2023:Â Twin brothers Rob and Ryan Weber have been building tech companies since college. They launched their first business, NativeX, out of a dorm room at St. Cloud State. Now, as co-founders and managing partners of St. Cloud-based Great North Ventures, the two are helping other entrepreneurs. In 2022, they announced a $41 million fund to be invested over the next five years. Having lived through the dot-com bust of the late 1990s and recession of the late 2000s, they're unfazed by the prospect of yet another downtown. "It's usually out of these challenging economic environments," says Rob Weber, "that some of the best companies are started.
2019: Brothers Ryan and Rob Weber have been the kings of St. Cloud’s tech scene ever since launching their screensaver business 18 years ago while at St. Cloud State. Having sold their latest company, NativeX, in 2016 for $26 million, they’re now looking to grow the population of their kingdom. In fall 2017, the Webers, building on their past history of tech investment, launched Great North Labs, a venture fund that is seeding Midwestern tech startups.