Fledge Outdoors won the Education & Training Division of the 2026 MN Cup, Minnesota's largest statewide startup competition. It is a big step toward making safe, non-firing training a standard part of how young hunters learn to handle a shotgun before they ever fire a real one.
On September 14, I presented the Junior Hunter Gun at the MN Cup Grand Finale at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis. Getting to share what we are building with the judges, mentors, and the Minnesota startup community was a highlight of the year.
The momentum has continued. Fledge Outdoors was also named a Top 10 Finalist at the Twin Cities Startup World Cup Regional, part of Twin Cities Startup Week, and I was profiled by St. Cloud LIVE's Biz Buzz series.
The Junior Hunter Gun prototype is in development with our engineering team, and we are targeting a working MVP in October. Thank you to MN Cup, our mentors, and everyone who has helped along the way. If you coach, teach, or hunt with young people and want to help shape what we build, join the waitlist or reach out.