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Colton Shoults is an idea machine—an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur.

Colton, who earned his master’s in business from the ɫ����, has been a self-motivated innovator since he was in high school, buying and selling everything from high-end vehicles to electronics. Over the years, he’s advanced from operating a single restaurant franchise to owning it, then to opening another and another—and he’s still expanding.

How does he keep moving forward? He believes in thinking outside the box, being proactive, staying ahead of trends, understanding his customers, and engaging his staff in idea generation and creative marketing: “Relationship is everything,” he says.

Colton regularly returns to the ɫ���� to speak to classes of hopeful business students and aspiring entrepreneurs, giving high marks to the university’s Gary Tharaldson School of Business.

In September 2019, Colton was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year by the Bismarck Mandan Chamber EDC.

But despite his seemingly limitless energy, his goals are simple. “We don’t want to be big,” he says. “We want to be great.”