Minokaw Technologies Joins the Momentum Family
By Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures
In late January 2022, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV) entered into an agreement with Pennsylvania company, Momentum ECM, LLC., to purchase Minokaw VAR Services, LLC. (Minokaw Technologies).
Minokaw Technologies is a technology company that specializes in the sale, support, and development of enterprise content management software, specifically Laserfiche. Minokaw Technologies was launched by MLCV in 2015 under the leadership of Ned Weizenegger and Lance Dutcher, who previously worked in the information systems department at Grand Casino Mille Lacs. The necessity of Minokaw Technologies came from continuous requests by Laserfiche for Ned and Lance to consult with other tribes and install and support the Laserfiche software.
Since 2015, Minokaw Technologies has added over 30 clients from states across the country, including Alaska, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington, and New York to name a few. Their clients range from tribal governments and casinos to non-tribal cities and health care systems. The pandemic created a sense of urgency for many tribes and governmental organizations to streamline their systems, automate, and move into the digital era. Due to this rapid increase in demand, Minokaw Technologies was faced with an interesting problem.
“We had to figure out how to grow the business the right way,” says Dustin Goslin, vice president of business and economic development for MLCV and former chief executive officer for Minokaw Technologies. “As with most startup ventures, Minokaw had some volatility during its initial years. We worked to identify growth opportunities, and as a result determined we were at a pivotal moment in the business lifecycle to sell to Momentum.” Goslin said it was the single best path to provide Minokaw with the necessary resources to continue to scale the business as it enters its next phase of growth.
Throughout the past year, MLCV has been working on a new strategic plan that includes three pillars of work, including building community and the tribal economy, building opportunity and leadership capacity, and building wealth and financial capacity. The sale of Minokaw Technologies represents a huge step forward in the execution of the plan. “The private equity industry has long embraced the idea of investing capital [money] strategically in business ventures, improving the profitability, then selling that business for a gain,” says Joseph Nayquonabe, CEO of MLCV. “We are excited to bring this type of thought process to the Mille Lacs Band, and greater Indian Country, as a means to deliver growth.”
The sale closes the Minokaw Technologies chapter for MLCV and opens the door to other new opportunities. “We want to take all the great things we’ve learned and mastered through launching this small business and do the same in other places where the ceiling is higher and our competitive advantage is greater,” said Nayquonabe.
As a part of the sale, Associates of Minokaw Technologies have moved to the Momentum family and now have access to Momentum’s expansive expertise and support operations.
“Our people are one of our most important assets,” Goslin said. "Throughout this process, we wanted to make sure the Minokaw team was taken care of and landed in a good spot. The success story of Minokaw is not just about the economics; rather, it is more about how our MLCV culture energized talented people, like Ned and Lance, to take calculated risks on good ideas.”
Please visit https://momentumecm.com/ or contact Dustin Goslin at dgoslin@mlcv.com for any questions or comments.
