Fargo INC! July 2018

TEDXFARGO 2018 PREVIEW

july 2018

Taya Spelhaug

TechSpark Manager (North Dakota) Microsoft

Interviews with other TEDxFargo 2018 speakers, including: Forbes Publisher (and Bismarck’s own)

RICH KARLGAARD Former Playboy bunny and stuntwoman

JULIETTE WATT Nobel Peace Prize winner

JERRY WHITE

// JULY 2018

COVER STORY

30

TEDxFargo 2018 Preview Featured Speakers

Brad Smith - President of Microsoft Rich Karlgaard - Publisher of Forbes Juliette Watt - Former London Playboy Bunny and stunt horse rider Pamela York - Founding partner of a venture capital group focused on women-led companies Hamse Warfa - Blockchain software company founder connecting the poor to the global economy Jerry White - Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to ban landmines Sadiyo Hassan - Kenyan refugee who become a valedictorian and founded a tech startup Smita Garg - Multilingual community-builder and recipient of the ATHENA Leadership Award

Other Speakers

Dr. Jessica Metcalfe - Owner of a business that sells and promotes Native American-made fashion Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando - Olympic gold medal winners Steven Villescas Jr. - Graduate student and corporate social responsibility advocate Michelle Lucas - Founder of a nonprofit that uses spaces to get students into STEM Barry Batcheller - Founder of Appareo, an industry leader in software and electronics Mary Ann Kristiansen - Founder of a retail classroom for locally made products Mike Sime - President and CEO of a national distributor of packaging materials Candy Suiso - Director of one of the most innovative creative media programs in Hawai'i Nick Ybarra - Has dedicated his life to saving the Maah Daah Hey Trail from extinction Jared Kamrowski - Founder of a website that's a leading source for flight deals and travel rewards Mark Sylvester - A TEDx podcaster and producer of TEDxSantaBarbara Ellen Solberg - A marketing student and North Dakota Air National Guardswoman Thamrong (Keng) Dechawuth - An electrical engineer-turned-restaurateur

Performers

Joseph Schoning Rachel Webb

ON THE COVER

Fargo INC! had the privilege of visiting Microsoft President Brad Smith at the tech giant's Redmond, Washington, headquarters. The space in which Smith was photographed is one of more than 100 buildings on the Microsoft campus.

Visit FargoInc.com for extended content covering Fargo-Moorhead's business community and articles from past issues of Fargo INC!

6

JULY 2018

FEATURES 8 Editor's Note 18 Coffee with Kara Allegro Group Founder Kara Jorvig is back with the second installment of "Coffee with Kara" as she sits down with KLN Family Brands President Charlie Nelson.

24 Faces of Fargo Business • DonorDock's Matt Bitzegaio From running tech companies to helping charities fundraise better • United Way of Cass-Clay's Travis Christopher Why he thinks communities need more cautious optimism • African Soul, American Heart's Deb Dawson An ex-insurance executive helping orphaned girls in east Africa 56 The Pros of a Convention Center Far Outweigh the Cons FMWF Chamber of Commerce President Craig Whitney says a convention center is a priority and a potential boon for local commerce.

59 Prepare for a Bear United Capital of Fargo's Paul Jarvis has six tips for staying on top of your finances if the markets turn.

62 Our Weekend at Google AdShark CEO Rick Berg gives you a first-hand look at he and Heat Transfer Warehouse's Kirk Anton's recent trip to Google, which they won as part of a nationwide e-commerce competition.

66 Business Community: Invest Deeply in the Arts to Ensure Success The Arts Partnership President Dayna Del Val on why the local business and arts communities need to keep their relationship reciprocal.

69 Ladyboss of the Month Make Room Director Chelsea Thorson discusses her transition from architect to small business owner.

72 Tech Corner Giga-Green Technologies' William Galvin with some best practices for how you can secure your company's data.

74 Business Events Calendar • TEDxFargo • Women Connect: Finding Your Lighthouse and Navigation Techniques for the Journey • Goodbye Employee Management ... Hello Process Management

editor's note

3 of My Favorite

TED Talks

I know you didn't ask, but there's something I want you to know about me: I love TED Talks. TED Talks on education, TED Talks on lying, TED Talks on body language — you name it, I've probably seen it. As an endlessly curious person with a toddler and not as much free time to spend going down rabbit holes as I used to have, they're the perfect bite-sized way to fit a love of learning into my daily routine. In the spirit of TEDxFargo Month (and despite the fact that this list could easily go 20 deep), here are three of my personal favorite TED Talks.

1.

2.

3.

What it's about: Frustrated by deeply held cultural expectations about what charities should be spending their money on, Dan Pallotta argues that we have one rule book for the nonprofit sector and one for the rest of the economic world. He quips:

What it's about: In one of the funniest TED Talks I've seen, Tim Urban, founder of the popular website Wait But Why spends most of 20 minutes poking fun at his terrible lifelong habit of procrastination.

What it's about: In this satirical take on a TED Talk, you can't say Will Stephen didn't warn you. The Saturday Night Live writer lets you know within the first 15 seconds that his talk will contain "nothing smart, nothing inspirational, nothing even remotely researched at all."

"The way we think about charity is dead wrong" by Dan Pallotta (TED)

"We have a visceral reaction to the idea that anyone would make very much money helping other people. Interesting that we don't have a visceral reaction to the notion that people would make a lot of money not helping other people."

Our belief that charities should be investing primarily in "the cause" and not on things like overhead and marketing — things that help create the greatest impact — is misguided and wrong, he says.

"Inside the mind of a master procrastinator" by Tim Urban (TEDxVancouver)

From writing a 90-page college thesis in just a few days to waiting until the month before to put together the TED Talk you're currently watching him give, Urban makes light of his Instant Gratification Monkey (you'll have to watch) while also reminding the audience how high the stakes of procrastination can actually be.

If you're a fellow procrastinator like me, this one will hit pretty close to home.

P.S. If you're reading this while procrastinating, check out Adam Grant's talk, "The surprising habits of original thinkers," to learn more about the surprising link between procrastination and creativity.

"How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk" by Will Stephen (TEDxNewYork)

Stephen pokes fun at and emphasizes all the subtle ways TED speakers establish credibility with an audience, present information, and build up to their ultimate payoff, all while giving a TED Talk about ... nothing. The jabs are harmless, and if the reactions were any indication, it was a great way to lighten the mood at a conference that often delves into heavy, high-stakes topics.

As always, thanks for reading,

Nate Mickelberg Editor, Fargo INC!

Nate@SpotlightMediaFargo.com 8

JULY 2018

NateMickelberg

LinkedIn.com/In/NateMickelberg

EDITORIAL BOARD We at Fargo INC! want to make sure our content is unbiased and reflects the FMWF business community. That's why we meet regularly with our five-member editorial board to discuss local business issues and trends and ensure we are living up to our core values.

CRAIG WHITNEY

PAT TRAYNOR

FMWF Chamber of Commerce

Dakota Medical Foundation

President and CEO

Executive Director

TIM BEATON

Executive Director

FM Area Foundation

JOHN MACHACEK

SVP of Finance and Entrepreneurial Development

Greater FM Economic Development Corporation

KRISTI HUBER President

United Way of Cass-Clay

JULY 2018 Volume 3 Issue 7

Fargo INC! is published 12 times a year and is available at area businesses and online at FargoInc.com.

Publisher Mike Dragosavich Drago@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Chief Operations Officer Steve Kruse

CREATIVE

Editorial Director Andrew Jason Andrew@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Editor Nate Mickelberg Nate@SpotlightMediaFargo.com

Designers Sarah Geiger, Sarah Stauner Photographers Hillary Ehlen, J. Alan Paul Contributors Paul Jarvis, Danyel Moe, Laura

Caroon, Craig Whitney, Dayna Del Val

Social Media Nate Mickelberg Web Jessica Ballou

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It's true; we love the Lakes. Each year, we travel to the heart of Lakes Country to find paradise amongst the lake homes, cabins and resorts.

This month is no exception. We'll show you three private homes with amazing indoor and outdoor spaces that we'd love to call our own and so much more. Then, continue reading to meet an artisanal craftsman from Otter Tail County and come along with us as we pay a visit to a hidden gem of an antique store. Finally, without any further ado, let's dive right into the Lakes!

All of us strive for the latest information about NDSU athletics. Some of us go to social media, others turn on the television or the radio and some may even open up the newspaper. Regardless of your medium, we all see the same familiar faces when searching out the latest Bison news. So, we thought it would be nice to bring attention to the hard work these recognizable figures bring to our community. Without them, how would we stay up to date with our favorite school? The fact of the matter is that the Fargo-Moorhead area would be far less informed about NDSU athletics without these people. That is why we pieced together the Bison Media Guide.

Are you a pet owner in the FargoMoorhead area? Then the July issue of Fargo Monthly is right up your alley. We asked the city of Fargo, looked over the data and came up with the things you need to know about owning a pet in Fargo. From adopting your pet to frequently asked vet questions, we have an all-encompassing list for you to peruse.

If you want to give your pet the best life possible, you'll need to read this month's issue.

KLN Family Brands President Charlie Nelson has

If there's one thing Allegro Group Founder and CEO Kara Jorvig is passionate about, it's leadership — how to spot it, how to develop it and how to keep it. "Coffee with Kara" is her chance to sit down with prominent local business leaders to discuss their own leadership philosophies and get to know another side of their personalities. This month, she chats with KLN Family Brands President Charlie Nelson, the third-generation leader of the Perham, Minnesotabased candy and pet food manufacturer.

NAME Kara Jorvig TITLE Founder/CEO COMPANY Allegro Group

BY Nate Mickelberg J. ALAN PAUL AND COURTESY OF KLN FAMILY BRANDS

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JULY 2018

Kara Jorvig: It's so interesting how KLN has chosen to stay and grow in Perham for all these years, despite being surrounded on either side by two major metro areas. Tell me about that.

THE CONVERSATION

Charlie Nelson: Perham is home. It's where the people who have made us who we are live and call home, and it's where we always plan to be. We've expanded at times, but we've never left and never would. We have a number of people who have been with us for 30 or 40 years who started on Saturdays sweeping the warehouse and now make decisions that affect our business every day. They treat our business like it's theirs because it is.

Jorvig: Being based in a town of a few thousand people, do you ever feel pressure to succeed not only for the business itself but also for the community?

Nelson: A little bit. But we have a number of organizations and companies in town that are doing really good things. In general, we're progressive and aggressive. You're not seeing a lot of that with smaller towns now, which is a bit unfortunate, but with us, it's who we are.

We have a lot of good leaders in the community, and as much as people might think we're the leader in the area, we're often following outstanding people making great decisions every day. We all scratch each other's backs and have a good thing going right now.

We do talk about employment quite a bit, though. As we continue to grow, we need to find people, and we need to offer a program that attracts them and makes

NAME Charlie Nelson TITLE President COMPANY KLN Family Brands

FARGOINC.COM

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them feel a part of the company family. I think we're pretty good at it, but we're trying to get better.

Jorvig: What's it like running a thirdgeneration family business?

Nelson: There's a story I sometimes tell when someone brings that up. When I was debating getting into the family company about 15 years ago, I sat down with a person I respect a great deal. I said I was thinking about doing this, and I expected a pat on the back and a "You're perfect. You're the guy. It's gonna be a gas." And instead he goes, "You know what they say about thirdgeneration companies." I said, "I don't." And he says, "Oftentimes, the first generation builds the company; the second generation maintains the company; and the third generation blows the company."

And we laughed a little bit, but I immediately took it as a challenge. I hadn't really thought of that, that there were going to be some expectations, and people were going to be keeping an eye on things. And

"Coffee with Kara": Now on YouTube Ever wonder what a rotten fishflavored jellybean tastes like?

KLN Family Brands President Charlie Nelson found out, as he and "Coffee with Kara" host Kara Jorvig took the BeanBoozled Challenge together. Check out the bonus video content on Fargo INC!'s YouTube channel.

certainly, my grandpa built something, but the last thing in the world my dad does is maintain anything. He's always been about building, creating and growing; I've never even heard him use the word "maintain." I had a sense that wasn't going to be who we were as a family, and certainly, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was see things go in the wrong direction.

Jorvig: I'm interested in your thoughts on the dynamics of working in a family business, both the good and also the challenges that come with it.

Nelson: Well, my dad is semi-retired now as of a couple years ago. That "semi" means he still works plenty, but he comes and goes a little more. Every day he's in, though, we're sitting in a room talking about what's next.

It's really, truly been a good thing. My dad and I tend to agree a lot on where we want to take things. Certainly, there are times when we close the door and say, "Let's get on the same page a little bit," but I've always watched my dad treat people a certain way, and I've tried to learn from that. He always makes time for people, and that's one thing I try to do as well.

BUSINESS

STEVE SMITH President YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties

KLN Family Brands is the parent company of Kenny's Candy & Confections and Tuffy's Pet Foods, two companies well-known for their national brands. Based in Perham, Minnesota, and family-owned since its founding more than 50 years ago, KLN employs more than 500 people, who work for the company for 20 years on average.

Darrell "Tuffy" Nelson

(first generation)

It's one thing I expect us, as a company, to do. We should always have time to visit with our employees, to visit with our suppliers or to call a customer. That's first and foremost, and we try to never lose that.

Kenny Nelson

Jorvig: When I think KLN, I think innovation.

Tell me a little bit about your process. How do you stay focused on your traditional lines while also trying to open up new products and markets?

Charlie Nelson

Nelson: Oftentimes, it's about what the customer is looking for. We try to listen

WISDOM

What Is KLN Family Brands?

(second generation)

(third generation)

KLN FAMILY BRANDS

if i gave a ted talk...

"I'm Turning into My Father: Why That's a Good Thing" FARGOINC.COM

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KLN FAMILY BRANDS

to them. They might like that we have "this" but also wonder why we don't have "that." With the pet food, specifically, we're fortunate to have about 5,000 retailers we can reach out to and say, "We want to be No. 1 to you. What are we missing? What is the pet parent looking for?" We're always listening.

The fun thing about being family-owned is that we're nimble, and we don't have to

A Unique Perk Perhaps the most progressive benefit KLN Family Brands offers is an on-site clinic for employee and dependents. When employees use the clinic, they pay zero for the office call and zero for hundreds of different medications if they use the company health insurance. Company president Charlie Nelson explains the thinking behind the concept.

"We're competing for people," says Nelson, who adds that employees don't even have to make an appointment to be seen. "Whether it's with a larger city like Fargo or anywhere in between, we have to offer it. It's great to see parents be able to take their child in who has a cold, and they only have 15 minutes to do it."

spend five years developing something.

We kind of fly by the seat of our pants. It doesn't always work, but that's who we are.

It allows us to be cutting-edge sometimes.

We're also always visiting with our local farmers and growers and better understanding: What's the next ingredient coming along? We look at organic ingredients and ancient grains and figure out how we can implement them into our products. We really try to listen to people who do it every day.

Jorvig: What's a perception you think people have of what you, as the company president, do on a daily basis versus what you actually do?

Nelson: My dad and I were just talking about that the other day. One minute, we could be making a big decision that could affect our business for the next 50 years, and the next, we could be deciding who wins a $500 scholarship. It varies immensely what we're doing one day, or even one minute, to the next.

One thing I do find myself doing now is getting more involved in a department where I feel like there's more of a need.

We try not to micromanage anybody. If a department hasn't seen us for a while, that's a good thing. If we're spending a little more time in a particular area, that probably means there's a little bit of a focus there. And for an employee, I think that again creates the mindset of: "This is my company. If we make money, I make it."

Jorvig: What has been one of your most significant developments as a leader over your career?

Nelson: One of the biggest things for me was when I first joined our family company.

I came from Merrill Lynch, where one day I was talking to people about how they should invest their money, and a week later, I was handing out a dog food sample in a feed store. It was about wearing whatever hat you had to wear, rolling up your sleeves and getting it done.

We try to do the best we can for our people, but there's an expectation that they will do what it takes to get the job done. Nobody's above anything. In fact, just recently, I asked our interns to go hand out some of our licorice to the truck drivers who sometimes have to stand in our lots for hours and thank them for being patient. And I said, "If any of

A Different Approach to Workforce Development Perham Scholarships KLN Family Brands provides scholarships to all Perham High School seniors who are pursuing some form of secondary education, whether it's a four-year college, vocational training or military service. Just this year, they awarded more than $30,000 worth of scholarships to students in the community.

"We're seeing a change right now in what 'secondary education' means," says KLN president Charlie Nelson, who adds that the scholarships serve a number of different purposes. "Our thought with it is, 'Hey, don't forget about us.' I'm kind of an example myself. I left Perham, didn't know if I'd come back, and here I am, 25 years later with a family and enjoying the community.

"We hope everybody pursues their dream, and if that dream can take place in Perham, we'd like to ask you to consider doing so. It's fun to give back to them when they're 18, and we hope they remember us when they're 28."

the interns have a problem with this, I'd like to know. Because they certainly won't fit our company long-term."

From a leadership standpoint, that's our expectation, and we lead in that manner.

We don't expect anybody to do anything we haven't done ourselves.

KLN FAMILY BRANDS

HILLARY EHLEN

WHAT IS DONORDOCK? Born from Matt Bitzegaio's twin passions of software product development and working with nonprofits, DonorDock is an intuitive CRM tool that helps small charities raise more money in less time.

Officially launching last month, Bitzegaio says he and his team are excited by the positive reception the platform has received thus far.

A Leader I'm Studying "After many years in the Microsoft partner ecosystem, I've been really interested in watching the changes that Satya Nadella has been leading at Microsoft. It really is remarkable to drive such a strong cultural change at an organization of that size.

Microsoft has reinvented itself over the past few years since Nadella took over, and it shows in the innovation that is being turned out by the organization and in their earnings and financial results."

The Role of Tech "I strongly believe that technology has a role to play in helping lift up small nonprofit organizations and helping them achieve more within their mission.

I'm driven to come up with ways in which technology is accessible to those organizations and moves from being a burden to being an accelerator."

Faces of

Fargo Business

DonorDock Founder

MATT BITZEGAIO Matt Bitzegaio: Where He's Been • • • •

Donor Dock ConnectBooster BNG Holdings Peak Engagement

• Summit Group Software • BBI International • Ecliptic Technologies

TAKE

AC

TIO N

Help Matt Out If anyone in the local business community knows of a nonprofit that's looking for a better solution for managing donor relationships, tell them to take a look at DonorDock.

"It's really very different from other donor-focused CRM tools," Bitzegaio says, "and can really change the game for small nonprofits."

DonorDock.com

My Favorite Tools Slack for collaborating with team members

Jira for application-lifecycle management "Both tools are an important part of how we build our own software and enable us to get more done."

On My Nightstand "I'm finding '10x Marketing Formula' by Garrett Moon to be very informative, as it relates to marketing a startup company."

How I Stay Productive

"I recently re-read 'Rework'

by Jason Fried of Basecamp.

I love the philosophy of Basecamp and enjoyed reading the book again. I would highly recommend it to any entrepreneur who hasn’t read it yet."

"I do my best to try and get 7-8 hours of sleep most nights. I find that I'm at my best and really able to focus and operate better when I'm getting a good amount of sleep. I know some people who are able to operate at a really high level on less sleep than that, and I envy them."

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DEB DAWSON Founder, African Soul, American Heart

A

fter working in sales and insurance for more than a decade, Deb Dawson took a trip to Africa in 2007 with a "Lost Boy of Sudan" from Fargo named Joseph Akol Makeer, who wanted to help orphans in the village he escaped as a 10-year-old boy. The trip eventually led to her founding African Soul, American Heart, a Fargo-based nonprofit that aims to protect, educate and empower orphaned girls from South Sudan. Dawson now serves as board chair of ASAH, which currently serves 50

students from six villages in Duk County, South Sudan.

"It's my great privilege to have a hand in changing the lives of orphaned girls who would otherwise face a life of forced marriage at puberty, early and dangerous childbirth, illiteracy and poverty, and in the last few years, ongoing civil war," Dawson says. "We educate (these girls) in school subjects and practical life skills, and we empower them to be leaders and give back to their communities."

TAKE

AC

TIO N

How You Can Help: Sponsor an ASAH Student Basic Sponsorships (cost can be shared among multiple people) $1,500/year or $125/month Full Sponsorhip $5,000

Visit AfricanSoulAmericanHeart.org/Donate

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JULY 2018

Faces of

Fargo Business

A Fargo lifer

Deb Dawson is a thirdgeneration Fargoan who attended Clara Barton, Agassiz and Fargo South.

An artist, too

She's written a novel and a memoir and has also exhibited her soft-sculpture art and photography at Moorhead's Hjemkomst Center and Rourke art gallery, as well as at Concordia College's Cyrus M. Running Gallery.

Something that's stuck

"My dad gave me a lot of advice, much of which I thought didn’t apply to me. Looking back, I was mistaken."

Staying flexible

"The 8-9-hour time difference (with east Africa) sometimes starts my work day early or ends it late. Today, I was awoken by a 5:30 a.m. phone call from staff in Uganda."

Thank you ...

JoRelle Grover "I respect and regularly thank my executive assistant, JoRelle, for the outstanding work she does and recognize the many times she goes above and beyond expectations. She’s got my back, and I’ve got hers."

Kevin Brooks "I continually thank Kevin Brooks, who traveled with Joseph Akol Makeer and me on our first trip to South Sudan in December 2007. Kevin was one of our founders and has been vice president of our board since inception."

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Faces of

Fargo Business

United Way of Cass-Clay Resource Development Director

3 Things on My Mind

TRAVIS CHRISTOPHER

A

Twin Cities native, Travis Christopher's first career was spent in criminal justice working in crime prevention, educating residents and businesses about community policing and crime-deterrence techniques.

The current resource development director at the United Way of Cass-Clay then spent more than 15 years with the Boy Scouts of America in various roles, including as executive director in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Fargo. He's also been active with Rotary International for nearly 20 years, serving as Fargo club president in 20162017, and is currently the president-elect of the Northern Plains Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

UnitedWayCassClay.org J. ALAN PAUL

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JULY 2018

DID YOU KNOW? The United Way of Cass-Clay team works with more than 650 local businesses each year, many of which cite their workplace giving campaigns as key in developing their company culture and employee-engagement efforts.

1. We need to be cautious optimists.

"After living in five different states in my career and seeing how each place proclaims to be 'No. 1 in (name your economic metric here),' I can tell you the best-laid plans sometimes don't come to life. I often wonder about what I can do to help when future visioning hits a barrier and we still need to succeed as a community. Trust me when I tell you: I'm an optimist, a glass-halffull guy, but you need to prepare for challenges ahead of time."

2. The future of philanthropy is familybased.

"We're entering a very important era in local nonprofit governance and community support. Giving involves more than money. Money is needed to fund operations and 'keep the lights on,' but we need to encourage an attitude of giving at a younger age by making it more family-based. It begins with the gift of time, which is equally important.

Philanthropy will be sustained through meaningful relationships, even during stagnant economic times.

3. Our work is not all roses.

"Our team is available around the clock to present at local companies and support their workplace giving efforts, and it's not uncommon for us to visit with teams of employees on the second and third shifts at area workplaces. There are great stories of people surpassing barriers and individuals doing great things to improve their lives, but it's not all 'happy talk.' We have serious, sometimes sobering, discussions about how to solve our community's most pressing challenges."

BY Nate Mickelberg and TEDxFargo team*

TEDxFargo *This article was produced as a partnership between Fargo INC! and TEDxFargo.

PREVIEW

The TEDxFargo team is crafting our community's ninth TED event, which will be held at the end of this month on July 26 at the Fargo Civic Center. The day will be a chance for our community to share ideas and experiences as the team brings another world-class event to Fargo.

There will be local, national, and global thought leaders who will be sharing their ideas on the main stage to help solve challenges and create possibilities. The idea is to empower people to be solutionsoriented, believing that ideas can change the way the world works.

So come listen to new ideas, find a topic you’re passionate about and then take action to enable those ideas. And ask yourself a simple question, "How will I go forth?"

Here, you can meet and get to know the 24 speakers a little better.

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JULY 2018

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Brad Smith President Microsoft

TEDxFargo Talk Preview Microsoft President Brad Smith will be speaking about how technology is changing the nature of work and jobs in North Dakota — not only the opportunities this creates but also the challenges and fundamental need for digital skills. "(My talk) will go back to the importance of the technology gaps we're seeing and the work that we're excited about doing in North Dakota as part of TechSpark (see right) to address and help to close some of the technology gaps in the state," Smith says.

"Whenever we're doing something with TechSpark in North Dakota, we're doing it first and foremost for North Dakota, but we're also thinking more broadly all the time. Anything we can do in North Dakota is also an opportunity to lead the rest of the country by taking a new step forward that others can learn from."

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JULY 2018

Taya Spelhaug

TechSpark Manager (North Dakota) Microsoft

TEDxFargo

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKER

Featured Speaker Brad Smit

h

Q

What Is Microsoft TechSpark?

TechSpark is a national civic program aimed at introducing digital initiatives designed to foster greater economic opportunity and job creation in six communities across the United States.

Microsoft's focus with TechSpark is to do more work outside the country’s major metropolitan centers. By partnering closely with leaders and communities on the ground, they hope to learn more about regional challenges and how technology can help better contribute to local economic growth. The program was announced in Fargo in fall 2017.

Why was North Dakota chosen as one of the six TechSpark sites last year, and what were some of the criteria for choosing the other five?

A Brad Smith: We were looking for communities where we felt we could partner deeply with people, communities that had a civic spirit, and communities that were doing interesting things or where there was the potential to do interesting things. We wanted communities that were different from each other because obviously if we chose six communities that all, more or less, were the same, we would learn less.

Frankly, (North Dakota) was the easiest choice of the six, in part because of Microsoft's long-standing presence (in Fargo). We just have such a good relationship with the

community. We were also excited about Doug Burgum's election as governor. We had confidence that Doug, as governor, would bring a real focus on innovation that would focus on both changes in government and changes in technology. And since that's a part of what TechSpark is about, that was something that was very attractive for us.

Q

What are some of the ways you plan to leverage Microsoft's existing presence in Fargo to implement TechSpark programs and initiatives statewide?

A Smith: I think our employee presence is such a huge resource, in terms of volunteerism and the like.

When we think about Fargo, there are two or three dimensions that I think are FARGOINC.COM

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TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKER

This ... will exacerbate every other problem that people in America care about.

really interesting. You can think about it as starting with our campus.

Microsoft TechSpark Manager Taya Spelhaug with a few of the 450 kids who attended the Kindred (North Dakota) "Hour of Code" event.

But there's a second dimension, which is really reaching out across the state as a whole. I think North Dakota gives us an opportunity to really experiment with and learn how to connect with communities where there might be a very small high school, as a good example.

That's one of the really interesting characteristics of public education in North Dakota is the large number of small high schools. And we haven't mastered, by any stretch of the imagination, how to bring computer science and coding education into schools of that size. So that's a second thing I would point to.

The third thing I think is really interesting in North Dakota is the connection of the universities and the military.

So between (North Dakota State University), (University of North Dakota), and the whole college system, if you think about where technology is going with drones, what drones mean for agriculture, and what drones mean for the Air Force, we have this unique FARGOINC.COM

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TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKER combination of things we can pursue.

Our Fargo campus is kind of unique because it's a microcosm of everything Microsoft does. We have software development; we have outside sales; we have inside sales; we have people who process the pay of Microsoft employees. It gives us a very diverse employee workforce from which to draw.

Let me turn to Taya to talk a little about how she's thinking about how we create opportunities for our (Fargo) employees.

Taya Spelhaug: When you talk about having to recruit from outside (the state), one thing that helps people stay engaged and want to stay in our community is volunteering and making them feel at

36

JULY 2018

home. That's one thing that we're really trying to capitalize on. I think the people on our campus are hungry to volunteer in the community, especially for a purpose like computer science.

We had about 15 volunteers who went out to Kindred (North Dakota) to do an "Hour of Code" for 450 kids. That was fantastic to have that many volunteers mobilized.

We're also doing some great things training the trainers, so we can have more people who can go out to all these communities and small schools that Brad's talking about. We also have an amazing STEM committee on campus that's really looking at how we get more kids involved in STEM education.

Speaker Bio Brad Smith is Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer. In his role, Smith is responsible for the company’s corporate, external, and legal affairs and oversees a team of more than 1,400 business, legal and corporate affairs professionals working in more than 50 countries. In this role, he leads the company’s work on a number of critical issues, including cybersecurity, digital privacy, public policy and government affairs, intellectual property, accessibility, philanthropy and environmental sustainability. As president, he has also spearheaded programs and initiatives aimed at increasing economic development and opportunity and ensuring that all of society benefits from technology’s advances.

Q

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKER

North Dakota is a prime opportunity to think about how to bring digital skills to smaller schools and rural communities.

What are some examples of local partnerships?

A Spelhaug: We have a national partnership with 4-H. We have an amazing group that we call Changemakers, which (consists of) student leaders who are going out to different nonprofits. Right now, they're working with CHARISM in the after-school program to do coding and some amazing, fun activities.

We'll be doing a partnership with United Way. We're investing in their workforce development initiative fairly heavily, which has a lot of great synergy with our career pathways pillar.

We've been working with NDSU on a STEM alliance.

We've also worked with some robotics leagues in and around Fargo-Moorhead.

Jeremiah Project is another one that we've been investing in to help get their women technology when they're going to school.

Q

This is a significant investment from Microsoft as a company, financially and otherwise. Why is it so important, despite the less-than-immediate ROI?

A Smith: It's really interesting. We started down this path more than a year ago, and we felt it was important at the time.

And I think today, we feel it's even more important than it was when we started.

It's easy for all of us who live in the United States to think

about the various divisions in the country. We feel like it's a divided nation in some ways.

There are all kinds of ways to define those divisions. We talk about different political parties; we talk about urban and rural communities; we talk about gender; we talk about race; we talk about income.

But the deeper we're getting into this, the more we're finding there's an important technology divide that's really contributing to the other divides we face as a nation.

We've become a nation of haves and have-nots when it comes to access to digital skill and something like broadband. And we feel that broadband really is the electricity of the 21st century.

When you look at something like digital skills, what we're seeing is that jobs increasingly have more and more digital content — not just computer science or coding jobs but whether you're talking about agriculture or manufacturing or just about any line of work. We're also finding that jobs that have more digital

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TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKER

content pay more money than jobs that don't. So we need to be asking ourselves: Who's getting access to these digital skills? And what we're finding is that the kids today in America who have access to coding and computer science are more urban, more male and more white than the country as a whole.

And we have to find a way to close this divide, if we're going to take the kinds of steps the country needs to come back together. North Dakota, as I mentioned before, is a prime opportunity to think about how to bring these digital skills to smaller schools and rural communities. I think it's also an important place for us to make sure we're bringing digital skills to young women so that they're benefitting as well. Right now, less than 25 percent of students nationally

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who are enrolling in computer science classes in high school are young women.

We then need to think about this not only from the perspective of what it means for schools and youth; we need to think about it throughout people's lifetimes. Because if we look to the future and we see how artificial intelligence is going to continue to change work, we're going to need to ensure that more and more people learn these new skills throughout their lifetime.

When we think about what drones will do for the future of agriculture, it means there's a new set of skills people who work on farms are going to want to master. And it's not just the skills that go into how you operate a drone; that might be the easiest part. It's: How do you make effective use of the data, the

I think almost everywhere you look in a place like Fargo, you can see something that's going to be changed by artificial intelligence.

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKER

Microsoft President Brad Smith (left) with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (right) at the launch of Microsoft's TechSpark initiative in fall 2017. photographic imagery and the other information drones are producing? At a time when it's easy for people in the tech sector to think about the West Coast or places like Boston and New York, we keenly appreciate, because of our long-standing presence in Fargo, what a dynamic place the Fargo-Moorhead community is. We appreciate how much potential there is to bring this technology to a place like North Dakota as a whole, and we appreciate what it will mean if we fail.

It's not just if we fail as one company, but if we fail as a society. This is going to be something that will exacerbate every other problem that people in America worry about. So we're very passionate about what we believe we can keep learning, and it makes it more and more important for us to keep experimenting and then keep sharing with other parts of the country what we find is working in North Dakota.

Q

You brought up AI. We know it's going to touch all aspects of our lives sooner than we think, but what do you see as some of the business-specific applications for it?

A Smith: It's a fascinating topic because I think AI is going to touch every profession and every area of business and the economy. It's already starting to change healthcare in very substantial ways. In some ways, it's having an impact more at the research level. AI is instrumental in the work that's being done in immunotherapy, and it's going to help us cure cancer. I think that's increasingly clear.

AI is going to change how doctors and nurses practice medicine in hospitals and clinics; it's going to change the work that is done to diagnose and treat patients. We're all patients at various times, in terms of both accessing readily our healthcare records and relying on a combination of human beings, medical science, and artificial

What is Microsoft AI for Earth?

AI for Earth puts Microsoft’s cloud and AI tools in the hands of those working to solve global environmental challenges.

Through grants that provide access to cloud and AI tools, opportunities for education and training on AI, and investments in innovative, scalable solutions, AI for Earth works to advance sustainability across the globe.

Learn more at Microsoft.com/En-US/ AIForEarth.

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intelligence for advice and direction on what we do.

Augmented reality is a force that's going to continue to change how people use technology.

And when you think about the ability of computers to read so much faster than humans, the ability to go out and do research and answer questions is actually a nontrivial piece of what is involved in the practice of law. When we think about finance and the accounting profession — not just people who work at large accounting firms but people who are in the financial part of any business — we're going to see a combination of AI and blockchain absolutely transform a lot of financial work. A lot of what we rely on today for the maintenance of accounting ledgers is likely to be automated.

If you're a business, you probably have people who drive goods or people to other places. And while it's a little unclear at this stage how quickly we'll see autonomous vehicles, we're certainly already seeing AI become part of vehicles. Whether it's helping a driver drive more safely by sounding an alert that someone is walking across the street or eventually automating more completely the driving of trucks or cars or farm machinery. That's something that's been evolving for a period of time.

I think almost everywhere you look in a place like Fargo, you can see something that's going to be changed by artificial intelligence. I think, then, the question on everybody's mind is: What's that going to mean for me?

What's it going to mean for

Q

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKER

AI is starting to impact the practice of law. It's going to impact especially, I think, the work that paralegals do, in terms of being able to go out and find data. One of the great breakthroughs we'll probably see over the next decade is the ability of computers to read and comprehend.

my job? What does it mean for what I do next? And from our perspective, while existing jobs are going to be impacted, new jobs are going to be created.

What's going on in the tech world right now that most people aren't paying attention to but should be?

A Smith: I'd say two things.

One is on the positive side.

Augmented reality is a force that's going to continue to change how people use technology. You saw with Pokémon Go this whole notion of how augmented reality works — namely, superimposing something on an image of the real world.

That, I think, is a snowball moving down a hill that is continuing to gain massive speed and that is going to impact more and more areas of work. And it impacts and incorporates and is based on AI, but it's also distinct from it.

On the challenge side, I think cybersecurity is going to continue to grow in importance. It's become an even bigger issue over the last year, and I think it's something that's a broad concern to just about every business, government, and nonprofit, or at least it should be. We in the tech sector need to continue to lead the way through our investments to strengthen security, but it's ultimately something that every user of computing needs to pay attention to.

A European regulation, the General Data Protection Regulation, is having a worldwide impact and is changing how tech companies work around the world. I think it will ultimately have an impact on expectations for privacy in the United States.

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Juliette TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKERS

WATT

#GIVEBACKTOYOURSELF

Speaker Bio Born and raised in London, Juliette Watt was a stunt horse rider for MGM Pictures and later a London Playboy Bunny. She spent the next 20 years performing a one-woman show in cabarets worldwide, and in the early '70s, moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where she lived for four years during their vicious civil war. Moving to New York City in her 40s, she thrived as a soap opera scriptwriter, winning two Writers Guild Awards and a nomination for a Daytime Emmy. Later becoming a pilot, she flew rescue missions in New Orleans, saving more than 6,000 abused and abandoned dogs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She's currently on a passionate mission to help guide those who have lost themselves in who they've been for everyone else.

If I had a walk-up song "Rise Up” by Audra Day Read this "Of Human Bondage" by W. Somerset Maugham Passion cause Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Texas All-time favorite TED Talk “The power of vulnerability"

by Brené Brown Essential daily routine "Being with my animals. It grounds me and gives me peace."

TEDXFARGO

FACTS 42

JULY 2018

Preview your TED Talk in one sentence.

My talk is about compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress disorder, which is the emotional and physical burden created by the trauma of helping others in distress.

If you weren't in the career you’re in now, what would you be doing?

I’ve just started my speaking career, which I hope will lead to more speaking engagements on compassion fatigue all over the world. Through one-onone coaching, I help people cope with this debilitating syndrome and guide them to reconnect with who they are, since many have lost themselves in who they’ve been for everyone else.

What was your biggest professional failure?

In 1969, I was hired as the opening act for Des O’Connor, a famous variety performer in England — huge deal! I was

an aspiring cabaret singer and convinced that it was only a matter of time before I would be famous and Liza Minelli would just have to step aside!

The gig was in Glasgow, Scotland, in a very fancy nightclub. I was fired during band rehearsals before the show. The manager of the club fired me because I wasn’t a good enough singer to open for such a big star.

I remember sitting on the floor as my legs had crumpled under me. Des was a dear friend, and as I sat sobbing, he knelt down beside me and said, “Juliette, I can walk into the manager’s office right now and make the call, and you will go on tonight.

I’m the star. They will do what I tell them. Do you want me to do that?” *Very long pause as I slowly realized what the right thing to do was.* "No," I said, and Des smiled and patted my shoulder, “You just made the most important decision of your life.” And he was right.

The TEDxFargo team expects more than

2,000

attendees this year.

Smita

What keeps you up at night?

I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety. What keeps me up at night is irrational panic — scary thoughts and heartstopping worry about things that usually never happen and/ or don’t even exist. I battle it every day.

How should attendees "Go Forth" after your talk?

I want the audience to leave knowing, first and foremost, they are not alone. Compassion fatigue creeps up on you and can take away your life. I want them to have the first few steps to start to recover their “why” and instead of emotional and physical exhaustion, they will feel more hopeful and energized with a new plan for life. Relieved, excited, and inspired, I want them to finally see they are the most important person in their life, and today they were seen and heard.

GARG

#INTEGREAT

LOCAL SPEAKER

Speaker Bio Smita Garg is a passionate community-builder. Having lived in Italy, India, United States, Zambia, Canada, and China, she understands the value of creating connections, investing in relationships and engaging with diverse peoples. This is reflected in her broad range of community involvements , including crosscultural events, nonprofit boards and volunteer activities. Garg holds an MBA in international marketing from Temple University and is a recipient of the ATHENA Leadership Award.

Multilingual with an interest in culture, travel, and unity in diversity, she's a strong believer in the difference that one person can make. She recently moved to Fargo with her husband, Adi. Their three daughters, Aditi (Chris), Avni, and Aneri — who live in Canada — are her inspiration.

Preview your TED Talk in one sentence.

In the context of a newcomer’s sense of belonging and a host community’s responsiveness, integration is better than assimilation.

If you weren't in the career you’re in, what would you do?

Run a bed and breakfast. At least I like the idea. I enjoy entertaining, and this would be a good way to combine that with my interest of meeting people from different walks of life.

Who’s a leader you admire?

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. She is intelligent,

determined and a sensible leader — not to mention she holds a doctorate degree in quantum chemistry! In today’s political climate, she is a voice of reason.

I would also say Daenerys Targaryen from "Game of Thrones". Her rise from being a victim to an empowered leader is phenomenal.

What was your first job?

My first job was an entrepreneurial endeavor. I started my very own smallscale pasta-making and -selling business from home.

I was born in Italy and wanted to share my love of Italian cuisine after I moved away.

My first "paid" job was as an

If I had a walk-up song "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas Listen to this CBC Radio podcasts Passion cause Anti-racism awareness Favorite social media follow My three daughters Essential daily routine A cup of milky Nescafé instant coffee and a few minutes of gratitude meditation

interpreter in five languages at a Canadian call center.

What's a life hack you use regularly?

I try to stay positive. I am more efficient and willing to do something with an optimistic outlook. A quote I came across recently: "Things don’t happen to you; they happen for you."

How should attendees "Go Forth" after your talk?

Invite somebody from a culture different than yours to your home for a meal, festival, celebration or conversation.

Learn something new you never knew you never knew.

TEDxFargo 2018 features

24

main stage speakers and performers.

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TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKERS

Who's a leader you admire?

Maya Angelou. Not the leader of a country but nonetheless, a woman who was a great student of leadership. As the Washington Post said just after her passing, "Maya Angelou understood what it takes to have the courage to lead; who had close affiliations with some of the most well-known world leaders of her lifetime; and who could articulate the virtues of courage, steadfastness and truth as only a poet can do.”

Jerry

WHITE

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKERS

#MANOPAUSE

If I had a walk-up song "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson Watch this "Wild Wild Country" My passion causes Cure Violence and Synergos All-time favorite TED Talk “I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much” by Stella Young Essential daily routines Shaving and meditation

Speaker Bio Global Impact Strategies CEO Jerry White is known for leading high-impact campaigns, three of which led to major international treaties: the Landmine Ban Treaty, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Cluster Munitions Ban Treaty. He shares in the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, having worked closely with the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

White served as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state under President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, launching the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. He writes about how trauma victims become resilient survivor-leaders in getting up when life knocks you down. White co-chairs Global Covenant Partners, a nonprofit committed to reducing religion-related violence. He is a senior Ashoka fellow and professor of practice at the University of Virginia.

TEDXFARGO

FACTS 44

JULY 2018

Preview your TED Talk in one sentence.

I will recount how hyperperformance is not the path to what we crave: unconditional love and freedom.

If you weren't in the career you’re in now, what would you be doing?

You assume I have a career?

What is that? I am plagued by a vain sense of vocation and a calling to serve humanity that is killing me.

What was your biggest professional failure?

Not mobilizing sufficient resources for a nationwide “Healthy Homecoming Campaign” for veterans to build resilience and community to counteract rising drug addiction and suicide rates in America.

If you could pick one person to be in the audience to hear your talk, who would it be?

An overachieving perfectionist en route to burnout, needing a quick injection of peer support to admit that workaholism is an addictive disaster.

What was your first job?

Paper boy (paid). Altar boy (unpaid). Hated them both.

Later in high school: Usher at music circus tent — that was easy and fun!

Other than your TED Talk, what are you most looking forward to about your trip to Fargo?

Hanging out with Greg T. What’s a life hack you use regularly?

15-20-minute naps

Who’s a leader you admire?

Can’t pick just one. It’s an ensemble of mentors, role models and icons: Dead: Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, King Hussein, Gandhi Alive: Pope Francis; Barack and Michelle Obama; Oprah; Bryan Stevenson; Angela Merkel; and, mostly, my sage wife, Kelly Gammon White Spiritual: Jesus, Buddha, Abraham, Mohammed, Mary Magdalene, St. Bonaventure What keeps you up at night?

Excel spreadsheets and cash flow How should attendees "Go Forth" after your talk?

Perform Less. Transform More.

This year is

Part 2/3

in a TEDxFargo trilogy: For, Forth, Forward.

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKERS

Hamse

WARFA #LASTMILE

Give us a one-sentence preview of your TED Talk.

Creating an inclusive global economy and digital economic identity for the world’s poorest.

Speaker Bio Hamse Warfa is the cofounder and executive vice president of BanQu, an award-winning blockchain software company working to connect the poor to the global economy. Warfa has worked at the intersection of community-building, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship for the past 20-plus years. He's deeply passionate about changing the social and economic systems that marginalize and exclude people from opportunities to live their lives with dignity.

Warfa is both a Bush Foundation and Ashoka fellow.

If you could pick one person to be in the audience for your talk, who would it be?

A decision-maker who wants to solve the global supply chain crisis by creating digital economic identity for the last mile. It can also be any individual who wants to contribute to solving the world’s most complex challenge: poverty.

Who's a leader you admire?

Nelson Mandela.

Read this "The Practice of Adaptive Leadership"

by Ronald Heifitz Passion cause Global refugee crisis and plight of women farmers Pre-talk prep Pray Essential daily routine Eat oatmeal All-time favorite TED Talk "The danger of a single story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

If you weren't in the career you’re in now, what would you be doing?

Policy-making.

What keeps you up at night?

Silo approaches, the lack of

applying existing innovative solutions to solve societal problems.

Other than your TED Talk, what are you most looking forward to about your trip to Fargo?

Connecting people and businesses.

What’s a life hack you use regularly?

When I am spiritually active, I am more productive.

How should attendees "Go Forth" after your talk?

Use your heart and purse to influence the need for a paradigm shift when it comes to allowing lastmile individuals to build a recognizable, vetted economic identity, which is the base prerequisite for participating in any form of ownership or transaction in the global economy.

TEDxFargo 2016 talk

“The Art of Letting Go"

by The Minimalists is nearing 2 million views on YouTube.

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Pamela

YORK

#FROMHERTOTHERE

Speaker Bio Pamela York is a serial entrepreneur, investor and inventor who's had successes in several industries. She's the founding general partner of CAPITA3, an early-stage venture capital group focused on women-led companies in health sectors.

Previously, York pioneered three successful technology platforms and cofounded two high-tech startups with successful exits, Orchid Cellmark and Princeton Lightwave. She also led the University of Iowa’s technology commercialization foundation, where she oversaw investment in a 1000 technology portfolio, built a startup ecosystem from scratch, and led the formation of 40 startups that raised $150 million in financing with six exits totaling $200 million to date.

Pam is a cofounder of WEstartMN, which supports women in developing scalable ideas and startups; the board chair for CoreBiome; and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota. She has a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois.

If I had a walk-up song "Ray of Light" by Madonna Check out Audible — transforms driving time into learning time Pre-talk prep Focus on what difference I want to make and who I need to be to make that difference All-time favorite TED Talk "Your Elusive Creative Genius"

by Elizabeth Gilbert My first job De-tasseling field corn Passion cause River Valley Riders — provides therapeutic horseback riding to children and adults with special needs Essential daily routine Meditation

If you could pick one person to be in the audience for your talk, who would it be?

Brad Feld. He is best positioned to ensure widespread adoption of this idea (I'll be speaking about) in the VC and startup communities, which I believe would translate to more successful startups, investors and a better world.

If you weren't in the career you’re in now, what would you be doing?

I love the intersection of finance and high-impact companies, so mergers and acquisitions would be a great choice for me. I also love the intersection of food and health, so I might start a company in food or the microbiome.

Who’s a leader you admire?

I’m attracted to leaders operating from a higher consciousness who are exceptionally well-positioned to execute on a big vision.

Seeing the Dali Lama in New York City in 2003 was lifechanging for me, and he’s since been a leader I greatly admire.

Other than your TED Talk, what are you most looking forward to about your trip to Fargo?

This past year, I learned that North Dakota has

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKERS

Preview your TED Talk in one sentence.

As a venture capitalist, I'm helping entrepreneurs be more successful by understanding that success and failure emanate from an inner state of being.

incredible energy around its entrepreneur and technologycommercialization ecosystem.

It’s inspiring to be with people who see new possibilities and are delivering on them.

What’s your biggest professional failure?

I was a cofounder of a startup company that raised about $50M in venture capital financing and, although eventually acquired, did not produce a significant return for the early investors who made the company possible.

Although this is a significant failure, I actually consider my biggest failure to be a profound lack of confidence in myself until more recent years and all the impacts to my career that this has had. I’m now using those experiences to help women entrepreneurs become confident startup CEOs. What’s a life hack you use regularly?

I keep my energy focused around what I want to produce versus living inside reactions to a situation or stressing about the obstacles. When entering new realms not fully understood, I take on being an experimentalist.

How should attendees "Go Forth" after your talk?

Use your fears and other information that your inner state of being can reveal to you as precisely the fuel required to grow as an individual or as a leader to produce significant unexpected results in life and in business, faster than you thought was possible.

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TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKERS

LOCAL SPEAKER

Sadiyo

HASSAN #TIMETOTRANSFORM

Speaker Bio Sadiyo Hassan and her family were refugees from Nairobi, Kenya, who were looking for a better life. As the daughter of a single mother who works night shifts at minimum wage while raising six children, Hassan says she's only ever known a low-income life, so she took control of the one thing she could be held responsible for: her education.

Her drive for success in education has not only shown through her academic excellence, graduating valedictorian of West Fargo High School’s 2018 class, but also through her leadership roles in extracurriculars, inc luding in FIRST Robotics and three service clubs.

Through this journey, Hassan found her passion in engineering, which led to her becoming an early talent intern at John Deere and now an owner of a tech startup company (all before she graduated high school).

WHAT'S

NEW? 48

JULY 2018

Preview your TED Talk in one sentence.

Transformative change through technology with our law enforcement is crucial to efficiently and effectively serve and protect our communities in a constantly advancing technological society.

If you could pick one person to be in the audience to hear your talk, who would it be?

U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (N.D.) If you weren't in the career you’re in now, what would you be doing?

I'm currently going to school for computer engineering and

business administration. If I wasn't in this career pathway, I would see myself going into political science to bring about social change, ideally as an ambassador for the United Nations or something along those lines.

Who’s a leader you admire?

Malala Yousafzai. Her activism in education, equality and female empowerment aligns with my own passions greatly.

I hope to one day become an impactful activist in those areas as well.

TEDxFargo Adventures morning activities and workshops that attendees can participate in before the main TEDxFargo event

If I had a walk-up song "Run The World (Girls)" by Beyoncé Watch this Doctor Who My passion cause UNHCR - The United Nations Refugee Agency Hassan has begun raising money for UNHCR to "help those who cannot help themselves." Her goal is to hit $2,018, which will impact the lives of nearly 3,000 refugees by providing critical medical aid and clean water. Check it out here: Classy.org/Fundraiser/1498114

Pre-talk prep Walk around the venue/stage to get a better feel of the space — brings familiarity to ease my nerves All-time favorite TED Talk “A tale of mental illness — from the inside” by Elyn Saks Favorite social media follow Nicole Mattson Essential daily routine Coming home after a long day of work/school and sitting down with food to watch Netflix/Hulu My first job JCPenney customer service associate (still working there after three years)

What’s your biggest professional failure?

Being too indecisive about what I want to do with my life.

Sometimes, I spread myself too thin because I have so many passions to pursue and not enough of me to go around.

What’s a life hack you use regularly?

Ctrl + Z. Who doesn’t want something that allows you to go back and fix your mistakes instantly? I know it's much needed in my life. Now, if only this applied to the non-digital world ...

How should attendees "Go Forth" after your talk?

I want the lawmakers, governors, legislators and mayors — anyone in government who has influence over law enforcement — to invest in transformative technology to not only keep our communities safer but progressive with the times. I want citizens to be proactive and advocate for change within their cities to ensure their law enforcement can effectively serve and protect their communities.

Surprise Performances throughout the day

TEDxFargo 2018 FEATURED SPEAKERS

A Few Thoughts on Late Bloomers from Rich Karlgaard

Rich

KARLGAARD

#LATEBLOOMERS

Speaker Bio Rich Karlgaard is the publisher and futurist of Forbes Media. His writing is known for its keen assessment of technology, as well as economic, business and leadership issues.

Karlgaard’s 2014 book on innovation culture, "The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success," made numerous lists for top business books of 2014, including Inc., Time.com, 800-CEO-READ and Huffington Post. His 2015 book, "Team Genius: The New Science of High-Performing Organizations," was hailed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. His next book is titled "Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement" and will be published in March 2019.

Karlgaard is an investor and participant in Silicon Valley. He started three organizations and is a Northern California regional winner of E&Y’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Karlgaard, originally from Bismarck, holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University, and he and his family live in Silicon Valley.

Succeed Early ... or Else If you take care of yourself — eat right, exercise, all that kind of stuff — you'll have a good chance of living longer than your parents did. In fact, Millennials have a very good chance of living well into their 90s. So you have to figure out: How do you stay productive and remain a contributor throughout your whole life?

Oddly enough, (today's) educational system and societal pressure are doing the very opposite. They're putting more pressure on kids today by testing them relentlessly; putting tremendous pressure on where they go to school; and creating this impression that if you don't do well then, you're somehow going to go into the bargain bin of human existence. If you didn't achieve early, then what hope do you have?

That's the message that society puts out today — at a time we're all living longer — and it makes no sense at all. (In my TED Talk), I'm planning to talk about the damage it causes and show how it doesn't even comport with brain science.

Rethinking Cognitive Development If you're talking in terms of synaptic processing speed and working memory, those peak pretty early in people's teens and early 20s. If you're talking about judgment and empathy, those start to peak in your 40s and 50s.

There are some people who are fully functioning adults in the way they behave at 20 or 21, and there are others who don't get there until their 30s.

And not because of anything they could've done, really. Their brains are just unfortunate that way.

There's something called executive functioning skill that clinical psychologists will talk about. It's this idea of: What is the age when you can really plan ahead and aren't so impulsive that you just do stupid things that get you in trouble? The average age for that is about 25. There's a reason car rental companies charge a massive premium to rent cars to people under 25. They have determined, from their own facts, that people under 25 can be pretty irresponsible as a group.

Now comes an even bigger challenge than hosting 2,000-plus people for a day: putting all these ideas into action. TEDxFargo’s goal is to be the TEDx event in the world best known for going forth and activating ideas in our community. To do that, we need you to join us.

We’ve got some fun ways to put these ideas into action up our sleeves. We hope you’ll count yourself in for viewing parties, discussions and sharing the talks as they are published online.

Thank you, TEDxFargo team 50

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Late Bloomers: The Book Look for Rich Karlgaard's fourth book, "Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement," which will be published in March 2019.

Carson Wentz: North Dakota's Poster-Boy Late Bloomer I want to make a point about late bloomers that I think North Dakotans can relate to, and that's Carson Wentz. Now, a really interesting thing about this latest Super Bowl: If Wentz had started and hadn't been injured, I believe it would've been the first time that you had a Super Bowl where both starting quarterbacks were unranked as high schoolers.

Not only did they not have a five-star ranking or a four-star ranking or a three or a two or even a one, they weren't ranked at all.

Now, move beyond football to every endeavor, and you think about: Who are the equivalents of the Carson Wentzes out there, where the school system is un-ranking them? School has this simplistic idea that we're either capable or we're not, which overlooks all kinds of skills and passions that kids have growing up. They simply aren't captured and recognized as having these passions and gifts, and a lot of them leave school demoralized thinking that, because they didn't do well, they're not going to have a successful life.

The Consequences We're squandering like crazy the talent that's out there in America today, and it's showing up in some pretty dysfunctional ways. Large segments of our society have basically given up.

Large parts of the country have become very dysfunctional — opioid abuse, unemployment.

That's why I think this is a real societal crisis for the country is because you have millions and millions of people who are demoralized. Maybe they haven't articulated it that well, but they see that the world is changing and see that they're falling behind. And yet, they're just out of position. Their talent hasn't been discovered, and they haven't had the positive feedback loop that gives people confidence over time.

The ones who are lucky enough to do very well in school and get very high scores on their tests get into the good schools.

It's not that hard to get a job, and the rest of their life is pretty good. But the people whose weaknesses are caught out in schools and in the testing environment, they're kind of out of luck. If we're all going to live longer, it's really vital that we not keep proceeding the way we're proceeding.

Michelle

LUCAS Founder, Higher Orbits

Owner, Beyond Buckskin

Steven VILLESCAS JR. Graduate Student, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Steven Villescas Jr. is a secondyear graduate student in the Master of Communication Management program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in Los Angeles. In March, he traveled to Thailand as part of a USC student delegation to meet with NGOs and companies to discuss corporate social responsibility and communication advocacy.

Villescas was born and raised in Whittier, California. He is a firstgeneration college student.

Barry BATCHELLER

TEDxFargo 2018 ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS

Jessica METCALFE

Dr. Jessica Metcalfe is the owner of Beyond Buckskin, a website and business dedicated to promoting and selling Native Americanmade fashion. She has co-curated exhibitions and taught college courses in Native American studies, studio art, art history and literature.

Her current work focuses on American Indian art, clothing, and design from all time periods, with an emphasis on contemporary artists.

Michelle Lucas says she's been inspired by space her entire life.

Lucas graduated from university and went to work at Johnson Space Center in Houston. At JSC, she was part of the Payload Safety Review Panel and then worked mission control for the International Space Station as a flight controller. After that, she then went on to become a technical instructor for astronauts, along the way finding a passion for inspiring the next generation.

Leaving JSC to pursue this new trajectory, Lucas founded Higher Orbits, a nonprofit that uses space to excite students about STEM. She runs programs all over the country and world, encouraging students to find and pursue their passions. In her copious free time, Lucas also serves as vice president of industry relations for uniphi (pronounced "unify") space agency, a management agency for retired astronauts.

LOCAL SPEAKER

Founder, Appareo Upon receiving a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronics engineering from North Dakota State University, Barry Batcheller joined Steiger Tractor as an electronics design engineer. In 1983, he founded Integrated Technical Systems Corporation in Valley City, North Dakota, on behalf of Steiger and served as the company's chief operating officer. He founded Phoenix International Corporation in 1987 and served as President and CEO of Phoenix until the company was purchased by John Deere in 1999.

Batcheller was appointed director of technology growth at John Deere in 1999 and founded Appareo in 2003, now serving as the company's chairman.

He's received numerous awards related to his contributions to the state of North Dakota and the city of Fargo and holds more than 30 patents.

Jocelyne LAMOUREUX-DAVIDSON +

Monique

LAMOUREUX-MORANDO Olympic Gold Medalists

Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando are the first North Dakotans to win Olympic gold medals. Originally from Grand Forks, they are three-time Olympians, taking home silver in 2010 and 2014 and most recently capturing gold in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

They're graduates of the University of North Dakota, both earning a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a master’s in kinesiology.

They say they're committed to utilizing their platform as athletes to be a part of the more important conversations surrounding gender equality, equal opportunity and inclusion.

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TEDxFargo 2018 ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS

Jared KAMROWSKI Founder, Thrifty Traveler

Jared Kamrowski is the founder of Thrifty Traveler, a leading online source for flight deals, cheap travel tips and maximizing travel rewards. Kamrowski honed his travel skills by traveling more than 100 nights per year while working as a federal bank examiner. He left that job in 2017 to run Thrifty Traveler full-time and now flies more than 100,000 miles per year. You can catch him flying in the fanciest first-class cabins, as well as budget airlines, paying only pennies on the dollar. Kamrowski believes there's no such thing as a "once-ina-lifetime" trip and is a firm believer that travel should be cheap and accessible for all.

Mary Ann KRISTIANSEN Founder, Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship

Mary Ann Kristiansen was born and raised in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

She moved to New York City in 1985 and to a farm in New Hampshire in 1991. There, she began making soap, building gardens, and raising sheep and chickens. Through her soapmaking, gardening, and farming contacts, Kristiansen realized there was a shortage of markets for locally made products, while at the same time realizing there was a shortage of business skills on the part of local producers to enter and succeed in those markets.

Mike Sime is the president and CEO of Rapid Packaging, a national distributor of packaging materials, shipping supplies and packaging equipment headquartered in Minneapolis.

2018 was the third consecutive year Minnesota Business Magazine named Rapid Packaging one of its “100 Best Companies to Work For." Sime is in long-term recovery and has served on the boards of both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including Hazelden Betty Ford and Augsburg College’s StepUP Program, among others. The keynote speaker at the 2018 North Dakota Governors Prayer Breakfast, Sime and his wife also chaired the 2012 Minnesota Prayer Breakfast.

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Nick YBARRA

Founder, L.A.N.D.

Nick Ybarra is a self-employed director of adventure. In 2012, he established Legendary Adventures New Discoveries, or L.A.N.D., which exists to create legendary adventures for people to experience new discoveries about themselves, the great outdoors and more. Nick is the creator and director of the Badlands Race Series, consisting of eight annual events that have been called “the raddest of races in the baddest of places.”

Ybarra founded the Save The Maah Daah Hey Foundation, a nonprofit that brought our country’s longest non-motorized, single-track trail back from extinction when the U.S. Forest Service lost the funding and staff to maintain the trail. He has dedicated his life to saving the Maah Daah Hey Trail from erosion, overgrowth, and, ultimately, extinction by volunteering to annually mow, trim, prune and shovel the entire 180 miles of the Maah Daah Hey and connecting trails into a findable, usable and enjoyable condition for all trail users.

She founded Hannah Grimes Marketplace in 1991 as a "retail classroom," providing both a market for locally made and locally grown products, as well as business support to those makers and growers.

These efforts expanded in 2006 with the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, a thriving entrepreneurial hub with workshops, programs, and networking that helps businesses of all sizes, stages, and sectors start and grow.

Mike SIME

President/CEO, Rapid Packaging

Candy SUISO

Owner/Operator, Makaha Mangoes As program director for Wai`anae High School - Searider Productions in Hawai'i, Candy Suiso oversees one of the most innovative creative media programs in Hawai'i. In 1999, she received a prestigious National Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation.

Along with her husband, Suiso owns and operates Makaha Mangoes, a mango farm located in Makaha Valley on Oahu, which is home to more than 70 mango trees of a dozen different varieties and numerous other tropical exotic fruits.

Mark SYLVESTER Producer, TEDxSantaBarbara

LOCAL SPEAKER

Thamrong (Keng) DECHAWUTH

Sylvester has been on the leading edge of software development for more than 30 years. As a cofounder of Wavefront Technologies, he helped develop the software known as Maya, which revolutionized the way the world is entertained. As a TEDx podcaster and producer of TEDxSantaBarbara, Sylvester is constantly looking for "Ideas Worth Spreading" and believes that helping people make smarter connections is definitely one of those ideas.

Restaurateur Thamrong (Keng) Dechawuth is a restaurateur. He was born and raised in Chiangmai, Thailand.

He received a master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California in 2000 and has been involved in restaurant businesses since 2006. He's opened more than 10 restaurants in North Dakota, Minnesota, California and Georgia.

LOCAL SPEAKER

Ellen SOLBERG

Student, North Dakota State University

Ellen Solberg was born and raised in Fargo and is now attending college at North Dakota State University, where she is pursuing a degree in marketing. In 2015, during her senior year of high school, Solberg joined the North Dakota Air National Guard, where she has since begun to pursue a career.

She's passionate about education and learning both inside and outside the classroom. One thing she says she's noticed is that

Joseph SCHONING PERFORMER

Joseph Schoning is a 16-year-old GED student who was born and raised in Bemidji, Minnesota. He says he didn't succeed in high school due to anxiety and work ethic but always loved math and english. Since leaving high school, Schoning has pursued music, while also serving as a caregiver to his grandpa.

Doing "everything in his power to make the best music he can," he plans on going to college next fall to study political science and music theory. All of this is yet to be truly decided, as he says that all he knows is he wants to change the world. He tends to spend his free time writing and hanging out with friends and says he's honored to take his first step toward the future with TEDxFargo.

throughout all levels of school, kids are often expected to have an idea of what they want to be when they grow up. Since graduating high school, she says she's realized it's okay to not know what you want to be and that it's perfectly acceptable to pursue several different passions. Solberg believes she would love to work with Pixar, in a national security agency, within the creative department of a fashion magazine, or run her own business.

Dechawuth says he loves traveling and learning about cultures through the diversity of food and that one of his favorite places is Hawai'i, a place he visits almost every year and where he fell in love with the local food, poke. In summer 2017, he started the Poke Bowl food truck in Fargo.

PERFORMER

Rachel WEBB Rachel Webb is a singer, actress, and dancer from Dallas. She began singing in church at the age of seven, and one of her most recent credits includes playing a Dynamite in Theatre Aspen's production of Hairspray in summer 2017. Webb is currently pursuing a bachelor of fine arts in musical theatre from Texas State University, and though she studies

musical theatre in college, she says she still enjoys singing and performing all styles of music.

Webb says she's grateful for all opportunities to share the art of music with people, for "music has always had the capability to heal."

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TEDxFargo 2018 ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS

In 2003, Mark Sylvester helped create the first social network for the TED Conference. He has created hundreds of communities that include global organizations that want to make a cultural change in how they connect with their audiences.

OPINION

The Pros of a Convention Center Far Outweigh the Cons

By Craig Whitney | Craig Whitney is the president and CEO of the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Chamber of Commerce.

F

or nearly six years, there have been whispers and chatter about whether our region needs a convention center. There have, at the same time, been ongoing discussions about the potential need for a performing arts center.

Within these conversations, I see two pressing questions: 1. If we can currently only tackle one of

these tasks, which should it be?

2. Which has the larger potential

economic impact for our region?

Several years ago, the Chamber’s board of directors took a position to unanimously support the need for a convention center. The action stopped short of recommending a location, but now is the time to elevate this discussion to the public.

Our view is that, of the two alternatives, a convention center will undoubtedly provide the largest economic impact.

A convention center will be a boon to airports, hotels, bars and restaurants, and shopping throughout the region.

J. ALAN PAUL

While we recognize that convention centers of this type do not always generate a positive cash flow, the

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potentially significant economic impact to our region far outweighs that concern.

In our view, it's high time to elevate the whispers to a community-level conversation. And while several studies have been completed on the matter, we feel those studies lack many variables that should be considered as we weigh such a big decision for our community.

Ultimately, there are really two main variables that will need to be a part of this conversation: 1) Cost is, of course, at the top of the list of considerations. We fully endorse a public discussion of the options and lean toward a serious discussion of what a public-private partnership could look like. The goal is to have as little impact on taxpayers as possible, and preliminary discussions suggest there is strong interest from the private sector to participate in this project.

2) Location must also be considered, keeping in mind that a regional approach is more important than "picking" one city over another.

FMWFChamber.com

A CONVENTION CENTER: IN SUMMARY • A potential project should be discussed in public by the business community rather than dictated by city officials.

• The significant impact on the business community is wide-ranging, and the potential impact on our community is great.

• The Chamber would like to convene a task force to do a deep dive into feasibility, location, cost, and other variables, with a strong concentration on a public-private partnership.

Is It Time to Prepare 6 Steps to Take After years of a bull market, a bear market and economic recession could be around the corner. It's time to prepare.

BY Paul Jarvis PAUL FLESSLAND

FOR A BEAR?

Rising asset values in the stock and housing markets and low volatility could be tricking investors into a sense of complacency. To mitigate unanticipated risks, investors will need to revisit their financial strategy.

While we see low volatility today, history has shown us that high volatility typically returns. Yet, still, in low-volatility markets, we sometimes see investors tripped up by a false sense of security.

With U.S. stocks in the secondlongest bull market and economic expansion on record, it's only a matter of time before we enter into a recession and bear market.

It’s hard to predict when the market will turn, but now is the time to prepare yourself financially for a bear market and recession regardless, especially since we know this shift is inevitable. These six tips can help you remain on top of your finances and avoid encountering any surprises when the markets turn.

80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30

VOLATILITY INDEX (VIX) S&P 500 INDEX (SPX)

25 20

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

2009

FEB

What Do You Know About VIX? Volatility in itself doesn't signify the end of a bear market. We need to put it into context.

One measure of volatility is the VIX volatility index. While the VIX average is about 20, if we go back and look at the 200809 Great Recession era, it spiked to 80! And while there was a recent spike to around 40, it currently sits at about 12.

Historically, we've seen: • Three corrections of 5 percent • One 10 percent drop in a year • Every three years, a drop greater than 20 percent FARGOINC.COM

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1

3

5

As flight attendants remind us: "Items may have shifted during flight.” The same goes for your finances — hopefully for the better. Right after tax season is a good time to update your game plan.

Take the time to “stress test” your portfolio. Stress testing involves simulations for different market environments such as rising rates, higher inflation and market pullbacks.

There is no better time to rebalance your portfolio than when stock markets are calm and rising. As one asset class outgrows another, your weights and risk can be lopsided, making rebalancing even more important.

For those still working, maintain 6-12 months of expenses (12 -24 months for retirees) in a safe, liquid account.

Revisit or create your financial plan.

There is no better time to rebalance your portfolio than when stock markets are calm and rising.

2

Beware the savings trap.

Rising asset values in the stock and housing markets can lead investors to gloss over the basics. At times, it can be easy to see your net worth jump because of a combination of a booming stock market and skyrocketing real estate prices, but that could lead to bad behavior such as the belief that you don’t have to save more money. Some investors faced that problem in 2006 with rising real estate values, only to see real estate drop in the ensuing years.

BUSINESS

WISDOM CARRIE GRESS Sergeant Cass County Sheriff's Office

Rebalance your diversified portfolio.

4

Stop trying to beat or time the market.

Despite evidence that it’s nearly impossible to beat the market consistently over the long-term, many investors still delude themselves into thinking they can do so. The same theory goes for those who may also be sitting atop some cash and waiting for the “right” time to put it to work.

Who knows when that will be?

Although you may invest at the seemingly “wrong” time, putting your money to work brings you one step closer to reaching your goals.

Maintain a healthy emergency reserve fund.

6

Pay down debt.

There’s nothing like a recession and bear market to expose the dangers of carrying too much debt.

UnitedCP.com/ND1

Thank You, Sheriff Paul Laney.

"Sheriff Laney is the epitome of leadership and has built the sheriff’s office around the philosophy of servant leadership."

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See How Two Local Business Owners Got to

GROW WITH

A

s much as we love our local business community, it's always exciting when one of our own gets some love from a global brand like Google.

Last month, Heat Transfer Warehouse Founder Kirk Anton and Rick Berg, the cofounder of Fargo-based digital marketing agency AdShark, which counts Heat Transfer Warehouse as one of its clients, took a trip out to Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, to attend the "Grow with Google" business meetup.

It was the culmination of Heat Transfer Warehouse being selected as North Dakota's Google Featured Business, an honor given to one e-commerce company from each state (and Washington, D.C., and over the course of the three-day trip, the pair got to meet with other featured businesses from around the country; chat with Google employees; and hear the latest on product innovation, workplace culture and other digital trends. Here are some of the highlights.

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Each year, Google publishes a collection of success stories featuring 51 businesses — one from each state and Washington, D.C., — and the purpose of the stories is to highlight businesses that are using the web and Google's digital tools to grow. Heat Transfer Warehouse was chosen as this year's North Dakota business.

Heat Transfer Warehouse: A Model of Growth • Averaged 70 percent growth over past

four years

• Gone from a two- to a 40-person team • Now service more than 85,000

customers across globe

• Have locations in Florida, Kentucky,

Nevada and North Dakota

"It was all a lot of fun, more fun than I expected," says Berg (right) of the experience. "My favorite part was talking to all the businesses from across the country."

Google's Economic Impact in North Dakota • $144 million Economic activity Google

helped provide businesses, nonprofits and website publishers throughout the state in 2017.

• $395,000 Free advertising Google provided to North Dakota nonprofits through Google Ad Grants program.

• 1,600 North Dakota businesses, nonprofits and website publishers that use Google's advertising tools: AdWords and AdSense.

• 35 percent Heat Transfer Warehouse's sales that come through Google AdWords alone.

Heat Transfer Warehouse Founder Kirk Anton gets in the Google spirit, as he takes a company bike for a spin.

Google's 5 Dynamics of a Successful Team 1. Psychological safety: Can you take risks on a team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?

2. Dependability: Can team members count on one another to do high quality work on time?

3. Structure and clarity: Are goals, roles and execution plans on the team clear?

4. Meaning of work: Is the team working on something that's personally important for each member?

5. Impact of work: Does the team fundamentally believe the work they're doing matters?

Google didn't send attendees home empty-handed.

The company gave everyone a gift box that included a Google Home Mini.

BUSINESS

WISDOM KENT KOLSTAD President Livewire

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my "why"

"Being honest in an industry that's gotten a bad name due to widespread corruption and the stereotype of grumpy, cynical roadies."

AdShark Cofounder Rick Berg (not pictured) says a lot of the companies' pain points were similar, primarily related to e-commerce platforms, internal marketing, and difficulty tracking digital marketing results.

Rick Berg: My 8 Biggest Takeaways 1. Nearly 90 percent of smartphone owners turn to search first in a moment of need.

2. 30 percent of all mobile searches are related to location.

3. Nearly 90 percent of people are likely to recommend a brand after a positive experience.

4. Mobile site speed, is extremely important. A one-second delay in mobilepage load times can decrease conversions by 20 percent.

5. Google Attribution is a new product that will help businesses better track online conversions across different ad platforms.

6. If you're a local business using AdWords, if someone clicks an ad and then visits your store, you can attribute it back to the ad the consumer clicked.

7. In some larger cities, Google is setting up a system where they'll be able to create video for you, as long as you spend a minimum dollar amount in video ads.

8. Google My Business has a bunch of new features. Among them is the ability to add to your listing: announcements and events, appointment-booking, and SMS messaging, which allows customers to text your business directly.

Business Community:

Invest Deeply in the Arts to Ensure Your Own Success The business-arts relationship in Fargo is a two-way street.

BY Dayna Del Val

Reciprocity: Why It Matters reciprocity (n.): 1) shared, felt or shown by both sides 2) serving to reciprocate or consisting of or functioning as a return in kind 3) mutually corresponding

The Arts Partnership President and CEO Dayna Del Val contributes a monthly column that explores the ways the local arts and business communities can work together to create economic opportunity and add aesthetic value to Fargo.

This is the basis by which The Arts Partnership — and really, the arts community general — operates in the Fargo metro.

The arts are in a reciprocal relationship with all the sectors and the larger community ... or at least they should be.

But what do I really mean by reciprocal relationship?

A healthy, reciprocal relationship should equate to both sides feeling like they are giving and receiving benefits equally. Both sides should have a vested interest in the success of the relationship and feel as though they couldn’t be as successful if they were on their own.

One of the most important of

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these reciprocal relationships in town is that of the business and arts communities.

What the Arts Give to Business

A highly educated workforce One that has above-average access to arts and culture, thereby helping to ensure these employees are ready for your 21st century job.

High value for attraction and retention of employees "Local arts” and “culture" are common answers to the questions: "What do you want to do tonight/this weekend/this summer? What is there to do around here? You want to move where? But what will we do there?"

Small-business owners A staggeringly high number of entrepreneurs since artists are their own startups.

Community and creative place-making Both for the overall sell of the metro and inside your business, where employee culture is a key factor in many people determining where they want to work.

Tax benefits In the case of nonprofit arts organizations, the write-off you’ll get for sponsoring events, programs, performances, openings and more.

Marketing materials The architecture, performances, and community highlights that wind up in corporate annual reports, marketing and ad campaigns, and more.

The “cool” factor Important for all towns that are part of “flyover country” since we can’t compete with mountains, oceans, deserts and coasts.

A new, invested audience And one who reads and learns about you when arts leaders publicly thank your business for its sponsorship (as well as when your business’s name and logo show up on their marketing materials).

The fact is that the arts community gives these and many more benefits whether you, as a business, are actively participating and supporting them or not. You can choose to never walk through the door of a theatre, museum, gallery, or performance hall and still reap the benefits listed above. But then is that really reciprocal?

What Business Can Give to The Arts Financial support This can be money to support programming, in-kind donations, products or space.

When the arts are an integral piece of employees’ work time, you’re likely to keep employees longer, and they are likely to push through challenges by trying multiple, creative solutions.

What Is Art WORKS? A Refresher The Arts Partnership’s Art WORKS program is a flexible program meant to engage employees at all levels of your business in shifting their work lens by applying artistic thinking and processes to their more traditional jobs — accounting, project management, development, leadership and more.

When businesses invest deeply in the arts nonprofit sector, you are building the long-term success of that sector, which will ultimately go a long way toward ensuring your long-term success, too.

Arts nonprofits that are able to pay competitive salaries, hire an adequate number of staff, program audaciously, and take the necessary time to be truly strategic an thought leaders in the community can directly impact your ability to attract and retain the best employees and grow your business.

Showing up This can be by attending events, both as a team and individually.

And this is a really important point: Leadership has to set a tone and lead by example. If your executive team attends the arts and places value in them, it’s much more likely that mid- and lower-level employees will, too.

Reciprocity: The Real-Life Impact When businesses make significant investments in the arts, they're likely to see transformations that far exceed the typical ROI of a charitable donation, marketing investment or employee-engagement program.

Consider Art WORKS, for

BUSINESS

WISDOM ALAN HAUT North Dakota District Director U.S. Small Business Administration

and that she had some work up in her office. I commented on it and found out she had a visual arts background.

Long story short: We met for coffee, and she had never heard of The Arts Partnership, despite having a somewhat recent arts degree from one of our local universities. She was immediately interested in learning more because she was feeling kind of lost where her art was concerned.

Today, she’s a board member of The Arts Partnership, has volunteered for a number of our art events, and is building us a new website (with enthusiastic support from her company).

She’s even started to get some of her fellow team members excited about our work and volunteering with us, too.

Why?

example. As I wrote about in Fargo INC! this past winter, this program engages employees with all the usual benefits of a golf outing or office olympics, but beyond creating camaraderie and generating a fun, shared experience, Arts WORKS actually helps to shift the way employees think about their current role and work.

Because people want to live where there are fun, cultural things to do, so you have to be able to not only show that your community has all those various interest points but that you know about them and have some relationship to them, too.

I recently met with a very successful local entrepreneur who took me on a tour of his offices, where he happened to introduced me to his director of design and marketing. He mentioned that she liked to paint

That’s just one example of building employee investment in both your business and the community. That's a reciprocal relationship.

TheArtsPartnership.net How might you and your team get involved? Send me an email at Dayna@TheArtsPartnership. net. I’ll take you out for coffee, and we’ll figure it out together. I can’t wait.

The Worst Advice I've Gotten "You should buy that. It’s such a good price that you can’t afford not to." ... If you don’t have the money, it's never a good purchase.

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Make Room Director

Chelsea Thorson helsea Thorson is a local artist and the owner of Fargo's Make Room, an art gallery and studio in West Acres mall. Through her classes and open-studio times, she encourages adults and kids alike to discover that they're artists, either for the first time or by rediscovering their creativity.

"Every day, someone will tell me, 'I don’t have a creative bone in my body,'” Thorson says, "but there is no one creative bone. They’re all creative, and everybody has them.

BY LAURA CAROON AND DANYEL MOE HILLARY EHLEN

“When someone starts out really shy or lacking confidence artistically, and then all of a sudden they tap into their creative self, they begin to love it. It’s the best moment of my job! It’s like an I-told-you-so moment."

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J. ALAN PAUL

Laura Caroon

How'd you get to where you are today, running a studio?

I was supported at an early age to be a maker and artist by a family full of makers, art teachers and tinkerers. My sisters are also both artists. I had my first sketchbook at age three and my first studio workbench at age five in my room — until I outgrew it and took over my dad’s workshop to the point that he installed spray-painted "do not cross" zones to keep his half tidy. I still crossed the line.

I received my master of architecture from (North Dakota State University) in 2011 and savored every moment in the studio in college art and architecture classes.

Upon graduation, though, the next tasks of interning and computerizing someone else's designs sounded too mind-numbing, so I dabbled in adjunct teaching at NDSU and Concordia (College) as an excuse to get back into the studio again. I eventually decided that I needed a studio of my own.

What's the best career advice you’ve ever received?

One of my Ladyboss mentors who owns Atomic Coffee gave me the best advice. I was asking her how you know when you're ready to take the leap and purchase a new space. Her advice was, “You know you're ready to move when, if you lost everything, you would still be okay. Would it break you if it didn’t work? If (it would), it’s not a good idea."

So when I was deciding to move Make Room, I realized that if everything failed, I would still have the house I live in, the car I’m driving, my cats, my skills and a ton of stuff to sell.

Do you have any tips for building your network?

People tend to be intimidated by people

Danyel Moe Laura Caroon and Danyel Moe are the cofounders of Ladybosses of FargoMoorhead, a local group networking group for women that's focused on creating a casual atmosphere and making genuine connections.

they view as successful. I think it’s a helpful reminder that all of us who are in positions of leadership have been in your shoes. None of us are unreachable people, especially in Fargo-Moorhead.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I’m inspired by my sisters who are artist and my mom and grandma who were art teachers. I’m so inspired by people who are filling their homes with things they love.

I’ve also loved Star Wallowing Bull since the first time I saw his work at The Plains (Art Museum). I got to meet him, and I was like, "Dude, you’re my favorite artist!’ He is so focused on his art for no other reason beside that he loves it.

Do you have any go-to stressmanagement practices?

My big one is that I never work on Sundays and Mondays; I never work on Make Room stuff those days. There's never an excuse to

One Book Every Ladyboss Should Read

"

We need to live with an abundance mindset, that there's enough success for all of us.

because she's done everything.

"Business Boutique: A Woman's Guide to Making Money Doing What She Loves"

By Christy Wright

"I just got done with this. It’s 17 chapters of EVERYTHING you need to know about budgeting, and after every chapter, there's a worksheet."

I’ll tell her about a new craft I’m trying out at Make Room, and she’ll say, "Oh yeah, here’s a book on that." She's blind now and still wants to make art. Since her sight is gone, she's working on rolling paper and fibers that she can feel.

Something unexpected about yourself?

I’m a musician; I play saxophone. I also just got a wooden flute recently. I’ve been carrying it around, playing it whenever I feel stuck or need inspiration.

Sunday is house day. Monday is Chelsea day. I try to make that clear with my business.

What can Ladybosses do to support you and the community?

Be aware of what women-owned businesses are out there, and be intentional about spending your money at their businesses.

Who's your hero?

My hero is my grandma! She's my hero because she's also an artist and has been an independent woman her whole life — always marched to the beat of her own drum. It’s intimidating talking to her

Also, we need to live with an abundance mindset, that there's enough success for all of us. We should be supporting each other, and there will always be enough success to go around. I think it’s awesome that I've been able to get to know a lot more women in our community through the work I do.

be working eight days a week.

BUSINESS

WISDOM ALAN DOSTERT President/CEO EAPC Architects Engineers

MakeRoomFargo.com 3902 13th Ave. S (West Acres)

my pick "The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten"

By Julian Baggini "Several short essays about philosophical situations - really a gut check into what you value as right and wrong."

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TechCORNER

SOME WAYS TO

SECURE COMPANY DATA Routine backups are the single most important thing you can do to protect your company and its data. Backups come in many different shapes and sizes, but even a basic copying of files to an external hard drive can be incredibly helpful in the face of a disaster or computer virus outbreak. For organizations of any size, the cost-effectiveness and level of protection granted from cloud backups are worth the investment.

After backups, the effectiveness of measures to protect your organization change by your individual needs. This is often where security professionals can help you determine what's important and needed for your organization.

Here are a few things to get you thinking.

Restricting Access

When it comes to company credit cards, only give those in your company authorization to make purchases, and limit their spending amounts. This is the exact model you should have for your company data across the board. Individuals should only have access to information that they need to perform their job roles.

By William Galvin

William Galvin is the owner of Giga-Green Technologies in Fargo.

By limiting what information individuals can access, if they or their account are breached, intruders can't obtain the keys to the kingdom.

PRO TIP Successful and routine backups are great, but hey don't mean jack if you can't restore from them. Make it a serious habit to attempt to restore data from your backups and confirm its quality.

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JULY 2018

Encryption

Enable and, more importantly, enforce device encryption. Without it, if someone steals your device, they can just pull out the hard drive and read your files like they plugged in a USB thumb drive. Back up your encryption keys!

Firewalls

You should have at least one. It should be configured correctly and checked routinely for firmware updates and modifications to access rules. And that's the bare minimum.

This draws a "perimeter" around your primary network and makes it far less susceptible to network-based intrusions.

Network security gets far more complex than a single firewall, but you have to start somewhere.

PRO TIP Phishing is the use of social engineering to instill trust and gain access to your environment. These are your modern-day con artists, and they can go to extreme lengths to fool you into believing their legitimacy. The best pose as legitimate business opportunities and eventually profit on your behalf.

Spam Filtering

Email spam filtering is incredibly helpful in protecting individuals from accidental fatal clicks. Spam-marked email should only be opened from trusted senders, and your email administrator can white-list them for future communications. This helps cut down on the amount of phishing e-mails as well.

Security Training

Training is particularly effective for businesses with a strong online presence.

Cybercrime changes just as fast as technology does. Keeping your staff aware of the latest scams and phishing techniques protects your front line from unneeded exposure.

PRO TIP Most cell phones today contain some sort of biometric reader such as fingerprint or facial recognition. This can be utilized for tight security measures to authenticate users to company data. The idea is to blend everyday use of technologies into your existing environment.

Mobile-Device Management

If you're using any cloud services, you should be managing all the devices that access that data. This includes: computers, cell phones, tablets and anything else with an internet connection.

The management of devices helps improve device security and antivirus patching. It also enforces the use of passwords and can disable certain functionality of devices such as a camera or a web browser, if needed. In a worst-case or lost-device scenario, you can remotely wipe the devices, so you don't have to worry about your data on a missing device.

Giga-Green.com

J U LY

CALENDAR

BUSINESS EVENTS

2018

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JULY 2018

JULY 10 - SEPTEMBER 4 CO.STARTERS Summer Course

Nine weeks, meeting one evening per week for three hours

CO.STARTERS is a nine-week business development program that helps aspiring entrepreneurs put ideas into action and turn a passion into a sustainable and thriving small business.

JULY 10

Registration $500, which includes • Course materials • Professional course facilitator with office hours to address your businessdevelopment needs • Access to a list of members of the business community who are ready to meet with students • Small-business resources • Discounted membership at the Prairie Den coworking space during course

Faith in the Workplace

Folkways.co/Costarters

HatchCoaching.com

The Prairie Den 122½ Broadway N, Fargo

Hatch Coaching 216 Broadway N, Suite 201, Fargo

9-11 a.m.

Join Hatch Coaching Founder Erik Hatch as he leads a conversation about faith in the workplace. Explore topics together and learn how to let light overtake darkness.

This is a non-denominational event, and everyone is welcome.

Registration • $50

JULY 10 Goodbye Employee Management ... Hello Process Management 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

A great culture is one of the key drivers of an organization’s success. But what if a great culture wasn’t about just creating high employee engagement but also great businessprocess management? Join for this session to learn how to enhance your organization’s culture with business-process management as part of your employee-engagement efforts. You'll look at how to shift from donuts to documentation, recognition to reporting tools, and pay increases to process improvement.

Qualifies for two CPE credits for the ND CPA Society Registration (includes lunch) Chamber Members • $30 in advance • $35 at the door Non-Members • $40 in advance • $45 at the door FMWFChamber.com Radisson Hotel Fargo 201 5th St. N, Fargo

Sara Stolt The Project Co. Founder

JULY 19 Emerging Leaders Networking Event 3:30-5 p.m.

JULY 11 Chamber Challenge Golf Outing 12:30-7:30 p.m.

Step back a few decades and join the FMWF Chamber of Commerce for this year’s Chamber Challenge Golf Outing with a rad ‘80s theme. Gals, grab those scrunchies, because they'll have a great day full of golf and networking that you won’t want to miss. It’ll be totally tubular! Awards are given for men’s and women’s team best score, individual prizes for closest to the pin and longest drive, best themed tee box sponsor and best themed dressed team.

Entry fee includes: • 18 holes of golf and cart • Food and drinks on the course • 19th hole happy hour social • On-course contests and giveaways from sponsors

Individual Rates Don’t have a team of four? Register as an individual, and the Chamber can pair you up with other players. It’s a great way to build relationships and your network.

After June 1 • $145 Chamber member • $175 Non-member Team Rates (foursome) Get your clients, coworkers, and friends together and network the afternoon away on the golf course with a four-person team.

After June 1 • $560 Chamber member • $700 Non-member

Save the date for the United Way of Cass-Clay's Emerging Leaders Network Event. More details to come.

Become an Emerging Leader Anyone can become an Emerging Leader at any time. To learn more about becoming an Emerging Leader, visit the United Way of Cass-Clay's website or email EmergingLeaders@ UnitedWayCassClay.org.

UnitedWayCassClay.org Location TBA

BRedher@FMWFChamber.com (Bobbi Jo Rehder) Edgewood Golf Course 19 Golf Course Ave. N, Fargo

JULY 18 CEO Roundtable: Issues, Advice and Collective Wisdom

JULY 24

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

The third Wednesday of each month, Fargo professionals come together for a conversation specifically designed to address the unique challenges of life at the top. This month: There are two types of best practices: 1. Ones we learn the hard way 2. Ones we learn from others Registration (includes lunch, RSVP required) • $50 The100.work Avalon Events Center 2525 9th Ave. S, Fargo

Andrea Hochhatler HueLife COO

Kurt McSparron the100, inc.

President

Mike Johnson ClearPath Advisors CEO

Dream, Girl: A Documentary 6:30 p.m.

Head to the Fargo Theatre for a screening of "Dream, Girl," a documentary that showcases the stories of inspiring and ambitious female entrepreneurs. Hosted by Girl Develop It Fargo, this event is for all ages, and in addition to the film, there will be a social hour and panel discussion featuring local female entrepreneurs. Proceeds from the event support the Girl Develop It scholarship fund.

Cost • $10 GirlDevelopIt.TicketLeap.com/ Dream-Girl Fargo Theatre 314 Broadway N, Fargo

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JULY 24 Stealing Your Life: A Fraud Seminar with Frank Abagnale 3-5 p.m.

For more than four decades, Frank Abagnale has advised the FBI on how to outsmart con artists, and now you can see him in Fargo for a special presentation on how to protect yourself and your business from fraud and identity theft.

Between the ages of 16 and 21, Abagnale successfully posed as an airline pilot, an attorney, and a doctor and cashed millions in fraudulent checks. You probably know his story from the acclaimed movie "Catch Me If You Can" starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Today, Abagnale is an expert on the subject of identity theft, has written three books on the subject, and has served as a consultant to some of the largest companies in the world on the subject of cyber crime.

Registration Chamber Members • $30 in advance • $40 at the door Non-Members • $50 in advance • $60 at the door Corporate Table Sponsorship (table of eight) • $650 FMWFChamber.com Delta by Marriott 1635 42nd St. S, Fargo

Frank Abagnale

JULY 26 the100, inc. Member Social 4-7 p.m.

Registration (members only) • Free the100.work Bonanzaville - Cass County Historical Society 1351 Main Ave., West Fargo

JULY 26

DOWN THE ROAD

Women Connect: Finding Your Lighthouse and Navigation Techniques for the Journey 3:30-5 p.m.

Business After Hours Thursday, August 16

Do you ever ask yourself what you should do with your life and how can it be more meaningful?

Do you set goals for yourself and lose sight of them because life took over? These questions can be daunting, especially for women who are already busy, stretched and overloaded.

For many women, the goals you set and the meaningful life changes you want are a glimmer of light from a lighthouse way out in the distance. If this is you, the best course may be to abandon the map, aim for the lighthouse and simply row at a pace that is right for you.

Big Iron Farm Show September 11-13

CO.STARTERS Fall Course September 18 - November 13

Please consider bringing school supplies to donate to the United Way of Cass-Clay's school supply drive.

Registration Chamber Members • $25 in advance • $30 at the door Non-Members • $35 in advance • $40 at the door

LOCAL BUSINESS MEETUPS Debbie Stang Midco COO

FMWFChamber.com DoubleTree by Hilton 825 E. Beaton Drive, West Fargo

More information for most meetups can be found at Meetup.com.

• Blockchain Meetup • Cass-Clay Subcontractor Sales & Marketing Meetup

JULY 31-AUGUST 2 FBS Summit JULY 26 TEDxFargo 2018: Forth 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The TEDxFargo team is crafting the ninth TEDxFargo event in our community. This day will be a chance for our community to share ideas and experiences as the team brings another world-class event to Fargo.

There will be local, national, and global thought leaders who will be sharing their ideas on the main stage to help solve challenges and create possibilities.

Each year, more than 100 MLS leaders, educators, system administrators, movers, and shakers gather to further explore the power of the Flexmls System and learn about additions to the ever-expanding FBS product portfolio.

TEDxFargo.com

At the annual Summit, FBS employee-owners aspire to accomplish four main goals: • Gain your unique and valuable perspective, insight, and input about their products and services • Provide in-depth learning opportunities • Share knowledge about emerging real estate industry trends • Engage and build relationships while learning and having fun during hosted activities and events Registration • Free - FBS hosts a number of meals and special events throughout the event.

Attendees are responsible for travel, lodging and some food/drink.

Fargo Civic Center 207 4th St. N, Fargo

FBSSummit.com

Believing that ideas can change the way the world works, you're encouraged to listen to new ideas, find a topic(s) you’re passionate about, and then take action to enable those ideas. Ask yourself: "How will I go forth?"

Radisson Hotel Fargo 201 5th St. N, Fargoç

• Geek Meet FM • Girl Develop It • Fargo 3D Printing Meetup • Fargo Cashflow Game Night • Fargo Entrepreneurship Meetup • Fargo Virtual Reality Meetup • Fargo-Moorhead Content Strategy

• The Fargo-Moorhead Real Estate Investing Meetup

• Master Networks – Fargo Business Referral Group

• Mobile Meetup Fargo • Moorhead Entrepreneurship Meetup

• Prairie Dawg Drupal • Red River Valley Big Data –

Midwest Big Data Hub Meetup

• Stampede: A Meetup for the

Young, Determined & Restless

• YMCA Brighter Futures

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