Does Your State have a Public-Private-Nonprofit Partnership with an Appointed Leader?
How the state and corporations have changed nonprofits and the entire Thought Worker industry in North Dakota through old school "patronage".
Time is money so let’s get right to the point. A Thought Worker or Knowledge Worker is a person who uses their intellect and creativity to solve problems in an efficient and intuitive way. A Thought Worker can monetize their services in a free market through a number of ways.
Second quick point, historically speaking, the practice of patronage is when a rich private citizen would sponsor a Thought Worker for their personal interests, now, public-private partnerships and governments do it as part of their daily operating status quo.
Third quick point. Any state could get into any industry. In North Dakota the state has actual paid lobbyists to lobby for more state money to grow the state’s interests. Imagine if the state decided to become a useful government-service to the people like a Real Estate Agency or Engineering Firm instead of a lobbyist. They could at any time if they wanted.
Traditional Thought Workers include IT programmers, physicians, pharmacists, architects, engineers, scientists, design thinkers, accountants, lawyers, editors, and academics, whose job is to "think for a living".
The majority of these Thought Worker professions required a 4–8-year degree so billable hours and high salaries were the norm. That was 100-years ago. Since the advent of the computer the rise of the Thought Worker has reached unprecedent levels.
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (1981), by the beginning of the 1970s around 40 percent of the working population in the USA and Canada were classified to the information sector (Thought Workers), whereas in most other OECD countries the figures were still considerably lower.
Now the Thought Worker represents 70-80% of the American economy. And with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the role of the Thought Worker is experiencing a paradigm shift like never before.
This is why the Public-Private-Nonprofit Takeover should be public conversation number one in America.
ESG University will be having that conversation using their backyard - North Dakota.
In North Dakota it’s very simple. The government and appointed leaders are picking winners and losers in the Thought Worker Marketplace, while layoffs, primarily Tech sector, are happening at a pace not seen since the Great Depression.
In 2015, at the North Dakota Governor’s Economic Summit in Fargo, ND, Multimedia Journalist Jason Spiess noticed this shift in the marketplace and asked the economic panel during the Q&A session how banks and governments were addressing this issue of Thought Worker increases and manufacturing decreasing. The Tangible vs. Intangible marketplace. Tires and Toothbrushes vs. Advertising and Consulting.
The question is, how do you approach financing two different types of intellectual property? One like Procter and Gamble's products, brands, it's so forth and versus a technology company (like Facebook) which may have a software or, you know, a proprietary system and a trade secret, so to speak. And, this is a very interesting topic.
This is very hard area to finance and fortunately for us, you know, fell on our team by the name of Jim Lynch, James Lynch, who ran the practice for monetizing after determining the value of intellectual property for universities and other companies.
So take a university invention, some say, you know, whatever it might be a new technology of paint or new photos sell or some L E D combination or whatever these things have value right out of the box.
And there are firms around the country including the fellow members with us that has access to it, to value this intellectual property. Now, this intellectual property has value more than patented, what you need, you have to invest money to begin with.
There are a limited number of organizations who will finance those patterns. If you have intellectual property that they verify is, you know, it's verifiable like this is so we have value and obtain financing on intellectual property and some of our investments, it's not easy, but it's doable.
So if you have one of those who, you know, of one of those, then we can get you into that system that will tell you first advise you how that get value for it and then second how to monetize them. Great.
We, invest in products so that Johnson Johnson side of that equation things we don't understand things we can touch is really, really wrap our heads around. There's a lot of value and (Intellectual Property) I P we have never financed I P, so I have been talking about the school tried to answer that.
It's a case by case, we have to look, you know, as a bank, if they have a revenue stream or if they have some type of a contract or look at the, the ownership group of the management group, you know, if it's a Bill Gates back in company, it's a little bit different than, you know, building.
So he dropped out of college. So you have to just look at the financial strength of probably the, of the people back in the company. But I think it's a case by case and we look at what kind of revenues being driven versus probably the, the intellectual side.
According to the 2015 North Dakota Governor’s Economic Summit, having someone like Bill Gates or a US Senator backing your endeavor speaks volumes with a bank or financing in the Thought Worker marketplace.
Furthermore, case by case basis is another way to phrase “picking winners and losers”.
In the same ND Governor’s Economic Summit, the question was asked about sustainability.
On Sustainability in 2015 at the North Dakota Governor’s Economic Summit:
So as investors, how do you look at the worldwide oil situation, you know, think of Saudi Arabia there now according to the Economist magazine, borrowing money to keep their quality of life. How long can they continue to do that? And does that play into your investment strategies in the Bakken?
These things start just with other countries? I think we're, you know, one pipeline explosion or one war away from higher other prices. And like you talked about with some of the companies, you know, it was only a matter of time until Exxon Mobil or Chevron maybe comes in and buys a smaller player like a Whiting or a Continental (Resources) someone else.
You know, I think there, there are plenty of opportunities for large companies to come in and make a play. But worldwide, you know, it's probably gonna take some type of a controversy. I don't think it can stay low forever and you never know Middle East is pretty volatile. So one pipeline explosion, unity oil start jumping back up. I think.
We don't invest in oil and gas in western North Dakota. So I’ll pass on this question.
One thing I learned long ago. If something isn't sustainable, it isn't sustainable. You can't hold your breath forever. So I think the Saudis and Qataris and these people, these countries that are producing path of low cost, it's not sustainable.
So, what does that mean?
Depends on how long they want to hold their breath, but they can't hold it forever because as they go and deplete their resources, then their collateral if you will, was not leverageable into the markets.
Saudi, you know, has less whale and reserved than we have here in the US. Now, the US has more reserves than Saudi Arabia. Most people don't know that There is, is easier and cheaper to get out.
They can put a pipe straight down and it comes out here, we do the fracking and all these other. So our costs are higher than this. But that's, it's not as significant as you might think, you know, they're playing, their cost is around $30 a barrel. But other estimates question that.
So I think, you know, I think you're right one little thing somewhere in the world can change this overnight.
How long do you want to hold your breath so a handful of appointed leaders, bankers and their special interests can keep their lavish lifestyle going?
How many second jobs does a single mother have to get so nonprofit executives can wine and dine corporate executives and politicians for private business endeavors?
Now consider the amount of entitlements, access and tax dollars Emerging Prairie has received from Day One when they were a private company with investments in other startups. How many other businesses or nonprofits have received just one of those Easy Button Entitlements?
Next, layer in what was said about Sustainability and Thought Workers at the 2015 North Dakota Governor’s Economic Summit and ask yourself if there is an agenda and special interests behind Emerging Prairie and Greg Tehven.
There is already more than enough evidence for any Ethics Committee Member to wonder about Emerging Prairie’s chameleon changing agenda, let alone any elected official in the state.
So, what are some other ways a Thought Worker can monetize their work?
Firstly, they could offer consulting services to businesses and organizations, charging for their expertise and advice. They could also create and sell courses and materials related to their areas of expertise, either on their own website or through online platforms.
They could also monetize their knowledge by writing articles or books and selling them online. Additionally, they may be able to find paid speaking opportunities, either online or in-person, where they can share their knowledge and experience with a larger audience.
This type of worker is highly valued in the modern economy, as they are able to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems. They are able to think creatively and outside the box, and can often develop solutions that other workers would not have considered.
Thought Workers are highly sought after in the modern economy, as their ability to think analytically and use their knowledge to develop solutions can bring great success to any organization.
Here is a quick list of Thought Worker professions that do not require a 4-8 year degree.
Blogger/Podcaster: A blogger or podcaster monetizes their services by selling products through affiliate marketing, offering sponsored content, and selling ad space.
Consultant: Consultants monetize their services by charging clients for advice and guidance on a variety of topics.
Social Media Influencer: Social media influencers monetize their services by partnering with brands and companies through sponsored posts and campaigns.
Online Teacher or Executive Coach: Online teachers monetize their services by offering paid classes and workshops, selling digital products, and providing one-on-one coaching.
Freelance Writer: Monetizes their services by writing articles, ebooks and other content for websites and companies.
Graphic Designer: Monetizes their services by providing strategic graphics and guidance to organizations.
Virtual Assistant: Monetizes their services by offering administrative, marketing, and customer service support to businesses.
Web Developer: Monetizes their services by designing, creating, and maintaining websites.
These services, and others, are now being encroached upon and in some cases taken out by government workers, nonprofits and special interests through Public-Private-Nonprofit Partnerships.
CoCo a no-go: Downtown Fargo co-working space to close
FARGO - After about a 10-month run, the CoCo collaborative and co-working space in downtown Fargo will close its doors as of Friday, a CoCo official said over the weekend.
By David Olson
June 01, 2015 04:45 AM
FARGO - After about a 10-month run, the CoCo collaborative and co-working space in downtown Fargo will close its doors as of Friday, a CoCo official said over the weekend. However, supporters of Fargo as an entrepreneurial hotspot say an effort is underway to maintain a collaborative and co-working space here using a different pricing structure than the one used by CoCo, which Fargo officials described as too expensive for the type of startups working in Fargo.
Laurie Healy, CoCo's director of marketing and communications, said in a phone interview over the weekend that the Fargo CoCo site just didn't attract enough members to remain viable. "It was a decision that we made very reluctantly and after great consideration,” she said. “We've been unable to build up that sustainable membership base over the 10 months we've been in Fargo." The Fargo location is at 122½ Broadway, above the King House Buffet.
CoCo still has two co-working spaces in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul. CoCo sites aim to give small startup companies an economical way to get on their feet while gaining valuable support from and interaction with companies pursuing similar goals. At the time the Fargo location opened, the site's community manager, Rachel Sternhagen, said they were hoping for about 100 members. Healy said she couldn’t discuss membership numbers relating to the Fargo location. Sternhagen could not be reached for comment.
Co-working idea ‘viable’ The way CoCo works is that people or groups purchase memberships for one to five days per week, or they can pay for 24/7 access to a CoCo site. Costs range from about $70 to $350 a month at the individual level, while group membership for a medium campsite can be about $1,400 a month.
Jim Gartin, president of the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp., said the agency provided CoCo with about $4,000 a month to help the company offset losses due to low membership. He said when the EDC approached CoCo about replacing the subsidy with a plan that allowed for helping members pay their rents, CoCo rejected the idea.
Gartin said CoCo also wasn’t willing to modify its fee structure to accommodate a market much smaller than the one in the Twin Cities. Now, Gartin said, the EDC is working with other groups and individuals to keep the collaborative space going under a new arrangement that could be in place by July 1. “It’s a viable option,” he said of the co-working idea.
At the time the Fargo CoCo location opened, CoCo officials said a major reason they picked Fargo for their first space outside the Twin Cities was because of the way Fargo embraces and promotes entrepreneurial efforts. But in a phone interview this past weekend, Healy indicated more was required.
"There's been a ton of community support and enthusiasm,” she said, but it wasn't enough to sustain the (CoCo) model.” Greg Tehven, co-founder and CEO of Emerging Prairie, an organization that promotes the entrepreneurial spirit in Fargo, said that group is among those working to keep Fargo’s collaborative space going. “Emerging Prairie has been in conversations with community partners and individuals who believe co-working is still a really good idea for our community,” Tehven said, adding they are exploring possible ways to revitalize the former CoCo space with a new pricing structure and a new way to integrate the community. “In any endeavor, we have to honor the pursuit,” Tehven said. “I think CoCo made a strong effort to bring a new service to our community based on their experiences in the Twin Cities. The fact CoCo hasn't flourished might not be a representation of our community, but more about how they wanted to do things based on what they've done in the Twin Cities,” Tehven added.
Then several days later. The Forum printed another article about Emerging Prairies and the demand for entrepreneur space in downtown Fargo and the state of North Dakota. Despite the fact the marketplace couldn’t support it. With entitlements from the city and county. And state. And support from the federal delegation.
Here is Emerging Prairie the For-Profit company.
By Sherri Richards
June 03, 2015 10:07 AM
FARGO - Emerging Prairie, a group that promotes local entrepreneurism efforts, announced Wednesday it intends to revive a co-working space in Fargo.
Minneapolis-based CoCo announced late last week that it would close its Fargo co-working and collaboration site at 122½ Broadway as of Friday due to a lack of sustainable memberships.
Greg Tehven, co-founder and CEO of Emerging Prairie, said at the weekly 1 Million Cups event at The Stage at Island Park that his organization and the Greater Fargo-Moorhead Economic Development Corp. have been discussing ideas for a collaborative space.
“We as a community, we want to resurrect that. We want to bring that back,” Tehven said.
Tehven said in an interview that Emerging Prairie is on the lease for the second-floor space above the King House Buffet that housed CoCo.
On its website, Emerging Prairie is soliciting suggestions for a name for a co-working and event space. It suggests Centralia, the original name for Fargo, and Prairie Den, inspired by prairie dog burrows, and is also accepting ideas.
Annie Wood, Emerging Prairie’s program director, described one possible vision as a college student union, “a vibrant space to gather.”
The Greater Fargo-Moorhead Economic Development Corp. had provided CoCo with $4,000 a month to help the company offset its losses due to low membership, Jim Gartin, president, told The Forum.
Gartin said the EDC’s support of the co-working space would continue, though he was not sure at what dollar level, until it breaks even or is profitable. He said that support wouldn’t necessarily be monetary, but could include staff time or marketing efforts.
He said as with all entrepreneurial efforts in Fargo, “we don’t drive it, we just support it.”
Gartin said the biggest issue with CoCo was its unwillingness to adjust its membership rates for the Fargo market, and a positive fair pricing structure could attract more consistent investors.
He said the concept of a locally created co-working space already has three to four interested partners, and “that many more” could sustain a space.
This is an incredible amount of tax dollars, economic grants, policy maker access, corporate donations and press from the state-wide trusted media very few people in the free market get.
And it still failed. The marketplace had spoken again.
But in North Dakota, they will spend The People’s Money on their appointed leaders in order to preserve a “One Voice” narrative.
This time it was the franchise 1Million Cups. And that failed too after having “the largest” 1Million Cups franchise in the country.
Emerging Prairie discontinues weekly 1 Million Cup Fargo events
Organizers plan to reveal a new meeting model at an outdoor event in late April.
Emerging Prairie announced Tuesday, March 16, that it will discontinue its weekly 1 Million Cup events.
By Angie Wieck
March 16, 2021 01:50 PM
FARGO — When organizers met in 2013 to discuss launching 1 Million Cups Fargo, they decided to give it a six-week trial run.
Greg Tehven, executive director of Emerging Prairie, said they asked themselves, "How can you get people to show up at 9 a.m. on a Wednesday?" and "Will there be enough speakers in our community to share their entrepreneurial journey?"
After over six years, there's little question the weekly event was a success. But, as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end."
On Tuesday, March 16, Emerging Prairie announced it will no longer host weekly 1 Million Cups Fargo events. But do not despair — Emerging Prairie promises to gather supporters together in late April to announce a new meeting model.
1 Million Cups was born out of the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo.-based nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship and education. In a 2014 Forum story, Taylor Brown, program coordinator, explained that Kauffman staff didn’t really know the entrepreneurs in their own backyard. And they found the entrepreneurs there weren’t talking about what they did, especially across industries.
In response, they organized a weekly networking event known as 1 Million Cups. The concept spread to cities like Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Miami and San Diego.
Since debuting here in 2014, 1 Million Cups Fargo has hosted hundreds of speakers. Some were people readers had likely heard of before, like Dot of Dot's Pretzels or Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen. Others were less known at the time, such as Mukai Selekwa , winner of the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce's YEA! (Young Entrepreneurs Academy) pitch contest.
The decision to pivot to a new meeting model came after the Kauffman Foundation recently announced it plans to shift toward smaller-scale events with a deeper focus on education.
"What an incredible run the Kauffman Foundation's 1 Million Cups has given our community," Tehven said. "We will be forever grateful to the Kauffman Foundation for giving us a platform to connect our community, engage entrepreneurs, and accelerate our region."
Tehven said he expects Emerging Prairie to announce its next steps at an outdoor event Wednesday, April 28, likely in Island Park.
If at first you don’t succeed, get more entitlements and fail again. Then get more of The People’s Money, start a nonprofit, pay yourself a six-figure lucrative salary with a staff and play king maker.
Fail up not down.
And if that doesn't work, get more government subsidies and take as much intellectual property from a franchise to start your own version of someone’s idea.
Why not, there’s zero risk if you are a nonprofit with a direct line to multiple sources of entitlements, corporate donors and venture capitalists. And volunteers giving your nonprofit free goods, services and labor.
Fail up not down.
Interesting how the Manufactured Intangible Marketplace can shine a light on and open up Tangible Products like “social media exposure during the workday”, “dangling opportunities desired” and showcasing “access to decision makers”.
All which have significant value in the Intangible Marketplace.
Some appointed leaders may abuse this power in order to benefit in other ways not documented by the IRS too.
From the Fargo Underground:
On Wednesday, January 25th, Emerging Prairie will host its first weekly StartupBrew of the year from 8:00 – 9:15 am at Drekker Brewing Company in Fargo, ND. This morning meetup is for entrepreneurs, innovators, creatives, and community members alike to come together and explore the entrepreneurial journey.
We will be joined by season kickoff speakers Eddie Massey, founder of autonomous medical health clinic provider Catalyst Robotics, and Kathryn Finney, bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Genius Guild.
StartupBREW is built on the notion that entrepreneurs do better when they have access to each other and the greater community that supports them. Entrepreneurship is energized over brews – coffee, tea, beer or others. Connection over coffee has been at the center of energizing our community, which is where the name StartupBREW came from.
Don’t forget to start a trendy Podcast too. Except the StartupBREW Podcast was started first, then after that failed, Emerging Prairie receives more support from the state to continue their “War on the Thought Workers” in North Dakota with a weekly live event.
Also, when you get millions in government fundings, special access and corporate donors, you can delegate much of your “nonprofit” work leaving the appointed leader time and resources to build a personal empire. Primarily on the taxpayer’s dollar.
Keynesian Carpetbaggers are becoming more and more common with economic development dollars becoming more and more prevalent.
A Keynesian Carpetbagger is a modern-day Carpetbagger who uses the invisible hand of the government to trick the people out of their money. This saves the out-of-state interest a lot of time and money, whereas historically the carpetbaggers had to trick the individual rather than the elected and appointed officials.
When you have a nonprofit staff, image, policy maker access and government grants you have a considerable advantage competing in the nonprofit sector. But this amount of support staff allows Appointed Leaders to advance their personal interests as well. All while receiving tax dollars and tax breaks.
There is an exodus of Thought Workers leaving North Dakota due to these types of Public-Private-Nonprofit organizations across the state. The formula and template are similar in many of the major ND cities, which leads ESG University to believe this is something many other communities in other states are experiencing too.
Furthermore, many Thought Workers no longer are taking the time to fill out nonprofit or Thought Worker proposals being offered by the state because these hybrid organizations and “established or preferred companies” have multiple funnels and pockets to capture those government grants and tax dollars.
Creativity and innovation are being suppressed because of this War on the Thought Workers and it is happening across the United States.
In North Dakota, since Emerging Prairie began competing in the Thought Worker space and marketplace, the state’s largest newspaper has reduced its frequency to 2-days a week and the Associated Press no longer has a reporter at the state capital or in the state.
Plus, layoffs are happening in Tech Companies at a record pace while Workforce Issues continue to cost the taxpayers more money every day.
For the first time in 150 years, the Associated Press does not have a reporter at the ND state capital and ESG University could not find the name of anyone listed as a replacement for former ND veteran journalists, and trusted AP writers Dave Kolpack and James McPherson.
This is a historical milestone for transparency, trust and information balance in North Dakota yet to be reported or discussed in the media. The irony is remarkable.
In North Dakota, this is just the start of a very public discussion about Emerging Prairie and Greg Tehven’s endeavors consistently need more resources and how it has drained millions from the region’s entire Thought Worker supply chain from photographers to graphic designers to the daily bi-weekly newspapers.
Perhaps your state should have a talk with your Appointed Leadership too. North Dakota is.
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