Hall of Famers

Bill Austin , founder of Starkey Laboratories, the largest hearing aid company based in the United States. As CEO, he guided the company’s growth to more than $420 million in revenues and 3,700 employees while also establishing the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which has fitted 100,000 needy children with hearing devices.

Dale Bachman , who in 1992 became a fourth-generation president of his family’s floral and nursery company and expanded its business into plant-care products, tools, and home-décor items. At the time of his induction, his company employed approximately 1,100 people plus another 500 during peak seasons.

Ray Barton , whose insights into the power of franchising led to the expansion of Great Clips into the biggest single hair-care brand in the world—a company with $700 million in system-wide revenues and 2,730 franchise stores in 34 states and western Canada when he was inducted.

Earl Bakken , inventor of the modern battery-powered heart pacemaker and cofounder of one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, Medtronic, where he was CEO from 1957 to 1976 and senior chairman until 1989.

Jill Blashack , the founder and CEO of Tastefully Simple, a retailer of gourmet foods that grew from revenues of $1 million in 1998 to $110 million at the time of her induction in 2006. In addition to its 320 employees, the company engages 20,000 consultants to sell products at home tasting parties.

Ralph Burnet , who developed Coldwell Banker Burnet into Minnesota’s number-one residential realty company, with more than 3,000 sales associates. He founded Burnet Realty, a predecessor company, in 1973 with a personal investment of $18,000.

James Campbell , a leading spokesman on public policies affecting business and the former CEO of Minnesota’s largest bank, which he developed into a leading commercial lender. During his tenure, the assets of Minnesota banks within the Norwest and Wells Fargo system grew from $5.9 billion in 48 separately chartered institutions to $52 billion within 166 branches of one institution.

Curt Carlson , widely proclaimed “ultra-entrepreneur” and founder of the Carlson Companies—shortened to Carlson—which includes Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Country Inns & Suites, and T.G.I. Friday’s.

Kenneth Dahlberg , heroic and heavily decorated World War II pilot who developed the first all-in-the-ear hearing aid and founded Dahlberg, Inc., which he expanded to $100 million in revenue before selling to Bausch & Lomb in 1994. Since 1995, he has been a venture capitalist.

Mark Davis , who transformed the humble St. Paul Creamery into Davisco Foods International, the largest supplier of cheese to Kraft and the world’s largest producer of whey protein isolates. Davisco produces a million pounds of cheese per day and generates $900 million in annual revenues. Another Davis company, Cambria, produces more than $100 million in quartz countertops per year.

Dorothy Dolphin , who founded Dolphin Staffing—a temporary services firm dispensing 20,000 W-2 forms a year—and became owner of 14 fast-food restaurants and a six-branch bank with more than $200 million in assets.