When business leaders and student entrepreneurs gathered in Austin last week, they heard about the importance of trust.

“A lack of trust is the biggest expense you have,” said David Horsager, the keynote speaker for The Entrepreneurial Bridge Conference. “Everything of value is built on trust.”

The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation hosted 100 southern Minnesota business leaders and student entrepreneurs on Sept. 18-19 at the conference in the Historic Hormel Home.

The goal of this annual event is to foster connections between high-potential companies, according to a news release from the foundation. More than 60 companies attended a full-day of panels, keynote speakers and networking periods.

“Consider this a spa day: It’s all about you,” opened SMIF Board Vice Chair Fred Krahmer on Tuesday. Attendees were encouraged to reflect on how to put key messages to work in their daily operations and to connect with others facing similar struggles.

The theme of the day was the importance of trust and overcoming the unexpected. Horsager, CEO and founder of the Trust Edge Leadership Institution, explained the eight pillars of trust: clarity, compassion, character, competence, commitment, connection, contribution and consistency.

In addition to Horsager, the group also heard from Megan Turek of Closing the Gap (Henderson) and the founder of Tastefully Simple, Jill Blashack Strahan. Both spoke on how they overcame fear to make their businesses more sustainable.

Another component of The Entrepreneurial Bridge was a student business competition. The student business competition was held on Monday evening; all students presented to the full conference again on Tuesday to be judged for “Audience Favorite.”

St. Olaf College’s Da Vinci Industries won both the judged competition ($5,000) and the audience favorite ($2,000).

Ten student groups represented four schools — Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota State University-Mankato, St. Olaf College and Winona State University. They presented their business plans to SMIF’s Leadership Circle.

Minnesota State’s Endura Mark was the second prize winner ($3,000).

This event was sponsored by Rosen’s Diversified Inc. (RDI) in Fairmont and The Hormel Foundation in Austin.

“Giving is not a natural response, it’s a learned response,” said Tom Rosen, CEO of Rosen’s Diversified. “My hope is that some people in this room will start businesses like Rosen’s Diversified and create jobs in this region.”

“The Bridge event is a great way for The Hormel Foundation to expand its reach beyond Mower County,” said Roland Gentzler, Board Treasurer for the Hormel Foundation.