Pre-Conference Social

Date: Wednesday, September 16

Time: 4:30 to 6:00 PM

Location: Obbink Distilling, 11 Date St E, St Joseph, MN 56374

Sponsors: Greater St. Cloud, Old National Bank, Hansen & Company Woodworks

Description: Join us Wednesday from 4:30 to 6:00 PM for the Pre-Conference Social at Obbink Distilling.  Pre-registration is required. Obbink Distilling was founded by a former NASA engineer who set out to reimagine the way whiskey has been made for thousands of years, developing a proprietary method for speeding up the aging process from years to just days, a fitting backdrop for an evening built around entrepreneurial thinking.

Pre-Conference Session: Start.up Connect Pop-Up 

Date: Thursday, September 17th

Time: 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM (networking 8:00 to 8:30, speakers begin at 8:30)

Location: Gorecki Center at the College of Saint Benedict - Marin Family Conference Room (120A)

Speakers: Charlie Plum, Rigs Ramp (SJU student) and Ashley Mooneyham, Momease Solutions

Description: Start.up Connect's mission is to learn from, support, and inspire our MN startup community. This meetup is for entrepreneurs, innovators, creatives, and community members to come together and explore the startup journey with founders and starters. Through this Start.up Connect Pop-Up session, conference attendees get a firsthand look at Greater St. Cloud's approach to building an entrepreneur ecosystem in the region, and how a similar model could work in their own community.

Sponsored by ILT Studios

Opening Keynote: Outside the Box Thinkers

Date: Wednesday, September 17

Time: 10:00 am - 11:15 am

Location: Gorecki Center Room 204 at the College of Saint Benedict (37 College Ave. S, St. Joseph, MN 56374)

Panelists: Mary Bruno, BriAnne Hern, Shannon Wiger, Adam Scepaniak - Speaker Bios

Description: Come ready to learn about Saint Joseph's economic and social transformation from the leaders driving it forward. During this opening keynote panel, you will learn how new ideas from innovative thinkers are inspiring change in Saint Joseph. This session will help you learn about the story behind the amazing community that you'll be spending the next 24 hours exploring.

Entrepreneur Resources
Provides entrepreneurs and support organizations with practical tools for sustainable business growth, focusing on brand clarity, non-traditional financing, AI efficiencies, and founder well-being.

Future Builders

Examines how communities are preparing for their economic future by engaging youth, supporting student and Gen Z entrepreneurs, and implementing business legacy planning.

Place-Based Storytelling

Explores how communities can leverage local culture, unique events, and distinct small-town identities as foundational drivers for entrepreneurship and economic development.

Innovation and Creative Economy

Highlights community-centered business frameworks, including social entrepreneurship, employee ownership, and arts initiatives, that successfully blend profit with purpose.

BLOCK 1 BREAKOUT SESSIONS DESCRIPTIONS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH, 12:45 PM - 1:45 PM

Session 1A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title: Human-Centered Marketing for Entrepreneurial Communities

Location: The House Food and Tap

Speaker: Kimberly Windschitl, Creative Doer, Creative Apparatus

Description: This session explores marketing through the lens of human connection. Attendees will learn how the same principles that build strong relationships also build strong brands. Drawing on real-world examples from work with startups, early-stage organizations, and developed businesses, the presentation simplifies marketing into practical, human-centered concepts that can be applied to entrepreneurial ecosystems, startups, and organizations alike. Participants will leave with a refreshed perspective on marketing as an ongoing relationship with their audience.

1B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: The Business of Trolls, Tunes, & Community

Location: The LaPlayette Bar

Speaker: Amy Stearns, Project 412

Description: Learn about the successes, lessons, and story of how Detroit Lakes keeps unique events local while satisfying curious tourists. Discover how Project 412 is driving cultural and economic growth in the Detroit Lakes area by blending public art, live music, and bold business initiatives. Learn how this local nonprofit acts as a catalyst for community connection—championing creators, supporting local entrepreneurs, and proving that a commitment to "Doing Cool Stuff" can revitalize a region's future.

1C: Future Builders Track

Title: Entrepreneurship in the High School Classroom

Location: Gorecki Center - President's Room

Speaker: James Schreiner, Sauk Centre High School & Western Stearns CEO Class students

Description: Minnesota high school entrepreneurship programs are year-long, community-linked courses that immerse students in real-world business experiences - connecting them with local entrepreneurs, mentors, and industry visits while guiding them to develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills and create and showcase their own business projects. Join us to hear a local facilitator and students talk about their experiences, and a board member share how they got the program started at their school. Attendees will learn how these programs work and be inspired by the successes, and also get the practical knowledge it takes to get one started in their own community.

1D: Innovation and Creative Economy Track

Title: Business for Good: the transformative power of social entrepreneurship 

Location: Bad Habit Brewing Company

Speaker: Christine Metzo, Initiative Foundation

Description: Explore how social enterprise blends profit and purpose, delivering strong financial value while creating meaningful community impact. This session highlights models, real-world case studies, and strategies for building and supporting businesses that do well by doing good.

BLOCK 2 BREAKOUT SESSIONS DESCRIPTIONS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM

2A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title: The Inner Work of Building a Healthy Business: How the Leader Shapes the Organization

Location: Gorecki Center - President's Room

Sponsored by Raj Chaphalkar Consulting

Speaker: Dawn Finn, Community and Life Services

Description:  Building a successful business requires more than strategy, funding, or hard work. The health of an organization is deeply influenced by the health of its leader. In this interactive session, participants will explore how self-awareness, thought patterns, emotional resilience, and leadership habits influence decision-making, workplace culture, relationships, and long-term sustainability. Through personal stories, practical reflection, and leadership principles drawn from business and organizational development, participants will gain tools to strengthen themselves while building healthier organizations. Whether you lead a startup, nonprofit, small business, or growing team, this session offers a practical framework for developing the internal capacity needed to lead with clarity, resilience, and purpose.

2B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: Tales of Two Cities: How to brand a small town and an urban neighborhood with your story

Location: The La Playette Bar

Speaker Names: Mary Bruno and Shannon Laing

Description: Business owner Mary Bruno and Minnesota Main Street Manager Shannon Laing will share the stories of how their neighborhood stories helped, hindered, and put their commercial districts on the map. 

2C: Future Builders Track

Title: The Youth Engagement Bridge: Connecting Hard-to-Reach Youth to Careers, Community, and Leadership

Location: Jupiter Moon Ice Cream

Speakers: Christa Martin, M.S. - EPIC Board Member and CentraCare's Workforce Development Program Manager,  and Tyrone Reynolds - Youthset

Description: Youth engagement doesn’t fall short because young people lack interest—it falls short when opportunities aren’t designed with youth voice, trust, and real ownership. This session brings together Youthset and EPIC to share a practical “youth engagement bridge” model that connects hard-to-reach youth to career exposure, leadership development, and meaningful community involvement through intentional partnerships. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies, partnership ideas, and a framework they can adapt in their own communities.

2D: Innovation and Creative Economy Track

Title: Why Your Town Should Have an Annual Arts Festival 

Location: Minnesota Street Market

Speaker: Maran Wagner and Alicia Peters, Millstream Arts Festival

Description: Arts and creativity build a community’s identity in ways other businesses often cannot. For tourists, a unique memory of a location’s art complements a variety of reasons to come to the town. For residents, people want to stay where they have a high quality of life, and an artistic economy gives them that. For artists, while big cities may offer scale and access to the larger worlds, it’s actually smaller communities that afford them the cost of living so they can create meaningful artwork. This session explores the Millstream Arts Festival, its long-running partnerships with the City of St. Joseph, CSB+SJU, and businesses in various forms. Millstream Arts Festival curates extremely high-quality, local, and both new and established artists each year to continue to build the identity of JoeTown as one where the arts enrich life. 

BLOCK 3 BREAKOUT SESSIONS DESCRIPTIONS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH, 3:45 PM - 4:45 PM

3A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title: Beyond the Bank: Navigating Non-Traditional Financing for Business Growth

Location:  Sal's Bar & Grill

Panelists: 

NeTia Bauman, Greater St. Cloud (GSC),  CEO & President

Brian Voerding, Initiative Foundation, President

Mike Heen, Central Minnesota SBDC, Regional Director

Moderator: Clare Richards, Impacks

Description: Entrepreneurs rarely follow a single financing path, and understanding available options can make the difference between stalled growth and sustainable success. This session introduces the non-traditional financing landscape, highlighting how regional partners support entrepreneurs through startup, expansion, and ownership transition. Panelists will discuss real examples of how businesses have combined technical assistance, flexible financing, and local resources to overcome funding barriers. Designed for entrepreneurs and support professionals alike, the session provides practical insight into how to align financing decisions with long-term business goals.

3B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: From Orchard to Gathering Place: Agritourism & Place-Based Storytelling

Location: Bad Habit Brewing Company

Speaker Names: Peter Gillitzer and Liz Fiedler

Description: Agritourism businesses don’t just grow products — they grow experiences. In this conversation, local entrepreneurs from Milk & Honey Ciders and Sunny Mary Meadow share how they transformed land-based businesses into destinations for connection, learning, and community. We’ll explore storytelling, diversification, challenges, and how rural places can become powerful economic and cultural hubs.

3C: Future Builders Track

Title: Next-Gen Builders: Candid Conversations with Gen Z Innovators and Change-Makers

Location: Jupiter Moon Ice Cream

Panelists:

Lilly Goyah; Levi Bosshart and Stephen Rider, Buzz Care owners; 

Megan Gilsdorf

Moderator: Raj Chaphalkar

Description:

This session brings together Gen Z entrepreneurs for an honest conversation about the challenges, risks, and defining moments that shaped their journeys and what has helped them along the way. The entrepreneurs will share what attracts them to and keeps them in the communities they are in and how communities can attract more Gen Z entrepreneurs.

3D: Innovation and Creative Economy Track

Title: Cooperatives and Employee Ownership

Location: Minnesota Street Market

Speaker: Kirsten Kennedy, MNCEO

Description: Minnesota is experiencing a wave of retiring business owners, many of whom own small businesses critical to the fabric of our economy that don’t have viable buyers. This session explores employee ownership as an innovative approach to succession planning that supports employees retaining jobs, the community to retain a core business, and a fair price to exiting owners.

Evening Reception and Networking

Date: Thursday, September 17th

Time: 5:15 PM - 7:00 PM

Location: The House Food and Tap

Description: Join us for networking, hors d'oeuvres from The House food hall vendors, and a welcome from the Mayor of St. Joseph.

BLOCK 4 BREAKOUT SESSIONS DESCRIPTIONS

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

4A: Entrepreneur Resources Track

Title:  AI That Actually Works for Small Business

Location: Kensington Bank

Speaker: Ian Carlstrom, Regional Director, West Central MN SBDC

Description: There's a lot of noise around AI, and this session cuts through it. Built for small business owners at any starting point, this practical session skips the hype and focuses on what AI can actually do for you today. We'll look at where Minnesota small businesses really stand on adoption, walk through the major AI tools and which one fits your needs, and get concrete about real tasks across sales and marketing, customer service, operations, finance, and more. You'll leave with a clearer sense of where to start and a few ideas you can put to work right away.

4B: Place-Based Storytelling Track

Title: Lessons from the Past: Entrepreneurs Who Built Stearns County

Location: Gorecki Center - President's Room

Speaker: Dr. Brittany Merritt Nash, College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University

Description: Entrepreneurship has shaped Stearns County for generations. In this session, historian Brittany Merritt Nash will share stories of business owners, risk-takers, and community builders who helped define the region, particularly in St. Joseph. From general stores and mills to the convent and the college, we will explore what today’s entrepreneurs can learn from those who came before them.

4C: Future Builders Track

Title: Legacy Planning and Next Gen Ownership

Location: Sal's Bar & Grill

Speaker: Katie Heppner, Regional Director of the North Central SBDC at Central Lakes College, and  Emily Coborn (Kyle Schneider from Sal’s)

Description: Legacy Planning and Next Gen Ownership is a practical workshop for economic and community development professionals focused on preparing small businesses and communities for the next generation of ownership. The session uses the 3 layers of Legacy Planning (developed by North Central SBDC) to frame how owners, successors, and support professionals can build readiness, align expectations, and move towards a successful transition. Participants will engage in the interactive Choose Your Own Legacy Adventure activity to see how different transition paths shape long-term viability and hear directly from business owners who have successfully passed the torch to the next generation. 

4D: Innovation and Creative Economy

Title: The House the Community Built

Location: The House Food and Tap

Speaker: BriAnne Hern, The House Food and Tap

Description: When a distressed corner property came on the market, new owners BriAnne and Craig Hern put up a sign reading “Your ideas coming soon” with a QR Code for gathering community input. The result? A four-station food hall and tap wall where new local chefs can incubate their craft and the public can enjoy each other’s company. This session explores the story of how The House Food and Tap, which opened in 2025, is bringing the community into the work of business planning for a restaurant space, and takes place on site in the new building. 

Closing Keynote: Clap and Say And

Date: Friday, September 18th

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Location: Gorecki Center Room 204 at the College of Saint Benedict (37 College Ave. S, St. Joseph, MN 56374)

Title: Clap and Say And: What improv has taught me about building a business, relationships, and stronger communities.

Speaker: Tane Danger

Description: Entrepreneurship, economic development, and community building aren't sciences. They're improv. All three demand constant adaptation, creativity, and the ability to think beyond yourself, which is exactly what improv teaches. In this talk, Tane Danger, co-founder of the applied improvisation company Danger Boat Productions, shows a few simple tools from improv can help any of us build things together. He'll share how a "Yes, and..." framework has helped him grow his own organization and to connect people in communities across Minnesota.