Career Panel for Entrepreneurs and Those Who Want to Be One

Do you have some great ideas for a new product, business, or service? Are you constantly coming up with innovative ideas to solve a problem or answer a big question, and wish you knew how to capitalize on those ideas? Do people often tell you that you are innovative, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and/or business procedures? Do you enjoy creating, researching, developing new ideas? Then this panel discussion is for you! Hear from a panel of entrepreneurs who have walked this sometimes tricky path and have lots of great information to share with you! 

Our Panelists

David Edgerton Jr. is the managing principal for The DEJ Group, an executive search and recruiting firm that focuses on finding and connecting exceptional diverse talent with inclusive companies. The firm also provides executive coaching and custom training services for minority entrepreneurs and business professionals. David was recently appointed an entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Minnesota to assist and coach startups as a part of the Discovery Launchpad MN program.

Meet Teresa Fudenberg, CEO of Storm Creek, a company that specializes in high-quality, eco-made apparel and has a mission of giving back to communities and organizations nationwide. Prior to Storm Creek, Teresa had her own marketing and business strategy company, working with growth-stage businesses to bring their brand visions to life. Teresa was able to combine her talents and passions in 2014 when she and her husband Doug Jackson joined forces to reinvent the existing Storm Creek brand. Teresa knew Storm Creek had the potential to be a brand that makes a unique and profound impact. Under Teresa’s brand vision, leadership, and passion for giving, Storm Creek has donated nearly a half-million dollars to national and local charities, repurposed 12 million (and counting) plastic bottles into a year-round eco-made apparel line, and became a certified Women-Owned Business. 

Mary Poul is a Serial Entrepreneur and currently Principal at Third Mind Strategies. She is an experienced innovator and leader with a passion for bringing ideas from spark to market success. Mary started her career at 3M and then moved on to new things. She has launched three startups to date and is currently working on 4 new opportunities, she has acquired two companies, and divested three companies for businesses ranging from consulting software and sales skills development to wine accessory gift lines. Her many skills include setting up the legal, risk coverage, and marketing support for a new business, partnership management, I.P. licensing, expert negotiation, content publishing, website creation, app publishing and management, packaging design, manufacturer scouting and management, Amazon selling, acquisition and divestiture with and without brokers.