CEO Start

Validate your business idea and get started in CEO Start

CEO Start is an 11-week group-learning opportunity that prepares aspiring and existing entrepreneurs with insights, relationships, and tools to turn their ideas into viable businesses.

Peer groups of 10 to 15 entrepreneurs will work through the nationally recognized curriculum focused on testing ideas and identifying key assumptions through interviews, peer-to-peer conversation, research, and facilitated discussions on key foundational elements. Professional pitch coaches will also guide participants as they prepare for a final presentation.

Participants who complete the program will walk away with a solid foundation of business skills, access to resources, a community of support, an understanding of their next steps, and the confidence to move forward with their idea.

Hennepin County covers the full cost of participation for businesses, a $3,000 value. There is no cost to entrepreneurs to participate, other than your time.

CEO Start utilizes the CO.STARTERS curriculum, and is powered by investment from Hennepin County with support and in-kind contributions from the cities of Brooklyn Park and Bloomington. 

Hennepin County and the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HCHRA) invest in CEO Start as part of our strategic work to drive inclusive economic growth.

A framework for validating business ideas
Through this hands-on workshop, entrepreneurs will turn their passion into a tested concept ready to launch.

In this training, a group of entrepreneurs will:

• Build community and peer-to-peer relationships
• Gain business knowledge and learn to keep it simple
• Critically examine their idea through real-time, in-person collaboration and expert feedback
• Follow an intensive path to develop and fine-tune their idea using the CO.STARTERS lean business model canvas

Participants will leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable venture, articulate their models, and repeat the process with their next great idea.

To be a part of CEO Start, participants must be willing and able to commit one evening in person and two to five hours of independent work outside of course time each week. Most sessions are in person. 

Who is eligibility?

To qualify for CEO Start, participants must:

• Be 18 or older  
• A resident of Hennepin County or have a business in Hennepin County
• Have an idea or an existing business in an early stage
• Be willing to question, shape and fine-tune that idea
• Be willing to talk about the idea with others
• Have capacity to attend all classes and collaborate
• Existing businesses that apply must make under 100,000 in revenue

Non-profit and franchise organizations are not currently eligible. 

About the facilitation team
CEO Start utilizes the nationally recognized CO.STARTERS curriculum, a tool from the Finsync Entrepreneur Ecosystem. All facilitators are local business experts trained to deliver the CO.STARTERS curriculum and connect participants to local resources.

National program results

• 26,781 entrepreneurs served
• 1,829 leaders trained
• 93.6% of participants continue working on their venture after one year
• 63.1% have generated a profit

Based on 2023 data from CO.STARTERS

Apply

The next session of CEO Start will take place in early 2026. Complete this form to express your interest in the opportunity. 

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