In a competition that’s seen thousands of entrepreneurs battle for a grand prize, previous MN Cup winners know the right approach, combined with a little luck, can make all the difference in kick starting a business.

Although Andrew Jones knows the highs of winning the competition, he also knows the lows of coming up short. He was named a MN Cup semifinalist in 2016 with his research company after winning the competition’s clean tech division – one of nine divisions in the competition. Years later, Jones’ carbon dioxide removal solutions startup, Carba, took home MN Cup’s 2023 grand prize.

Hundreds of startups lose the competition every year. However, for startups like Carba that go on to see success in the competition, Jones said rejection cannot be seen as failure and instead must be seen as “an opportunity for learning.”

“We failed, and we corrected when we came back… we decided to give it another shot and refine our messaging,” Jones said. “We had more practice in all the different objections we’d had from talking to investors, which came in handy when talking to the judges.”

Jones said every entrepreneur has good ideas, but not every entrepreneur thinks about how their idea stands out within the existing markets.

The secret to success in MN Cup, according to Jones, is not only having a comprehensive business strategy – a defined market, growth plans, key milestones – but also being able to make your idea resonate with judges. One of the deciding factors in Jones’ MN Cup loss was a compelling story from the stem cell research startup that went on to win the competition.

“When a judge asks you a question and you don’t know the answer, you have the fight-or-flight response,” Jones said. “But having the experience to have had those questions before and time to think about them really helped. That just comes from practice.”

Throughout its history, MN Cup has helped roughly 23,000 entrepreneurs and given away more than $5.4 million in awards, according to MN Cup associate director Kailin Oliver.

Carba won $85,000 from MN Cup, but Jones noted the publicity and mentorship he gained during the competition was more valuable for his startup than any of his winnings. According to Oliver, cash prizes are meant to be a “carrot on a stick” to entice applicants to receive business education and training.

“We know that we’re limited in how much money we can just hand out, so we’ve designed it to be truly beneficial to anybody that’s involved,” Oliver said. “It does not matter if you’re moving on to the next round or not, you will receive feedback from expert judges that know the industry that you’re applying for… so you have a next step. You have something to go off of as you move forward or possibly come back and apply again next year.”

Applications opened on March 11 and will close on April 12. Judges will choose ten semifinalists from each of the competition’s nine categories in the coming months before selecting a grand prize winner at its annual ceremony in the fall. Last year, all semifinalists took home $30,000, with an additional $50,000 going toward the grand prize winner.

With 20 years of competitions and roughly 100 mentors — many of whom previous MN Cup winners — looking to guide aspiring entrepreneurs, Oliver said MN Cup has helped create a local business community that encourages anyone’s next great idea.

“There’s a huge business community of individuals that are interested in volunteering and giving their time back,” Oliver said. “What it’s grown into is this opportunity to take your expertise, step outside of what is maybe a more corporate, stagnant place, and interact with this startup community that is so engaging and so eager to learn.”