Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana

"It surrounds these entrepreneurs with the resources needed to get off the ground," said Les Craig, the program’s director.

We invite you to participate in the 2015 Blackstone LaunchPad Survey:

Evaluating the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

The nine members of Enactus https://www.facebook.com/rmcenactus left today for St. Louis for the 2015 Enactus United States National Exposition.

Entrepreneurship Club members will lead hands-on activities designed to inspire kids to think about how to turn their creative ideas into a business plan.

In 2013, Montana had 610 business owners per 100,000 population, more than double the national average of 280 entrepreneurs per 100,000. Alaska ranked second in the nation with 470 entrepreneurs per 100,000 population.

Over 300 students, alumni and faculty have registered with the LaunchPad, and around 170 ideas have been pitched. All are in various stages of development.

"I found the participants systematically rated women-led businesses to be less investment-worthy and less likely to be successful."

The annual 20 Under 40 awards recognize businesspeople, entrepreneurs and employees in southwest Montana who have achieved success and improved the quality of life for others in their communities.

"Together, we will continue to grow this program into one of MSU’s premier co-curricular opportunities for students and alumni."

Missoula entrepreneur Alex Philp is leading these conversations, and says big names like IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Oracle have already shown interest in the Garden City.