Broshar to Receive UMN Entrepreneur of Year Award

Ryan Broshar will receive the University of Minnesota’s 2026 Entrepreneur of the Year at this year’s Founders Day celebration on May 13.  The annual award recognizes one University alumnus who is an active leader in the entrepreneurial community, has founded and continues to run an enduring business, has given back to the University community and has served as a role model for students and fellow alumni.  Past winners include Robert Stephens (Geek Squad), Marcia Page (Varde Partners) and Charlie Youakim (Sezzle).

“Ryan has been a phenomenal leader in the Twin Cities’ entrepreneurial ecosystem — no one has contributed more for this community over the past 15 years,” noted John Stavig, managing director of the Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. “He filled the void for seed stage capital, brought accelerator programs to Minnesota and rallied the community to come together for Twin Cities Startup Week.”

Ryan began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of seven, selling sweet corn door-to-door in his hometown in Iowa.  He graduated from Minnesota Carlson in 2006 where he served as CEO for the U-Guide in the inaugural Entrepreneurship in Action course.  In this experiential course, his publishing company generated more than $70,000 in revenue, won the student division of MN Cup and was acquired in 2008.  Along with his co-founders, Ryan established a scholarship endowment for incoming freshmen students interested in entrepreneurship. 

“Ryan was enrolled in the first year of our experiential class alongside an amazing group of students who have gone on to great success and the creation of dozens of successful startup companies,” commented Stavig.  “He and his classmates demonstrated the tremendous potential from empowering student entrepreneurs and giving them the confidence to pursue their ideas.” 

Ryan earned his MBA at the University of Colorado in 2010, where he connected with the founders of Techstars and the Foundry Group — who continue to be partners and investors in his funds. 

When Ryan returned to Minnesota in 2012, he saw a startup community with potential but missing key infrastructure. He co-founded Beta.MN, a non-profit accelerator connecting founders with investors and talent, and co-founded Twin Cities Startup Week, the region's signature annual startup event. He brought Techstars to the Twin Cities, serving as Managing Director of the Techstars Retail Accelerator from 2015-2019. He remains active as a mentor and judge with Techstars, Gener8tor, MN Cup and Startup Weekend, and is a frequent speaker at Minnesota Carlson. 

In 2013, Ryan founded the predecessor to Matchstick Ventures with a simple belief: the best founders don't only live in Silicon Valley. He became one of the region's most active seed and pre-seed investors, writing first checks for companies like Branch, Soona, Inspectorio, Buncha and Reema Health. Over 13 years and 130 investments across the Midwest and Rocky Mountain areas, Matchstick has helped prove that thesis. The firm is currently raising its 4th fund. 

"I'm honored to receive this award,” noted Broshar. “The Twin Cities entrepreneurial ecosystem has come so far in the past 15 years, and I'm proud to have played a small role in that. The University gave me my foundation, and I'm excited to keep investing in the next generation of founders who will define what comes next."