I started working with QA Cafe a couple of years ago. QA Cafe is a software studio based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and basically, they create testing applications for networking hardware. Think it sounds dry and intricate? Think again. QA Cafe was founded by Joe McEachern, who got into this line of work in the '90s when he was a graduate student at UNH and working for UNH's innovative InterOperability Lab. Being a smaller studio, QA Cafe does not limit themselves to their existing product and customer base, and regularly asks themselves, "hey, wouldn't it be cool if...?"

Earlier this year I had the great fortune to work with the Harmony Co-op, a thriving, local farm-to-table grocer. To understand Harmony's success, you first have to understand Bemidji. This town is a regional hub. It's located in northern Minnesota, almost equidistant between Fargo, Duluth, and Brainerd. Bemidji's economy is largely made up of small businesses, mom-and-pop shops, and other local enterprises. As is happening across the country, consumers' interest in fresh, local, and organic foods is growing exponentially, and the nearest Trader Joe's is hours away... (click 'read more' to continue)