Downtown rising Start-up community invigorates downtown Bismarck

By Kate Herzog

BISMARCK, N.D. – “Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings; new ideas must use old buildings.”

This phrase was uttered by one of the most notable modern urbanists, Jane Jacobs. She pioneered many ideas about successful neighborhoods that created idea collision, rejecting urban planning that would simply tear everything down to build utopian top-down neighborhoods.

Sixty-six years after her most influential work, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” was published, entrepreneurs have embraced new ideas in old buildings. In downtown Bismarck, an emerging class of entrepreneurs and thought leaders has reinvigorated many historic buildings.

The start-up community, as it is often referred to, has hit the ground running in downtown Bismarck with events, initiatives and networks under the umbrella called Start Bismarck, a grassroots organization that promotes start-up activities, organizes key events, embraces creativity and encourages risk-taking within the Bismarck-Mandan community.

Each Wednesday morning, the community gathers at Dakota Stage, formerly the Capital Theater — a building built by Ed Patterson in 1905 — to listen to an entrepreneur pitch business ideas at the weekly event called 1 Million Cups.

Speakers have 15 minutes to present their business goals and challenges, and then 30 minutes to engage with the audience. The last question for presenters is always the same: “How can the BismarckMandan start-up community help you succeed?”

Two start-up companies have co-located in a two-story 1920 brick building on Main Avenue — D&N Cinematics, a video production company, and Up & Running, a web design company. A record shop is housed in the lower level, which features a vintage cigar advertisement uncovered after decades behind Sheetrock.

Crews from the two main businesses hosted Start-Up Drinks on Aug. 1, designed to join thinkers, dreamers and leaders over drinks to celebrate entrepreneurship in our community.

Attendees come from all backgrounds – the mayor and first lady of Bismarck, team members from Co-Schedule (one of North Dakota’s fastest-growing start-ups), the two young founders of Bismarck Magazine, established members of the financial community, staff from nonprofit business development organizations and supporters of the Start Bismarck initiative.

Some entrepreneurs have built infrastructure that supports Bismarck’s start-up community. On Main Avenue in a warehouse built by International Harvester in 1929, a husband-and-wife entrepreneur team has created the side project Co-Studio, “A Space for Creatives.” Amos and Carly Kolbo, who run a very successful photography business, recently hosted two networking events created by a small team led by Ashton Hauff, a photographer and designer.

The events are called Makewell, and they’re meant for “anyone who uses their skills, creativity and passions for problem solving or to make something new,” as Hauff told the Bismarck Tribune.

Or as Makewell’s mission statement reads, “Makewell is all about creating a space for local makers and doers to connect, learn, and be inspired by those around them. …As makers, no matter your craft or industry, we often face the same challenges and raise the same questions. Let’s come together to challenge each other to make better, to grow from one another’s experiences, and to encourage each other’s dreams.”

Makewell speakers help local entrepreneurs brand their business, keep their business model strong and get paid what they are worth.

In the second story of downtown’s former Lucas Department Store, synonymous with early Bismarck, another husband-and-wife business team has created a co-working space called Juniper Workantile. Entrepreneurs and start-ups can join Workantile and use the space to grow their businesses, leaving the basement for a professional space with all the amenities that a new or existing business would need.

Start-ups and historic buildings have a symbiotic relationship in downtown Bismarck. Historic buildings add weight and credibility to entrepreneurial endeavors. Start-ups reinvigorate downtowns decimated by poor urban renewal and sprawl policies.

Jacobs’ methodology for her urbanist principles was always grounded in grassroots efforts. She fought for neighborhoods that bubbled up naturally from their surroundings, not laid out in an office somewhere. Jacobs challenged the city planning status quo that was often patronizingly explained to her. She pushed boundaries and challenged communities to preserve their identity and uniqueness, knowing that she was doing it for future generations.

It’s fitting that start-ups, entrepreneurs and thought leaders have united to create a grassroots movement of revitalization in historic downtown Bismarck. PB

Kate Herzog

MARKETING AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, DOWNTOWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT, DOWNTOWN BISMARCK COMMUNITY FOUNDATION BISMARCK