The Sioux Falls startup community is going to have itself a day (it's March 6)

Five years after Sioux Falls entrepreneurs gathered at Queen City Bakery to swap stories, the business landscape has changed for start-ups.

When local small business owners gather to celebrate the fifth anniversary of 1 Million Cups next month, Mayor Paul TenHaken is expected to declare March 6 as “Entrepreneurship Day in Sioux Falls.”

Matt Paulson, founder of MarketBeat, announced the declaration in a blog post Thursday, along with plans to commemorate 1 Million Cups hitting the five-year mark.

Paulson attended the first week of 1 Million Cups and has since become a key player in the city’s community of start-up creators.

“The sense of community among entrepreneurs is stronger than ever, but it’s not centralized around one organization or event,” Paulson said in an email.

The 1 Million Cups anniversary celebration is set to begin 9 a.m. March 6 at the Museum of Visual Materials, and will include remarks from TenHaken.

Paulson and others with 1 Million Cups have worked to improve the opportunities for small business owners in Sioux Falls. Since it came on the scene in 2014, other events have followed in its footsteps, Paulson said.

There are more groups and resources available to Sioux Falls entrepreneurs, along with five local angel investment funds willing to provide start-ups with capital, Paulson said.

“We’ve never tried to be the center of the startup community in Sioux Falls,” Paulson said of 1 Million Cups. “But part of a group of organizations, people and events working to grow the startup ecosystem in Sioux Falls.”