Why I Launched MyTopo.com in Billings, Montana

Ninety-nine percent of our customers are outside of Montana. It’s not for our customers, or the needs of our product, that we are based here — it’s definitely the lifestyle. Billings, Montana is a great town. Both my family and Kevin’s family live in the downtown area; we can both walk or bike the two miles to our office. All our kids are growing up hiking or on skis. This is a great place to live.

MyTopo http://www.mytopo.com was founded as Beartooth Mapping in November 1999. That’s still the legal name, but our Web site is MyTopo, and that’s what people know us as. One of the original founders, who left in 2005, was from Red Lodge, so they originally set up there. It’s about one hour from Billings.

Before I moved to Billings with my husband in 1998, I’d been director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of Commerce, and our big focus was promoting e-commerce. In 2000, I was at home with my first baby, freelancing as a consultant. I was reading the Billings Gazette when I saw an article about MyTopo. The company sells customized topographic maps. They had this great vision, so I called them up and said, "I would like to help you if I can."

Paige Darden

Full Story: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/smallbusiness/0910/gallery.best_places_why_i_launched_here.smb/7.html

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MyTopo.com Custom Printed Maps -Made to order in 5 easy steps http://www.mytopo.com

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Billings, Montana (#1 among small metro areas) and Missoula, Montana Included in CNNMoney.com Best Places to Launch Small Business Startups http://matr.net/article-36310.html