View All

Articles

Wipeout

Wipeout

It might have been a great Minnesota success story. It might have made its founders rich. But Excelsior-Henderson crashed and burned, taking more than $100 million in investors’ money down with it. Ten years later, Dan Hanlon wants the story—and the brand—to endure.
Can Keith Halleland Escape the Billable Hour?

Can Keith Halleland Escape the Billable Hour?

He’s left his namesake law firm, saying it was consumed by the short-term, eat-what-you-kill thinking of litigators. He’s started a new firm, where he says billable hours won’t be the driver, and a holistic approach to clients and to compensation will rule. Funny thing is, that’s what he thought he was doing 14 years ago.
Carlson in Inn-dia

Carlson in Inn-dia

The country is already host to two-thirds of Carlson’s Asian hotels. Now Carlson is tripling its footprint there.

Latest Articles

Carlson in Inn-dia

Carlson in Inn-dia

The country is already host to two-thirds of Carlson’s Asian hotels. Now Carlson is tripling its footprint there.
The Fallon Diaspora

The Fallon Diaspora

Fallon has been creative in more ways than one. Besides award-winning advertising, it also has spawned several new agencies that are small, but garnering national attention—in part, by doing “advertising” in nontraditional ways.

Transom (3)

Miromatrix, the University of Minnesota spinoff that holds promise of being able to build
Irwin Jacobs Gets Back in the Boat

Irwin Jacobs Gets Back in the Boat

Shaken by a Genmar bankruptcy that he didn’t see coming, he’s determined to rebuild his boat business. No, he doesn’t expect an industry turnaround, but Jacobs says he’ll be profitable regardless.
Believe It or Not

Believe It or Not

Breathe Laser Therapy claims to have a better way to help smokers kick the habit. CEO Rick Diamond intends a national rollout. All that stands in the way is a little credibility issue and a treatment method that “sounds like voodoo.”

Transom (4)

Iconoculture founders Mary Meehan and Vickie Abrahamson have left their Minneapolis market research firm
Further to Fall

Further to Fall

Stu Utgaard was the Twin Cities’ biggest dealmaker in the ’80s and ’90s, a master of M&A. Then he made his own acquisition, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and built a single store into a $718 million retail chain. So how did Utgaard wind up buried under $31 million in personal debt?
21st Century Watkins Man

21st Century Watkins Man

What would lure Mark Jacobs (Irwin Jacobs’ son) from Manhattan to Winona to run an old-fashioned door-to-door business? The chance to apply entrepreneurial liniment to a tired, aching brand.
It’s All About Loyalty

It’s All About Loyalty

Since meeting in the early 1980s and building Northwest Airlines’ WorldPerks frequent-flyer program, Mark Lacek and Peter Brennan have started five businesses, with a sixth on the way—nearly all devoted to helping businesses keep their customers coming back.
See More