Sustainable Community Development through Entrepreneurship, with Marcus Owens, NEON
Northside Economic Opportunity Network, better known as NEON, provides entrepreneurs in North Minneapolis with business development services. Marcus Owens is a product of North Minneapolis. He grew up there, graduating from North Community High School. He bought his first home there. Then his second. He says, “I always wanted to find a way to give […]
The Intersection of Food and Social Justice, with Michelle Horovitz, Appetite for Change
Appetite for Change uses food as a tool for building health, wealth, and social change in North Minneapolis. Michelle Horovitz grew up in the well-manicured suburbs of Minneapolis. If you ask her about the beginning of her journey to social change, she points to her Jewish upbringing. She says that her family made her aware […]
Clarity Comes While You Are Working, with Junita Flowers, Favorable Treats
Favorable Treats is a cookie company and social impact venture. Favorable Treats has a mission to let families across the country enjoy warm cookies in safe homes. They produce and sell pre-portioned cookie dough. A percentage of their profits goes towards dating and domestic violence awareness and prevention. The founder of Favorable Treats, Junita Flowers […]
Hacking the Diversity Gap, with Kristen Womack, Hack the Gap
Hack the Gap is a weekend event where women come together to build a project as a team. Kristen Womack is a bona fide techy. She worked as a product manager for some well-known tech companies. She runs Night Sky Web Co. And she has been involved in the local tech scene from Geekettes to […]
The World’s Largest Network of Late-Stage Social Entrepreneurs, with Katherine Milligan, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is the sister organization to the World Economic Forum. They manage the world’s largest network of late-stage social entrepreneurs. Katherine Milligan says, “I have always been deeply touched by the inequities of the world.” She spent time in the Peace Corp where she lived in a village in Benin […]
Start and Grow a Veteran-led Business, with Tim O’Neil, Bunker Labs, Minneapolis
Bunker Labs, Minneapolis is a non-profit built by military veteran entrepreneurs to empower other military veterans as leaders in innovation. This year, 200,000 military veterans will leave the service. Twenty-five percent of them want to start a business. In 2013, Tim O’Neil was one of those people. After 7 years as an officer in the […]
A Catalyst for Caring and Building Community, with Rose McGee, Sweet Potato Comfort Pies
Rose McGee reminds me of that quote from tennis legend Arthur Ashe. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Rose calls sweet potato pie “the sacred desert of black culture.” She grew up with her grandmother and great-grandmother in Jackson, Tennessee. As an adult, Rose decided that she wanted to […]
Experimenting within an Ecosystem, with Eric Sannerud, Mighty Axe Hops
Mighty Axe Hops is using experimentation to create an ecosystem within an ecosystem. Eric Sannerud approaches life like a scientific experiment. He tries small experiments, gathers feedback and then adjusts. For example, in 2013, he was graduating from the University of Minnesota. At the same time, he had several irons in the fire. He was […]
How to Find Meaningful Work, Cheryl Dorsey, Echoing Green
Echoing Green identifies and invests in transformational leaders. How we spend our time is how we spend our lives. Unless you’re independently wealthy, there’s a good chance that right now you’re getting ready for work, on your way to work, you’re already at work, or you’re thinking about work. If we’re going to spend this […]
Equipping Emerging Game Makers with Tools for Success, with Evva Kraikul, GLITCH
GLITCH promotes the exploration of digital games as a culture, career and creative practice. If I were to tell a joke about Evva Kraikul, it might go something like this “A game designer, a neuroscientist and an entrepreneur walk into a bar. She ordered herself a drink.” Evva brings her experience in game design and […]
