It's geek to me

Minneapolis StarTribunue - September 10, 2007
by Janet Moore, David Phelps

Robert Stephens, founder of the internationally known Geek Squad, was honored last week by his sort-of alma mater. The University of Minnesota named Stephens its "Entrepreneur of the Year."

Stephens never graduated from the university. After three years as a student, he left in 1994 to start his computer assistance company. The rest, as they say, is history. In 2002, the Geek Squad was sold to Richfield-based Best Buy. Today, it consists of 12,000 agents installing and repairing computers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and China. Stephens carries the title of Chief Inspector for the Best Buy subsidiary.

At the same event where Stephens was honored, a startup company named Muve Inc. was awarded the $25,000 Minnesota Cup for having the "best breakthrough business idea."

Muve founders John Montague and Dr. James Levine plan to commercialize products to address obesity. One of their products involves a wearable device that tracks body movement and uses the data to calculate calories and energy burned.