When you think of technology businesses, it's not likely that South Dakota is the first place that comes to mind.  After all, for most of you, the entire center of the US is simply "fly-over" country.  But I have had the good fortune to discover untapped opportunity there through the work I've been doing with the institute I co-founded, N2TEC Institute.  Actually, right now I'm in Sioux Falls, SD at the technology incubator where my partner Tim Stearns and I are taking 8 new technology businesses through a week-long intensive to shape up their businesses and then we'll mentor them for 8 weeks culminating in a deal-dating event with angel and VC funders.

These are really cool businesses, ranging from technologies in education to mobile marketing to robotics to a hunting cluster with some really unique technologies that are potential game changers. And every one of the businesses has global market potential.  What's particularly surprising is that not all the entrepreneurs are from South Dakota.  In our search, we got applications from Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Oregon, and Minnesota, among others. Why would entrepreneurs from these states consider coming to South Dakota?  Well, not like Ted Turner for the buffalo, but rather to take advantage of an environment that has been created there that supports and encourages entrepreneurs.  OK, what's new about that, you might say.  After all, every community is talking about getting new businesses.  The reality is that a lot of communities are talking about it, but not many have an actionable plan in place to encourage, attract, and nurture these ventures. 

The next time you fly or take a road trip somewhere, stop off in the up and coming technology city of Sioux Falls and say hi to our technology entrepreneurs.  Buy one of their products while you're at it!