Photos special to Fargo INC!
In 2017, we photographed nearly 200 members of the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo business community. Among them were entrepreneurs, artists, pilots, CEOs, software developers, comedians, executive directors, veterans, graduate students and community builders. Join us as we celebrate each and every one of them in Fargo INC!‘s first-ever coffee table book, “Faces of Fargo Business.”
In part six, we feature Livewire President & Technical Director Kent Kolstad, CoSchedule Product Design Director Shannon Wiedman, Owner of Thomas Jefferson Agency Thomas Jefferson, Abovo Creative Director Andrew Young, Myriad Mobile Cofounder & CEO Jake Joraanstad.
Read previous parts of Faces of Fargo Business 2017 here.
KENT KOLSTAD
President & Technical Director, Livewire
“After a recent hire this month, we’re ending the year with 13 full-time staff. In 2014, we had just two. In September, the start of what we call ‘conference season,’ we booked more events than EVER before, with every week having at least three overlapping, large-scale events.”
SHANNON WIEDMAN
Product Design Director, CoSchedule
“In 2018, Girl Develop It hopes to expand its reach within the Fargo-Moorhead community. We want to make sure our programs are accessible and affordable to anyone who feels they’ve been left out of the tech industry.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON
Owner – Thomas Jefferson Agency, State Farm Insurance
Q: What keeps you up at night?
A: The state of our country. We seem to be going in the opposite direction of being a country of love and understanding. The so-called ‘make our country great again’ seems to me to (refer) to a time (when) people of my race had very few rights and the future of a good life was an impossible dream.
ANDREW YOUNG
Creative Director, Abovo
“The ability to be creative every day is hard work. Creativity is something that comes and goes and takes a lot of time. In this industry, we can’t come to work and say, ‘Today we’re going to come up with the best idea.’ It takes time, experience, spark, initiative, motivation … It takes a beer or two.”
JAKE JORAANSTAD
Cofounder & CEO, Myriad Mobile
Q: What’s one thing the local business community could do to help you?
A: Help companies like ours that have software “assets” get proper bank financing. It’s near impossible.
