Overview

October 17, 2023

The Innovation Expo in Rapid City is a conference dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs, innovators, angel investors, venture capitalists, and other key players in the startup ecosystem. The event showcases entrepreneur and investor speakers sharing their expertise while also providing networking opportunities for the startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem of South Dakota and the surrounding region.

General: $50
Student: $25

Speakers

Speaker List

Additional Schedule Details

Deb Clark

Deb Clark

Eval.com
Farm kid, hitchhiker, blueberry picker, bartender, traveler, mom, student... appraiser (in that order). While her greatest love is held for her family, dogs, and horses, her passion is her career. Since 2006, Deb has looked for ways appraisers can better serve their clients, their community, and their profession (also in that order). This is what took her from becoming a Certified General Appraiser with the MAI designation, to running her own appraisal company (MountainWest Valuations), and eventually landing on the biggest need of all: Evaluations. Now, with the launch of Eval.com, her focus is on elevating the industry, and appraisers' place in it, so that demand for valuations can be met while maintaining the vitality of the profession well into the future.
Matt Paulson

Matt Paulson

MarketBeat
Matt Paulson is the founder and CEO of MarketBeat, an Inc. 5000 financial media company that empowers individual investors to make better trading decisions. MarketBeat has been recognized by Barron's, Entrepreneur, Financial Times, Forbes, and Inc. for its rapid growth and success.

Matt is an active angel investor and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurship. He has invested in more than 80 high-growth startups, was instrumental in the creation of Falls Angel Fund, and is a driving force in the Startup Sioux Falls ecosystem. Matt cares deeply about the Sioux Falls community, volunteers with several area non-profits. and is proud to call Sioux Falls home.
Nick Kingsbury

Nick Kingsbury

Phase Technologies LLC
Nicholas Kingsbury works for Phase Technologies LLC as their CEO. He graduated from SDSM&T with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 2007. Prior to joining Phase Technologies he worked for Caterpillar in QCT Electrical as the lead electrical design engineer for the 100 ton 777G.

At Phase Technologies Nicholas has worked a number of different roles progressing from Director of Business Development, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Chief Operating Officer, President, and now CEO of the company. As CEO he manages the company's strategic direction, investigates new markets for the company's products, assists in new product development, and helps to develop and maintain the company's relationship with its customers. A recent focus has been on efforts to help electric utilities understand compliance with IEEE 519-1992 and IEEE 519-2014, a standard for allowable harmonic distortion on utility systems. He has lead several field demonstrations across the country to educate utilities and their customers on IEEE 519-2014 and the impact of harmonics from Variable Frequency Drives.
Paul Thorstenson

Paul Thorstenson

Ketel Thorstenson
Paul joined Ketel Thorstenson in 1986. He has had the pleasure to follow in his father's footsteps (Bud Thorstenson) in the leadership of the firm. He is a partner in the Rapid City office, and previously served as the CEO of KTLLP's executive partner committee. To those who know him, Paul is eager and excited to assist clients with complex tax issues and strategic business planning. Paul mentors the Business Valuation Niche and has experience providing courtroom expert testimony.
Permjot Valia

Permjot Valia

Nava Develop Inc.
Permjot Valia (he/him) is co-founder at Nava Develop Inc., a business development firm serving innovation focused corporates, startup organizations and academic institutions. A globally recognized mentor, facilitator and business coach, he has led strategic planning successes for organizations throughout the world. He founded MentorCamp, and is Lead Mentor of Cape Breton's Navigate Startup House.

Permjot serves on Boards of several companies, works with multiple universities, and lectures globally on business modelling, strategy, and sales. He is passionate about contributing to economic development and cultural success.

Permjot holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from University of Leeds and an MBA from Open University (UK). He is an MIT-trained mentor program manager.
Brennan Holloway

Brennan Holloway

Journeyman
My name is Brennan Holloway, a South Dakota native born and raised. My journey began when I graduated from Stevens High School in 2011 and subsequently served 5 years in the United States Marines as an Avionics Technician on Sikorsky Helicopters. During my military service, I gained my first taste in the medical field through a Combat Life Saver course, sparking my passion for medicine. My path led me back to South Dakota to attend SDSMT for Electrical Engineering, however my interests were ultimately in healthcare specifically in remote areas. After 3 years I changed career paths to Emergency Medicine. After obtaining my EMT certification ,working on an ambulance and going to paramedic school , I ventured into the wildland fire space with Minuteman EMS for the first fire season of the company in 2021. Impressed by the company's dedication and passion, I joined forces with Tyler Olson, the owner of Minuteman EMS, building the company together from a team of 3 people our first year to over 80 employees and securing federal contracts worth over 6 million dollars in 3 years. During my time at Minuteman EMS, I Also ventured in the Medical Cannabis Industry in South Dakota starting my own business for cannabis cultivation before redirecting my efforts in late 2022 after 2 years. In 2023, Tyler and I co-founded The Journeyman, a project inspired by our experiences in the wildland fire industry and contracting, aiming to build not only a platform but a thriving community. We strive to offer an alternative avenue to success through contracting and learning trade skills.
Tyler Olson

Tyler Olson

Journeyman
My name is Tyler Olson, I am a Rapid City native and graduated from Stevens High School in 2011. Shortly after I joined the Marine Corps where I served four years, three of which I lived in Okinawa Japan. While in the Marines I was introduced to and fell in love with emergency medicine. I left the military in 2015 to become a paramedic and studied at Western Dakota Tech in Rapid City. From there I pursued experiences as a paramedic all over the country and world. In January of 2021 I created Minuteman EMS to provide emergency medical services at wildland fires. We are in our 3rd wildfire season and currently own 3 ambulances, 2 four-person rope rescue teams and have the ability to equip 10 individual providers. We have also completed a contract with the US Army as well as a 1 year contract providing 911 ambulance services to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. We have managed to do over $6 million in revenue in less than 3 years and are just getting started. In 2023, I started a 2nd company called Minuteman Marketing, which provides captivating indoor digital advertising to local businesses in Rapid City and the surrounding communities. Lastly, my business partner Brennan Holloway and I recently had our idea for a software product in the wildland fire space accepted into the Wildfire Labs entrepreneurship program.
Cathy Jordan

Cathy Jordan

HIYA Cleaners
Cathy Jordan knows she is "made to make." A builder of people, places and things, Cathy understands her daily assignment of building something or building up someone. Whether it was lifting up her girlfriends with an encouraging written word; going throughout her neighborhood checking on the elderly; putting together a runway show in her driveway for all who passed by to see or whatever she finds to do with her hands, Cathy is mindful to do it well. Imaginative and innovative are used in tandem when describing who she "BE!"

After a few wins and losses as an entrepreneur, Cathy Jordan decided to place all bets on herself by going all out in business. After nearly 20 years in corporate with her last position as a Sr. Solutions Architect for AT&T, Cathy was let go. Too young to retire and 34 days shy of qualifying for a "special package," Cathy's entrepreneurial instincts kicked in. After a few trial runs in Tulsa, OK, Cathy was accepted in Builders + Backers Idea Accelerator program in the Fall of 2022. Validation of her idea garnered her an introduction to Todd Gagne of Wildfire Labs in Rapid City, SD. The rest is history "in the making!" Cathy now has an added level of support from many advisers (whom she calls her partners) within Wildfire Labs to launch her business, "HIYA Cleaners - an app that is being developed and positioned as the Uber for housecleaning because we make it seamless for Airbnb hosts, property management companies and realtors to have direct access to a pool of available cleaners whenever help is needed in a hurry."

Cathy Jordan is a forever student. Her thirst for knowledge has allowed her to attend Oklahoma State University where she received a scholarship to study Chemical Engineering as well as participate in many training programs such as Front-End Web Development, Six Sigma and Project Management Professional. Whenever she needs a creative escape, Cathy may be found laser etching, designing t-shirts or making a balloon garland - most definitely making something!
Jared Tiefenthaler

Jared Tiefenthaler

Signed Up Sports
Jared Tiefenthaler, an entrepreneur armed with a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship, has successfully established and managed multiple ventures. Currently, he is the founder of Black Hills Social Media Management, a digital marketing company known for its effective strategies. Jared's innovation extends to Seam Readers, a pioneering baseball vision training company, and SignedupSports.com, streamlining athletic camp sign-ups. His dedication to both business and family life, with a happy marriage to Stephanie Tiefenthaler and two children, underscores his exceptional qualities as an entrepreneur. Jared's journey, marked by innovation, dedication, and a strong family commitment, continues to shape the business landscape, establishing him as a prominent figure in entrepreneurship.
Mike Vetter

Mike Vetter

Wildfire Labs
Mike has spent his entire career building software companies. He started his first software company out of his parents basement in college, and since that time has helped found, grow, and sell 6 SaaS companies.

During his years building businesses, Mike has personally worked on each aspect of building a software company - marketing, sales (yes including cold calling), product architecture and development, and operations management, fund raising, and everything in between.

Mike earned a BS in Computer Science & Information Security from Dakota State University in Madison, SD. Mike is based in Brandon, SD with his wonderful wife and four children. Mike loves overlanding and backpacking with his kids in the most remote places. This is probably because Mike was born in Canada where wilderness is everywhere.
Mycroft Liu

Mycroft Liu

Vivatlantis
Mycroft was born and raised in Nanjing, China. At the age of 18, he journeyed to the United States to study computer science and mathematics at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. It was there in Minneapolis that he met his future business partner, Matthew Quinn, and conceptualized the blueprint for a software company called Vivatlantis. Supported by the mentorship and resources of Wildfire Labs, Mycroft transformed Vivatlantis from a mere concept to a reality, eventually establishing its headquarters in Rapid City.

Entrepreneurship isn't new to Mycroft. During his high school days in China, he founded a computer network proxy business. This venture aimed to provide access to platforms like Google Scholar and other academic resources in China. Leveraging his extensive knowledge in computer networking and exemplary customer service, he managed to secure over 50% of his school's students and nearly all teachers as customers. This venture not only marked his first self-earned income but also solidified his aspiration to become a CEO.

In college, Mycroft's passion for computer networking persisted. He delved deep into commercial 5G network research, leading to the publication of two papers alongside doctoral peers. Besides his tech endeavors, he explored the intricacies of banking systems, founding a credit card club to educate peers on optimizing the benefits of their card points. Mycroft enjoys playing golf and watching soccer games in his free time.

Location

South Dakota Mines - Surbeck Center Ballroom

Schedule

Schedule Details

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

South Dakota Mines - Surbeck Center Ballroom
12:30 PM
Registration Opens
1:15 PM
Welcome to Expo / Event Starts
1:20 PM
Nick Kingsbury
1:45 PM
Paul Thorstenson
2:10 PM
Matt Paulson
2:50 PM
Break - 20 minutes
3:10 PM
Deb Clark
3:40 PM
Investor Panel
4:10 PM
Wildfire Labs Panel
4:45 PM
Wrap up / Head to social

Additional Schedule Details

Contact Us

Whether you are a suit, a shirt, or something in between we can't wait to see you at the Innovation Expo. If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop us a note here and we'll get right back to you.

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