2022 MN Cup Participant Stats
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
This was a record-smashing year of applications, with our most diverse applicant pool on record. We’ve been tracking detailed demographic information on our applicants since 2013, and are proud of the progress we’ve made in getting our applicant pool to more accurately reflect the diversity of Minnesota entrepreneurs. If you have ideas for ways we can make MN Cup more accessible, we’d love to hear from you - reach us via email at hellomncup@umn.edu
At a high level here are some summary stats on who participated in MN Cup’s application process this year:
- 2,595 Minnesotans participated in the application process this year - a massive growth year that exceeds our previous record by 32%
- 849 applications were submitted from 65 of Minnesota’s 87 counties
- 74% of submitted applications came from the 7-county metro, 26% from Greater Minnesota
- This year we have our highest-ever percentage of women and nonbinary participants. Participating teams include co-founders with the following gender identities:
- 51% Male
- 48% Female
- 1% Non-binary, third gender or prefer to self-describe
- This season also includes the most racially-diverse applicant pool in our history - 40% identify as non-white
- We also have the broadest age range among applicants we’ve ever recorded - from 10 to 94. The average age of applicants this year was 39.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of our participant demographics* for this season:
*Percentages reflect those that filled out the full demographic information. Some folks that started an application but did not finish or submit did not fully report this information.
Identifying Ethnic/ Gender/ Other Groups
| Ethnicity | % of Reported Total |
|---|---|
| Black or African American | 24% |
| East Asian or Asian American | 5% |
| Latino or Hispanic American | 4% |
| Middle Eastern or Arab American | 1% |
| Native American or Alaskan Native | 1% |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0% |
| Non-Hispanic White | 60% |
| Other | 3% |
| South Asian or Indian American | 2% |
| Gender | % of Reported Total |
|---|---|
| Female | 48% |
| Male | 51% |
| Non-binary / Third Gender | 0.4% |
| Prefer not self-describe | 0.4% |
| Prefer not to answer | 0.4% |
| Other | % of Reported Total |
|---|---|
| Active Duty/ Military Veteran | 3% |
| Immigrant | 10% |
| Child of Immigrant | 5% |
| LGBTQIA+ | 4% |
| Person with a disability | 5% |
| Age | % of Reported Total |
|---|---|
| 0-17 yrs | 3% |
| 18-24 yrs | 8% |
| 25-64 yrs | 84% |
| 65+ years | 4% |