Minnesota Emerging Software Advisory (MESA) is a mentoring organization comprised of C-level software and information technology veterans with strong local business roots. We have come together to help spark a movement to help make Minnesota’s software economy rank among the most vibrant and respected in the nation. We believe the key to rekindling Minnesota’s once-shining tech star lies in a more basic form of social networking – mentoring, collaboration and connections. Over the last 50 years Minnesota has played a role in shaping the information technology industry. From the dawn of the computer age to today’s mobile Internet revolution, Minnesota tech companies have provided the products and technology that has powered progress in the realms of computing, communications and collaboration. Not so long ago, Minnesota’s information technology industry was admired with the same reverence bestowed on the Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin today. But are our best days behind us? Despite some of our more recent success stories – such as Lawson, Digital River, Retek, Stellent and Compellent, Minnesota’s computer tech star has dimmed over the last decade. While innovation remains one of the State’s bedrock virtues, innovation alone is not enough to ensure we remain an industry beacon in a rapidly changing and competitive global landscape. Our goal is to restore Minnesota's software economy to national prominence.