This is the week, people. The big whopper week. E-Commerce Breakfast is on Wednesday morning, Startup Drinks is on Wednesday night, and Thursday is TEDxFargo! We are honored to have one of our Startup Drinks captains be a TEDxFargo 2015 speaker. Introducing Mike Allmendinger, General Manager of the Kilbourne Group.

A native of Wahpeton, N.D., Allmendinger has worked for Doug Burgum and Tallgrass Trail for more than 15 years. After founding his own landscape architecture company, Land Elements, in 2003, Mike became the first team member to join Burgum’s Kilbourne Group in 2006.

In 2012, he spoke at TEDxFargo City 2.0 on “A Unique Sense of Place”.

Watch his talk here:

Here are his answers to 5 questions we threw at him!

Mike “Dinger” Allmendinger: Landscape Architect. Builder of Cities.

1. Do you have a nickname? If so, what is it?
Dinger

2. If you could describe your startup as an animal what animal would it be?

Prairie Chicken. This animal is native to the Tallgrass Landscape of the region and have managed many changes to their environment over 100’s of years.

3. What is one of the most influential books you’ve ever read?

Experience Economy

4. If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

Don’t have an exact city selected, it would a city that offers historic walkable community that has continued to be vibrant and active over 200+ years. Or a beach with wind sports!

5. What is one the coolest places you’ve traveled?

Codrington, Barbuda, undeveloped Island in the Caribbean.