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| MATR Newsletter - Fri May 12, 2006 |
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." -- Mark Twain
Congratulations to the student entrepreneurs, judges and organizers of the 17th Annual John Ruffatto Memorial Business Plan Competition held yesterday. The innovative economic future of Montana is in their passions and dreams. Russ
Come Home Montana
Montana Meth ProjectEducation
- Montana Meth Project Announces A New Statewide Initiative For Teens To Take Part In The Fight Against Meth, 5/15, Helena
The Montana Meth Project will also announce a major corporate partner in this initiative.
Montana Business
- MAPS: "Media Arts In The Public Schools" Movie Premiere Of "SOUL SIGHT", 5/20, Corvallis, MT
MAPS: Media Arts in the Public Schools is a filmmaking curriculum for Montana high school students that is funded by the Florence Prever Rosten Foundation.
- Missouri lawmakers vote to create virtual public school
Supporters envision an Internet-based school used by a variety of students — the sick, disabled and home-schooled, those failing in a traditional classroom or those needing a more challenging curriculum. Students could enroll full time in the virtual school or take just a course or two.
Montana Economic Development
- Committed to Hamilton. GlaxoSmithKline officials from Belgium attend groundbreaking
“We need people in the United States and (elsewhere) to see Hamilton and Montana as an attractive place to live and work,” he said. “We have to let the world know what a great place this is.”
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Montana location for family feature film - “A Plumm Summer” - Would you like to have your Montana product prominently displayed in an upcoming movie?
“While other states offered more attractive financial incentives, Montana’s incentive package along with great cooperation from the governor’s office, the Montana Department of Commerce, the city of Bozeman, and the city of Livingston and a strong crew base really made this film possible to shoot in Montana,” said director Caroline Zelder.
- Montana Department of Agriculture director Nancy Peterson: Stop exporting state's children, produce
“We raise wheat and beef and ship it out of state. We educate our kids and ship them out of the state,”
- Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg Secures $3 Million in Funding for Appropriate Technology Transfer to Rural Areas (ATTRA) in Butte
ATTRA helps thousands of farmers across the country adopt sustainable agricultural practices which allow them to maintain or improve profits, produce high quality food and reduce adverse impacts to the environment, according the to the Department of Agriculture.
Funding and Building your Business
- Models for Angel Organizations
The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the successful models for angel organizations in the US. No single model seems to be proliferating more rapidly than others and all seem to be reasonably effective when matched to the needs of individual communities.
- Venture capital partnership may leverage $20M
In 2004, the Legislature authorized VEDA to use $2 million in public money to leverage additional private investment to create a public-private venture capital fund.
Regional Business
- How To: Building The Extreme Home Office
For our ultimate home office, we took the approach of building a solution suitable for a home-based professional, with the typical needs of Internet access, customer management, accounting, intrahouse access and graphical processing needs.
- Inside Entrepreneurship: Do research before letting venture capitalists aboard
If a number of investors are excited about your "space" -- venture-speak for your industry and competitive positioning -- then you have skilled confirmation of your business assumptions. Their support and expertise should have meaning to you.
Utah Business
- Minnesota tech entrepreneur moves to Oregon for the talent
Oregon is home to his newly recruited management team of former Intel executives, which he sees as a key asset in the highly competitive chip market.
Idaho Business
- Utah tech companies grew 7.3% in year
The state has nearly 60,000 technology and life sciences jobs, and the average technology salary is 66 percent higher than the statewide average annual wage for nonagricultural jobs. The IT and life science industries also generate $3.1 billion in annual Utah wages.
Washington State Business
- Group will use $5 million to lure high-paying industries to the Boise Valley
Industries to be targeted include computers and electronics, transportation, warehousing, software, telecommunications, health care, biotechnology, nanotechnology and equipment manufacturing.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Selling wares on The Virtual Frontier. Web offers remote artisans a market
The centerpiece of The Virtual Frontier is http://www.shopthefrontier.org It's one of many Web sites from rural areas. What makes this one different, Caudell said, is that plenty of money is poured into promotion, to raise the profile and get more hits.
Incubators and R&DUniversity TechTransfer
- UM space center records investigated. NASA Office of Inspector General investigates the Northern Rockies Center for Space Privatization and the Inland Northwest Space Alliance
Since its inception, the center has yet to produce results for its original mission. Since the center came under the Missoulian's scrutiny earlier this year, UM officials have stated they never needed the regents' approval to conduct research because the center was never a center, but rather, a series of grants.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- University Spinouts: Best Practices and Issues
Success has come from the input and convergence of multiple factors such as the university research and development (R&D) base, core competency and strategic focus, research infrastructure, entrepreneurial incentives and culture, university-industry enablers, intermediary facilitators, and leadership – political, academic and corporate. Other critical factors are financial and management resources, particularly early-stage capital available to university entrepreneurs to fill critical gaps.
- Measuring University Startups. Academia’s entrepreneurial scientists bypass the stats.
Findings like this show that the university is more than a training ground for new scientists. It is also a direct contributor to the U.S. economy.
Business Plan Forums
- 12 businesses and organizations recognized for their commitment to public education in Billings. Does your company volunteer to help educate the future leaders of Montana?
For an hour, the volunteers visit classrooms, work with students to perfect basic skills and encourage teachers.
Careers
- Business plan contest finalists reflect Wisconsin's economic character
From a base of 200 entries, these contestants are the survivors in a tech-based, statewide contest that will culminate June 8 at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Conference in Milwaukee.
Non-Profit News
- Private Sector CIO Survey: IT Personnel With Business Skills Becoming More Important Issue
Those seeking employment in the technology sector should hone their business skills, a new survey suggests.
Hydrogen NewsConnectivity & Communications
- $10M prize for hydrogen fuel technology
"This is an opportunity for a triple play," said bill sponsor Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C., citing benefits to national security from reduced dependence on foreign oil, cleaner air from burning pollution-free hydrogen and new jobs. "If we can reinvent the car, imagine the jobs we can create."
- Hydrogen from Biomass
The goal is to make self-contained units capable of producing their own hydrogen from a biomass-derived glycerol solution or even antifreeze.
Leadership Montana
- The Black Box That Would Conquer Telecom. Open Source Rounter for 1/5 the Cost
If Vyatta's black box can do all it promises at a fifth the price of the competition, the company stands to win a lot of converts. In fact, it could be an all-out rout.
- Utah's state Senate this year became the first legislative body to make online "blogging" a vital tool in lawmaking.
"This has been hailed in Utah as the year that new media broke the tradition of old media getting the story out," Cantrell said.
- Boise State campus makes switch to Internet phoning. VoIP system using existing computer network costs less than conventional phone technology
The systems cost less because organizations no longer have to pay for both a computer system and a phone system — they are wrapped into one.
City Club Missoula
- Leadership Montana meets this week in Billings for final session
Leadership Montana presents a seven-session program of leadership development and business and policy education in seven Montana communities. At the heart of Leadership Montana is the concept of trusteeship. The exploration of Montana communities throughout the program is designed to give class members information and perspective to help them be more-effective leaders for the state and for their communities. The Leadership Montana Class of 2006 includes 46 members from across Montana:
- Event to focus on international issues. Citizen's Diplomacy Community Summit in Great Falls, Montana
"The world is small," says one organizer, Bob Harris of Great Falls. "We all need to get to know each other, and this is one way of doing it."
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