Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?
Management
With expansion now ‘cookie-cutter,’ former CEO leaves MinuteClinic
Linda Hall Whitman left MinuteClinic Inc. near the end of 2005, and she says she’s not sure what she’ll do next.
She was CEO during the money-raising stage of the firm, and prepped it for national expansion. The company began in May 2000, offering quick, inexpensive health care for common ailments.
She then became chief operating officer when the board brought in Michael Howe as CEO. He’s a “major retail person” hired to execute the company’s rollout across country, Hall Whitman says.
MinuteClinic has opened outlets in nine states and at 90 locations and counting, and is topping $15 million in revenue. “It’s too small of a company for two CEOs,” she says. Plus, new openings are going so smoothly that they’re “cookie-cutter,” a stage that she doesn’t enjoy.
When will it go public? “Maybe in two years,” depending on the market.
Does she still own shares in the company? “Of course,” she says, with a smile.
Linda Hall Whitman, formerly of MinuteClinic Inc.: 612.659.7111; www.minuteclinic.com
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