James J. Hill Center supports Minnesota Entrepreneurs

Monday, May 11, 2015

JJ Hill

MN Cup would like to introduce the James J. Hill Center, a great resource for entrepreneurs providing educational programs, event space, and expert mentorship. The Center hosts 1 Million Cups in St. Paul every Wednesday, 9 AM – 10 AM. If you are a startup who would like to practice pitching, email Lee George at LGeorge@JJHill.org. They also organize Business at The Hill Speaker Series covering a variety of topics every Tuesday starting at 11:30 AM.

Visit www.JJHill.org to see a list of upcoming events and get more information on what The Hill offers.

What is the James J Hill Center?
The James J. Hill Center, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is an independent, non-profit business research organization founded in 1921. The organization began using a new name, James J. Hill Center, in 2013 to envelop the diverse ways the organization supports entrepreneurs and small business owners.

James J. Hill’s most significant gift to the city of Saint Paul, the Reference Library. As early as 1887, Hill had begun consideration of a library, corresponding with Edward Duffield Neill at Saint Paul’s Macalester College. The James J. Hill Library officially opened with great fanfare on December 20, 1921, one month after Mary’s death.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the computer revolution made possible the accumulation and dissemination of detailed business and economic information undreamed of in James J. Hill’s day. Strange as these new instruments might have seemed to him, they made feasible at last Hill’s great desire to have only the most current and accurate knowledge available on demand at the institution that bears his name. The Hill Center for Ethical Business Leadership also assisted in fulfilling the Library’s mission by helping businesses prosper through a strategic commitment to ethics and social responsibility. Because of the growth of programs and services over the years the James J. Hill Reference Library officially became the James J. Hill Center in 2013.

JJ Hill

Where you are today? What is your vision?
Today the James J. Hill Center annually hosts over 160 business and entrepreneurial focused programs as well as providing access to business research databases. The Hill is committed to providing support through ongoing education and programming for Minnesota’s business and entrepreneurial community. The Hill’s vision is to be a place entrepreneurs and mature businesses alike can call home.

How do you help support the MN entrepreneurial community?
The James J. Hill Center supports the Minnesota entrepreneurial community in three ways:

  1. Entrepreneurs can continue to educate themselves through our current programs and services
  • 1 Million Cups St. Paul is a weekly pitch program that provides young startups with an opportunity to present their venture to a community of experts and other entrepreneurs.
  • Business at The Hill is a weekly educational series that covers topics from social media strategy to how to exit your business.
  • Business research databases provide new and mature businesses with access to demographic research, industry trends, business plan development, investment information and much more.
  1. Entrepreneurs and professionals can work in our space.
  • Libraries have been called the original co-working spaces. The Hill is open Monday through Thursday, 10 AM – 5 PM. The Hill is a working library, not a whispering library. Bring in your laptop, meet with a business partner or take that business call. Working in one of St. Paul’s architectural treasures is sure to be good for your creativity.
  1. The Hill is constantly communicating and working with other entities in our community to build a broad base network of resources and support. By building relationships, The Hill is able to host many more educational programs for our entrepreneurial community than we would be able to provide by ourselves.

Are there specific types of entrepreneurs you support?
The Hill has resources that benefit a wide range of entrepreneurs. Mobile app developers, textile product manufacturers and plumbers are all types of entrepreneurs who have used one or more resources at The Hill.