A briefing by Secretary of State Mark Ritchie:
Benefit Corporations, Minnesota's NEW Hybrid Business Model

What do Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, New Belgium Brewing, Kleen Kanteen, Sunrise Banks, and thedatabank have in common? (Hint: they are all Certified B Corps).
What ARE B Corps? What about benefit corporations? Do you know the difference between the two?

AGENDA:
6:00 Benefit Corporations – Secretary of State Mark Ritchie
Benefit Corporations are a new, more transparent legal form of doing business. They enable corporate directors to focus not only on the interests of their shareholders, but other stakeholders such as workers, the community, and the environment. Secretary of State Mark Ritchie will cover benefit corporations and other options for Minnesota entrepreneurs who want the legal standing of their corporation to reflect their values. His discussion will include:
• Non-profit LLCs and cooperatives,
• Public Benefit Corporations and legislation newly passed by the Minnesota Legislature,
• Existing business types and how they might be modified to minimize the emphasis on shareholder profit,
• and his experience creating Peace Coffee, LLC

7:00 Certified B Corps — Chris Hanson, CEO, thedatabank, Inc. and David Reiling, CEO, Sunrise Banks Representatives from two Minnesota Certified B Corps will share their experience working with B Lab to get a B Corp certification.
They’ll cover the ins and outs of a certified B Corp, why they pursued the certification, challenges they’ve faced, and benefits they’ve seen.

7:30 Q&A (Look a bonus section, this is where you come in – come with good questions!)

After-Event We’ll be gathering at Brit’s Pub afterwards to network and keep the conversation going