Popular Articles

Sweet marketing music

Tanner Montague came to town from Seattle having never owned his own music venue before. He’s a musician himself, so he has a pretty good sense of good music, but he also wandered into a crowded music scene filled with concert venues large and small.But the owner of Green Room thinks he found a void in the market. It’s lacking, he says, in places serving between 200 and 500 people, a sweet spot he thinks could be a draw for both some national acts not quite big enough yet for arena gigs and local acts looking for a launching pad.“I felt that size would do well in the city to offer more options,” he says. “My goal was to A, bring another option for national acts but then, B, have a great spot for local bands to start.”Right or wrong, something seems to be working, he says. He’s got a full calendar of concerts booked out several months. How did he, as a newcomer to the market in an industry filled with competition, get the attention of the local concertgoer?

read more
by Beth Ewen
April 2003

Related Article

Accounting

Read more

Mergers & acquisitions

Senior veep buys out firm’s founder to rejuvenate Menttium

When Gayle Holmes wanted to exit the company she started 12 years ago, Menttium Corp. in Richfield, Lynn Pederson Sontag and Kim Vappie stepped forward.

Sontag was senior vice president of operations, shepherding the firm through a couple of years of tough times, including staff and program cuts. Menttium matches promising women managers with mentors, in order to develop them professionally. Corporations pay to put their employees through the year-long program. Vappie was with Menttium a couple of years ago, and rejoined after becoming co-owner with Sontag.

As Holmes’ interest in the business changed, Sontag moved to buy it last December and became CEO. She wouldn’t disclose terms. About Holmes, Sontag says: “Over the years she had thought multiple times about doing something different. She is very much an entrepreneur. Her vision remains the same, the betterment of women.”

Vappie says there are 16 employees, with mentoring programs in the Twin Cities, Chicago, Detroit and Dallas. This year will see the launch of the Virtual 100 program, which will allow mentors and mentees to be matched via the Internet. “It’s expanding the reach, to defy space and time to foster mentoring relationships,” says Vappie, chief operating officer.

Vappie is a first-time business owner. Sontag has owned two other businesses, most recently a printing company. “I want to do meaningful work, and mentoring is powerful both for individuals and organizations,” Sontag says. “I’ve had so many people come up to me and say, ‘You don’t know how this has changed my life.’ ”

Lynn Pederson Sontag and Kim Vappie, Menttium Corp.: 612.436.4595