How I built Heyven to help people discover Minnesota businesses and build the relationships that help them grow.
If you live in Minnesota and love supporting local businesses, I created a website you should bookmark!
My name is Marcus Styles, and I built Heyven as a simple way to help people find the businesses that exist right in their own neighborhood. Today it functions as a free-to-browse online directory featuring creators, businesses, and nonprofits based in Minnesota. But when the idea first formed, I was not trying to build a platform. I was trying to solve a problem I kept seeing again and again.
People were always asking around for recommendations. Who knows a good painter? Do you know a photographer? Does anyone have a recommendation for a marketing consultant? The answers usually came from word of mouth, which meant incredible businesses stayed hidden unless someone happened to mention them.
I started wondering what would happen if discovering local businesses was easier. What if instead of asking around, you could simply open a website and explore the talent that already existed in your community?
That question became Heyven.
I officially launched the platform in June of 2023.
At the beginning it was simple. A growing directory where people could browse Minnesota businesses and learn about the work they were doing. But as the platform started gaining attention, something interesting began to happen.
People were not just visiting the site to find services.
They were using it as a way to meet each other.
That is when I realized Heyven was becoming something bigger than a directory.
In 2024 the platform began growing quickly. Thousands of people started visiting the site and exploring business profiles, and the community of entrepreneurs connected to Heyven continued to expand.
I also started hosting networking gatherings designed differently from traditional events. Instead of stiff introductions and business card exchanges, I created environments where people could simply talk, learn about each other's work, and build relationships naturally.
Those gatherings taught me something important.
Businesses do not grow in isolation.
They grow when the right people meet at the right time.
One introduction I made in 2025 reminded me exactly why this work matters.
I had met Brianna first. She is the co founder of BrandRaise, a consultancy that helps nonprofits with branding, communications, and fundraising strategy. We talked about the work she was building and stayed in touch.
About a month later I met Dylan.
He runs Dept.1 Solutions, a consultancy focused on the operational side of nonprofit work. His work focuses on systems, donor management, and the infrastructure that helps organizations grow.
As I listened to both of them talk about their work, something clicked.
They needed each other.
So I made the introduction.
When Brianna and Dylan met, the partnership formed almost immediately. Instead of working separately, they began supporting a nonprofit client together. One focused on strategy, the other focused on operations. The result was a stronger, more complete support system for the organization they were serving.
That one introduction created a partnership that continues generating impact today.
Moments like that are exactly why I built Heyven.
Over the past few years Heyven has grown into something I could not have predicted when I first launched it. Tens of thousands of people have visited the site to explore local businesses, and thousands of interactions have taken place between people discovering services, reaching out to entrepreneurs, and forming new relationships.
More importantly, the community around Heyven continues to expand as people realize the power of connection.
Building Heyven has not always been easy. Growth comes with challenges, and building something meaningful takes time. But every time I see a business gain visibility, every time someone finds the service they were searching for, and every time an introduction leads to a new partnership, I am reminded why this work matters.
Heyven was never meant to be just a website.
It was meant to be a neighborhood.
A place where creators, businesses, and nonprofits across Minnesota can discover each other, share resources, and build relationships that create opportunity.
Because sometimes all it takes is the right introduction at the right time.
And that is exactly what Heyven was built to do.
