Dragon-Led Innovation: MSUM Alumni Drive Chezy's Vision

Connections started at MSU Moorhead continue to grow at local, Dragon-owned video production company Chezy.

Out of their team of eight, five employees are MSUM alums, including founder Joe Tjosvold, head of production Luke Steichen, and head of sales Shad Vedaa. Chezy's Dragon-led team has worked with worldwide companies like Amazon and Ralph Lauren, as well as local businesses and nonprofits. They recently expanded by opening an office in Nashville, Tenn.

Finance and business administration alum Tjosvold first recruited film production graduate Luke Steichen to be a videographer for Chezy's parent company, Advertise Edge, another video marketing company, after he graduated in 2020. He then brought Luke on board when Chezy opened in 2021.

"I was consumed with the idea of a startup and building a company up. What drew me was telling stories and using my degree to make a career out of it," Steichen said.

While his love of storytelling made a film major an easy decision, it was his student work through the MSUM marketing department where he started to see it as a marketing tool. Working in that office was pivotal, showing him he didn't have to make movies with a film degree.

"It comes down to expressing myself and using video as a tool to help solve problems," Steichen said. During his time at MSUM, Steichen found a community through the film production program - "a chance to be part of a team," he said. "It feels like everyone is trying to improve each other, especially when you get into the capstone classes. It shows what you can do when you rely on each other."

It's only fitting that he enjoys Chezy's team environment, which takes inspiration from the Dragon Football team. While Steichen was finding a team with the university's film department, football left a mark on Tjosvold's and Shad Vedaa's college experiences.

Tjosvold transferred to MSUM after experiencing setbacks at another university. As a Dragon, he turned his life around and developed daily habits to improve his health and study habits.

"MSUM provided the solutions to change my habits and ultimately become an adult," Tjosvold said.

While Tjosvold juggled being a full-time student and football player, he started Advertise Edge. At the time, he had completed six internships with a year and a half to go before graduation. He knew this experience would better prepare him for a career than another internship.

When choosing what type of business to start, Tjosvold researched what businesses would be easy for a college student to break into. He decided on social media marketing, which led to taking online courses and teaching himself the basics of marketing. When it comes to starting a business as college student, Tjosvold's advice is simple: "Just do it."

"Through the business school, I was able to meet both students and faculty to bounce ideas off of and get feedback," he says.

Dragon Football is how Tjosvold and Vedaa connected, leading to Vedaa eventually joining Tjosvold at Chezy. For Vedaa, a business administration ('20) and MBA graduate ('22), the football team and the Paseka School of Business allowed him to form relationships that have helped in his career and greatly impacted his personal life.

"MSUM connected me to the right people who changed my life and put me working at an organization that is growing rapidly," Vedaa said.

Now, as a team of their own making, these three Dragons look forward to growing Chezy nationwide with more videographers in other markets, while continuing to produce quality content for their clients.

While Steichen, Tjosvold and Vedaa took different routes to get where they are now, the connections they formed are what stand out to them when they think about their college experiences - whether those happened on the football field, behind the camera, or in the classroom.