Eight outstanding South Dakota business owners have been chosen in a highly competitive process as the state's most promising entrepreneurs.
The Dakota Rising Rural Entrepreneur Fellows were chosen from sixteen finalists in four Dakota Rising areas: Spearfish, 57735 On The Rise, Four Mo T.R.E.E. and Glacial Lakes Dakota Rising. The Dakota Rising Entrepreneur Fellowship program is administered statewide by SD Rural Enterprise.
Kory Anderson, Anderson Industries LLC; Mark Stein, ESCO Manufacturing; Paul Haugen, PowderTech Corp, and Kristin Bennett, Yes, LLC are Fellows chosen from the Glacial Lakes Dakota Rising region, comprised of Day, Marshall and Roberts counties with the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Lake Traverse Reservation. Spearfish Dakota Rising Fellows include Chris Malo, Black Hills Urethane Company LLC; Mitchell McKie, Dan Diego Tortilla Factory, and James Meyer, Quarq Technology, Inc. Tobey Vander Laan, Wild Dutchman Seeds, was chosen in the Four Mo T.R.E.E. region, covering Campbell, Walworth, Dewey, Corson and Ziebach counties in addition to the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations.
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Each of the eight Fellows have the opportunity to work with mentors to focus on personal development and the growth of their businesses. In February, the first Dakota Rising Fellowship Conference was convened, with each of the eight Fellows being awarded $10,000. The Fellows are members of a community of rural South Dakota entrepreneurs that will be growing in the future. The Fellows also benefit from access to a business coach, a peer advisory board and ongoing focused technical assistance.