Month: February 2018

Five Questions with Amanda Leightner, founder of Rochester Rising

Well-told stories are one of the most powerful communication tools we can use in business. They help others better understand us, our work, and our purpose. They allow us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. And, for entrepreneurs, they give us a platform to share our successes and failures – and learn from one another.

Amanda Leightner

Amanda Leightner is the founder of Rochester Rising, a website dedicated to telling the stories of the rise of entrepreneurship in Rochester. DMC spent some time with Amanda recently to learn more about her passion for sharing the stories of innovators and what advice she would give to someone considering a future in America’s City for Health.

The DNA is our prescription: Q&A with Scott Snyder of Geneticure

A global destination for health and wellness, Rochester is home to many innovative healthcare entrepreneurs. 

Scott Snyder, Geneticure CEO

Brothers Scott and Eric Snyder launched their personalized medicine business, Geneticure, in Minnetonka in 2014. But four years later, the Rochester-born siblings recognized the mounting opportunity in their hometown as a result of Destination Medical Center and expanded the business to Rochester. The group originally occupied space in the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator but recently moved to their own location now operating out of the offices above Grand Rounds Brewing Company in downtown Rochester.

DMC sat down with Scott Snyder, Geneticure’s CEO, to learn more about the company and its decision to return to its Rochester roots.

Increased funding options offer opportunity for SE MN entrepreneurs

Access to capital is a common obstacle faced by entrepreneurs looking to launch and grow businesses. Communities that offer diverse funding options for innovators tend to be healthier and more prosperous than those without.

Since there is no single blueprint for financing the launch or expansion of a business, area leaders have worked tirelessly to create new funding sources to help enhance the local entrepreneurial environment and get these businesses off the ground.

These funding sources will be of critical importance to Destination Medical Center (DMC) as the DMC Development Plan positions Discovery Square as a keystone to the DMC economic strategy, resulting in the need for multiple sources of readily available capital for new and growing businesses.

Five Questions with Jeanine Gangeness, Associate VP of Winona State University-Rochester

Rochester has a reputation for developing the innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers of tomorrow. The 45-plus two- and four-year higher education institutions that operate within 90 miles of Rochester further positions the city as a national leader in workforce development.

Dr. Jeanine Gangeness

At the downtown Winona State University-Rochester (WSU-R) location, Associate Vice President Jeanine Gangeness engages with other local post-secondary institutions and the business community to develop academic programming that will meet the career needs facing the region today and in the future.

DMC connected with Dr. Gangeness to learn more about her priorities for WSU-R in the coming year and the simple reason she believes the Destination Medical Center initiative is so critical.