JAMESTOWN – Heather McDougall will share insights on starting a business and working in the wholesale industry at the 2023 Virtual Women’s Business Conference next month.
The Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center hosts a free event, March 6-10, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency.
Katherine Roth, executive director of the Jamestown Regional Entrepreneurship Center, said:
McDougall of Jamestown is a partner of 701 Venture Capital Fund in North Dakota.
“We invest in startups, so the early-stage startups in North Dakota, Minnesota are … in the area,” she said. “We are investing in their growth and wish them well.”
In his biography, McDougal describes himself as a global changemaker, speaker and entrepreneur, inspiring organizations and individuals with a vision for people and the planet.
McDougall is director of experiential learning and community for ILT Academy, an entrepreneurial education company founded in Minnesota. She is a frequent executive and organizational consultant on sustainability, networking, problem solving, and leadership well-being. She mentors national startup her accelerator gener8tor in Chicago’s sustainability cohort.
“…I really want to say that I am helping galvanize other changemakers in their mission for the people of the planet,” said McDougal. “And we believe that entrepreneurship is a very powerful vehicle that can help lead that change in the world.”
Her presentations on Thursday, March 9, “Changing the World is Our Business. The Journey of a Female Founder” and “Is Wholesale Right for Me?” (10am CST) 3pm CST Time.
McDougall said he wanted “women who are curious about what entrepreneurship looks like, women who are wondering if they can start a business” to join.
“It might also be for women who are in business and want to make some progress, want to take their business to the next level, or feel they have goals they want to achieve but haven’t achieved. I am completely confident in how we will proceed with that next step,” she said.
She said that if people have questions about starting a business, the virtual Women’s Business Conference is a low-pressure opportunity to meet with her and other presenters.
“Changing the world is our business”
In her first presentation, McDougall said, “Changing the world is our business. explains why she believes it is a powerful tool for
“Even if you’re trying to make an impact on a big topic like global topics like climate change or racial injustice, be passionate about implementing something in your community or making a difference in your family’s life. Even if you’re leaning, I think entrepreneurship is a really powerful way to do that,” she said.
Presentation topics range from ideas to mass market. Empowered leadership decisions can affect the world. A lesson in believing in yourself. Standing on the legacy of previous women, they face the odds. and let go.
According to McDougall, the keynote will be about “why entrepreneurship” and how building structures around what people care about through their business can help them take action and move things forward. It’s about what helps.
She said different themes become part of the presentation through storytelling.
“A lot of the talk is about designing products…what do you do when you don’t know what to do? How do you get an idea started,” she said.
“Do you have wholesale rights for me?”
“Is wholesale right for me?” 3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, McDougall says it’s more of a workshop, aimed at people who have a product for sale or are interested in a product and want to expand it.
Here’s what she’s learned first-hand or from other entrepreneurs she’s worked with.
Topics include: What types of wholesale are there? Questions to ask about your business before going into wholesale. Other topics include business models, supply chain, scalability, pricing, teams, fulfillment and technology.
She said that as the founder and CEO of Bogobrush, she has learned a lot about being a founder and brings what she learns to her presentation.
McDougall holds a law degree from the Mitchell Hamline College of Law in St. Paul. She said she found her passion for entrepreneurship as a vehicle for change while working in a venture capital attorney, after which she and her brother John began to bring environmental and social I decided to start a company that helps bring real value. She said she tended to joke that her father Ken was a dentist, so it was a bit of a “twist of fate” with the Bogo Brush, a sustainable toothbrush.
“Through Bogobrush, I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and about investing and how investors consider whether a company is investable,” she said.
The company was sold last year.
In my current job with the 701 Foundation, I not only help decide who gets funding, but I also help mentor other founders and support their journeys.
“Rather than investing solely in sustainable and environmentally responsible companies, the 701 Fund is focused on producing positive results, whether in medical devices or advances in agricultural technology….” McDougal said.
For more information or to register for the Virtual Women’s Business Conference, please visit:
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Kathy Steiner has been editor of The Jamestown Sun since 1995. She graduated from Valley City State College with a Bachelor’s degree in English and she studied Mass Communication at North Dakota State University in Fargo. She reports on business, government and community topics in the Jamestown area. Contact her at 701-952-8449 or her ksteiner@jamestownsun.com.