An Exhibit in Success

How Minneapolis trade show company STAR went from an idea to a $70-million business by putting clients and staff first.

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When Mark Johnson founded STAR, a Minneapolis-based trade show company, in 1993, there wasn't much outside-the-box thinking in his industry. Agencies would ask clients for the date of their trade show and the size and color of their booth, and that was about it.

Johnson saw an opportunity to be different.

People-first vision

"We wanted to be the Nordstrom of the trade show industry," says the company co-founder and CEO. "We wanted to have customer intimacy as our No. 1 business model, by asking our clients about their ideal customer, find out what made them different, and ultimately become an extension of our client's marketing departments."