Carrington's Murphy selected to Forbes' 30 Under 30

In just over a quarter century's worth of her life, Carrington's Maartje Murphy has learned, either by immersion or by practice, the nuts and bolts of international business.

Just over 2 1/2 years ago, Murphy set out to make her own legacy, creating a successful offshoot company, Duchessa Gelato, from her parents' dairy farm.

Her travels to establish that business took her to gelato's birthplace, Italy, and to a specialized course in Chicago taught by Carpigiani Gelato University of Bologna.

And it seems the high-end business world has taken notice of her entrepreneurial spirit.

Murphy was recently honored as one of Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 designees for 2021 in the category of Food and Drink, and is the third-youngest person on the upcoming year's list.

It was a humbling honor for the 25-year-old Murphy, who recently purchased the former Wilfred and Betty Lou Schroeder farmstead at 7321 1st St. N.E. with her husband, Casey, and plans to expand to a full-scale creamery, named Cows and Co.

"When I read the list, I didn't believe it at first," said Maartje. "Even now, it almost doesn't seem real. It was one of only a few moments in my life, in which my breath was truly taken away."

The daughter of Dutch immigrants Corne and Conny VanBedaf, Holland-born Maartje has moved around the globe quite a bit so far, from her home country to Alberta, Canada at the age of seven, and to east-central North Dakota in 2008 with her brothers, Piet and Dries. "Growing up as an immigrant, I always felt a little 'different' than other kids," said Murphy. "I definitely felt a drive and desire within myself to do a good job, no matter what I was doing. My family sacrificed more than anyone could imagine for a better opportunity for themselves, my siblings, and future generations."

To this point, Maartje doesn't know who nominated her for the 30 Under 30 honor. She detailed the process of being selected, which involves the publication poring over thousands of nominations which are narrowed down to 100 for the numerous categories, then taken to the final 30 by the judges.

"Forbes wanted to know more about the details of my business, background, personal goals and viewpoints, and future plans," she said.

Her entry on the Forbes website is listed under her legal name, Wilhelmina VanBedaf, instead of her current one. Murphy can explain.

"I'm still legally a Dutch citizen with my permanent residency in the United States," she said. "It's a lengthy process to change all of my official government documents."

She added, "In the Netherlands, it is very common to be called a different name than your official birth name, and almost every member of my family goes by a derivative of their legal name."

Growing up in the town of Rijsbergen in the Netherlands, Murphy said there were many gelato shops. Some of her best childhood memories, she says, come from buying gelato with her "omas" and "opas" (Dutch affectionate term for grandparents).

"Using milk from my parents' dairy farm to make gelato is one of the best ways to honor my heritage and family, and bring a taste of Europe to North Dakota," she said.

Duchessa has made a successful leap from local artisan curiosity to a much sought-after product in the greater region. Thus far, Maartje and Casey have elected to keep their focus at the local level, saying that the personal connections are what makes the business special. She says that being a small company, it allows one to experiment quite a bit with flavors.

"We have a big list of flavors, and continue to expand our options every month," says Maartje. "Since we are an artisanal business, we really enjoy giving our customers a wide variety of flavors and try to keep it fun."

Seasonal fruits and holiday flavors are also a big part of their repertoire, and Murphy says that they do their best to use local, fresh products as much as possible.

It's been a whirlwind last year for Murphy, as she has managed to balance her "side business" with her everyday career as a registered nurse at Sanford Health in Fargo.

As part of that, she has seen first-hand the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic as a front-line worker. Because of those sometimes harrowing experiences, Maartje says it's been hard at times to separate real-world responsibilities with the popularity of her growing company. "This summer, I made the big jump from 'side hustle' to full time [with Duchessa]," she says. "It was hard for me to give up my job in Fargo, but moving back to Carrington and focusing on my business has been rewarding. I think about my former co-workers in the emergency department every day."

It's been an adjustment for Casey, too, who works as a physical therapist at Central Dakota Physical Therapy in Carrington. "This year has been very challenging in terms of reacting to COVID-19," Casey said of the arrangement. "I've experienced times in which there are significantly less patients than normal, and also times where we've been even busier than before COVID." Casey says he has tried to "take the ebb and flow in stride and take each day as it comes."

"I've been fortunate to use some of the slower times to help Maartje and her business and perform some renovation work on our farmstead," he said.

Maartje acknowledges the invaluable role Corne and Conny have played in her story, from providing garage space to her to help with Duchessa's startup, to leading by example while they've built their own successful dairy operation east of town.

"The number one thing I've learned from my parents is the value of hard work," she says. "It sounds cliche, but my parents are truly some of the hardest workers I know. Mentorship is very important for young people and business owners, and I'm lucky to have two built-in mentors with my mom and dad."

She also cites the importance of being detail-oriented and striving for a high-quality product, a trait her parents have passed on to her. From here, the possibility is open for expansion to other farm-based offerings in the future through Cows and Co.

The creamery is currently in the construction phase, and will allow Maartje and Casey to transfer their production from a licensed grade B facility (the garage) to a grade A facility.

One of the products the couple plans to introduce soon is artisanal Gouda cheese, which is a mild-flavored, yellow cheese named after the Dutch city in which it was first created.

"We hope to expand into other dairy products in the future," Maartje said.

If all goes well, the couple hope to make Cows and Co. Creamery a destination for travelers throughout the country, and be open one to two days a week to offer a scoop of gelato, a coffee, and "get a feel for life on the farm."

The Murphys are satisfied with how their budding business has progressed, as Duchessa has grown very steadily.

"Things have gone better than expected," said Maartje. "If I was to tell my past self we would be building a new facility in 2020, I wouldn't have believed it."

"We've gained a great following all across North Dakota, but Carrington continues to be our biggest supporter. I'm confident in saying I would have never made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list without my customers' support, and the support of the Carrington community."

(Editor's Note: Founded in 1917, Forbes is a biweekly magazine published eight times yearly and based in Jersey City, N.J. It has a worldwide circulation of 657,215 and produces licensed publications in 27 countries and regions.

Collectively, the 600 total 30 Under 30 honorees in 20 categories have raised over $1 billion dollars in venture funding. In the words of the publication, the award winners are "proof positive that ambition and innovation can't be quarantined.")