During this unrehearsed, unedited interview, Restaurant Technologies Inc. (RTI) CEO Jeff Kiesel shares how his business overcame significant COVID-19-related challenges and along the way, improved its go-to-market strategy and how it takes care

Doug Jaeger on Buying a Canadian Company During a Pandemic, Employing Talent Where it Lives, Using Mixed-Reality Smartglasses for Site Visits & More

Sep 15th, 2021 23m

Jaeger's company Ulteig recently acquired a Canadian business without visiting it due to Covide-19 travel restrictions. This after Ulteig grew 20 percent a year for five consecutive years and expanded from 300 to 700 employees. One of several

CEO Christine Lantinen on how Maud Borup Grew Sales 50 percent While Fighting a Pandemic

Sep 2nd, 2021 29m 5s

One year after her first One Take interview, Christine Lantinen returns to discuss how Maud Borup weathered the pandemic; how its attracting and retaining talent both in the Twin Cities and Le Center, Minn.; why it's looking to expand capacity

CEO Chuck Runyon on How Self Esteem Brands Made its Largest Acquisition in History While Fighting a Pandemic

Aug 19th, 2021 23m 18s

Self Esteem Brands (SEB) recently completed its largest acquisition in history despite all the challenges and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19. One year after his first One Take interview, co-founder and CEO Chuck Runyon returns for a “Take T

CEO Nick Elders on how his startup facilitated $7 billion in loans within two weeks

Aug 11th, 2021 28m 41s

Nick is CEO of Ignify Technologies, an early stage fintech company whose SPARK loan origination platform facilitated 50,000 SBA loans worth $7 billion in two weeks last year. Those loans in turn helped save 500,000 jobs. During this One Take CE

Pinnacle Performance Group CEO Leslie Holman on the Importance of Front Line Employees, and More

Apr 29th, 2021 16m 6s

In this One Take CEO Interview presented by Platinum Group, Leslie Holman, owner and CEO of Pinnacle Performance Group, discusses how her firm helps fill the gap that can often exist between front line employees and senior leadership, and how C

Bushel Boy President Chuck Tryon on Growing Beyond Tomatoes

Apr 14th, 2021 13m 23s

Owatonna, Minn.-based Bushel Boy is well known in Minnesota for first perfecting indoor grown, vine-ripened tomatoes available in local grocery stores year-round 41 years ago. Competition has increased rapidly in recent years, leading the compa

How Claire Ferrara Led Through a Covid-19 Triple Whammy

Mar 18th, 2021 19m 15s

One of the most challenging aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic as it hit last year was how to still service heating and air conditioning systems in peoples’ homes. How could shelter in place, work from home and remote learning all remain safe wit

Betsy Niemeier on Leading a Steel Fabrication Business During Covid-19

Feb 18th, 2021 24m 31s

During this One Take CEO Interview presented by Platinum Group, Co-Owner and President of M&N Structures Betsy Niemeier shares how she has dealt with all the challenges thrown her way recently, including Covid-19, another surge in steel prices,

One Take CEO Interview with Xcel Energy's Ben Fowke

Feb 3rd, 2021 22m 45s

Xcel Energy Chairman and CEO Ben Fowke talks about a wide range of issues during this interview including how the utility is investing so much in carbon-free energy production while keeping rates comparable or lower than its peers. With about h

How HR-Tech Firm When I Work is Growing Despite Covid-19’s Impact

Jan 21st, 2021 26m 13s

Imagine having about half of your revenues tied to serving the restaurant and hospitality industries last year... How would you have dealt with Covid-19-related temporary closures and ongoing restrictions in those industries, the plunge in thei

How NetSPI is Growing Despite Covid-19, PLUS 3 Things to Do Now to Protect Your Data

Jan 5th, 2021 19m 51s

Cybersecurity business leader Aaron Shilts discusses how he is leading his employees through the stresses and changes brought on by Covid-19, organic growth and a recent acquisition. He also shares three things your business should do if it has

How Rihm Family Companies’ Kari Rihm led During 2020

Dec 22nd, 2020 33m 50s

Kari Rihm discusses everything from quickly fixing ‘leaking pipes’ and adjusting to market demands, to soul searching for hidden bias and getting others to care more about people they don’t know during this 20th episode of One Take CEO Intervie

Kyle Kottke on How His Trucking Business is Navigating the Covid-19 Economy

Dec 2nd, 2020 21m 34s

Kottke Trucking Co. Co-Owner and CEO Kyle Kottke shares how his Buffalo Lake, MN-based trucking business has adapted in many ways since Covid-19 began to affect the economy back in March. This includes helping truckers find places to stop for g

Tastefully Simple CEO Jill Blashak Strahan on Lessons Learned from Quick Success, 7 Years of Losses & Returning to Profitability

Nov 17th, 2020 28m 56s

During this week’s One Take CEO Interview, Tastefully Simple Founder and CEO Jill Blashak Strahan discusses what it was like to grow her 1995 startup into a $143 million-a-year business, and then lead through seven consecutive years of losses r

Northern Ingredients CEO Robert Schafer on Placing Workplace Culture Before Profit

Nov 10th, 2020 23m 8s

Founder and CEO Bob Schafer created a highly successful bakery supply business from scratch all from operating cash flow; no debt. Mixing and/or distributing 150 million pounds a year of ingredients to food manufacturers, this Minnesota Family

Refinance if Your Rates Are High, Think Outside the Box & Go Ahead and Be Stressed Sometimes

Nov 2nd, 2020 19m 6s

This week’s One Take CEO Interview is with Aleesha Webb, vice chair and president of Blaine, MN-based Village Bank. Her second-generation family owned community bank has 69 employees, about $390 million in assets under management and offices in

Leading Stressed Employees & How Best (Including Legally) to Bring Some Back to the Office

Oct 27th, 2020 19m 37s

Key points on how to safely bring employees back to the office (do you have a detailed COVID-19 Preparedness Plan?); what's trending when it comes to renegotiating contracts with landlords, vendors or customers; and fresh perspective on leading

What's Working Best in Digital Marketing

Oct 20th, 2020 17m 2s

Liz Diedrich, founder and CEO of Diedrich RPM (research propelled marketing), provides a variety of helpful perspectives in this week’s One Take CEO Interviews.One pertains to what’s working best in marketing today. “We’re seeing very dramatic

One Take CEO Interview with Mathnasium Franchisee Bobby Tarnowski

Oct 12th, 2020 14m 35s

Covid-19 related restrictions are forcing many businesses owners to contemplate raising prices, yet doing so can hurt sales. Better options, says Bobby Tarnowski, are to create new types of product or service offerings, provide financing to tho

How to Deal with Differing Perceptions of Covid-19?

Oct 7th, 2020 19m 47s

Covid-19 has created two worlds; those who are extremely concerned about catching Covid-19 and those who don't understand why businesses and other aspects of "normal life" aren't more open. In this segment of One Take CEO Interviews, Chad Nesbi

Increasing Sales During Covid-19: A One Take CEO Interview with Gary Braun of Pivotal Advisors

Sep 22nd, 2020 13m 43s

Braun is CEO and co-owner with brother Mike of Pivotal Advisors, a Prior Lake, Minn.-based firm that helps organizations improve their sales results. In this interview he shares what the two of them learned the hard way while growing sales from

Time to Start Planning for Post-Covid, says Reviva Corp.'s Dave Goodwin

Aug 12th, 2020 14m 35s

What needs to be addressed today to ensure American enterprise will still lead the world after Covid-19 subsides? In this One Take CEO Interview, Reviva Corp.'s Dave Goodwin shares his thoughts, including the need to improve what's being taught

One Take CEO Interview with Eric Gibson of Indigo Signworks

Aug 5th, 2020 22m 16s

Gibson runs Indigo Signworks, a substantial sign manufacturing, installation and servicing business with locations in North Dakota and Minnesota. In this interview he shares his take on how best to lead employees in multiple locations during th

One Take CEO Interview with Manny Villafana, Legendary Medtech Pioneer & CEO of Medical 21

Jul 28th, 2020 23m 40s

Villafana started several successful medtech companies including Cardiac Pacemakers Inc., which revolutionized the pacemaker industry by making the device smaller and longer lasting. He's taken seven companies public and he's at it yet again wi