Citing a long list of values he aims to keep at the core of his company, the founder of WaterFilters.net explains how he's building a growth culture. But when the talk turns to emotions, the power found in an inspiring mission is revealed. Meet the Upsize Business...
Cover Story
UPSIZE GROWTH CHALLENGE
ABOUT THIS CONTEST The Upsize Growth Challenge, presented by Winthrop & Weinstine, is a contest created by Upsize magazine to match two winning business owners with the expert advice they need to reach their goals. From nominations, judges select two winners based...
NEXT UP: With red ink stopped, AutoData Systems plots its next move
MEET THE WINNERS AutoData Systems, one of two winners of this year’s Upsize Growth Challenge, is poised for growth but in need of a strategic direction. CEO Charlie Lehmann is exploring his options with the contest’s experts, supplied by the sponsoring companies. They...
The next level
That’s where Ascendency Research's owner is always heading, but it’s a challenge PERFECTION IS THE GOAL for LynMarie Winninger, who bought three companies all told to build her market-research firm Ascendancy Research. After her first acquisitions, she dramatically...
Stirring the pots
Kitchen in the Market’s founders like to see what they can cook up When I tell Tracy Morgan and Molly Herrmann I’m intrigued by their unusual business, Kitchen in the Market, they chime in with a laugh, “Us, too!” The two business partners, who met through a mutual...
A Beautiful Life
How one couple in IT dropped out, bought a hobby farm and are crafting a future INTERVIEW BY BETH EWEN His father took a risk and started an accounting firm, with seven kids to support. Two brothers, too, are entrepreneurs. But Tim Blanski goes his own way, dropping...
How PCS Residential’s founders are working through blistering growth
Upsize: I’m talking with Nathan Smith, general manager of PCS Residential in the Twin Cities, and Chad Nyberg, vice president, and they are sitting atop a huge growth engine. They are one of two winners of this year’s Upsize Growth Challenge, with a $15 million...
Realief’s CEO studied hard before signing on to launch
Leap of Research When he finally limped into Dr. Timothy Kelm’s chiropractic clinic in St. Louis Park a couple of years ago, Alan Bignall was desperate. Bignall had been to the renowned Mayo Clinic to treat his peripheral neuropathy, which was so painful all he could...
Two winning companies shed painful pasts to drive next round of growth
Sandy Hansen took over AgVenture Feed & Seed Inc. the hard way.
“I started knowing absolutely zero, and I’m not saying that to be humble,” she said. “The day I assumed responsibility was the day my husband of 15 months passed away of leukemia,” in January 2003.
“It was his business. I was an insurance agent at the time. The only thing I knew about the business was table talk.”
Clutching a single sheet of paper with instructions hastily scrawled before his bone marrow transplant – she should sell the company, it said, and listed where she could locate the bank accounts – she decided to dig in instead. The news didn’t get better.