Elevate update: Successful pivots for Gluestick

Elevate update: Successful pivots for Gluestick

Abby Allen, founder of Gluestick demonstrated her crafting instruction platform in front of a packed Ordway Theater at Minndemo, an event hosted by the Minnesota technology association Minnestar that showcases novel technology ideas.

As one of the first graduates of the CEO Start cohort from Elevate Hennepin, she said the cohort was instrumental as she built, pivoted, and iterated her business. She said she even goes back to her CEO Start guidebook from time to time.

"It's been a very, very valuable resource," said Abby. "One of the modules was all about pivoting. I think it was a really great insight, that you have this great business idea, but don't be afraid to totally change it and pivot into something new."

She said there were two major pivots for the company since she started testing the app with consumers. She found quickly that she wanted to build her own Gluestick library of content and realized her key consumer wasn’t mothers, but kids who wanted to direct their own crafting projects.

Now that she has a new strategic vision, she’s looking for partners and more crafty consumers to use the app, which launched in app stores in July of 2025. She said she’s excited about the year ahead too, noting that she was accepted to a renown Silicon Valley technology accelerator and has a clear vision for what comes next.

Abby said CEO Start and Elevate Hennepin were instrumental in pushing her business forward and told many other founders to take advantage of the initiative. 

"Absolutely get involved with Elevate Hennepin. There are very few places that I have heard about in the entire country that have the level of support for small businesses that we do in Hennepin County," said Abby.