Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
BEST PRACTICES: COMMUNITY IMPACT
reaching out
Five firms spread influence outside their own doors
FINALIST RUNDOWN
Another Land Inc, travel planner and fashion accessories: links its business with the health of more than 200 traditional artisans; has given its African communities more than 7 percent of annual revenue.
Marguerite von Duerckheim is sales manager: 612.821.6465; ma********@*********nd.com; www.anotherland.com.
Evolve Systems, Web development and point-of-purchase: requests that each employee donate eight working hours per month volunteering; closes doors once a quarter for ?random acts of kindness.?
Marnie Ochs-Raleigh is CEO: 651.628.4000; ma****@************ms.com;
www.evolve-systems.com
Intertech Inc, technology consulting and software: founded Intertech Foundation, a not-for-profit private foundation, to provide financial support to families of terminally ill children.
Tom Salonek is CEO: 651.994.8558; ts******@*******ch.com; www.intertech.com
Pet Crossing Animal Hospital & Dental Clinic, veterinary services: provides a safe place for animals displaced by domestic violence; provides dental services to Humane Society adoptees.
Kate Knutson is co-founder: 952.884.8248; ka**********@*********ng.com;
www.petcrossing.com
Reside LLC, Web development: to focus charitable efforts, launched TheResiders.com in January, a virtual band of bobbleheads that is ?rockin? for a cause? year round to raise funds.
Matt Meents is CEO: 612.767.2000; mm*****@****de.biz; www.reside.biz
by Sarah Brouillard
The five finalists for Best Practices in Community Impact are small, with fewer than 100 employees as required by the Upsize contest rules. But they all focus their efforts to positively affect their communities, and as a result make significant marks.
Linking continents
Since its inception, Another Land Inc. has been a planner of tours and safaris in East Africa. But founder Nichole Smaglick became discouraged when travelers preferred exploring the wildlife and scenery to meeting the people and learning their culture.
That?s when she decided to expand her vision for the Minneapolis-based company. She began partnering with East African villagers, making them active participants ? and investors ? in the cultural programs that Another Land offers.
The result has been a business model linked to the development of more than seven African villages and the prosperity of 200 traditional artisans. Instead of charitable do
As the name suggests, Owatonna-based Kamp Automation looks for customers with a process they’d like to automate. It could be a small, inconvenient, tiny part that people can’t assemble. It could be a high-volume product so needed that the customer can’t find enough labor to produce it in the necessary quantities. “We’ll work anywhere from medical device companies to the seed industry for corn and soybeans,” says Kent Patterson, co-founder, president and CEO. “We just jump all over wherever there is custom automation.” The company started in his garage. Patterson and his partners built a machine. The company started to grow to the point where now it has 48 employees — and had a bunch of people and stuff in different locations. “We went from a garage to a shop to a shop and just kept moving to new places and signing leases,” he says. “We got to a point where it’s like, OK, this is getting big enough and sustainable — we felt that we wanted to look for our own space.’”
