About FINNOVATION Institute
We Build Entrepreneurs Who Build Solutions
FINNOVATION Institute discovers, develops, and supports social entrepreneurs as they turn bold ideas into sustainable ventures that strengthen communities and change systems.
Based in Minnesota, we combine rigorous business education, leadership development, coaching, financial support, and meaningful connections to help impact-driven founders build businesses that work and create change that lasts.
The People Closest to Problems Often See the Possibilities First
Some of the most powerful solutions begin with people who have lived the problem, worked inside the system, or witnessed an unmet need firsthand.
Yet those individuals may not see themselves as entrepreneurs. They may also lack access to the education, capital, networks, and support traditionally associated with building a business.
FINNOVATION Institute exists to close that gap.
We find people close to problems worth solving, help them explore entrepreneurship as a path, and stay with them as they grow from unlikely entrepreneurs into impact leaders.
We Are an Impact Multiplier
Our direct work advances inclusive entrepreneurship and economic opportunity.
The ventures our founders build extend that impact into communities, industries, and systems addressing health, education, economic mobility, climate, technology, culture, equity, and more.
One investment in FINNOVATION Institute does not support one solution. It strengthens an entire pipeline of founders, ventures, and social change.
Our Story
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Proving Business Could Be a Force for Good
The roots of FINNOVATION Institute began with founder Jacquie Berglund and a bold question: Could a business generate revenue while creating meaningful social impact?
In 2000, Berglund and Kieran Folliard co-founded FINNEGANS Brew Co., a pioneering social enterprise created to donate 100% of its profits to community causes.
For more 25 years, FINNEGANS has demonstrated that commercial discipline and social purpose do not have to compete. They could strengthen one another.
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From Building One Social Enterprise to Developing Many
This inspired an even bigger question: What if more founders could build sustainable businesses around the social and environmental problems they were determined to solve?
In 2017, FINNOVATION Lab opened inside FINNEGANS House in Minneapolis, creating a space for social entrepreneurs. With support from Bush Foundation, the FINNOVATION Fellowship launched to provide early-stage founders the support they needed.
In 2020, FINNOVATION Institute was established as an independent nonprofit organization to carry that work forward.
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Learning, Evolving, and Building a Stronger Program
After six cohorts, we used our experience and research to redesign the Fellowship around founders’ evolving needs.
The program adopted a new structure giving founders time to investigate the problem, test assumptions, understand their markets, and gather evidence before committing resources to building a venture.
Founders with the strongest evidence, readiness, and potential advance into an intensive six-month experience that includes advanced business development, leadership support, and a $50,000+ equity-free stipend.
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Building a Lifelong Founder Ecosystem
The FINNOVATION Fellowship remains our flagship program, and our vision extends far beyond a single fellowship experience.
We are building a connected founder lifecycle that supports social entrepreneurs through ideation, incubation, traction, growth, and mature impact leadership.
As founders advance, they return as mentors, judges, speakers, partners, and supporters, strengthening the ecosystem for the entrepreneurs coming behind them.
What Makes FINNOVATION Different
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We do not rush founders toward launching a business before they understand the problem, the people affected, or the market opportunity. Founders learn to test assumptions, listen carefully, and let evidence shape what they build.
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A sustainable business requires more than a strong idea. We combine technical business development with leadership coaching, personal development, peer accountability, and space for founders to make difficult decisions.
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Our founders should not have to surrender ownership of their businesses to access the time, education, and resources required to build them well. FINNOVATION provides non-dilutive support that allows founders to retain control of their ventures.
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Entrepreneurship does not become easier because a program ends. Our Alumni Network provides continued peer support, facilitated roundtables, connections, resources, and opportunities to remain engaged in the FINNOVATION community.
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We are not looking for the most polished pitch or the person who already knows how to speak the language of entrepreneurship. We look for proximity to meaningful problems, openness to learning, resilience, curiosity, and the willingness to change direction when the evidence demands it.
POWERED By People
FINNOVATION Institute is powered by an extraordinary community of founders, alumni, board members, coaches, curriculum partners, judges, advisors, funders, and ecosystem partners.
They bring the experience, honesty, expertise, connections, and care that help our entrepreneurs grow into capable founders and impact leaders.
Build What the Future Needs
Whether you are exploring a bold idea, growing an impact-driven venture, sharing your expertise, or investing in the infrastructure of social change, there is a place for you in the FINNOVATION ecosystem.