2017 Program Recap

Minnesota Business Venture

ANNUAL PROGRAM

IMPACT

PROGRAM RESULTS

• 99% of students plan to pursue continued education after high school.

• 99% of students feel more comfortable with their money management skills such as saving, credit scores, investing and budgeting.

• 97% of students say they would recommend Minnesota Business Venture to a friend.

“It literally felt like I started

a whole new life. The

people were great and the

experience was like no

other. I got to make a

business plan, hangout

with new friends during rec.

time, but I got to learn so

much more.” – Student from Reve Academy

Speakers and Topics by Day Sunday What is your Why?

Donzell Dixson, Target Corporation

Social Entrepreneurship: Traveling for Good

Lindsay Pluger, Students Today Leaders Forever

Thelmy Maldonando, Students Today Leaders Forever

The Entrepreneurship Spirit

Anton Vincent, Moxie Capital

Making it Count

Adam Cohen, UnitedHealth Group

Monday Personal Branding

Michael Keller, Pearson Candy Company

Presentation Skills

Eric Forstrom, U.S. Bank

Interviewing

Lindsey Baker, Ecolab Inc.

Time Management

Mary Soroko, St. Cloud State University

Communication Styles

Jason Colvin, True Friends

Emotional Intelligence

Sara Olson, Allianz Life

True Colors

Samantha Funk, BestPrep

Tuesday Financial Values

Jerrid Sebesta, Taatjes Financial Group

Great Leadership

Rob Goggins, Great Clips, Inc.

Financial Values

Nathan Dungan, Share Save Spend, LLC

Sam Walton the Entrepreneur

Cathy Misko, Walmart - Market 424

Marketing 101

Joy Svoboda, Fabcon Companies LLC

Laura Murphy, Nestle Waters

Finance 101

Matt Molinaro, Ecolab Inc.

Operations 101

*Allison Kibler, Target Corporation

Wednesday Entrepreneurship– A MBV Alumni Story

*Tyler Olson, SMCpros

Renting an Apartment

Sara Croymans, University of Minnesota Extension

Jennifer Garbow, University of Minnesota Extension

Credit Matters

Stephanie Musgrove, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Car Insurance Matters

Heather Kinney, Allstate, Kinney Agency

Paying for College

Ron Lutes, Thrivent Financia

Keith Sowada, Thrivent Financial

Ethics: Fraud and Consequences

Dave Irvin

Hank Shea, University of St. Thomas

John Rubischko, Financial Education Services

Philanthropy: Pay it Forward

Amy Hanson, Affinity Plus Foundation

Julie Rethemeier, Federated Insurance

Nicole Hansen, Thomson Reuters

Rachel Geraty, C.H. Robinson Worldwide

Jacqueline Berry, 3M

Jessica Aleshire, Boston Scientific

Thursday Networking and Relationships

Jeff Munneke, Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Vision Speaks Louder than Words

Daniel Shannon, Daniel Shannon Speaks

MBV alumni and speaker Tyler Olson of

SMCpros speaks with a student

after his presentation . * Denotes MBV Alumni throughout the document

2017 DEMOGRAPHICS

Gender:

Female: 58% Male: 42%

Free / Reduced Lunch: 39%

Class Breakdown: Ethnicity:

Freshmen: 22% African American: 14%

Sophomores: 37% Asian: 29%

Juniors: 34% Caucasian: 37%

Seniors: 7% Hispanic / Latino: 13%

Multiracial: 6%

Native American: 1%

RESIDENT BUSINESS

LEADERS (RBL) RBLs are business professional volunteers who make the

commitment to facilitate, mentor, and guide students for an

entire week at MBV. These individuals are the key to MBV’s

success! Rick Anderson, Allianz Life

Joshua Andrews, Securian Financial Group

Daniel Anstedt, Travelers

Katherine Bjorkman, Ecolab Inc.

Leisha Cavallaro, Travelers

Marissa Cleaveland, Securian Financial Group

Emily Hancock, Securian Financial Group

Krystle Igbo-Ogbonna, Century Community College

Laura Iten, Travelers

Ashley Kresen, Ecolab Inc.

Audrey Langston, Travelers

Zookong Lee, Century Community College

Josh Lehman, Allianz Life

Amelia Lijewski, Ecolab Inc.

Patrick MacDonald, Ecolab Inc.

Eric Mahowald, Securian Financial Group

*Tim Mercil, Medtronic

Bryce Nordaune, Securian Financial Group

Paul Pernula, Shady Oak Distributing

Jenna Price, Ecolab Inc.

Teresa Schmitz, Ecolab Inc.

Travis Symoniak, Securian Financial Group

John Taft, Travelers

Andrew Tallman, Allianz Life

*Jessie Welton, Federal Reserve Bank

*Mainong Yang, Century Community College

MBV ACTIVITIES

In addition to the informative speakers a variety of

experiential activities are offered that provide hands-on

learning for students.

Team Building: Junk Night—”Out of the box” product development and fun

icebreaker.

Camp Jam—An interactive teambuilding game.

Business Plan Project & Presentation—A company spends eight

to ten hours throughout the week developing a new product or

service and creating the marketing, finance, and operations plan

which they present to a panel of “investors” during a 15-minute

presentation. The ideas pitched end with a loan proposition.

Financial Literacy:

Paying for My Lifestyle—Volunteer financial advisors work

with a team of students to explain budgeting, the power of

compound interest, and investing early.

Career Building:

Mock Interviews—Business professional volunteers conduct a 10

-minute interview with each student. Volunteers provide valuable

feedback to students, improving interviewing skills.

For Fun: Speed networking, Minute to Win It games, recreation time,

movie nights, and a dance.

RBL and CEO group at

St. John’s University

“I enjoyed being able to live the college life for a week and

becoming independent. I felt very incorporated with all the

activities. I learned many tips and tactics I can use going into

the business world. I would definitely recommend the camp to

anyone who is interested in business or would like to learn

lifelong skills.”

–Student from Warroad High School

Mock Interview Volunteers

Volunteers conduct simulated job interviews and give immediate verbal and written feedback to sharpen students’ skills.

Herb Allen, Cargill, Inc.

Kate Austad, Affinity Plus - SCSU Campus

Curt Baker, Workshop

Allie Baker, BestPrep

Amy Baldwin, Boston Scientific

*Darren Beecher, Oracle

Ronald Blair, Radias Health

Matt Born, Hiway Federal Credit Union

Greg Bourland, Boston Scientific

Nancy Brady, United Educators Credit Union

Leah Burak, Citizens Independent Bank

Emily Chaphalkar, St. John's University

Randy Daniels, CHS Inc.

Chris Dardis, Versique Search & Consulting

Mindy Diekman, Allianz Life

Jean Fichtel, U.S. Bank

Jonathan Filzen, BestPrep

Linda Freitag, Thrivent Financial

Samantha Funk, BestPrep

Bridget Hansen, Venture Bank

Sarah Hom, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Tina Jones, Hiway Federal Credit Union

Tom Kopacek, BMO Harris Bank

Jennifer Kottke, Boston Scientific

Elizabeth Krogh, Artisan Financial Group

Kay Kwang, Thrivent Financial

Laurie Lafontaine, Allina Health

Todd Leone

Halee McBroome, Cargill, Inc.

Ehren McGeehan, BMO Harris Bank

Jenni Morine, King Solutions

Allison Moses, Target Corporation

Scott Nugent, Thomson Reuters

Trysh Olson, Wings Financial Credit Union

Deanna Olson, Defense Contract Management Agency

Meghan Paulson, Cargill, Inc.

Anna Rasmussen, BestPrep

Thresa Russell, Wells Fargo

Benjamin Sakhitab, Varde Partners, Inc

Michael Samuels

Brooke Skinn, 3M

Glo Uribe, Hiway Federal Credit Union

Bonnie Vagasky, BestPrep

Terry Weber, United Educators Credit Union

Dorwartha Woods, Flaherty Family Foundation

MBV Advisory Committee

The MBV Advisory Committee and subcommittees meet through the year focusing on updating curriculum. This year,

the committee revised the Saturday leadership training and updated recruitment materials. Additionally, they

selected the EY Entrepreneur of the YearTM Scholarship award winner.

Carly Baker, Frauenshuh Hospitality Group

*Darren Beecher, Oracle

Sara Brandenburg, Allianz Life

*Katie Brokaw, Ecolab Inc.

Justin Duepner, Allianz Life

Joseph Eucher, Ecolab Inc.

Steve Florman, OptumHealth

Lincoln Goede, Xcel Energy

*Art Kennedy Jr, Thomson Reuters

Kay Kwang, Thrivent Financial

Eric Mahowald, Securian Financial Group

Mary Marion, U.S. Bank

Matt Molinaro, Ecolab Inc.

Cale Nelson, Travelers

Ridelle Pechacek, Securian Financial Group

Tanya Schmitt, Ecolab Inc.

Maggie Snetting, Thrivent Financial

Kristina Walch, Allianz Life

Committee Co-Chairs

*Justin Rubin, Travelers

Rick Anderson, Allianz Life

Pre/Post Test Data

All MBV participants took a pre/post test during the first

and last day. The test had 17 questions which focused

on careers and interviewing, personal finance, insurance,

and business plan concepts. The average test score

increased by 6%, and in some areas, knowledge increased

up to 58%.

Financial Planner Volunteers

Financial planners lead a session called “Paying for my lifestyle”, to small groups of

students. They lead discussions on spending habits, budgeting, inflation, compound

interest, and investing.

Company L at St. John’s University

after completing their business

plan presentation.

Zach Bakke, Thrivent Financial

Chase Brakke, North Star Resource Group

John Conlin, RBC Wealth Management

John Hajostek, Forum Communications Company

Debbie Huddleston, Xcel Energy

*Jason Kley, Carlson Capital Management

Connor Koppa, Focus Financial

Elizabeth Krogh, Artisan Financial Group

Laurie Lafontaine, Allina Health

Emily Meisinger

Stephanie Musgrove, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Scott Nelson

Trysh Olson, Wings Financial Credit Union

Liz Olson, The Advocate Group

Asta Petkute, KPMG, LLP

Carissa Rothstein, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Andy Schmieg, Medtronic

Don Spieker

LeAnne Stutelberg, Shady Oak Distributing

Alex Sutherland, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Annette Wanchena, Principal Financial Group

Business Plan Judges Bankers and other community volunteers evaluate students’ business plan presentations by listening, scoring, and providing feedback.

Tammy Andrews, Citizens Independent Bank Kate Austad, Affinity Plus -

St. Cloud State University Campus

Alex Bahl, Venture Bank

Jason Bauerly, Ameriprise Financial

Chase Brakke, North Star Resource Group

Tamara Bratland, Medtronic

Ted Caldwell

Andrew Cravero

Adam Davis

Landy Evenson, Medtronic

Stephan Florman, OptumHealth

Bridget Hansen, Venture Bank

Brett Howells, Venture Bank

Jason Kley, Carlson Capital Management

Tim Krinke

Laurie Lafontaine, Allina Health

Nicole Lallier, Medtronic

Jim LoScalzo, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Dan McCarvel, Venture Bank

Ehren McGeehan, BMO Harris Bank

Ryan McKeown, Wealth Enhancement Group

Kerri Metz, Venture Bank

Kristine Mogollon, Thrivent Financial

Stephanie Musgrove, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Scott Nelson, AJW Financial, Inc.

Leslie Olson, Thrivent Financial

David Paradise, BMO Harris Bank

Jeffrey Partyka, UnitedHealth Group

Steven Peterson, Venture Bank

Asta Petkute, KPMG, LLP

Cristen Purdy, Venture Bank

Carissa Rothstein, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Daniel Ryan, Anchor Bank

Anton Simpson, The Schwan Food Company

Christy Smith, Travelers

Maggie Snetting, Thrivent Financial

Jeff Standke

Arlen Stark

Laine Suppes, Securian Financial Group

Erik Voge, Antenna

Annette Wanchena, Principal Financial Group

SPECIAL THANK YOU

Success at MBV would not have been

accomplished without these individuals.

CEO COORDINATOR:

*Darren Beecher, Oracle University

MBV INTERN:

*Jacob Fette, University of St. Thomas

DORM MONITORS:

*Alexis Cogar, Century College

*Colton Czech, University of North Dakota

*Jacob Fette, University of Saint Thomas

Anna Mathews, Benedictine College

*Kieran McCloy, Century College

*Andrew Podzimek, University of Nebraska

*Charles Shook, Chandler-Gilbert Community College

*Chila Suedel, MCTC – Argosy University

*Nejla Topic, College of St. Scholastica

*Taylor Veire, North Dakota State University

TRANSPORTATION HELP:

Allie Baker, BestPrep

Jonathan Filzen, BestPrep

Greg Orvik, BestPrep

John Schulte, BestPrep

*Katelyn Storch, Normandale Community College

Students from Cristo Rey Jesuit High

School attending St. John’s University

“MBV is so much fun even though a business camp doesn’t sound that

intriguing. You meet so [many] people by networking and it’s a time not

to be shy. They really help you prepare for the real world [with] the

mock interviews and how to pay for college. You think you know what

you’re going to be, but MBV really opened my eyes to new career paths

and new opportunities.”

– Student from Como Park High School

Alexandria Area High School, Alexandria Maple Grove High School, Maple Grove

Annandale Senior High, Annandale Math & Science Academy, Woodbury

Anoka High School, Anoka Mayo High School, Rochester

Austin High School, Austin Medford Secondary School, Medford

Belle Plaine High School, Belle Plaine Minnehaha Academy-Upper School, Minneapolis

Benilde-St. Margaret's School, St. Louis Park Minnetonka High School, Minnetonka

Blake School, Minneapolis Monticello High School, Monticello

Bloomington Kennedy High School, Bloomington Moorhead High School, Moorhead

Canby Secondary, Canby Mounds View High School, Arden Hills

Central High School, St. Paul New Prague High School, New Prague

Champlin Park High School, Champlin Normandale Community College, Bloomington

Chanhassen High School, Chanhassen North Senior High School, Minneapolis

Columbia Heights High School, Columbia Heights North St. Paul High School, North St. Paul

Como Park Senior High School, St. Paul Northfield Senior High, Northfield

Coon Rapids High School, Coon Rapids Osakis Secondary, Osakis

Creative Arts School, St. Paul Osseo Senior High School, Osseo

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Minneapolis Owatonna Senior High School, Owatonna

Eagle Ridge Academy Charter School, Eden Prairie Park Center IB World School, Brooklyn Park

East Ridge High School, Woodbury Park High School, Cottage Grove

Eastview High School, Apple Valley Providence Academy, Plymouth

Eden Prairie Senior High, Eden Prairie Reve Academy, Minneapolis

Edina Senior High, Edina Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, Plymouth

Edison High School, Minneapolis Robbinsdale Cooper Senior High, New Hope

Elk River High School, Elk River Rockford High School, Rockford

Farmington High School, Farmington Roseville Area High School, Roseville

Foley Senior High, Foley Rush City Secondary, Rush City

Forest Lake High School, Forest Lake Saint Croix Lutheran High School, West St. Paul

Fridley High School, Fridley Shakopee Senior High School, Shakopee

Goodhue Secondary, Goodhue Shanghai American School, Cottage Grove

Great River School, St. Paul Simley Senior High, Inver Grove Heights

Harding Senior High School, St. Paul South High School, Minneapolis

Henry Sibley High School, West St. Paul South St. Paul High School, South St. Paul

Hiawatha Collegiate High School, Minneapolis Southwest High School, Minneapolis

Home School St Paul Conservatory Performing Art, St. Paul

Hopkins High School, Minnetonka St. Agnes High School, St. Paul

Hutchinson Senior High, Hutchinson St. Anthony Village High School, St. Anthony

Irondale High School, New Brighton St. James Secondary, St. James

Jefferson High School, Bloomington St. Louis Park High School, St. Louis Park

John Marshall High School, Rochester St. Michael-Albertville High School, St. Michael

Johnson High School, St. Paul St. Paul Academy & Summit School, St. Paul

Kasson-Mantorville High School, Kasson St. Thomas Academy, St. Paul

Lakeville North High School, Lakeville Stillwater Area High School, Stillwater

Lakeville South High School, Lakeville Tartan High School, Oakdale

Loyola Catholic School, Mankato University of Minnesota, St. Paul

Luverne High School, Luverne Wabasha-Kellogg Secondary, Wabasha

Mahtomedi High School, Mahtomedi Warroad High School, Warroad

MBV STUDENTS REPRESENTED 100 SCHOOLS

∙ 73 Metro Schools ∙ 24 Greater Minnesota Schools ∙ 3 Out of State Schools

“My experience at MBV was

very valuable and I learned

things that will help me for

the rest of my life. First, I

learned how important first

impressions and networking

are. Second, I really enjoyed

being able to work with a

group to create a product

and we were really a

business. Third, the speakers

here were amazing. Everyone

had a different topic and

viewpoint that [had value] to

us. It’s not every day we get

to hear from speakers like

this and it’s amazing they

took the time to speak to us.” – Student from Edina High School

Students shake hands of Business Plan

Judges after their presentation.

Washburn High School, Minneapolis

Washington Tech Secondary Magnet, St. Paul

Wayzata High School, Plymouth

White Bear Lake Area High School,

White Bear Lake

Woodbury High School, Woodbury

Yankton High School, Yankton

We have attempted to correctly list all individuals and organizations that have been involved this

year. Please email info@bestprep.org with corrections.

AMANDA LABO, PROGRAM MANAGER

ALABO@BESTPREP.ORG

763-233-6325

TWITTER.COM/BESTPREPMN

WWW.BESTPREP.ORG

FACEBOOK.COM/BESTPREP

BESTPREP WISHES TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE

FOR THE MORE THAN 350 CORPORATE,

FOUNDATION, AND INDIVIDUAL DONORS WHO

MAKE OUR PROGRAMS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU

FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

St. Cloud State University

St. John’s University