Lion’s Fire Pizza Heroes

Kathy Nielsen, founder of Lion’s Fire Pizza Heroes, presented to our network in July of 2021.

Lion’s Fire provides employment to female student-athletes at Minneapolis North Community High School. Using a wood-fired pizza truck and a unique model offering above-average wages, the Lion’s Fire’s model provides more than a job – it is a community that provides leadership opportunities, life skills training, and a lasting network of support. 

The strategic question Kathy brought to the partners was, “How do I scale my operation from a small side-project to a viable business to fulfill the mission God has placed my heart to offer life-changing employment and a network of support to students?”

Amplify partners got to work brainstorming ideas and sharing connections to scale the social venture. Taking the ideas shared, Kathy began working with her mentor, Brian Stage to first form an advisory board. Numerous Amplify partners agreed to serve on this board! 

Since presenting to Amplify, Lion’s Fire has taken numerous steps to grow: adding of a full-time manager to oversee operations, transitioning to year-round pizza operations, creating a statement of purpose, and implementing processes and procedures. They recently had their best year ever!