Feb. 20, 2018

This week’s Up-and-Comer is Nathan Sletten, sales associate at JDS Industries.

Name: Nathan Sletten

Age: 22

Hometown: Sioux Falls

Job title: Sales associate

What brought you to Sioux Falls?

I was born here!

What keeps you in Sioux Falls?

The amazing people and opportunities that come with living in a community like this one. My family’s business also plays a huge role in me staying around.
  
What’s your favorite thing about your job? 

My favorite thing would be learning more and more every single day about how this company runs and building my relationships with everybody in the company and in our industry.

What made you want to work for your family business? 

It all started out when I was about 14 years old working odd jobs in the warehouse and basically spending my summer vacation and school breaks learning about how that aspect of the company works and how much everybody here works as a team to be the best at what we do. As the years went by, I transferred into a sales role, which enabled me to talk to customers on the phone and travel the world to trade shows and other events. Seeing how much we mean to our customers and how much they mean to us really made me want to do what I can to continue the growth of this amazing company and hold the company to the same standards that my grandpa and dad started many years ago.

Describe JDS in three words. 

Family, service, leaders.

What’s one business you’d like to see in Sioux Falls that isn’t here now? 

I would love to see some kind of Topgolf come to the area. Or a P.F. Chang’s or Cheesecake Factory.
  
Where do you see yourself in five years? 

In five years, I see myself working alongside my dad continuing my learning of business operations and continuing to build my relationship with the amazing people of our industry around the world.