About the OABDC
As a private 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation, the Owatonna Area Business Development Center offers virtually all the amenities an business needs to start or grow their business. We are committed to supporting the entrepreneurial spirit that has grown the Owatonna business community and will continue to in the future.
Testimonials
Design Sprint Client
"As a solo software entrepreneur with limited ability to see the forest for the trees, Sean helped me map out my obvious and not-so-obvious business opportunities. We prioritized them and I got to work. Years later my software side-hustle has grown from hundreds of dollars a month to thousands of dollars per day." - Caylan Larson, Founder
HOPE (Health Optimized Personal Environment) Technologies
Design Sprint Client
"Sean has been wonderful to work with, and has been instrumental in my entrepreneurial journey. As an innovator with a business idea, I was still fairly new to the ecosystem. It’s hard to get connected and plugged in to an already established community, and most leads were not all that helpful. Sean was my turning point. He took the time to lead several very helpful design sprints that helped me understand the importance of business value and validation, giving me a clear vision of how to reach my goals. He introduced me to local resources that helped me grow/learn in meaningful ways. Sean is extremely knowledgeable, encouraging, supportive, and always available to help and answer questions. I’m so grateful for his mentorship, leadership and friendship. He has been paramount in the growth of business and startups in the local communities." - Christina Chen, Founder
Our 2024 Board
President: Joe Effertz
President; Black Forest Ltd.
Vice President:Â
Vacant
Secretary: Dan Boeke
Owatonna City Council
Treasurer: Timothy Linders
Accounting Supervisor; Owatonna Public Utilities
Past President: Tammy Schmoll
Executive, Communications & Administration Coordinator; Owatonna Public Utilities
Director: Benjamin M. Cass
Attorney; Smith, Tollefson, Rahrick & Cass
Director: Ali Diriye
CEO; Cheetah Transportation
Director: Greg Johnson
Sales; FoamCraft Packaging Inc.
Director: Troy Klecker
Community Development Director; City of Owatonna
Director: Brent Svenby
Owatonna City Council
City Advisor: Ex-Officio: Kris Busse
City Administrator; City of Owatonna
Our Executive Director
Sean E. Williams, MBA
Sean is an ecosystem innovator with 20+ years of experience in cross-sector collaboration, strategy, and innovation. He is passionate about creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses for long-term growth and sustainability, with a mission of diversity, equity, and inclusion. He has a history of award-winning program management and facilitation for high-caliber clients in the public, policy, private, and social enterprise sectors. He is certified in lean-startup and design-thinking coaching and methodologies, and is a New York Times bestselling comic book writer.
