|
|
| SBA Young Entrepreneur Award Winners |
| |
Atlas Business Solutions
Jonathan Forknell
Year Inducted: 2000 |
Atlas Business Solutions - Jonathan was the youngest person ever to earn an MBA from the University of North Dakota at the age of22. He has held an equity position in Atlas Business Solutions and been solely responsible for the company's performance since 1995. ABS is an international direct marketer of low-end software solutions. During that time, ABS has had record sales growth and has released new software packages to the Human Resources Single-handedly, Jonathan has taken a small, drifting software company and imbedded a strong desire and propensity for growth.
|
|
| |
 |
Red Pepper - Jeff Tellmann is the owner and operator of the Red Pepper in Grand Forks. He grew up in Grand Forks, and graduated from Grand Forks Central High School in 1992. After graduation, he accepted a football scholarship from the University of Mary in Bismarck. In 1993 he transferred to the University of North Dakota where he continued to play football off and on for two years. Taking a break from college, Tellmann moved to Chicago where he worked in the shipping department of Sam’s Wine & Liquor, the largest independent wine retailer in the nation. In 1996, Jeff returned to Grand Forks to work with his father at the Red Pepper.
In the spring of 1997, Jeff’s father, Bruce Tellmann, died unexpectedly. Jeff, with the help of family members, was left to operate the Red Pepper. He has spent much of his time teaching himself how to be a successful businessman, while taking charge of the day-to-day operations of the restaurant. Jeff serves as President of the company, while his sister Amy is Vice President, and his brother Andy serves as Treasurer.
The Red Pepper is a Mexican restaurant that has become a landmark in Grand Forks since it was purchased by Tellmann’s father in 1974. The company prides itself on remaining virtually the same today as it was in its early days, not only in look and feel, but in the quality of the product served. The establishment continues to cater to local residents, but prides itself on serving returning alumni, many of whom put the Red Pepper at the top of their “must do” list when returning to town. Tellmann has also begun to sell products over the internet, with delivery via next-day service to anywhere in the United States. In the last six years, Tellmann has overcome numerous obstacles and grown the business to be even more successful than it was prior to his father’s death. Tellmann identifies his ambition “to grow the Pepper bigger than IBM.” Tellmann has gone a long way toward reaching that goal, more than doubling the company’s income in the last two years alone. |
Red Pepper
Jeff Tellmann
Year Inducted: 2004
|
|
| |
|
EuroBrick
Rick White
Year Inducted: 2005 |
EuroBrick - Rick White was born and raised in Steele, North Dakota. One of eight children whose parents own four local businesses, Rick was raised knowing all about entrepreneurship. Rick spent three years studying photojournalism at Northern State College in Aberdeen before deciding to open his own business.
When he graduated from high school, Rick planned to have a career in photojournalism, and attended Northern State College. At that same time, he started working summers for a construction company in Bismarck, North Dakota. He started out doing underground water work and shingling, then started overseeing his own installation crews for decorative patio brick. Rick spent a lot of time on the road, and was involved in every part of the business process, from finding customers, to preparing bids, to hiring and overseeing crews. He decided he would much rather work for himself than for someone else, especially if the work would be the same. So, after three years of college, Rick changed career goals and became an entrepreneur.
Rick made a deal with the owner of the construction company, Daniel Mittlighter, that he would take over the brick patio portion of the business. Rick agreed that he would purchase bricks exclusively from Mittlighter, who had the North Dakota franchise to manufacture EUROBRICKS. Rick and a friend started the business under the name of J & R Bricklaying.
After the first year, the friend sold his interest in the business to Rick, who continued to expand the business. In 1999, he worked with the Steele Economic Development Corporation and Northland Financial in Steele to secure a loan to purchase the manufacturing franchise from Mittlighter, later renaming the company EUROBRICK, Inc. |
|
| |
 |
Rhombus Guys - The Rhombus guys, Matt Winjum and Arron Hendricks, originally opened a mobile smoothie stand during the summer of 2000. They built the stand themselves, using a snowmobile trailer as the base. However, their carpentry skills left something to be desired and Hendricks remarked that the 8-foot cube they had intended to build looked more like a rhombus. The name stuck. After a few successful years operating the seasonal Smoothie Rhombus and Rhombus House of Pizza in Mentor, MN, the Rhombus Guys expanded their business to include year-round restaurants. Rhombus Guys, located in downtown Grand Forks and most recently in downtown Fargo, has become well-known for its innovative pizza menu.
|
Rhombus Guys
Matt Winjum &
Arron Hendricks
Year Inducted: 2009 |
|
| |
 |
BoldMethod, LLC - In 2002, while they were both aviation students and flight instructors at the University of North Dakota, Cutler and Udris started developing training software for their flight students. They formed their company BoldMethod, LLC in 2006, developing interactive courseware as well as custom software solutions for a variety of industries, with emphasis on aviation and procedural systems. One of their latest projects is to develop Predator and Reaper pilot training software for the U.S. Air Force.
|
BoldMethod, LLC
Colin Cutler &
Aleks Udris
Year Inducted: 2010 |
|
| |
 |
Clean Republic, LLC - Shope began his career as an entrepreneur while studying aviation at the University of North Dakota. He invented an innovative flashlight to solve a problem identified when trying to read maps while flying at night. After successfully growing his first business, Pilot Friendly Products, LLC, he sold the company to an aviation equipment supplier. Shope co-founded his current business, Clean Republic, LLC, with the goal to produce practical alternative energy products which empower consumers to conserve money and energy without sacrificing an enjoyable standard of living. Clean Republic’s first product is the Hill Topper electric bike conversion kit which has been sold in 14 countries with 1,000 united currently in the field in just one and a half years.
|
Clean Republic, LLC
Michael Shope
Year Inducted: 2011 |
|
| |
|
|
|
