2024 MN Cup Participant Stats
Monday, May 20, 2024
This was a record-smashing year of applications, with continued growth in the diversity of our applicants. 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.
At a high level here are some summary stats on who participated in MN Cup’s application process this year:
- 3178 Minnesotans participated in the application process this year - exceeding our previous application record by 10%
- 1008 applications were submitted from 68 of Minnesota’s 87 counties
- 69% of submitted applications came from the 7-county metro, 31% from Greater Minnesota
- Participating teams include co-founders with the following gender identities:
- 54% Male
- 43% Female
- 3% Non-binary, third gender or prefer to self-describe
- We’ve continued efforts to increase awareness within Minnesota’s BIPOC communities this year - 39% of applicants identify as non-white
- Age ranged from 8 to 88. The average age of applicants this year was 40.
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 | 19% |
| East Asian or Asian American | 6% |
| 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 | 61% |
| Other | 4% |
| South Asian or Indian American | 4% |
| Gender | % of Reported Total |
|---|---|
| Female | 43% |
| Male | 55% |
| Non-binary / Third Gender | 1% |
| Prefer to self-describe | 1% |
| Prefer not to answer | 0% |
| Other | % of Reported Total |
|---|---|
| Active Duty/ Military Veteran | 4% |
| Immigrant | 15% |
| Child of Immigrant | 11% |
| LGBTQIA+ | 8% |
| Person with a disability | 8% |
| Age | % of Reported Total |
|---|---|
| 0-17 yrs | 3% |
| 18-24 yrs | 10% |
| 25-64 yrs | 83% |
| 65+ years | 4% |