially reducing the need for prescription opiates.

Medical device industry veteran Jeff Peters joined with a Mayo Clinic team to start Evanesce Medical in Excelsior. They have been working to develop and commercialize the pump since 2022. Evanesce is initially targeting orthopedic extremity surgeries, with more than 2 million procedures completed annually. These surgeries often involve nerve blocks instead of general anesthesia. The Select pump would allow patients to continue blocking the affected nerves for up to 72 hours.

Evanesce applied for FDA premarket approval in 2025. Evanesce would then complete post-market studies with Mayo and kick off a limited launch.

Student

Xygos / Second Place

To make STEM-based education more efficient and focused on problem-solving, Simeon Shaffar set out to create the tool he wished he had had in school. Shaffar, then an aerospace engineering student at the University of Minnesota, and Aidan Toney, a University of Wisconsin computer science student, powered up Xygos in 2022 to develop its mathematics learning app.

The AI-powered app aims to create an interactive way to master math. Xygos helps students apply concepts to solve problems as soon as they begin learning the topic. By offering lessons, breaking down steps, and providing visual aids, Xygos allows students to engage with problems and quickly master mathematics concepts.

Shaffar and Toney brought the Xygos app to market with an initial focus on Calculus 1. They have now expanded to algebra, with plans to add other math subjects. Xygos first issued a free version of its app, attracting thousands of users. Next up will be a monetized version and an Android version of the app.

Wren Writing / Third Place

Alira Coffman started Wren Writing in 2024 to create an integrated and efficient way to manage her writing process. But the more she consulted with fellow authors, the more she realized that many craved a comprehensive and seamless platform to support all aspects of a sustainable writing career.

Based in Byron, Wren Writing is developing and beta testing several features. Through the platform, users will be able to map their stories, track goals, write and format their books, and promote their completed work. Overall, Wren Writing seeks to support new and established writers by making publishing an accessible and fruitful endeavor.

An engineer and Minnesota transplant, Coffman has found a healthy ecosystem for innovators and creatives, especially in publishing and the arts. With Wren Writing, she aims to cultivate an online community of writers to take advantage of the platform’s resources, connect with each other, and share more of their written words with the world.

Youth

EARTHA / Second Place

After learning about the negative environmental impacts of jewelry manufacturing, a trio of students wanted to create a more sustainable way to look and feel good. They started EARTHA in 2022, working to incorporate recycled glass beads into jewelry and grow a customer base that seeks to blend sustainability and style.

Mounds View High School students Tingting Wang, Jessica Huang, and Siri Leana-Thao lead Arden Hills–based EARTHA. They connected with a fair-trade supplier in Ghana for the beads and began making bracelets, necklaces, and hair accessories. EARTHA sells its jewelry at Twin Cities stores and on its Etsy shop, contributing to tree planting for every five products sold.

EARTHA also generates demand by running workshops at senior living residences and summer camps, and it is developing sales channels like in-person events and jewelry-making gatherings for birthday and wedding celebrations. In 2025, EARTHA was named 2025 Junior Achievement North Company of the Year.

HearO Band / Third Place

It’s a common frustration for people who wear hearing aids that sweat, rain, or other weather events can cause the devices to malfunction. As an athlete, Jasper Haskins often had this experience during practices and games. She and her team designed the HearO Band to help.

The Minnetonka company is developing a waterproof, discreet, and reliable headband that keeps hearing devices safe and functioning so that users can enjoy their favorite activities. Since its start in 2025, HearO Band has expanded to reach a broader audience. The company plans to offer an everyday solution for hearing protection for the millions of people with hearing loss in the United States, whether they are kids on playgrounds or adults at work.

The HearO Band team has been juggling life as Minnetonka High School students while designing, prototyping, testing, and working to bring this product to market. They intend to sell the HearO Band through online distribution channels.

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