Minnesota Headhunter: MSP On Deck Podcast #13: Maria Ploessl, Executive Director Of MinneStar, TechStars Farm To Fork And Minnesota Tech Hiring

MSP On Deck Podcast #13: Maria Ploessl, Executive Director Of MinneStar, TechStars Farm To Fork And Minnesota Tech Hiring

January 03, 2018

Here we are with MSP On Deck Podcast #13 and with this… I am caught up. That’s right, this is our latest podcast and going forward I will posting them here as soon as they are available.

This episode we are chatting with Maria Ploessl, Executive Director of Minnestar. Maria starts with what Minnestar does including Minnedemo and Minnebar. Over the years Minnestar has hosted 50 some events and had 22,000+ attendees and been run by a volunteer board. Maria is the first person in this role.

Before saying more here is where to find info:

Maria talks about our region… what is going well and what our challenges are. I have known Maria for a couple of years and I very much appreciate her views on building community, embracing and doing change, growing the tech ecosystem and inclusion.

Minnestar is a non profit and there are opportunities for individuals and companies to support it. I have been both a “Community Sponsor” as an individual and a as “Megabyte Sponsor” as a company. Interested… click
“Minnestar Sponsor”

We then talk about topics including:

The TechStars announcement of “Farm to Fork” with Cargill and Ecolab which Casey broke on our podcast a month or more ago.
We then ramble a bit about Ecolab and Cargill in general
1st and Future during Super Bowl Week in partnership with SportsEngine and Mayo Clinic
We then ramble a bit about the Super Bowl, tech events and showcasing our community
My prediction for increased recruiting in 2018 and a new Robert Half survey with data supporting my view
Here is a link to the online session Casey and I mention
- Q&A With Minnesota Headhunter: An Intro To The Minnesota Startup And Tech Scene

Below you can listen to the podcast.

To connect with Kathy, Casey and MSP On Deck:

Kathy Grayson

Casey Allen:

MSP On Deck

We have a Twitter account: @mspondeck
And a web site too where you can listen to our sessions: MSP on Deck Podcast
You can find the podcast and subscribe by clicking MSP on Deck on iTunes and MSP on Deck on Stitcher

And click MSP On Deck Podcast Is Live And Focusing On The Minnesota Tech And Startup Scene if you are new to this and wondering how it came to be.