Aug 19, 2016
Greg Tehven is a co-founder of Emerging Prairie, an organization in Fargo, North Dakota created to celebrate and connect the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It's had quite an impact. In August 2016, Fargo was named the 7th best U.S. city for entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur Magazine, and Emerging Prairie was cited as a factor.
A fifth generation North Dakotan, Greg's great-great grandfather was an early settler from Sweden. Greg grew up with the security of a large, close-knit family and neighbors who cared for each other, but longed to experience life in a larger city. He attended college at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and then traveled the world, before coming home to rediscover the magic of Fargo.
Listen to the podcast to hear Greg discuss:
- False humility - the ‘disease’
of his community
- Emerging Prairie's evolution
from blog producer to event creator
- The popular, graffiti-decorated
co-working space shown below
- 4 Principles
of Emerging Prairie
-
- Educate our city
- Infuse the arts
- Build on our bright spots
- Be radically inclusive
- Supporting creative products and
services through financial means, not just exposure
- Working with "The Misfits"
- The impact of 1 Million Cups on the Fargo
community
- Other community-building
projects that inspire Greg:
-
- The Dandelion Project from Marc
Winn, featured on
Ever Better Podcast 23
- NEWaukee in Milwaukee,
WI
- Co.space in State College, PA
- Creativity Week in Brookings, S.D.
- The Dandelion Project from Marc
Winn, featured on
Ever Better Podcast 23
- Removing barriers for
entrepreneurs through Startup House
- Taking the first steps to make a
difference in your community
- Celebrating the strange
- Why drones have become such a
large part of the N.D. economy
- Attending the State of the Union
and getting marriage advice from politicians
- Midnight Brunch - an amazing
Thursday night event in Fargo
- Stacking events back-to-back to
create a more immersive experience for attendees
- The greatest challenges to
our world
-
- Listening deficit - not enough people can share who they really are
- Productivity culture - we worry
so much about growth that we don’t rest enough
Quotes from Greg
“My inheritance isn’t wealth or resources or an art collection, it’s this incredible tribe of people that have cared about each other for generations.”
“Entrepreneurs drive the economy but
artists drive culture.”
“We don’t think about advertising, we think about creating a world class experience for the people in the room. We’re trying to delight our guests. We are trying to add so much value. We are trying to love them so much that they can’t help but want to come back, they can’t help but to tell their friends.”
“Let’s create a community we all
want to live in. Let’s create the community we want to be
part of.”
“I want to live in a city where anyone, of any background can participate.”
Contact Greg:
On Twitter @GregfromFargo
Emergingprairie.com
Contact Lisa:
@EverBetterU