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.
Do you have a dream for your company? Do you want to expand to other cities? Move to bigger headquarters? Hire more employees? Launch a new product? Start doing business overseas? Beef up your e-commerce offerings? Pump up your sales growth rate? Raise money?
Upsize is launching a new contest designed to help three local business owners make that dream come true. It’s called the Upsize Growth Challenge, presented by Fredrikson & Byron.
Here’s how it works. To nominate a company, your own or someone else’s, contact no*********@*******ag.com, or call Wes Bergstrom at 952.890.9040. We’ll send you a form asking you to detail in about 100 words your company’s growth challenge. Include the company’s name, president or CEO’s name, phone number and number of employees.
To be eligible, companies must have fewer than 100 employees and be based in Minnesota.
Details count here! The more compelling your company’s growth challenge, the more ambitious, and the more well told, the better your chances of winning. So tell us where you want your company to go, and what hurdles remain before you get there.
Judges from Upsize magazine staff, contest sponsors, and the local business community will select three winning companies next February. Deadline to enter is Jan. 15, 2004.
Winners will attend two 90-minute workshops next spring, to share their stories and get advice from legal, finance, technology and other experts. Upsize will report in two issues next year about the winners and how they’re tackling their growth challenges. And winners will be recognized and get a chance to tell their stories before a live audience at a celebration breakfast in June.
Need inspiration? This issue of Upsize, as always, is packed with the dreams of local business owners:
• Alberto Monserrate, our cover story subject, abandoned his lucrative financial planning career to start LCN Media. He’s trying to hitch a ride on the fast-growing Hispanic and Latino population in the Twin Cities.
• Dina Fesler closed her retail shop and Anne Nicolai ditched her public relations business to start DinaWorld Adventures, a high-concept company that uses storytelling to entertain customers. They want to raise some money, get their products in department stores, and get on Oprah.
• Scott Hillstrom is working to deliver health care in Kenya through for-profit franchised outlets. He used a windfall from the sale of his company and a near-fatal car accident to send him down this path.
But enough about other people’s dreams. What are your dreams for your business? Stop dreaming and enter the Upsize Growth Challenge. I can’t wait to read your entries.
— Beth Ewen
Editor and co-founder
Upsize Minnesota
be***@*******ag.com
