By All Means

Liz Giorgi founded Mighteor, one of the first video production companies focused on creating content for the Internet. With clients including Facebook and the NFL, Mighteor has helped businesses achieve more than 500 million organic views and receive international attention. Now, the Emmy award winning Giorgi is launching a second business called Soona—a same-day photo and video production studio. “It came from years of listening to our customers—whether it’s Facebook or a small liquor store, they all had this problem: they can’t scale content affordably or quickly…We took every idea we had about production turned it on its head and said it’s not impossible to do this in a day.” Described as the Kinko's of content, Soona recently opened in Denver and Minneapolis. Giorgi wants to take it global. “We can completely change the game for how content is made; make it accessible to any brand at any time.” But Giorgi didn’t intend to be an entrepreneur. When she couldn’t find a newsroom job after graduating from journalism school in 2007, she landed a freelance gig with Apartment Therapy and started learning digital content creation. She spent two years at an agency managing web strategy for clients and also helped the University of Minnesota take video to YouTube. Her combined experiences in storytelling, social media and client work led to the creation of Mighteor in 2013. The company now has 15 employees and offices in Minneapolis and Denver. Giorgi talks about her evolution from filmmaker to business leader and how she stepped away, two years in, to learn the difference between a P&L and a balance sheet. She also talks about influencers and the power of social media marketing. “If a brand thinks we have these social channels just to sell, they’re missing the greater opportunity, which is to build trust with an audience and develop a community around your organization.” Having recently completed the Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program, Giorgi reveals the advice that resonated most as she seeks investors for Soona. “You can never take too long to ensure that someone’s money is the right money for your business,” Tory Burch told Giorgi. After our conversation with Giorgi, we go Back to the Classroom with University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business entrepreneurship professor John McVea and talk about the misconception that business founders are either creative or practical. “A lot of inspiration for creativity comes from constraints,” McVea says. On the flip side, he says, “It’s perfectly possible for people with business training to become part of the creative process.”

How do you define success when your family names are Dayton and Rockefeller? Andrew Dayton is the son of former Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and philanthropist Alida Rockefeller Messinger, daughter of John D. Rockefeller III. His grandfather, Bruce Dayton, was CEO of Dayton Hudson Corp. and a devoted trustee of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts who was once described in the New York Times as the “Dean of American corporate arts philanthropy.” “My grandfather had a lot of sayings…’the only thing worse than a bum is a rich bum. It wasn’t that you’re expected to follow in retail or philanthropy or politics, but you’ve got to contribute something. You have a responsibility to pay it forward,” Andrew says. Andrew and his brother Eric Dayton are co-founders and co-owners of North Corp., the parent company to the Bachelor Farmer restaurant and cafe, Marvel Bar, and retail store Askov Finlayson, all located in the North Loop of Minneapolis. Andrew’s passion for public policy led him to serve as the Deputy Legislative Director to former San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee. But his concern about growing inequities in Minnesota brought him home. “Minnesota is the most generous state in country in terms of dollars and volunteer hours, but we’re dead last when it comes to metrics around poverty. The percentage of people living in poverty has risen by 60 percent in the last 20 years…how can we be so generous and not see the results?” Andrew recently launched Constellation Fund, a grant making organization inspired by New York’s Robin Hood that uses data, research, and predictive analytics to identify, fund, and partner with the people and organizations making the biggest demonstrable impacts in the fight against poverty in the Twin Cities. On this episode of By All Means, Andrew explains why he created Constellation Fund and how he will evaluate its effectiveness. After our conversation, we talk to Katherina Pattit, associate professor of ethics and business law at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, about how businesses can apply an investor’s eye to philanthropic initiatives.

Jacquie Berglund is co-founder and CEO of Finnegans Brew Co., the first beer company in the world to donate 100 percent of profits to charity. Finnegans turns beer into food by purchasing produce from local farmers and donating it to food banks in every state where the beer is sold. In 2018, Finnegans opened its own brewery and tap room in downtown Minneapolis and launched the new Finnovation Lab for co-working and incubating socially minded startups. “I think I’m hardwired this way,” Berglund says. “I always wanted to make a difference.” On this episode of By All Means, Berglund talks about how she came up with the idea to launch a beer company that “does well and does good,” and how she structured her for-profit company to benefit Finnegans' non-profit arm. She addresses the challenges of growing a benefit corporation, and how, with guidance from Newman’s Own Foundation, she changed her model to bring on investors and fund expansion. “If you want to go dood, you’ve got to figure out how to fund it.” Berglund offers advice for the next generation of social entrepreneurs. After our conversation with Berglund, we go Back to the Classroom with University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship Associate Dean Laura Dunham who offers insight on adding a philanthropic element to your business. Says Dunham, “Entrepreneurship is about solving problems that matter to you, and creating value for others.”

Erin Newkirk is an award-winning innovator, tech entrepreneur, brand builder, and champion of problem solvers. After working her way up the ranks to senior marketing manager at General Mills, she left to start Red Stamp, a modern correspondence company, which she built into a mobile app that made it possible to send personalized cards and invitations on your phone with a couple of clicks. With 10 million cards sent, Red Stamp was acquired in 2013 by Taylor Corp., one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S. Newkirk continued on as CEO of Red Stamp within Taylor until 2016 when she left and quickly became chief marketing officer of one of the hottest Minneapolis-based insurance ventures, Bright Health, which made Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups list for 2017. Then last year, she joined another Twin Cities startup, this time in the food industry. Newkirk is now chief marketing officer of Local Crate, a meal kit company on a mission to source locally, from farm to chef to kitchen. How does she continue to leap between industries? “My North Star, what guides me: I’m all about doing good with good people. Where there’s a problem to be solved, you should go there.” That’s the approach she brings to her newest project, Satya, an initiative she says is based on “helping founders and leaders succeed through speaking their truth.” After our conversation with Newkirk, we go Back to the Classroom with University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business Professor David Deeds, the Schulze Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, who talks about capitalizing on an entrepreneurial mindset.

His story has become legendary at the University of St. Thomas—and beyond. Zachary Quinn was a sophomore when he enrolled in an entrepreneurship class. There, he met Brian Keller, and together, they turned an assignment to create a business into Love Your Melon, the $40 million hat company that donates half its profits to fighting pediatric cancer. “We wanted to start something that would make a difference,” Quinn says. On this episode of By All Means, he outlines the key moments and decisions that set Love Your Melon up for success, including its college ambassador program, a hockey bus tour that garnered national press, and brand building through social media. Quinn talks about Love Your Melon’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing and its first brick and mortar store, which the company is using for special events designed to tell the brand story and build engagement. What’s next? “I never look more than six months out,” Quinn says. But he does have “more crazy stuff” in the works, including a concert series and e-gaming competition. After our conversation with Quinn, we go Back to the Classroom with his entrepreneurship professor at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business Jay Ebben. “We really push students to build their career or a business around their own values, their own sense of purpose and mission,” Ebben says. He describes what it was like to have the Love Your Melon founders in class, and why he gave them an A- for the semester—a grading decision he’s never quite been able to live down.

Megan Tamte was a new mom who wanted help putting together fashionable outfits. A bad experience at a northern California boutique sparked the idea for Evereve, which is now a national women's specialty retail chain with 85 stores, a fast-growing e-commerce business and a subscription service called Trendsend. “I left the store crying," Tamte recalls of that fateful shopping experience more than 20 years ago. "I remember thinking, someone should create a retail concept that helped women like me who wanted help finding items that would fit their body type. I wanted clothing that was modern and versatile…and I wanted connection.” Five years later, in 2004, Megan and her husband Mike opened their first store in Edina, Minn., called Hot Mama. Their unique proposition: trendy fashion, warm service and a kid-friendly environment with toys in the fitting rooms so moms could take a moment for themselves. That boutique grew into Evereve, which now generates $120 million in annual revenue. In a wide-ranging conversation, the Tamtes explain how a detailed business plan set them up for success. They reveal why they changed their company name right as the brand was taking off. They talk about balancing parenthood and running a business together, about leading a brand that has grown far beyond their dreams, and about the future of retail. After the conversation with the Tamtes, we go Back to the Classroom with University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business digital marketing professor Gino Giovannelli, who shares tips on using social media to your brand’s advantage, as Evereve has done. And, from his own personal experience, Giovannelli highlights pros and cons of going into business with a spouse.

John Puckett and his wife Kim had a case of “the Mondays” that struck almost as soon as they landed corporate jobs after business school. “Life is too short to spend Sunday night dreading going in to work on Monday,” John says. “We felt like life is … too precious to not really feel connected to your work and passionate about what you’re doing.” That conviction led to the creation of Caribou Coffee, now the No. 2 coffee chain in the U.S. It's No. 1 in Minnesota—the one market Starbucks doesn’t dominate—and that’s because of several strategic decisions made by the Pucketts. They grew the chain to more than 100 stores before selling in 2000. A year later, John became co-owner of a small but beloved St. Paul restaurant called Punch Pizza. He’s spent nearly 20 years growing Punch slowly, locally and without any outside investors. Puckett explains why he was determined to build a different sort of company his second time around. Following our conversation with Puckett, we go Back to the Classroom with University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business Professor David Deeds, the Schulze Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, who explains the pros and cons of venture capital and why slow growth is under appreciated in business today.

What does it take to build a business? Change an industry? Lead with purpose? Twin Cities Business Editor-in-Chief Allison Kaplan sits down with entrepreneurs and leaders who make business work in Minnesota—and beyond. Learn how they got started and gain insights to apply to your own ventures. By All Means launches in April and will be available on iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play Music, Soundcloud, and at tcbmag.com.