The Curious Builder

On this episode of The Cursious Builder Mark Ostrom joins to discuss The Joy Collaborative . A nonprofit that designs therapeutic spaces for children with disabilities or life-limiting conditions. It describes past projects and the impact of the spaces on families. It also talks about ideas for future projects like a mobile sensory unit, collaborating with schools on building projects, and partner...

Jordyn DiOrio discusses her journey starting a side hustle jewelry business that eventually led to venture capital funding and a partnership with Nordstrom. She shares the reality of scaling a retail business and lessons learned along the way. Jordyn also discusses her Consulting business and her changing definition of what it means to be successful.  Sponsors for the Episode: The Scout Guide Minn...

Rich tells us his story of wanting to go to he marines, framing homes, learning the ropes of remodeling, working in a cabinet shop, a rustic reclaimed wood shop and starting a business during a recession to make ends meet. One thing is clear, the american can do spirit is alive and thriving in the Hipp household and tempered with the heart of an honest craftmsan who loves his craft and his clients...

Barak Steenlage a custom home builder in Minnesota joins Mark to discuss the evolution of Anchor Builders. They discuss the challenges of custom home design and keeping projects on budget. Barak describes his involvement with NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry) and how it has helped him grow as a builder. They also cover topics like company culture, land development, and the fut...

Desi Creswell, an interior designer turned life and business coach, shares how experiencing a career burnout from trying to balance her new life as a mom with her business helped reclaim her spark. She discusses how the switch flipped once she made the transition to coaching, and why this path was a more fulfilling option to her. With the mindset of giving the advice she needed herself when she wa...

Chad & Ryan Hanson have loved architecture since they can remember. After establishing their start in real estate by flipping houses, they left their corporate IT days behind and have never looked back. With the knowledge gained from their flipping experience as well as the following they developed because of it, they soon made the transition to building clients their own custom homes. Realizing t...

Ian Planchon, half of the two person team of 515 Productions, discusses how he and his wife, Lynn got their start in the world of media, and how this led them to found their own production company. He shares the growth devolopment their business has seen over the past 20 years by continuing to follow their passion and constantly learning along the way. There is power in telling your story, and Ian...

Lance Anderson, CEO and founder of Admit One Home Systems joins Mark to share his journey from IT to founding his own company. He discusses how he found his niche in custom home technologies, and how essential it is to empower himself and his team to work confidently and independently. With a focus on the luxury residential market, Lance and his team are hands-on with essentially all aspects of te...

Ryan Lipchek visits Minneapolis to discuss bringing CBUSA to the local market. He shares how the purchasing group model benefits both builders and suppliers through increased buying power and access to new customers. Lipchek also explains CBUSA's process for launching in a new city and developing critical mass among contractors. Sponsors for the Episode:  Pella Northland Manomin Resawn Timbers Ada...

Interior designer Julia Miller sits down with  Mark D. Williams to discuss her career path from social work to owning her design firm, Yond Interiors. She shares details about her creative process, expanding her business both locally and nationally, and her approach to collaborating with clients. Listeners are given an inside look at Miller's journey and strategies for success in the interior desi...

Hendel Homes is a custom home-building company based in Minnesota.  Rick and Amy Hendel share how they started their company, the importance of building relationships with clients, architects, and trades, and how they have grown their teams over the years. They also talk about the challenges of balancing work in the business with work on the business as an owner and how being part of builder group...

Kura Home Maintenance provides routine maintenance and cleaning services for homes in the Minneapolis metropolitan area. Owner Daniel Felt started the company in 2016 with a focus on providing reliable and high-quality service. The company uses technology, systems, and processes to efficiently serve over 800 clients with 34 different services. Employees are young and well-trained to provide a posi...

Chris Anderson of Monthend provides accounting and bookkeeping services tailored specifically for builders. They organize financial data into meaningful statements and insights with their goal being to help builders gain a better understanding of their finances to improve decision-making and sleep better at night. Sponsors for the Episode: Pella Northland https://www.pellabranch.com/minnesota/   M...

Kate Grutzmacher, the owner of The Scout Guide publication, joins Mark to discuss TSG (The Scout Guide) and how it supports small businesses in and around the Minneapolis community. Kate explains how TSG works and how they select clients. She also shares stories about inspiring clients and discusses her day job as president of Cities Management, a property management company. Kate describes how sh...

Kim Senn joins the show to discuss her journey starting off working for creative agencies to owning her Ad firm. She shares her background and her process with clients, specifically how she gets to know a brand and what it stands for. Kim and Mark also chat about what gets them into a creative space, and how Inspiration doesn't just come to you. It's acting on an idea and trying it out. Kim helps...

Alma Homes founders, Kirsten and Ethan, are here to share how their custom home business has grown to its level of success, and the strategies they're implementing to keep scaling up. Future architect turned designer and spreadsheet queen, Kirsten breaks down the analytics across their various platforms and why they especially focus on website traffic to retain traction. Attorney and framer, Ethan...

Episode 16.5 features highlights from the interview with Michael and Danielle Gutelli of Clark and Aldine.

Join us for our first LIVE audience event we hosted at the amazing showroom in Hennepin Made's glass factory. Jackson Schwartz the co-founder of Hennepin Made expounds his thoughts, experiences, and stories in a way that relates to everyone in the pursuit of passion and business. A lively and attentive audience of 60 was in attendance for a deep dive into the pursuit of passion around blowing glas...

Michael and Danielle Gutelli outline their branding and how each project has a naming strategy that makes them unique and special. A 2nd-grade teacher and a marketing and advertising guru, Michael and Danielle left what they knew to start a new business, while also having their first child. Five years and 10,000 hours of practicing their artform in the form of an informative blog transformed them...

Episode 16.5 features highlights from the interview with Mike Schmillen of River City Tile and Stone

Discussion touches on education to high schoolers, the lack of exposure to the trade jobs and how we can help push that forward for our generation. Mike then shares his story of how he used his lumber sales background to expand the tile business he bought into and now owns. College may not be a path to owning a business and we talk a bit about Mike's experience in becoming a business owner. Asking...

Episode 15.5 features highlights from the interview with Matt Calvano of Adaptive.

Matt is one of 3 Stanford grads that decided to create a start-up company. One was an investment guru, one was a rocket scientist (for Space X) and one was a super coder. Together they decided to tackle the hardest problem they could find on the biggest market in the US....Home Construction. Creating a software company that will live up to its namesake, (Adaptive) Matt details out the nuances of t...

Episode 14.5 features highlights from the interview with Mercedes Austin, Founder and CEO of Mercury Mosaics.

Mercedes Austin takes us through her intentional crafting of tile by hand in a "tile bakery" located in Northeast Minneapolis. Mercury Mosaic's tile tells a story, sharing the artistry of the hand crafted approach to a community-based industry and what sets her tile apart. Starting off with mosaic art with tile led down a path of creating unique one-of-a-kind tile that delights those who see it. P...