Presenters

Lifter Award: David & Sara Russick

David and Sara Russick are esteemed entrepreneurs and investors. David and Sara are the co-founders, Managing Directors, and Board Members of Gopher Angels, an investment organization dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship and early-stage companies in MN and the Midwest. Since launching in 2012, Gopher Angels has invested $27M+ into 85+ companies.

David and Sara also co-founded Bagster, a venture-backed, nationwide waste services company. They served as President and EVP, respectively, and as Board Members prior to Bagster’s acquisition by a Fortune 500 company.

Each are also noteworthy individual leaders in multiple additional arenas. Their leadership contributes to the potential success of many founders along their startup journeys.

Sara is a co-founder and managing partner of Capita3, a venture capital firm investing in innovative healthcare companies founded by women. Capita3 highlights its additional value to women founders stating: “Capita3 believes that YOU [women founders] are the most critical factor to your company’s success. Growing a startup requires you to continually build your leadership capacity. We’re successful startup founders and leaders, and we’ve been there. Our Leader Programs guide you to the breakthroughs you need to unleash your growth.”

Sara also launched DiscoveryMN Angels, an angel organization dedicated to investing in startups connected to the University of Minnesota. Additionally, she is a fractional C-Suite executive. Sara is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN.

David serves on the Board of Advisors for the Dakota Venture Group, a student-managed angel fund, and as an advisor and mentor for the Atland Fund, a student-managed venture fund within the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

David has served as a growth strategy consultant for several startups that have gone on to exit. Currently, he serves as Chief Strategy Officer for a Minnesota-based company in sustainability planning for the food production industry. David is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, and he earned a Master of International Management degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management with extension studies at Oxford University, Oxford England. David is a patent holder.

Opening Keynote: Gary Schoeniger

Author and entrepreneur Gary Schoeniger has emerged as an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of entrepreneurial mindset education and training.

In addition to his latest book, The Entrepreneurial Mindset Advantage, Schoeniger, along with Pulitzer nominee Clifton Taulbert, is also the co-author of Who Owns the Ice House? Eight Life Lessons from an Unlikely Entrepreneur, an international bestseller described as “required reading for humanity.”

As the Founder and CEO of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, Gary led the development of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program, which has been recognized by the Kauffman Foundation as “redefining entrepreneurship
education in classrooms and communities around the world.” The Ice House Program has been featured at the United Nations General Assembly, the Papal Council for Peace and Justice at the Vatican, and the European Commission in Brussels.

Gary is currently a member of the Forbes Business Council, the Dean’s Council at Purdue Polytechnic Institute, and an advisory council member for Tecnológico de Monterrey’s Tec21 model to produce graduates in Mexico with an entrepreneurial spirit and humanistic outlook for the 21st Century. Gary also served as a past board member for the Hershey Montessori School in Concord, Ohio.

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