White Bear Area Chamber 2020 Annual Meeting / Inaugural: Influential Entrepreneurs: The Secrets To Their Successes

The panel includes the following individuals:
John Puckett, was working as a management consultant  helping develop ideas and strategies for other companies, when he decided to become an entrepreneur. After a trip to Denali National Park in Alaska, he and his wife, Kim, decided to raise money and start a coffee company. The first Caribou Coffee shop was started in Edina, Minnesota, in December 1992.  Today, Caribou Coffee operates the second largest number of coffee outlets in the world. Mr. Puckett has moved on to new adventures having established a new business venture, Punch Pizza. 

The founders of Anytime Fitness Chuck Runyon, Dave Mortensen, and Jeff Klinger first met in the early 1990s while working for a fitness club in St. Paul, Minnesota. Together  they purchased the Southview Athletic Club. Their tenure resulted in increased membership from 500 to 4000. From there that founded Anytime Fitness in 2002. The first franchise location opened in Cambridge, Minnesota.  Today, the company operates over 4,000 franchised locations in 50 countries. Runyon is the CEO of the company. According to Forbes, Anytime Fitness was the fastest growing health club franchise in 2014. In 2015, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Anytime Fitness first on its global franchise list. 

Rhoda Olsen became the CEO of Great Clips in 2011 and expanded their franchise locations from 1,100 to over 4,000 locations by 2017. Her efforts lifted the company into the top ten listings in Entrepreneur Magazine. Today, Rhoda volunteers with the Phakamani Foundation, a non-profit that provides micro-loans and training to help African women succeed in business.