- [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

(upbeat music) - R-Town the show about Rochester learns how Collider is supporting local entrepreneurs and we talk with Rochester Women's Magazine about how they're empowering women in the community.

All that and so much more coming up next on R-Town the show about Rochester.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Coming to you from 125 Live in Rochester, Minnesota, R-Town.

(upbeat music continues) We are joined today by Juliana Silva from Collider here to talk to us about how Collider and how its vision for supporting entrepreneurs in the city has grown.

Welcome to R-Town, Juliana.

- Thank you so much, Nicole.

- Can you tell us a little bit about what Collider is and how it's grown over the years?

- So, Collider started as a for-profit back in 2015 and we were on top of Blue Duck where Blue Duck is right now.

And we have transitioned from this coworking space into a non-profit who serves early stage entrepreneurs from Rochester.

And now, we are providing education, it's like a business support and we are amplifying the stories of our local entrepreneurs.

We recently achieved a new milestone in our story, which was receiving our first state grant, which will allow us to serve a new set of people in the community and the minority groups.

And so, we will have a business incubator program - That's really exciting.

And what a transformation to kind of go from a for-profit entity to a non-profit now that's supporting quite a few entrepreneurs in our community.

You know, oftentimes the term entrepreneur can be a little bit misunderstood.

I think sometimes people's mind goes directly to something like a tech startup.

I need to be doing something like that in order to be considered an entrepreneur.

How does Collider define entrepreneur and you know, what would you say to someone who wants to start like a food business or you know, something that's quite different from, you know, say a tech startup and the support that Collider can provide?

- So, entrepreneurship is just a process of starting a business and it's an endeavor that encompasses individuals from any background and from all kinds of industries.

So, at Collider that's one of the reasons why we are working and is on eliminating all the barriers that entrepreneurs may have.

One, is starting a business.

So, anyone with a great idea can start a business and is not necessarily building a tech giant.

No, it could be a food business.

It's a great idea.

So, go pursue it and we'll be there to support you.

- Wonderful, can you tell us a little bit, so you've got this incubator program that's just starting.

CO.STARTERS is also a program that Collider has been working on for the last few years.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

- So, CO.STARTERS is a different program is nine-week program where we, what we want to do at CO.STARTERS is to solve all the critical questions that are around starting a business.

So, in CO.STARTERS we will refine your business model, we will solve those questions, and the idea is that based on the Lean Startup concept that is move super fast, develop this minimal viable product.

So, you will start a business as cheap and as fast as possible without spending too much time or too much money just in creating a product that you haven't tested before.

So, CO.STARTERS' approach is very, very practical and the idea is just to get off ground as soon as possible with whatever you have right now.

- I know you mentioned a little bit about I mean so much of the work that Collider does is kind of thinking about what those barriers are that are getting in the way of entrepreneurship.

We know that we have a lot of minority entrepreneurs in this community.

What are a couple of things that Collider has sort of been focusing on?

What's specifically to that community?

- So, two specific things at this point.

One, is that we have been increasing the participation of minority groups, specifically to the Hispanic community.

We've been doing that by the one-to-one business startup support by doing business support in Spanish and through the incubator program.

- As a wrapping up here in the last couple of seconds, how can people connect to the resources at Collider and just learn more?

- So, you can either visit our website and fill out our intake form to get the startup support, subscribe to our newsletters to state about all the things that we are doing or visiting Collider working space, which is on the sixth floor of the BioBusiness Center.

And we have a spectacular view.

So, visit us.

- Wonderful.

Well, thank you so much Juliana for sharing with us and we hope to hear more about what Collider is up to in the future.

- Thank you.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Be sure to stick around.

We have much more coming your way on R-Town.

We get some computer help in this week's R-Spotlight and we learn about Rochester Women's Magazine and how they're working to empower women in the community.

(upbeat music) - When I first took on the position here at the Women's Children's Support Center, I was informed by staff that the local high school participated in an amazing fundraiser that the women's shelter has been on the receiving end of for a number of years now.

So, being able to see where it's gone and how it's grown over those five years, that I've been here is just amazing.

(upbeat music) - This is an annual thing that we do GOFA every single year.

So, every single year we donate to both the women's shelter and the Dorothy Day House.

And really they're both really vital organizations in our community as they help not only women and children in maybe domestic violence situations, but also, our homeless populations within Rochester, which are both critically underserved communities.

- The generosity that the students put forth in their efforts that they put forth for this cause it's truly amazing.

We are just so grateful that the students think enough of us and survivors in the community to fundraise in this manner.

- Well, growing up I've like been exposed to a lot of like failures from people in power to like really help protect and like serve communities.

And so, a chance to do something like this where we can like be the support that the community needs when people in power are not always providing that kind of assistance.

(upbeat music) - I just think that it's really hard to not have a place to go necessarily.

And especially for women, and being able to have that money go to the women's shelter is really important to have like those essentials that women need, because they need a place to stay.

- When I first learned about the GOFA fundraiser, I was truly impressed with the efforts of local students.

It has grown exponentially over the last five years.

So, to see what they're doing now is truly amazing.

- It's definitely taught me about the power that community can really bring, because here at Mayo High School, whenever we really hunker down for GOFA in December, it's really our school coming together as a community, whether people are just selling things in the hallways or whether they're going to and participating at events and all this sort of stuff, it's really all going towards, you know, these two great organizations that we support.

- We've received upwards of close to 20,000, so in the teens.

This year it has grown too close to $30,000.

So, we're just blown away.

(upbeat music) - [Claire] The whole student body looks forward to GOFA every single year.

Like there's almost like countdowns it feels like in November to when GOFA starts.

So, it just really brings our whole community together.

- We're able to provide more direct assistance to clients and what that means is a little bit of everything.

So, we're able to provide bus passes, Lyft rides, all types of transportation.

We're able to assist with security deposits.

We're able to assist with U-Hauls and moving expenses.

We see a lot of costs associated with moving.

These funds will go to assist with actually getting survivors into a safe, affordable, decent apartment.

(upbeat music) - At Mayo High School, it just feels like a sense of spirit that whether it's like our homecoming week, people are always like in the hallways, like talking about like, oh, I'm excited for this and like I feel like I always see someone wearing green and gold like every single day.

I feel like there's so much spirit and connection in our school here.

- [Artyce] We are very, very grateful for their efforts.

- [Nicole] For more information about this story and other R-Town features, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter @KSMO #RTown, or ksmq.org/rtown.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Hi, this is Danielle Teal with R-Town Spotlight, where we cover happenings and really cool things across Rochester.

Today, I have with me Vince Guerra with the Computer Resource Center, welcome.

- Hello, thanks for having me.

- I'm so glad to have you, because you're doing some really cool things at 125 Live.

Most importantly, what is your role with the Computer Resource Center?

- So, at Computer Resource Center I work on, like I'm a computer technician, but I do MACs, PCs, do house calls, kind of the whole shebang, yeah.

- Which we do need you in the community.

And you know, there are some classes that you offer at 125 Live.

Can you kind of capture one of the intentions of the classes that you offer?

- I mean, in general, trying to empower like the elderly community, you know?

They get targeted the most for scams.

So, a lot of my classes are on how to identify scams.

What to do if you have been scammed?

But I mean general, just like, hey, you have a iPhone, do you need help learning how to use it?

Just trying to get people more familiar with technology.

Willing to, you know, come into the TLC here, 'cause they have a great group of people that are volunteers to help them just feel better using technology.

You know, it's something new, it's not gonna go away.

So, wanna try to help them, you know, thrive in this new, you know, environment with technology.

- And with those changes, that means the threats change as well.

What is a really good example of a scam that you kind of cover in your class?

- So, like right now, especially like the last month or so, a lot of stuff targeting people with iPhones, like telling you your iCloud storage is full.

I mean, in general- - It kooks innocent.

- it does.

I mean it's always, they always pretend to be a company, you know, like Netflix, Amazon.

But because it's new, people kind of just take it at face value.

Like, oh, I don't wanna lose my data.

They click the link, they call the phone number, and they give their money away, you know?

So, it's really just to teach them like, hey, take a step back, don't be scared, like let's read through it or just give us a call and we can kind of advise you on what to do.

- That's really cool.

And what is the response to individuals that are attending these classes?

- It's good.

I've seen a lot of kind of getting a little bit of group here, like a lot of the same customers.

But I mean it's been great to see them kind of learn more, be coming with me with like more questions, kind of building upon the knowledge that they had and they wanted to learn more.

So, it's really fun to see them really latch onto stuff and be, you know, more confident and like, hey, I've been doing this, this is cool, could you help me with this and that.

So, it's been great.

- And that really is the reward, right?

You're you're helping empower them, connect 'em to resources.

Where can people find out more information and about the classes?

- So, you can go to our website CRCcomputer.com.

We go to book an appointment and on there they'll actually have a link to all the classes that I offer.

I'm usually here once a week, sometimes more, teaching a class on, you know, a variety of different topics so.

- Awesome.

Well, people know where to go when they need some computer support then, huh?

- Yeah, yeah.

- That's great.

Thank you so much for being on the show.

- No problem, thanks for having me.

- This is Danielle Teal with R-Town Spotlight.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (bright music) Hi, I am Danielle Teal with R-Town.

I'm here with Arlyn Gagnon at this beautiful facility, which by the way go ahead and share the name of it.

- [Arlyn] It's the Charles E. Gagnon Museum and Sculpture Garden.

- Arlyn, can you share a little bit more about the museum and what is offered here?

- Well, the museum has three goals.

It's an art museum that features the 50-year legacy of one American artist who chose to live in Rochester, Minnesota.

It's also an educational museum, because it shows and tells the stories behind each sculpture, how they were created, where they were created, where they were commissioned for, and it's also a healing museum in the middle of a medical community.

The healing aspect is that art is language and the majority of these sculptures are very hopeful, they're very uplifting, they're very spiritually involving.

(gentle music) - [Danielle] And there's a reasoning behind all the windows in the museum, which I think is quite beautiful.

It's because the detail is so important for the sculptures.

- And also the natural light's the most honest light.

And the light will change everything about sculpture.

You notice that not only are the walls are white, but the block walls are very light gray.

There's very little hung on the walls because as Chuck would work on his sculptures, he would hold them up and that background had to be quiet and peaceful so that he could focus on the details of whatever it is he was creating.

- Thank you so much, Arlyn.

This is Danielle Teal with R-Town Walkabout.

(upbeat music) - We are joined today by Emily Watkins and Acacia Ward of Rochester Women's Magazine here to share with us about the growth of the magazine and its expanding vision to empower women in our community.

Welcome to R-Town.

Welcome back Emily, and welcome Acacia.

- Thank you.

- Thank you so much for having us.

So, Emily, we had you on when you first sort of took the helm of the magazine and so much has changed over that time, obviously in our world, but certainly, for the magazine and the publication.

Can you tell us a little bit about what Rochester Women's Magazine is and what its mission and vision is today?

- Yeah, so we're obviously a print magazine and it's been a print magazine since 2000, and we continue that tradition publishing six issues every year.

We've also been expanding our website to have original content there.

We also have a really active Facebook page and Instagram page.

And then we also do events to bring people together.

And our mission is to empower women through stories, events, and resources.

And we continue to do that on all of our platforms and tell the stories of local women and make people feel good.

- That's a great mission.

Making people feel good.

It's really important.

Acacia, you've been working at the Rochester Women's Magazine and have really been a part of some really innovative things that have happened.

Can you tell us a little bit about specifically your role with the Parenthood Department of the magazine?

- Yeah, so I've been with the magazine for almost two years now, and this last fall, Emily had asked me about like what I would think about starting something new and expanding that, and that was parenthood.

And since then, I've just taking it on and enjoying it.

I wanted to create a space for parents to come and just feel safe to tell their stories and relate to other women or other parents and capture all the journeys from before birth to end of life.

Because parenting is a struggle, you know?

So, we should do it together.

- It is.

- I love that parenting is a struggle.

It is a joy, it is a lot of things, but it is part of, yeah, the story of women and other parents in the community.

Rochester Women's Magazine has also been hosting a lot of programming and events as you mentioned.

Can you tell us a little bit more about some of this programming and how it helps to build community and empower the women in our area?

- Yeah, so before I owned this magazine, I had a fitness studio and one of the things that I loved about it was the community that was formed.

It was mainly women who were together and it was just a really great place for women to come.

And so, I knew that I wanted to bring some of that aspect to the magazine.

And so, we started with just having a kind of release get together every time we'd put out a new issue and we would invite people to come.

We'd invite the story subjects to come and then we started to invite advertisers to come so that they could kind of make their ad come to life.

And then we hired Melissa Hederman to expand our events.

And so now, we have a release event for every issue.

And then we also host two big events.

We do a restore and rejuvenate retreat in the spring and celebrate women in business in the fall.

And we feel like that really helps women to discover maybe another side of them.

We as women work really hard and I think sometimes we get really wrapped up in our jobs, families, and how we show up to those things.

And sometimes I think we forget who we really are.

And so, especially restore and rejuvenate, we feel that, that gives women a chance to explore kind of another side of themselves.

Maybe figure out, you know, discover something that's new to them, gives them a chance to really relax and enjoy themselves and come together in community.

I think women can also feel kind of lonely.

And so, those events are really good for that.

I think it helps when people generally are together, sharing stories, sharing struggles, and knowing that they're not alone and knowing that we're all going through this together.

- Sounds lovely, of course.

And you also mentioned the Women in Business event as well.

I know there's a special issue that you have of the different women's businesses in town each year.

Why is that important?

Why is it important for us to be able to highlight women in business in our community?

- I think that, again, women work really hard and I think it's really hard for women sometimes to talk about themselves and share what they do is important and how they make the world a better place.

And so, this is a platform for women to be able to do that, to share who they are a little bit, who they are in their organization, or what their business stands for, what sets them apart maybe.

And to be able to get a little recognition for what they do, - For sure, give people their flowers, right?

- That's important, yeah.

- Can you tell us a little bit about who contributes and edits to Rochester Women's Magazine?

And my sense is that it's a pretty communal process, and how does that model ensure that you are getting diverse voices in all of your issues?

- Well, we have kind of a core team of people who work together to do a lot of the business decision making and overall planning.

And then we also have a couple graphic designers, photographer, editor, and then we gather stories from writers all over.

We have sort of our writers that we go to a lot who contribute stories, but then we're always looking for new writers.

I like to have a team that has some diversity on it so that we're able to reach out into other communities to find all the amazing stories that are happening, but also, other contributors to our team.

- Wonderful, as we're wrapping up here, what do you see as the future of Rochester Women's Magazine and how can people just stay connected with what you all are doing?

- Ooh, as far as the future, I'm just really excited to grow parenthood.

There's a lot in store and I think the opportunities for within the magazine are amazing and they're just gonna keep continue to grow and yeah, for everybody.

- Look forward to hearing more.

- So, we think that print is gonna be around for a long, long time, especially our magazine.

I feel like it really is a special part of Rochester and people anticipate it and really love it, but we're also putting a lot of resources into our website, including parenthood and our events too.

We feel that it's important to create a community, and so, those events are great for that.

And so, yeah, our website is RWmagazine.com and we have all of our events there.

- Wonderful.

Well, thank you both for joining us and we look forward to keeping track of all the wonderful things that the magazine's up to.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- And thank you all for joining us today.

I hope you learned as much as I did about all that's going on in our city and the people making it happen.

For more wonderful content produced right here in Rochester, please be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter at #RTown.

I'm Nicole Nfonoyim-Hara, the host of R-Town, the show about Rochester.

We'll see you next time.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (no audio) (no audio) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funding for this program is provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.