The MN Cup, a statewide entrepreneurial competition, announced its 25 finalists on Monday.
 
The companies span eight different divisions and emerged from a pool of over 1,500 applicants. All but two of the finalists are from the Twin Cities metro area.
 
Finalists were selected based on their business plans, presentations given by the entrepreneurs and videos that they produced. Judges assess these using criteria that includes the value proposition of the idea, its commercial viability and the progress that the entrepreneur is making in bringing it to market.
 
The MN Cup will whittle down the list further to division winners at the end of August. Those companies will be awarded $30,000, with runners up getting $5,000. Over $400,000 in prize money is up for grabs this year, with a significant chunk of it going to the overall winner of the competition. The grand prize winner will be announced at the end of September. Minneapolis-based Astropad won in 2015. (Read TCB's Q&A with one of the entrepreneurs behind Astropad here).
 
This year’s finalists are: