August – Innovator

Mary Frantz is the Managing Partner & Founder of Enterprise Knowledge Partners (EKP). EKP was one of the first companies to combine Information Technology expertise with Cyber Security and Electronic Discovery and helps keep your organization secure, compliant and defensible. Learn more from Mary below!

You were chosen as this month’s Innovator Client. What does being an Innovator mean to you?
EKP was one of the first companies to combine multiple technology and security services together. Our staff has developed security and technology solutions for our clients at a lower cost than any of our competitors. We develop solutions and find root causes using bleeding edge tools, or every day tools and methods with a lot of earned, seasoned common sense. In our cyber and forensics services, we are known for finding and uncovering evidence that most of our competitor’s miss.

No one likes to brag about their business, but if you HAD TO . . .
We have GREAT people. They are passionate and personal about their work.

We learn from our mistakes, especially in business. Give us some words of wisdom.
Not delegating enough and trusting others, even business partners, to do their job and to care as much as you do about yours.

Share the best advice you ever received.
The overall best advice I ever received is to always stay true to myself.
Advice I wish I had before I started my business 13 years ago, include:

• Never, ever be afraid to fail.  Sometimes failure is the best thing that can happen. If you are winning all the time, you are not taking enough chances and you and your business will not grow.
• Never succumb to believing you can’t compete against the larger companies.  Everyone starts off somewhere and they find they are capable of so much more than they imagined.
• Always trust your instincts, not your fears.
• Hire people way smarter than you think you are.

Describe your perfect day off.
Going to the horse stables and running my wild thoroughbred mix through the fields first thing in the morning, jumping over logs and streams. Then taking a long brisk walk through the woods with my dogs. Sometimes I let my husband come, too.

Of course, the kids are at home finishing their homework and cleaning the house. (Not sure if the kids part is a perfect day off or a fantasy, but figured I would throw it in for good measure!)

What might someone be surprised to know about you?
My birth certificate says I’m full blooded Swedish.

Together we are stronger. Tell us something you like about being our client.
I love the people and the environment. It’s a FUN environment. The staff is outstanding! P.S. love the wine refrigerator!

If you could work anywhere under the sun, where would you choose?
Even though we are based out of Minnesota, we already do work just about everywhere and have employees and clients in many states. But, I wouldn’t mind working from a cabin in the Rockies or from the Cayman Islands  – as long as I had a good internet connection!

How can people CONNECT with you?
Stop by one of our offices, contact us via email, follow us on LinkedIn, attend one of our webinars that we hold in the first floor large conference room. We always love to network and learn about other businesses and meet people.