In Episode 2 of the Start Dakota podcast, Startup Sioux Falls’ president, Brienne Maner, is joined by Paula Jensen, vice president of program development at Dakota Resources.

Jensen and Maner discuss the important work Dakota Resources is doing for entrepreneurs in rural areas, including being part of the Community Navigator program, which brings CO.STARTERS to rural communities.

Dakota Resources’ partnership with Startup Sioux Falls through the Community Navigator program allows the two organizations to pool their knowledge and make a greater impact.

“I think that’s what we're ultimately trying to do, as an organization, is give people the tools they need to succeed and let them run with it, and that's really the beauty behind this Community Navigators pilot program from my purview,” said Maner.

“Our hesitation with trying to expand our reach is that we feel ill-equipped because we don't have the necessary relationships, and I know this isn't always the case, but the big city folks coming into the rural communities, that can cause a little bit of tension I would assume, where I don’t know your market, I can only give you what I have available. So, I love that we're partnering together.”

Jensen talks about a former program for entrepreneurs, Dakota Rising, which was similar in nature to CO.STARTERS in that diverse participants were put into cohorts to learn from one another.

Show Notes:

• Learn more about Dakota Resources at https://www.dakotaresources.org/.
• Dakota Resources is partnering with regional economic development organizations in five rural South Dakota communities including Watertown, Yankton, Vermillion, Mitchell, and Brookings. We are hosting CO.STARTERS cohorts in 2022-2023. Here’s what we’re offering:
• Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce and Development Corporation in Mitchell, SD
• Yankton Thrive in Yankton, SD
• Brookings Chamber of Commerce in Brookings, SD
• Watertown Development Company in Watertown, SD
• Vermillion Chamber and Development Company in Vermillion, SD
• CO.STARTERS Challenge: Know your customer.
  • Test, iterate and revise any assumptions you’ve made about your product or service to make sure your solution is what a customer wants. How do you do this? Through customer discovery—talking to people and getting their feedback.
  • Complete your “fieldwork” before the next episode: Conduct your own customer discovery. Talk to a future customer each week for the next month.
  • This exercise will show you where you’re strong and where you’re stuck.

Business Minute: Learn more about SD CEO at https://www.bhsu.edu/sdceo.

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