FEATURE
THE ENTREPRENEURS ROUNDTABLE By Cathryn Sprynczynatyk
Entrepreneurship is thriving on the prairie. From events like 1 Million Cups and Makewell to accolades like being named No. 2 Best Place for Women Entrepreneurs by GoodCall.com and Top 50 Places for Small Business Startups by CNN Money, everything points to a fertile entrepreneurial climate in Bismarck-Mandan. Chamber Connection posed the same set of questions to four entrepreneurs in order to create an entrepreneurs’ roundtable. The entrepreneurs interviewed include Maggie Barth, Executive Director of The Innovation School; Brian Jackson, President of Mighty Missouri Coffee Co.; Jessica Keller, Optometrist and Owner of Elite Eye Care; and Ben Brick, Owner of Brick design.
Mighty Missouri Coffee Co. Proprietors: Brian Jackson (interviewed), DJ Kramer, and Jamie Lee Kramer Founded: 2012, coffee roasting operation founded; 2015, first storefront opened Employees: 10 How would you describe your business in 30 words or less? “We roast and serve what we think is the best coffee around.”
4 | Chamber Connection
What inspired you to start your business? Barth: “My own kids did. School came really easily to me, and I played the game of school really well. I have two boys. When my oldest started school, he was bored and didn’t want to sit still. At first I was trying to hammer him into the box, but I started doing lots of research, seeing what schools in other states were doing. There is a plethora of information out there that school just needs to change.”
Jackson: “The name came before the product. I was inspired personally to build the brand, thinking that would be a good exercise in my talents. I had a ‘Mighty Missouri blank’ company. Then, I got interested in roasting and selling coffee … I was just kind of born with that entrepreneurial itch. I’ve always been interested in creating something, and that’s where I get the fulfillment in my vocation.”
Brick Proprietor: Ben Brick, Owner of Brick design Founded: June 2017 Employees: 1 How would you describe your business in 30 words or less? “I create visual identities for companies who are looking to brand or rebrand.”
Keller: “I never dreamed of owning a business or operating a business. It was kind of more forced upon me. My family wanted to move back to the BismarckMandan area. My options were limited at the time. We decided to make the leap and opened the optometry clinic ourselves.” Brick: “One day I was looking through this magazine — an old “Boys’ Life” magazine from the 1950s — and I realized that every advertisement, everything they were pushing toward these kids, everything was in illustration — whether it was supposed to show what this product looked like or whether it was a cartoon salesman. A light bulb went off in my head. What happened to this stuff? Obviously, photography happened. But I wondered if it was worth bringing back that warm cartoon look to help companies with their brand.”