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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Aug 15, 2006 |
"Summer in Montana," said Tim Cahill, "is like the best piece of pie you ever had. Only when you ask for another slice, they tell you, 'Sorry, you have to wait 12 months.' "
If you're an entrepreneur looking for Angel funding or a qualified investor interested in learning more about what it means to be an Angel investor, we encourage you to attend this Roundtable: "Frontier Angel Fund - What Do We Look For In A Startup? 9/26, Missoula" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Come Home Montana
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- When Big Sky Country turns luminescent.
There's a gentle quality to the light in south-central Montana, so summer really does have a luminous beauty here, as if nature were somehow holding its breath. I've been back to Livingston every year since.
- Business journal says MSU a factor in ultimate dream town
"This Rocky Mountain community is the ultimate dream town," said the Bizjournal article about where to find the best quality of life in the country. "It has a highly educated workforce -- thanks to the presence of Montana State University -- and it offers plenty of places to work. The number of small businesses has zoomed up by 27.7 percent in just five years."
Developing Tech Jobs in Rural Communities
- Aiding Entrepreneurs with Disabilities
The Action Summit for the Advancement of Capital Access to Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (Capital Access Summit) facilitated the development of strategies and collaborations to promote access to capital for business owners with disabilities.
Education
- Outsourced Within
Companies that once looked across the Pacific for cheap tech labor are starting to set up shop in unexpected rural locales. It's less expensive than doing business in American cities, they say, without the language or culture hurdles often found overseas.
Montana Business
- Panel calls for 'urgent reform' of higher education
"Change is overdue," says a draft report, the substance of which was approved by the 19-member commission Thursday. "Other countries are passing us by at a time when education is more important to our collective prosperity than ever."
- 25 New Ivies. The nation's elite colleges these days include more than Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Why?
The demand for an excellent education has created an ever-expanding supply of big and small campuses that provide great academics and first-rate faculties.
- Thai Premier: 'One Laptop per Child' Project to Begin in October
''Each elementary school child will receive a computer that the government will buy for them, free of charge, instead of books, because books will be found and can be read on computers,''
Montana Economic Development
- For business owners, Billings-based Avitus Group covers the administrative details
A partnership with Avitus unlocks the door to an instant corporate structure that will cover just about every aspect of employment services and personnel management.
- Trade mission to South Korea and China organized by the Montana World Trade Center looks golden for Lolo businessman. - Armor Auto
"We're looking for the opportunity to create jobs for Montana, and the way you do that is to help Montana businesses expand beyond the local market," said Rehberg
- Computers and Beef Jerky in Rural Montana: Cyberspace Never Tasted This Good
Jeremy Johnson, Director of Retail Mail Order Operations at Hi-Country is straightforward when explaining the impact high-speed Internet has made. “It’s what keeps us in touch with the outside world,” he said. “If you remove that, you remove us.”
- Butte Business, BuyMyTextbooks.biz, Launches Web Site for Students to Buy, Sell Textbooks
"It allows students to get in touch with other students,"
- Report: Immigration not taking jobs in Montana. Filling the gap. Flathead businesses bring in foreign workers
The study also found that nationwide, there was no apparent link between immigration rates and the job prospects for native-born Americans.
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Great Falls, Montana looks at offering wireless Internet
The city of Great Falls is considering dipping its toes into the water. No word yet on what type of service might be offered, or whether it would be free.
- From Maine to Montana
Maine, the current home of Brett Doney, the guy hired last week to lead the Great Falls Development Authority, has some things in common with Montana.
- Richland Economic development explores offering revolving loan fund
“This has been a dream of economic development for years,”
- Site Selection Organization Seeks Information on Possible Call Center Location in Montana
I have been contacted by a site selection organization whose client is considering adding a new Call Center in the Northwest. This would be a 300-500 seat Call Center with most likely 3 shifts and would create about 1200-1500 new jobs. The wage will be $10-12.
- Room to grow - Part 1 of Missoulian.com’s 5-part series on economic development in Montana
“All economic development takes place at the local level,” King explained. “So local government decisions, and siting and permitting and infrastructure decisions, are absolutely critical to economic development.”
GIS Technology
- Frontier Angel Fund - What Do We Look For In A Startup? 9/26, Missoula
Members of the Frontier Angel Fund of Kalispell, MT invite innovative, high-growth companies who may want to compete to receive Angel funding and qualified investors who would like to learn more about being an Angel to a Roundtable at MonTEC on Sept. 26 at 11:30.
- New SURAfund Pairs Venture Capitalists with University Innovations
Every quarter, eligible startups (new ventures associated with a SURA university) submit mini-business plans of no more than five pages to SURA. SURA conducts initial review and categorization of submitted proposals, then conducts due diligence on all plans of interests. Funding ranges from $100,000 to $500,000.
Funding and Building your Business
- The North Star, on Your Wrist
A global positioning system in an oversized watch.
Regional Business
- CU Coach says to empower workers. Leadership must promote three feelings in their workers: a sense of power, a sense of being needed and a sense of competence.
"Study Maslow," advised Hawkins, 45, a reference to Abraham Maslow, the New York-born phycologist who described a hierarchy of needs to help explain human behavior.
- Sarbanes-Oxley socks it to 'em. Smaller ventures find they're having to pay millions to comply.
"Every venture firm has to worry about Sarbanes-Oxley- type stuff because at some point someone's going to buy you or you are going to go public," said Luis Solis, chief executive of GroupSystems. "You had better be pretty close to Sarbanes-Oxley compliant at that time; otherwise it would be virtually impossible to go public or ... a buyer would have real trouble acquiring the business."
- The New Science of Hiring
Care to dramatically enhance your chance of finding great employees? Trade in your gut instincts for a systematic approach to interviewing, testing, and evaluating job candidates.
Regional Economic Development
- One big footprint: Americans' enthusiasm for outdoor recreation generates $730B yearly in economic muscle
The outdoor industry "is a dynamic partner with economic muscle" whose position warrants attention in ongoing discussions of public-lands policies.
- Study details parks' effect on Montana, Wyoming economy
Montana's national parks, excluding Yellowstone, had 2.5 million visits in fiscal year 2005, stimulated benefits of $111 million to local economies and supported 2,631 local jobs, the study showed.
Utah Economic Development
- Mayor Nickels backs 60% increase in Seattle's population by 2040
To cut suburban sprawl, Seattle should increase its population 60 percent by the year 2040, Mayor Greg Nickels says in a recommendation to regional planners.
- Lack of Education Programs in U.S. Correctional System May Be Greatest Labor Threat
According to the Education Testing Service (ETS), America’s prison population increased by more than 300 percent in the last twenty years, but correctional education programs have been declining since the mid 1960’s.
Other Economies
- Fed loan expedites building UTOPIA. Fiber-optic network: Six small Utah cities to get broadband access sooner
The UTOPIA system, short for the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency, has received a $66 million commitment from a new U.S. Department of Agriculture loan program designed to help small communities build up their telecommunications infrastructure.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
- Russian Cabinet Sets up State Venture Company to Invest $560 Million in High-Tech
Also known as the “fund of funds,” the Russian Venture Company is set to boost technology investments and diversify the economy away from commodities.
Small Diameter Timber Utilization
- Reminder - Deadline for SBIR Conference "Scholarship" Applications Approaching
We are anticipating over 200 attendees from throughout the region and nation, coming to hear from a dozen federal SBIR/STTR Program Managers, along with Prime Contractors looking to work with small innovative companies, and highly knowledgeable speakers on key business and IP topics.
Careers
- Turning Slash into Cash
A small company in Ottawa, Canada, says it has developed an economical way of turning North America's vast supply of forest waste, called "slash," into a carbon-neutral liquid for power generation and chemical production.
Energy
- Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Job in Silicon Valley (or anywhere else) But Didn't Know Who to Ask
Many people ask me for advice about getting a job in Silicon Valley, so here’s the inside scoop. Not everyone will agree with this advice, and some will outright deny what I’m saying, but if you use these tips you will stand head and shoulders above most candidates.
- A Job Hunter's Guide To Recruiter Code Words
Are you a "Purple squirrel"?
- Building the Perfect IT Person
There aren't enough computer science majors in the United States, but the jobs held by the ones we do have here could be outsourced. Corporations want M.B.A. technology managers, but there are shortages of specialized technology skills. Meanwhile, the image of the profession is in the dumps.
- Four Tips for Acing Interviews by Phone
For applicants, the goal of a phone interview is to secure an in-person meeting. For recruiters, it's to narrow their list of prospects. You can increase the odds of passing this initial screening if you follow the advice in these four tips
Connectivity & Communications
- Power From the People. Now just walking may become an energy source.
The national Japanese railway network plans to embed piezo pads in the floor under the ticket gates. As people pass through, vibration and pressure on the pads is converted by piezo crystals into an electrical charge which can then be channeled to highly efficient power storage systems and provide clean, ecologically friendly power to parts of the station.
Leadership Montana
- Netgear’s adapter turns house electrical wires into data network
Wireless networking equipment is cheap, convenient and widespread. If you want to connect computers in your home, is it really worth doing it with wires?
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Lessons from the Classroom: Managing with Bobby Knight and "Coach K". Is it better to be a feared or loved leader?
Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski are arguably the two most successful college basketball coaches in the country. But their leadership styles could not be more different.
- Using Stem Cells to Cure Blindness
Stem-cell-based therapies could one day stop people with macular degeneration or other retinal diseases from losing their sight.
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