Ethan & Hannah Germscheid, TOV Chiropractic
1 on 1 tells the stories of entrepreneurs and mentors working together to achieve success in our community.
Ethan & Hannah Germscheid
Owners
TOV Chiropractic
1813 Adams Street
Mankato, MN 56001
Phone: 507-322-4040
Yvonne Cariveau, PhD
Director
Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
424 N Riverfront Drive, Suite 210 Mankato, MN 56001
Phone: 507-389-1018
When Ethan and Hannah Germscheid graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato and left to attend chiropractic school, they knew they would be back someday.
“Being from the small community of Dassel, Minnesota, we knew we wanted to settle down somewhere that had everything but still had the small-town feel. Mankato was that place!” explains Hannah.
They discovered Mankato is not only a great place to live, but a great place to have a small business. In mid-May, they opened their own chiropractic practice, TOV Chiropractic.
“We have a passion for serving others through chiropractic care and we knew that we would be able to do it best within the walls of our own practice. At TOV Chiropractic we utilize a technique that is brand new to the Mankato area called Torque Release Technique, which is gentle, specific, and scientific. We are neurologically-based and focus primarily on the function of the nervous system,” explains Hannah. “The beauty with our technique is that it is gentle enough to serve all populations from pediatrics to geriatrics, even those who have already had spinal surgery. We are so excited to be back in a community we love, serving others through neurologically-based chiropractic care.”
They have found Mankato to be an open, encouraging community for small-business owners. And they found an important resource in the 1Million Cups initiative.
“After attending 1Million Cups the last couple months we are able to learn each month about how different businesses are making an impact in our community. We really got to see how this community rallies behind its small businesses and pours into them to help them grow. This was an opportunity we felt we couldn’t pass up. The 1Million Cups platform here in Mankato is quickly becoming larger, based on the recent growth in attendance. We are excited to share our journey of opening up TOV Chiropractic, in hopes that it will help others who are looking to open a business or grow their current one.”
Hannah and Ethan agree that small businesses, new or farther along in their journey, will benefit from the mentorships available each month at 1Million Cups.
“It is a great opportunity to meet other business owners, get advice on how to be a local business owner in this community and to learn what has worked and what to avoid when starting or running a small business. It is such a supportive group, and again, we are thankful to be a part of it. Through 1Million Cups we have met many impactful people of this community and we hope that we can continue to strengthen those relationships moving forward.”
If the Germscheids could ask a mentor one more question, what would it be?
“How can we serve our community better? We are always looking to learn more about this community, because we know community goes far beyond the walls of our office. We know that every day there is something new to be learned, and we can always be improving,” says Hannah.
1 Million Cups Mankato co-founder, Yvonne Cariveau, director of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, mentors many of the businesses that come through the program. She says the Germscheids fit right in with the culture of the business community in the region.
“Ethan and Hannah are the type of new business people that every community hopes for,” she says. “They attend events like 1Million Cups to jump right in and see if they can help others with their input. They are willing to get up and share their story. They show up for networking events and are more than happy to encourage and support other new businesses.”
Cariveau says one indicator of the impact that the CIE and 1Million Cups is starting to have in the region is the fact that this year’s MNCup, the largest venture competition in the country, will have two 1Million Cups presenters from Blue Earth County. Maggie Knier of 2True Headbands, and Jeff Chambers of Kato Collar, are semifinalists in the competition. There are thousands of applicants and only 88 make it into the semifinals.
“We are giving entrepreneurs a place to get in front of the community, practice talking about their business, get coaching/mentoring and other help. With that support and encouragement, they apply for things like this and have success,” says Cariveau.
The semifinalists from nine divisions will compete for a share of the $500,000 in prize money, as well as the training, connections and support to help advance their entrepreneurial ideas.
To view 1Million Cups Mankato presentations, visit 1millioncups.com/mankato/presentations.
What is MN Cup?
MN Cup is a competition meant to inspire entrepreneurs to begin their startup journey and then support them through helping develop a solid business plan and opportunities to expand their networks. It is a community-led, public-private partnership that brings together corporations, VCs, foundations, government and skilled volunteers. It culminates in an annual competition that reaches emerging entrepreneurs from across the state and connects them with tools, resources and support to launch and accelerate the development of their new ventures.
MN Cup is volunteer driven and all programming and prize money are completely funded by sponsorship dollars, foundation grants and in-kind donations of services. The competition was founded in 2005 by serial entrepreneurs Dan Mallin and Scott Litman in partnership with the University of Minnesota. Since 2005, more than 16,000 Minnesotans have participated. MN Cup has given away $2.9 million in seed funds, and our alumni have gone on to raise nearly $400 million in capital.
MN Cup is a program of the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carlson School of Management. For more information, email [email protected].
