Conversation with Greg Tehven

Speaker: Greg Tehven

Business, Local Community, and Love

Thought leader, storyteller, and advocate for the creative class, Greg Tehven is turning the world of conventional economic development on its head, and inviting people to build the communities they want to live in.

After traveling around the world and taking in other places and ways of life, Greg returned home ready to stop observing and start taking action. Confronted with the business failings of his beloved hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, he asked himself what the community could offer to the public that would help get it back on its feet. One of the unexpected answers that surfaced? Drones.

Fargo's small population and abundance of open spaces make it an ideal site for the development of emerging drone technology, and it now hosts an annual drone conference attracting hundreds of attendees from around the world. The town has quickly become an appealing city for college graduates, business leaders, and tech enthusiasts. Tehven attributes its newfound popularity to the commitment and desire of its citizens to make a difference.

“I think we have to love our sense of place,” says Tehven, “and champion the heck out of it.” Cofounder of Emerging Prairie (a startup news and events organization), curator of TEDx Fargo, host of the largest 1 Million Cups in the nation (supporting local entrepreneurial ecosystems), and an adjunct professor at North Dakota State University's College of Business, Tehven is changing what it means to harness the power of our communities, and improve the human condition.

Join us in conversation with this innovative community builder and changemaker!

Five Questions with Greg Tehven

What Makes You Come Alive?

Ideas. Being together with others.

Pivotal turning point in your life?

When I was twenty one, I was in Washington D.C. on a Pay It Forward Tour with 150 college students to celebrate our week of service together. As one of the organizer, I was so amazed and proud of my generation for their desire to serve and willingness to lead. During the final night, in preparation for the closing ceremony, I remember falling to the floor of my hotel room in tears of joy and gratitude for the spirit of my fellow college students and their desire to serve.

An Act of Kindness You'll Never Forget?

When I was 25, I was preparing to take a year and travel. Right before leaving, I got nervous about the limited funds available and started to pull back my plans. A friend, who is much older than I am, wrote a check to me for $5,000 and encouraged me to see the world. She did so expecting nothing in return, just passing along the gift of travel.