Storm Creek, Eagan, Minnesota, announced its national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
The WBENC is the nation’s largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women. The certification is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection, designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.
For Storm Creek, that’s company CEO Teresa Fudenberg, who has been at the helm since 2014. She owns the company, along with her husband, president and founder of the brand Doug Jackson.
“Being a WBENC-certified company is a tremendous milestone,” said Fudenberg. “We recognize the commitment to supplier diversity that is embraced by corporations and government agencies today, and we are excited to be able to add diversity to the supply chain with our eco-made apparel.”
Through the certification, women-owned businesses gain access to a vast network of support, including business opportunities, increased visibility to corporate supply chains, education and development programs, and networking opportunities with other women entrepreneurs world-wide.
“The future for Storm Creek is limitless,” Fudenberg added. “In the last year, we achieved two important landmarks: No. 1, converting our entire line to eco-made, and No. 2, becoming WBENC-Certified. Our mission has never been clearer, as we aspire to make our mark with Better Product for the Greater Good. In addition to growth opportunities for our business, the part of this certification that means the most to me personally is connecting with the incredible network of women business owners throughout the U.S.”
Fudenberg graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in marketing. She landed a job at Andcor Human Resources, where she managed marketing communications and learned the stories of many fast-growing startups that comprised their client base.
This appreciation for the entrepreneurial sector prompted her to start her own company, On Your Mark, where she worked as a fractional CMO for many second-stage entrepreneurs, acting as a right hand to those visionary founders who needed brand and business strategy to help realize their potential.
In 2014, she partnered with Jackson to transform his existing apparel brand into a whole new business model. They launched TK Trading Co. Inc. DBA Storm Creek, with Fudenberg as majority owner and brand driver, and Jackson as the product visionary. The company has grown from eight employees to more than 30.
For more information on Storm Creek, visit www.stormcreek.com.
