· Updated · Venture Capital Tracker · investment-strategies · 3 min read
Minneapolis–St. Paul Startups and VC Firms in 2026: SPS Commerce, Matchstick, Twin Cities Software
Twin Cities venture map in 2026 — SPS Commerce, Dayforce, Jamf, Gravie, plus Matchstick Ventures, Great North, and Bread & Butter Ventures.
Minneapolis–St. Paul is a public software and health-benefits metro — SPS Commerce, Dayforce, and Jamf as public anchors, Gravie in alternative benefits — with Matchstick, Great North, and Bread & Butter as the local early-stage stack.
This page maps the companies and investors we profile.
City hub: /vc/minneapolis-st-paul · All cities: /cities · Fund directory: /directory
What Minneapolis–St. Paul is (and is not)
| Minneapolis–St. Paul is… | Minneapolis–St. Paul is not… |
|---|---|
| Home to public Twin Cities SaaS (SPSC, Dayforce, JAMF) + Gravie | A coastal multi-stage HQ substitute |
| Local seed via Matchstick, Great North, Bread & Butter | Empty coverage — entities are real |
| Upper Midwest enterprise buyer density | Chicago’s multi-stage Midwest HQ wall |
Startups we cover in Minneapolis–St. Paul
| Company | What they do | Stage / status | Notable capital | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPS Commerce | Cloud EDI and supply-chain network for retailers and suppliers. | Public | Minneapolis HQ — NASDAQ:SPSC | /startup/sps-commerce |
| Dayforce | HCM / payroll platform (formerly Ceridian Dayforce) for workforce management. | Public | Minneapolis HCM — Dayforce (ex-Ceridian) | /startup/dayforce |
| Jamf | Apple enterprise device management (Apple MDM) platform. | Public | Minneapolis HQ — NASDAQ:JAMF | /startup/jamf |
| Gravie | Health benefits platform offering alternative coverage models including healthtech ICHRA/direct-path solutions. | Growth | Minneapolis health benefits platform | /startup/gravie |
Why these names matter
SPS Commerce — Minneapolis public supply-chain SaaS (NASDAQ: SPSC) — retail EDI network density that defines Twin Cities B2B software, not just medical devices.
Dayforce — Minneapolis HCM public company — Dayforce brand after Ceridian rebrand; Twin Cities enterprise software scale in HR/payroll.
Jamf — Minneapolis Apple-ecosystem SaaS public company — Jamf Pro/Connect define Twin Cities device-management software density.
Gravie — Minneapolis health-benefits innovator — alternative to traditional group insurance for employers, a Twin Cities healthtech scale story.
Local investors (Minneapolis–St. Paul HQ or program)
| Firm | Role | Stages | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matchstick Ventures | MSP pre-seed/seed firm | Pre-Seed, Seed | /fund/matchstick-ventures |
| Great North Ventures | Minnesota early-stage tech across Upper Midwest | Seed, Series A | /fund/great-north-ventures |
| Bread & Butter Ventures | Minneapolis food/ag/tech early-stage | Pre-Seed, Seed | /fund/bread-and-butter-ventures |
How to read this: Matchstick and Great North are practical first institutional paths. Bread & Butter skews food/ag tech. Public names (SPS, Dayforce, Jamf) are comps and talent magnets — not seed-stage raise peers.
National capital Minneapolis–St. Paul founders still need
Local funds rarely replace a coastal or specialist Series A. Pitch these directory firms by thesis, not geography:
| Firm | Why founders care | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Define Ventures | Digital health (Gravie-class wedges) | /fund/define-ventures |
| Bessemer Venture Partners | Cloud/enterprise growth | /fund/bessemer-venture-partners |
| Insight Partners | Growth software scale-ups | /fund/insight-partners |
| General Catalyst | Multi-stage health + enterprise | /fund/general-catalyst |
| Andreessen Horowitz | Multi-stage when metrics clear | /fund/andreessen-horowitz |
Twin Cities seed vs national growth — what differs
| Matchstick / Great North / B&B | National Series A+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Pre-seed/seed, Minnesota HQ, Upper Midwest GTM | Growth rounds beyond regional ownership |
| Check shape | Local seed funds | Insight / Bessemer–class growth |
| Underwrite | MSP buyers + team | National category leadership |
| Mistake | Treating SPS Commerce as a seed-stage peer | Ignoring Matchstick when you have true MSP HQ |
Worked example (illustrative)
Setup: A Twin Cities B2B SaaS startup raises a Matchstick seed and lands two Minnesota Fortune or retail logos.
Move: At ~$3M ARR they raise a national growth round (Insight / Bessemer class).
Punch: MSP enterprise density proved GTM; national growth capital priced the round — SPS/Jamf are the public comps.
When Minneapolis–St. Paul is the wrong capital market
- You treat Dayforce/Jamf/SPS as private seed peers.
- You need Chicago multi-stage density only — also open Midwest fund maps.
- You invent Twin Cities GP pages beyond the three we list.
- You ignore Minnesota HQ when pitching Matchstick/Great North.
How to use this page
- Read SPS Commerce, Dayforce, Jamf, Gravie.
- Local: Matchstick, Great North, Bread & Butter.
- Live hub: /vc/minneapolis-st-paul.
- Midwest context: Chicago Midwest VC firms 2026.
Related reading
Sources
- Startup profiles: sps-commerce, dayforce, jamf, gravie
- Fund profiles: matchstick-ventures, great-north-ventures, bread-and-butter-ventures
- minneapolis
- twin-cities
- venture-capital
- +3 more
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Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.
