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MapQuest Co-Founder Helps Billings Entrepreneurs Build Critical Mass

Big Sky EDA
Chris Heivly, the co-founder of MapQuest met with local tech founders today to share his entrepreneur journey and to discuss ways to develop a thriving startup community in Billings. Chris is part of a cohort of successful entrepreneurs at Techstars- a global platform for investment and innovation, that have adopted a philosophy they call, “GiveFirst.” Chris explained that creating a give-before-you-get cultural norm in Billings is a critical step to attracting talent and creating a vibrant, entrepreneurial culture.
Chris also encouraged each founder to band together and take on a leadership role. He shared how facilitating regular meetups that bring entrepreneurs together to help each other will have an incredible impact on their own companies over time. “Spend 1 to 2 hours each week meeting and building the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Billings.” Chris said. “It will benefit your companies in more ways than you know.”
After spending almost an hour discussing challenges and opportunities in Billings, the founders ended by sharing why Billings is the right place for them. “I like that Billings is built on a strong foundation, there’s a lot of hard-working people who live here” they said. Andrew Korf, a business student at Rocky explained how being a part of this entrepreneurial community inspires him to stay here instead of going back home to Boise after he graduates.
Founders in attendance included:
Chris Heivly- Co-founder of MapQuest andserial entrepreneur
Colter DeVries- Co-founder ofMoochdocker
Josh Toenyes- Co-founder ofCardsetter
Andy Rahn- Founder of Landsource
Ethan Kanning- Co-founder of Harken CRE
Trevor Hartman- Co-founder of Converge and senior staff SRE at Carta
Kevin Scharfe- Co-founder of Converge and director of Rock31
Andrew Korf- Finance intern and business student at Rocky Mountain College
Michael Rae- Livestock BioTech entrepreneur
To learn more about Billings Entrepreneur Eco-System visit Rock31.

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