Graeme Thickins Email & Phone Number

Minneapolis, Mn, Us

Strategies to Win in the Knowledge Economy™GT&A provides value to its clients by developing or nurturing strong brands and clear strategies...facilitating partnerships and customers...identifying investors...creating awareness in the market...and communicating the uniqueness of these brands -- all of which has a direct effect on achieving optimal valuation and exit.Graeme has led GT&A through four business cycles and more than four tech cycles. Its original focus was in marketing & branding for tech startups, but services expanded over the years. To date, GT&A has helped build value in more than 200 startups and emerging firms, most from the initial concept or launch stage. Some have also been spinouts of larger firms. Three went huge in IPOs. Most are still profitable today or had successful exits via acquisition. A few turned into holes in the ground. (Yes, we've seen the thrill of victory and the... well, you know.) GT&A provides marketing & launch strategy, PR/communications, business development, and content marketing/development services. As principal consultant, Graeme also helps startups with such issues as messaging, strategy, funding, and industry connections, and takes equity positions in some clients. His past experience includes key interim executive assignments. For the launch of BestBuy.com, he was interim Content Director, helping create and build what quickly became a top-50 Internet property. Following, he served as interim Director of Marketing for an IT services firm (acquired), and also took brief detours as VP Marketing for a software firm (acquired) and for a mobile app platform startup (a great exit in 2016). Graeme has extensive bylines as a freelance writer, and has a large national network of technology & investment influentials. Today, he's an advisor for several tech startups, a member of an angel group, a mentor & LP for two seed-stage funds, and a board member of MinneAnalytics. He's blogged at GraemeThickinsOnTech.com since 2005.

Minneapolis, Mn, Us

Some shown here, a continually expanding list (* = successful exit):• HLRBO ... https://www.hlrbo.com (fast-growth marketplace for hunting land leases) • Vigilant Diagnostics .. https://vigilantdx.com (rapid, low-cost testing)• Timmaron Group .. https://timmarongroup.com (strategy consultants)• Glossbird .. https://glossbird.com (innovative games for well-being)• Great North Ventures .. https://greatnorthventures.com (early-stage VC firm)• Elumynt .. https://elumynt.com (fastest growing ad agency in MN) • GrocerKey* .. https://grocerkey.com (retailer-branded 'omni-commerce' platform; acq 2021)• LiveGiveSave* .. acq 2021, renamed Spave, https://spave.io• Buzz360 .. www.buzz360.co (social campaigns platform)• JourneyTellr .. https://journeytellr.com (employee engagement/retention)• Angel Capital Assoc .. www.angelcapitalassociation.org• QFO Labs .. www.qfolabs.com (drone tech licensing co)• Lab651 .. www.lab651.com (IoT & AI consulting/prod dev)• WorkOutLoud.com .. www.workoutloud.com (customer communities)• Sentera .. www.sentera.com (drone tech, software & data)• Treehouse Health .. (healthcare incubator/fund)• TruScribe .. www.truscribe.com (whiteboard video animation sw)• Campus Media Group* .. www.campusmediagroup.com (college mktg firm; acq 2018)• Canopy .. (2 product launches, CES 2013, 2014)• enStratius* .. cloud mgmt tools; helped launch in 2009, DELL acq 2013)• DoApp Inc.* .. (mobile platform startup 2008, acq by Newscycle Solutions (Vista Equity Partners) 2016; real-estate tech previously acq by CoreLogic 2014)• SportsEngine* .. https://sportsengine.com (amateur sports platform; acq by NBC Sports 2016)• NativeX* .. https://nativex.com (formerly W3i; acq by Mobvista 2016)• Compellent* .. (data storage firm acq by DELL in 2011 for $960M+)• ReliaCloud* .. public cloud service of Visi.com, launched 2009; acq by Fortune 500 firm TDS/OneNeck)• Virteva* .. naming/branding/launch 2005; private equity acquisition 2019, merged w/Crossfuze)

Minnetonka, Minnesota, Us

DiscoveryMN Angels, founded in 2024, is a formal angel investor organization that invests in promising startups led by students, alumni, faculty, and supporters of the University of Minnesota.

., Us

Great North Ventures invests in entrepreneurs using breakthrough technologies to innovate industries dominated by inefficient processes. These startups can be anywhere in the world. The next generation is growing now in places like the Twin Cities, Chicago, Madison, Fargo, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati & Toronto. Great North's founders know the struggles of building, scaling, and exiting tech startups, because they’ve been there. By drawing on decades of operating experience, navigating networks, and implementing investment intelligence, the Great North team guides startups to scale and exits. It follows a scalable, data-driven process for identifying opportunities and managing its investment portfolio. Founded in 2017 as Great North Labs, it is driven to create exceptional value for investors and entrepreneurs by growing portfolio startups to global scale and relevance. It has raised two funds to date: it raised $24 million for Fund I in 2017 (which I joined as an LP) and ultimately made more than 20 investments in startups that have achieved significant gropwth. I was retained as a consultant in 2020 by the partners to help raise awareness for the firm as it was beginning to raise Fund II, which it closed in 2022 at $41 million. It continues to actively invest from Fund II. For more on its portfolio companies, please visit https://GreatNorthVentures.com.

Madison, Wi, Us

gener8tor is a nationally ranked accelerator that invests in high-growth startups. It has been particularly active in four cities: Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati. It runs equity accelerator programs, in which it invests in several startups per cohort. These startups receive a concierge experience during a 12-week accelerator program. gener8tor supports the growth of these startups through its network of experienced mentors, technologists, corporate partners, angel investors, and venture capitalists. gener8tor alumni have cumulatively raised more than $150M in follow-on financing. Of these, 58% have raised more than $1M in follow-on financing or have been acquired. gener8tor invests in startups in software, IT, web, SaaS, life science, medtech, ecommerce, hardware, and consumer products. Accepted startups receive 12 weeks of mentorship-driven programming. gener8tor is a proud member of the Global Accelerator Network (GAN) and is a GOLD-tier accelerator in the U.S. as ranked by the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project.(In addition, I serve as a mentor for gener8tor's non-equity “gBETA" and "gBETA MedTech" accelerator programs, which are held in cities throughout Middle America.)

Cupertino, California, Us

I'm not an employee, but that doesn't mean I can't Think Different® ... I started doing that more than 30 years ago as an investor, and never looked back.

Edina, Mn, Us

I have organized and hosted 16 "Startup Showcases" for MinneAnalytics, the largest regional community of data & AI professionals in the U.S. It has grown rapidly over the years to almost 20,000 members across 4000+ organizations. It is a MN nonprofit. We serve analytics, data science, business, big data, and AI professionals throughout MN, the Upper Midwest, and beyond. We hold multiple conferences per year, focused in such areas as healthcare, financial and retail analytics, food/agtech, supply chain, sports analytics, and more. Our conferences attract 1000+ per event from throughout the state and around the U.S. Our first conference outside MN was in Aug 2018 in Boston. (Called ”MinneBOS," it was held again in 2019.) Our goal is to get folks from technology, business, and the decision sciences to collaborate and enjoy the benefits of insights gained from data. Membership and meetings are free, thanks to our awesome sponsors, which include many major IT, software, and data tools vendors. We seek sponsors that want their organizations exposed to our highly educated and well placed membership. My initial focus was to lead our efforts to attract startups involved in analytics, big data, AI, etc to our community, due to my long involvement in the startup world. (The "Startup Showcase" sessions I have organized and hosted at our various events have given more than 200 startups great exposure to investors, corporate execs, and others in the startup ecosystem.) The first full conference I coproduced was a "Marketing Analytics"​ event in September 2014 that attracted more than 400 people. A second such event in January 2016 attracted 700+. Read about all our events, past & upcoming, here: https://MinneAnalytics.org. Please click on "Join" to get onto our list. And please also follow us on social media, especially here on LinkedIn: @MinneAnalytics.

Extensive freelance writing experience through several tech cycles and business cycles. I’ve had bylines at many technology media outlets over two decades. (Also see below for past Contributing Writer engagements with Grit Daily and Starting Up North.) In addition, I’ve done long-form commissioned writing work, ghost writing, research reports, and white papers, as well as blog writing for hire. Examples on request.

(This job title was suggested for me, several years ago, by Chris Locke, coauthor, "The Cluetrain Manifesto.") My blog attempts to artfully blend my passions for startups, innovation, software, tech trends, data, AI, healthcare/medtech, marketing, entrepreneurship, venture funding, and related topics, along with CEO profiles and coverage of technology events that matter. Please click on the first link below.

I curate and maintain several magazines on the amazing Flipboard app, where I am grateful to have some 7500 very astute followers! Some of my titles:- “BIG DATA IN THE WILD: Real-world examples of how big data is making big impact” (since launch in Dec 2013, it’s attracted 27,000+ readers and more than 417,000 page flips, and it's been featured multiple times on Flipboard's "Top Picks")- “AI GETS REAL: How artificial intelligence is improving our lives today” (added in 2017)- “HEALTHCARE TECH NEWS: Tracking the amazing convergence of med tech and mobile, cloud, big data, and wearable technologies devoted to improving our health” (added in 2017, now 57,000+ page flips).- “ENTREPRENEUR SMARTS: Strategies, insights, and tips from an experienced startup mentor and coach” (new in 2018)- “SURFING THE WAVES OF TECHNOLOGY: Riding the endless innovation that has transformed the Sport of Kings to a favorite pastime of technologists and thrill-seekers everywhere” (20,000+ readers, 230,000+ page flips. (Hey, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.)

Minneapolis, Mn, Us

The Office for Technology Commercialization (OTC) oversees all aspects of technology commercialization at the University, bridging the gap between the lab and the marketplace to connect technology with companies to achieve results. The Venture Center within OTC was established to assist in the formation of startup companies based on intellectual property from research at the University of Minnesota. Its Business Advisory Group is a broad-based network of entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors who provide guidance to the OTC on the commercialization strategy for University-owned innovations and help assess new business ideas across a wide range of industry sectors.

New York, New York , Us

GritDaily.com is the top source for news coverage on brands, fashion, tech, influencers, entrepreneurship, and life. Its team is global and brings with it more than 250 years of combined reporting experience. I began my reporting for Grit Daily as a result of my participation at SXSW in March 2019. I have a long history of reporting from tech conferences, and that one was particularly interesting, as it was my first time attending that crazy, fun, over-crowded event! ... which is not to say it wasn't a serious post. All my Grit Daily posts can be found here: https://gritdaily.com/author/graeme-thickins/.

Minneapolis, Mn, Us

The Starting Up North site was launched in June 2019 to tell stories and share knowledge about Minnesota’s startup and innovation community. Founder Stephanie Rich called it "a new way to break down knowledge silos and shine a light on the people and issues that deserve to be talked about." I was proud to be a featured contributor through several issues. Sadly, Stephanie decided to sunset the site after accepting a position with Bread & Butter Ventures. But it was a great run. Thanks, Stephanie!(NOTE: You can find all my articles for this site here in my LinkedIn page in my "Articles" section: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graemethickins/recent-activity/posts/. Within each article, I noted it was first published at Starting Up North, but that website is no longer active.)

Us

I was retained to manage public relations and marketing initiatives for this association, the largest membership group of angel investors in the world (14,000+). My role involved media relations, news generation, pitching editors and writers, and managing on-site media relations at the ACA's largest annual event, called the Angel Summit, which was held in San Francisco that year and attracted 800+ investors and media. I succeeded in achieving significantly increased media exposure for the association and its programs, I also assisted in promoting a major study completed that year by the ACA and The Wharton School, called "The American Angel." I forged many great relationships with angels, board members of the ACA, and key media people.

Minnov8 was a blog that was launched in 2007 to focus on web and Internet technology innovation in the State of Minnesota. Here's the first post: https://minnov8.com/?s=welcome+to+minnov8. (A podcast was added in mid-2008, in which I participated through January 2016 -- more than 350 weekly episodes.) Borne out of a frustration that there wasn’t a showcase for the tremendous talent, brainpower, creativity, and innovation that exists in this Land of 10,000 Lakes, several geeks set forth on a quest to deliver a destination site for just such a purpose. Your humble, modest, and foolhardy band of merrymakers in the “Minnov8 Gang, “ in addition to myself, included Steve Borsch, Tim Elliott, and Phil Wilson. (Note: We rode off into the sunset in early 2017, retiring from the amazing experience that was Minnov8. We just got too busy with our day jobs. It’s now an archived site - all the posts and podcasts are still there at www.Minnov8.com. Thanks to all who read and listened over more than eight great years!)

San Clemente, Ca, Us

I had been a member of the Surfrider Foundation since inception in 1984, having been a resident of two "ocean states," Hawaii and California. Land-trapped in the midwest for many years, in 2008 I joined up with two other local Minnesota surfers (and world travelers) who shared my dedication to protecting our oceans, waves, and beaches, and together we established the Minnesota-Superior Chapter. We're blessed in this state with the world's greatest lake, an amazingly large surfing community, and an awesome group of year-round Lake Superior surfers (based in both the Twin Cities and Duluth areas) who are passionate in their support of our water resources. Just Google "Lake Superior surfing" sometime and check out the videos -- you will be amazed at the waves and the conditions. Minnesota surfers are a hardy bunch!

(UPDATE: In June 2016, DoApp was acquired in a big-win, all-cash deal by Newscycle Solutions, a large software firm focused on transforming the media industry, which is owned by Vista Equity Partners.) DoApp was founded in 2008 by an early Google employee to create web apps, desktop apps, and mobile apps to enable a new world of distributed content and commerce. It quickly became a leading iPhone, iPad, and Android developer with multiple millions of downloads. In total, the company developed more than 1500 mobile and tablet apps. DoApp was dedicated to building audiences through mobile applications and mobile web sites in news, real estate, entertainment, weather, sports, and other markets. It connected brands with consumers through patented technologies that included location-based advertising, content-specific advertising, and personalization. My responsibilities with the company in its early days included marketing, branding, positioning, launch strategy, content, communications, PR, social media, and developing partner/client relationships. During my tenure, we quickly grew to more than 2.5 million downloads on the iTunes App Store. A few years later, the company had in excess of 50 million downloads across all major app stores. I remained an advisor, shareholder, and huge supporter. In late 2014, DoApp announced that its mobile real-estate platform had been acquired by CoreLogic, a large analytics firm (NYSE: CLGX) based in California.

Mendota Heights, Mn, Us

Was recruited in 2004 by this client, a pioneer in backup & email archiving software/appliances for small to midsized firms. Spearheaded programs in public relations, analyst relations, messaging, content development, industry partner relationships, web site upgrades, marketing communications, advertising, search engine optimization, competitive intelligence, channel communications, and all writing/publishing. Achievements: highly successful industry analyst relations & media relations programs, resulting in scores of close relationships with industry influentials and millions of gross media impressions. Press coverage was many times the average for companies of our size. Managed all content development, including 200-page+ web site, white papers, articles, collateral literature, media kits, news releases. Helped develop and manage key partnerships with Sony, Imation, Mirapoint, others. Contributed to 300% sales increase in less than 18 months. (Company acquired by Mirapoint in 2008.)

Richfield, Minnesota, Us

I was part of the founding team within BestBuy.com called "ePublishing," serving as Interim Director of Content from December 1999 till April 2000, helping to grow the group that built the front-end for the site from 3 to 75 people within three months. My roles were in site branding and positioning, teaming with the Director of Design; content planning and organization; content management; coordination with IT; and overseeing an external partnership. Though I had an opportunity to stay on fulltime, I chose to continue as an outside consultant for the organization for several months after I left the interim role. Within six months of launch, the site became a top-10 online shopping destination. In early 2010, Internet Retailer reported that the site had revenues of $2.45 billion in 2009.

Progressively responsible management positions at two Fortune 500 technology firms, both led at that time by their highly entrepreneurial, original founding CEOs. A tremendous learning experience! Also served as an account executive at a top-10 worldwide ad agency serving divisions of the 3M Company.

Fraternity Of Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), Majors: Biology, Then English, Then Journalism (I Have Too Many Interests!)

Aa, Pre-Med

Surfing :-)

Liberal Arts

Indiana, Minnesota, Southern California