Get to know our new facilities and admin specialist, Emma Olson!

If you’ve visited Startup Sioux Falls in the past couple months, you may have had the chance to meet our new facilities and admin specialist, Emma Olson.

Between staffing the welcome desk and working on member engagement, Emma plays a key role in making our community function smoothly, and we’re grateful to have her on board.

Now, we want you to get to know her better! Check out our Q&A with Emma below, and keep reading to learn more about how you can make the most of our space here at Startup Sioux Falls.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell us a bit about your background!

I was born and raised in Sioux Falls, and have lived here forever. I went to Lincoln High School, and after graduating, I attended South Dakota State University (SDSU) for Spanish and entrepreneurship.

I actually started working at Josiah’s [Coffeehouse] in high school, so I was there from 2014 to 2020. When I was in college, I interned for the former owner, Steve Hildebrand, during a time when he was looking to make some changes to the business, and that was a great experience.

After graduating, I knew I wanted to continue my education, and the pandemic pushed me to do it sooner rather than later, so I started an online MBA program in 2021. I also knew I needed to get some experience besides part-time food service jobs, so I got a job with Daktronics in a front desk admin position, which later transitioned into a buyer role. That was interesting because my MBA was focused on operations and supply chain, so I was able to use those skills and learn even more. It was an awesome experience, and I learned a lot about LEAN business and Kanban systems, but I did end up discovering that I just wasn’t made for head-down computer work.

How did you discover Startup Sioux Falls?

I was really hoping to find a position that was fairly opposite of what I was doing before, and I had heard of Startup Sioux Falls — I think I got the email newsletter — but that was about the extent of my knowledge. I wasn’t really thinking of it as a place to look for a job, but I came across the listing one day, and it seemed like a great fit because I had tons of customer service experience but also this entrepreneurial-mindedness and business background.

The more I learned about the role, the more I thought, ‘This would be really awesome,’ and I was so excited to get the job. I love working with people, solving problems and thinking creatively, so it all just fell together in a really nice way.

Tell us about your role!

I’m responsible for facility management, event coordination, member engagement and administrative tasks like light bookkeeping. It’s been interesting to adjust to working with such a small team; Amos and I have some overlapping responsibilities, and it’s been great to work collaboratively with others because I didn’t have that opportunity as often in my previous role.

What’s something you’re excited to work on?

Definitely member engagement. It’s really exciting to be responsible for making sure people have a good experience. I also think it's fun because the members are really passionate about Startup Sioux Falls. They really care, and it’s been amazing to see these people who believe in the mission and impact of the organization and want to dedicate their time to helping our team. It’s heartwarming to see how much they want to give back to the startup community.