2007 Entrepreneurs Of The Year^®

Gregory Gartner
Company: Gartner Studios, Inc.
Headquarters: Stillwater
Founded: 1998
Employees: 170
Web Site: www.gartnerstudios.com
Revenues, 2006: $70 million

Background: With a background in consumer print products and the knowledge that home computing was increasing dramatically, Gartner launched Gartner Studios from his home. The initial opportunity he recognized was to provide paper products and design software for inexpensively producing high-quality wedding invitations. Gartner, president and CEO of his company, eventually expanded into online sales of other do-it-yourself stationary products for special occasions. Gartner Studios now sells its paper products through various retailers across the country.

In His Own Words: “We are really a life-celebration company. Anything that you’d celebrate, . . . . we want to be a part of that.”

 

Scott Bakken
Company: MainTrax, LLC
Headquarters: New Brighton
Founded: 1992
Employees: 7
Web Site: www.maintrax.com
Revenues, 2006: $1.3 million

Background: A printing industry insider since 1984, Bakken founded the full-service advertising agency MainStreet Group in 1991 and focused on a market of cable television clients. He soon realized that clients needed better ways to measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, and founded MainTrax as a complementary business that provides tracking tools for direct-response marketing campaigns. Bakken eventually sold MainStreet Group, but remains CEO of MainTrax, where revenues have grown 65 percent since 2005. Clients include Comcast Cable, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Cox Communications.

In His Own Words: “We aren’t just a company providing marketing data. We are a company that partners with our clients and we become their marketing arm.”

 

Deborah Callahan
Company: Corporate Travel Solutions
Headquarters: St. Paul
Founded: 1984 (as Capital Travel Management)
Employees: 73
Web Site: www.ctsinc.com
Revenues, 2006: $77 million

Background: Having worked in service and corporate jobs in the airline industry, Callahan founded Capital City Travel, Inc., in 1984, a full-service travel agency with mostly corporate clients. By 1995, the firm had $15 million in annual revenues. The following year, Callahan, who is president and CEO, acquired Corporate Travel Services to expand her business. In 1998, she acquired Kristensen Travel, known for its international travel expertise. Five years later, Corporate Travel Solutions became part of the American Express Travel Network.

In Her Own Words: “We see ourselves as a business partner . . . who guides, advises, and acts in a capacity of oversight of the travel and entertainment expense.”

 

William Jeatran
Company: RJF Agencies, Inc.
Headquarters: Plymouth
Founded: 1986
Employees: 165
Web Site: www.rjfagencies.com
Revenues, 2006: $24 million

Background: Soon after graduating from college, Jeatran saw an opportunity to help middle-market companies understand and manage their risks and costs in the areas of business insurance and employee safety, health, and benefits. In 1986, with financing arranged by the seller, Jeatran, RJF’s CEO, founded his business by purchasing a small, one-person insurance agency. He has since grown it to include five offices in two states. In 2001, RJF joined the worldwide insurance corporation Assurex Global.

In His Own Words: “The key to our success is our ability to retain and attract the best talent, having a unique business model, and applying it to middle-market needs, our culture, and our values.”