Entrepreneurial culture thrives in Treasure Valley (Boise, ID)

So, the idea is to attract a bunch of smart, educated people to an
area and new companies will automatically sprout. Right?

Wrong.

Julie Howard- The Idaho Statesman

“It´s not necessarily that just because you have bright techies around
that a bunch of startups are going to happen,” said David Birch,
president of Cognetics Inc., a Massachusetts-based business
research firm.

It´s not entirely to the credit of HP and Micron that a tech community
has sprouted, Birch maintains. Other forces have been at work in the
Treasure Valley as well, creating an environment in which
entrepreneurialism is fostered.

A good communications infrastructure, solid schools and a university system, accessible air
service — all are spokes in the wheel that drives this forward.

But there´s also something else — a culture of entrepreneurialism. And that´s a piece that is
difficult to define.

“There´s something in the water that makes Idaho and the Treasure Valley very
entrepreneurial,” said Gary Mahn, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, with a
chuckle. “There´s just something about Idahoans where they´re willing to take risks and make
some things happen. We´re very unusual, having so many Fortune 500 companies in this
city.”

That history goes back to Morrison-Knudsen (now Washington Group International), J.R.
Simplot, and Albertson´s — all companies that started here decades before HP or Micron
came to town.

“People come in and sense that culture,” said Birch. “They see entrepreneurs are tolerated
and encouraged.”

Bob Lokken, who left Extended Systems in 1995 to start successful software company
ProClarity, said once the cycle gets started, it becomes self-perpetuating.

“Start-ups tend to attract entrepreneurial people who want to start a business,” said Lokken,
ProClarity´s president and CEO. “And when that company matures, it becomes more about
refining and operations and not about creating new things. Mavericks tend to be good
entrepreneurs, but in a big company, mavericks can cause huge disruptions. Then there´s a
liquidity event, and these people have the financing to go start another business.”

To offer story ideas or comments, contact Julie Howard
[email protected] or 373-6618

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Tech has an effect on other companies

Call them kissin´ cousins.

For every company directly related to Micron or HP, there are many
others that have indirect links.

“There´s maybe two degrees of separation between any of the
companies in this valley,” said Jefferson Jewell, managing director of Blackfin Technology in
Boise. “There are links to people at Boise Cascade, Ore-Ida, and the health care companies
here.”

As the job market broadens and more skills are imported into the community, there is more
interplay between tech and non-tech companies, with executives from one industry moving to
another.

In the end, as the tech sector grows, the entire community benefits in a variety of ways:

• A broader mix of skills and opportunities has resulted, strengthening the local economy, said
Shirl Boyce, executive director of economic development for the Boise Metro Chamber of
Commerce.

• Boise´s reputation as an emerging technology area helps companies located here in
marketing efforts abroad and acquiring financing from outside investors.

• As the area grows, more infrastructure is built that supports all industries — a stronger labor
market, better university programs, more government assistance.

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