Samantha Nienow

Brainstormer, Designer, Idea generator

Samantha is the sole proprietor of Red Zest Design, a nine-year-old company that specializes in designing high-stakes presentations for CEOs, executive directors, and TEDx speakers. She has helped more than 130 TEDx speakers prepare for their talk of a lifetime and was a 2017 featured guest on Hacking the Red Circle, a podcast for and about the TEDx universe. Sam's entrepreneurial experience began when she became a partner and senior designer for LearningChange where, for nine years, she worked with instructional technologists and corporate facilitators to create e-learning courses and materials, and designed branding for their Inspire! and Team Essentials training series. Samantha is dedicated to nonprofit organizations in her community of Bemidji, MN, where she was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce in 2015. She is the lead organizer for TEDxBemidji and previously founded and organized Pecha Kucha Night Bemidji. Since 2015, she has been a core team member of Bemidji’s Entrepreneur Meetup, where she supports and encourages other entrepreneurs. In her free time, Sam enjoys adventuring with friends and family, listening to podcasts, training for triathlons, and bicycling through our beautiful world.

Helping people share their story through dynamic presentations.

For an unforgettable presentation experience, start at side zero.

Branding, Graphic Design, Pecha Kucha Night, Presentation Design, Toastmasters

Followed and watch TED Talks since 2006 and loved how succinct the format was to help presenters focus their messaging and ideas in order to inspire others. I joined the Speaker Support Committee for TEDxFargo in 2013 and had the opportunity to help speakers prepare their slide decks for their TEDx talk--a simply fantastic experience! I love helping speakers feel more comfortable and confident presenting by creating powerful visuals that complement what they say. Since that event, I've had the opportunity to help several presenters prepare their slide decks for TEDxBeaconStreet and TEDxGrandForks.

Triathlons! While I'm not a pro, I've been training for triathlons for the past ten years. One of my proudest achievements is completing Ironman Wisconsin.