Unleashing the Power of Design Thinking

So, you've got this awesome idea bubbling in your mind, right? Well, guess what? Design thinking can take your idea to the next level – and it's not as complicated as it sounds. Think of it as your secret ingredient for turning your idea into a real-life business.

Step 1: Understanding Your Future Customers

First things first, we need to get into the minds of the people who will be using your product or service. What's their day-to-day life like? Where do they hang out? What are their dreams and goals? This step is like putting on their shoes and walking a mile. The better we understand them, the better we can help them. Try creating a simple user persona to really get to know your future customers.

Step 2: Nailing Down the Problem You're Solving

Now that we know who we're helping, let's zoom in on the problem we're solving for them. It's like putting a spotlight on the exact thing that's bugging them. Maybe jot down a list of the challenges they face or the frustrations they encounter. Once we've got that crystal clear, we can brainstorm some solutions.

Step 3: Let's Get Creative – Brainstorm Time!

This is where the fun begins! Grab your favorite snacks and gather your friends or team. We're going to throw around as many ideas as we can – even the crazy ones! No idea is too wild at this stage. Try using brainstorming techniques like mind mapping or rapid ideation to get those creative juices flowing.

Step 4: Bring Your Ideas to Life with Prototypes

Now, let's turn those ideas into something real. It could be a simple drawing, a mock-up on your computer, or even a cardboard model – whatever helps you visualize your idea. This step is like building a mini version of your future product or service. Don't worry about making it perfect – the goal here is to get something tangible that you can test.

Step 5: Test, Test, Test – and Improve!

Time to see if your prototype flies or flops! Show it to your friends, family, or anyone willing to give you feedback. Watch how they interact with it and listen to what they have to say. Then, take their feedback and use it to make your idea even better. You might need to go back to the drawing board a few times, and that's okay – it's all part of the process!

Step 6: Share Your Awesome Solution

You've done it! Now that you’ve put in all that work, it's time to show off your amazing solution to the world. Share it with your team, potential investors, or anyone who needs a dose of your great idea. You’re on your way to starting a business or creating a product that can really succeed! Consider creating a pitch deck or presentation to showcase your idea in the best possible light.

So, there you have it – design thinking in a nutshell. It's all about understanding your customers, getting creative, and testing your ideas until they're the best they can be! 

Q&A with Collider Board Member Stefan Madansingh

At Collider Foundation, we are grateful to lean upon the expertise of our board, which is made up of individuals with valuable experience within the Rochester community. Take a moment to learn more about a recent addition to our board, Stefan Madansingh!

Q: What brought you to the Rochester area and what would you say keeps you around? 

A: My now-wife (then-partner) and I moved to Rochester in 2017 to pursue our post-doctoral research fellowships at Mayo Clinic. I’ve been at Mayo now for almost 7 years in a few different roles and – as cliché as it may sound – the uniqueness of Mayo Clinic and the interesting work that is being done in every corner of the institution is what has kept me here.

 Q: What do you do for work? 

A: I work at Mayo Clinic in the Department of Business Development, specifically supporting Mayo Clinic Ventures (MCV). MCV does a number of things within Mayo Clinic, but most notably acts as the technology transfer office for the institution. This means we are responsible for working with the many innovators across the Mayo Clinic enterprise to protect and commercialize their healthcare innovations. For MCV, I support faculty from the Department of Neurological Surgery across the three Mayo Clinic campuses and lead a Technology Development team focused on medical device and digital health solutions. What I do is help faculty to identify new areas for innovation, develop plans with them to advance their ideas and help them secure funding to bring their ideas to reality. It is our team’s ultimate goal to partner with outside organizations so that these healthcare innovations make it outside the walls of Mayo and help patients all over the world. In my free time, I lead Research and Development for Zibrio, a healthcare startup based out of Houston, Texas. At Zibrio, we are focused on predicting and managing fall risk with the goal of empowering older adults to live a safe and healthy life.

 Q: What drew you to Collider and sparked your interest in becoming a board member? 

A: I’ve had the pleasure of being in the orbit of the Collider ecosystem for a number of years now and was very excited to learn of an opportunity to support their board. In my previous role at Mayo Clinic, I led the Rochester branch of the Office of Entrepreneurship which is an education-focused initiative within Mayo Clinic to develop a culture of clinical innovation and entrepreneurship among the staff throughout the institution. We worked closely with Collider leadership around a number of events, including the Walleye Tank life-science startup pitch competition (in partnership with the University of Minnesota), which has its founding roots alongside Collider. I’ve also had the opportunity to host 1 Million Cups, which was started in Rochester by members of the Collider community. I’m very grateful to be able to work with the team at Collider again.  

 Q: How do you hope to impact the entrepreneurial community through your involvement with Collider? 

A: In my day-to-day, I typically focus on innovation and entrepreneurship solely at Mayo Clinic. By joining the Collider board, I hope to be able be a resource to innovators in the community and bring another unique perspective to founders who are beginning their journey.

 Q: What are some of your hobbies and interests? 

I have a tendency to become passionate about any challenge in front of me, which has led to a laundry list of hobbies and interests over the years. Most consistently though: I love to cook (eat) and travel. I’m also passionate about personal fitness and trying to live an active life … mostly to support the eating and traveling. Let me know if you have any restaurant suggestions!

The Otto Bremer Trust Awards Grant to Collider Foundation

Rochester 501(c)3 nonprofit Collider Foundation was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $30,000  by the Otto Bremer Trust. This grant will support Collider’s ongoing work to empower Rochester’s early stage entrepreneurs and assist us in building upon lessons learned from our past successes and community feedback to expand our capacity to reduce and remove barriers to entrepreneurship. This work will help further our strong track record of assisting local entrepreneurs in progressing from idea to action, operationalizing their business plan, feeling more connected to and supported by their community, and setting them up for long term success with their business.

Collider Foundation believes that the support, education, and growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem is a pathway to a more prosperous and inclusive future for the Rochester community. As an organization, Collider Foundation aims to identify and assist local innovators in overcoming barriers to success by empowering an impactful, inclusive, and entrepreneur-first ecosystem.

Collider Foundation supports its mission through 1:1 startup support, accessible business education, a vibrant coworking community, and storytelling to help foster an inclusive, diverse, and healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem. This grant award will allow for programmatic and operational support of the foundation’s ongoing activities throughout 2024.

“We are so grateful for the continued support of the Otto Bremer Trust to help sustain our work to lower barriers to entrepreneurship and just get people with ideas started. With the Trust’s help last year, our work was able to support 700 entrepreneurial starters in the community. This ongoing support is crucial to keep this work moving forward,” said Amanda Leightner, Collider Foundation Executive Director.

The Otto Bremer Trust is a private charitable trust based in St. Paul, Minn. Created in 1944 by Otto Bremer, it is committed to supporting a better quality of life for residents of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Since its founding, OBT has invested nearly $1 billion in people, places, and opportunities in its region. For additional information, visit ottobremer.org.

If you have any questions about Collider or our work within the community, please contact Amanda Leightner at amanda@collider.mn or call (507) 722-0306.

The Collider Cup: Celebrating Emerging Rochester Entrepreneurs

Collider to Host Community Celebration for Fourth Cohort of CO.STARTERS Graduates 

Rochester 501(c)3 nonprofit Collider Foundation is excited to announce that we are hosting our fourth Collider Cup pitch event, which was designed in 2022 to celebrate our CO.STARTERS graduates, give them the opportunity to share their unique business ideas with the Rochester community, and compete for a cash prize, provided by CO.STARTERS sponsor, Minnwest Bank. 

This winter, 10 different participants graduated from CO.STARTERS programming, facilitated by Collider. This included a 9 week cohort based program as well as an intensive one day business bootcamp. Our CO.STARTERS participants have worked hard within the program to fine tune their business ideas and determine next steps they need to take to move forward. 

The Collider Cup will take place on Tuesday, March 12th at Collider’s space in the Minnesota BioBusiness Center from 5:30-7:30pm. This event will serve as a business pitch competition as well as a community celebration for these emerging entrepreneurs in Rochester. Six of our CO.STARTERS graduates will be verbally pitching their business ideas. A panel of judges will determine the winner of the pitch competition. Three of our past CO.STARTERS participants will also be presenting their business ideas in an expo format, giving attendees a chance to ask questions and give feedback to each entrepreneur. 

Interested individuals can learn more and register for the event here.

Collider Foundation believes that the support, education, and growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem is a pathway to a more prosperous and inclusive future for the Rochester community. We as an organization aim to identify and assist local innovators in overcoming barriers to success by empowering an impactful, inclusive, and entrepreneur-first ecosystem. We are excited to have had the opportunity to fulfill our mission through CO.STARTERS and offer assistance to local entrepreneurs through this cohort. 

For additional information contact Amanda Leightner at amanda@collider.mn or call (507) 722-0306

Collider Community Incubator Program

Collider Foundation is excited to open applications for its inaugural 12 week intensive incubator program, which will take place on Thursdays, April 4th through June 20th from 8:30-11:00AM. The application window will remain open until March 14th. 

Since becoming a nonprofit in 2019, Collider has continued to evolve its services to best meet the needs of entrepreneurs within the community. Through many conversations with entrepreneurs over the past four years, we have uncovered a need for accessible, early stage education and connection to resources to help entrepreneurial starters create a strong foundation for growth. In particular, those who identify as women or minority founders have historically felt the most disconnected from and have more limited access to resources and knowledge in our community. 

We began facilitating CO.STARTERS in 2021 to provide a foundation of business education to the entrepreneurial community. CO.STARTERS is a cohort-based program that equips starters of all kinds with the insights, relationships, and tools needed to turn business ideas into action, leaving graduates with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable business. While CO.STARTERS has been a great fit for this community, we found that the entrepreneurs that we were serving wanted and needed more. 

Collider designed the incubator program to best serve CO.STARTERS graduates or individuals who received extensive 1:1 startup support from Collider, individuals with a tested business canvas or business plan, and those with a newly developed product or service who are ready to grow their sales. This program provides structure and continued support for entrepreneurs who are ready to keep moving forward with their business ideas and take that important next step to becoming a viable business. Through our incubator program, these individuals will develop the skill sets and relationships that will help them pursue economic freedom and improve their financial situation through entrepreneurship.

The 12 week incubator  program will help participants go from a solid business model to the next steps, demonstrating that their idea has what it takes to become a viable business within the community. During this structured program, incubator companies will create an individualized plan to create a minimal viable product or service, or increase their sales. The incubator program also includes dedicated workshops, which are also open to the public, plus a cohort based model to connect participants to other like-minded individuals taking the same steps with their business. 

Incubator companies will receive:

• Mentorship

• Structured programming

• 1:1 startup support

• Networking opportunities

• Increased visibility for their business

• Resource connection

• Access to discounted business services

• Cohort based support

• Personalized plan to keep your business moving forward

Does this program sound like the right fit for you and your business? Apply today and take meaningful steps toward turning your business idea into a reality.