Last week at 1 Million Cups, we heard from Edie Ramstad of Weave Got Maille, who reaffirmed the value of our weekly gatherings at The Stage at Island Park. Two years ago, after retiring from work as a goldsmith and finding it not to her liking, Edie went back to work making chain mail rings as a small part-time job. Worldwide demand for the product has turned it into a company that now sells wholesale and retail to 36 different countries, and rather than making 600,000 rings a year, as originally planned, Edie and her company make 1 million rings a day. Naturally, it has been a tough learning process, she said. When asked if she has ever felt like giving up, one example came to her mind.
“It was 3 days before my first time coming to 1 Million Cups,” she said. “I had so many people that wanted things that we just weren’t able to get.”
“But then I came here,” she said, “and it was just this recharge.”
After the final question, “What can this community do for you?” she said, “Keep holding 1 Million Cups because you guys are wonderful.”
That we will, Edie!
This week at 1 Million Cups, in addition to sharing coffee, conversation, announcements, and rewarding our 
dedicated 10-time attendees with their very own mug, we will be hearing from Alex Warner, founder and CEO of Pedigree Technologies. This year, the Fargo-based company was one of Inc.’s 5000 fastest-growing privately held companies with a three-year growth of 174%, and a revenue increase from $2.1M in 2010 to $5.8M in 2013. It is #2 of Top North Dakota companies, and has been recognized on the international M2M Top 100 list from trade publication Connected World for five consecutive years.
So, what is it? Pedigree Technologies provides a software called OneView, which is a a platform that offers real-time management services to help companies track, monitor and diagnose high-value assets and collaborate with mobile workers. Using cellular and satellite networks, OneView can track people, assets and equipment, and then display the information in real-time on the OneView platform. This makes everything viewable from a centralized command center, “that you can view anywhere, anytime,” according to a video on the website.
Rewind ten years, and Warner was starting up the company as trial project using wireless sensors and remote 
temperature monitoring in sugar beet piles. But the innovative remote monitoring and machine-to-machine technology got some attention, and in 2007, Pedigree was awarded a multimillion dollar contract with the U.S. Navy for the implementation of an intelligent wireless operating network. And two years later, the company launched its OneView product commercially and has since gotten national media attention. It currently has 55 employees, and has added 15 jobs in the past three years.
Come hear the founder and CEO of this rapidly growing company speak this Wednesday morning, Oct. 20, at The Stage at Island Park for our weekly dose of entrepreneurial energy. Let us know you are attending by filling out this form. Please bring your own mug to receive your free coffee and help us conserve resources. Paper cups will cost $1.00.
