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| MATR Newsletter - Tue Aug 29, 2006 |
MATR
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Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. -- Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) American Publisher
Congratulations to the organizers and sponsors of the recent "Venture Capital in the Rockies Gathering a "Summit of Big Sky" Success" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html ---Here's another chance for Intermountain West companies to present their models to Investors: 2006 Bend Venture Conference - Seeking Seed / Early Stage Ventures" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html--- If you're unsure what Angels look for or how you can be an Angel, this is the event for you: "Frontier Angel Fund - What Do We Look For In A Startup? 9/26, Missoula" http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Come Home Montana
Developing a more Entrepreneurial Montana
- Montana dreaming
Later that night, the winds blew hot off the peaks. Tent windows were unzipped, and in our sleep we drank the sweet piney air. Montana filled our dreams — our dreams of trout and grizzlies and breathtaking vistas and dusty cow towns. But most of all, we dreamed of the wide-open spaces we all desperately desire.
- Featured "Come Home Montana" Community~FLATHEAD VALLEY
Entrepreneurs are valued and essential to the Flathead Valley. Nearly 1,000 new businesses were established in the last decade. This is a 44% increase in local employers that marks a boom in entrepreneurial activity.
- Montana-Jobs.net Featured Career ~ Software Developer
WW IDEAs core belief is that all students should be afforded the opportunity to be successful through an individualized learning program.
- Montana-Jobs.net Featured Talent - Desired Field: Human Resources
Human Resource Specialist (United States Military Academy, West Point, NY)
Developing Tech Jobs in Rural Communities
- K-12 Pilot Programs Shape Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs
A recent white paper from CFED suggests yes, public school systems can do more to prepare students for participation in the entrepreneurial community.
Montana Education Excellence
- Startup takes to water in rural Washington State- Mobilisa, Inc.
Ludlow, a former Air Force pilot and computer scientist, started Mobilisa after working at a Silicon Valley high-tech firm. After three years there, the Ludlows decided it was time to move on and relocate near Whidbey Island, where Nelson Ludlow grew up. They thought about working in Seattle or Redmond; but then Bonnie Ludlow visited Port Townsend. When they learned the port town with the Victorian-era architecture had broadband Internet, they decided to settle there and start their own business.
Education
- Recruiting of Indian educators a success
‘‘The reason I went off to school, I had a mentor, a P.E. teacher, who went to school in Missoula,’’ the Montana State University-Billings graduate said.
- MSU research tops $100 million for first time
"MSU has achieved a major milestone as a research university by surpassing $100 million in expenditures," said MSU vice president for research Tom McCoy. "For a campus of our size, this is an incredible testimonial to the superb quality of our faculty."
Montana Business
- Computers, new programs reach Lame Deer high school students
The Alternative Learning Center opened in January for students in fifth through 12th grades who lost credit in core classes or who have dropped out and want to return to school and graduate.
- Task force takes first step in Idaho preschool effort. Teachers union recommends lifting ban on funding of preschools; critics say preschools cost too much
"Society pays in many ways for students who do not participate in early childhood education,"
- Montana eyes how MCPS is spending its Indian Education for All money
Earlier this month, Missoula County Public Schools trustees caught criticism for acknowledging they used their state Indian education allocation to offset a 3.5 percent raise for the district's teachers. That puts Missoula at odds with many other districts which have proposed more specific program spending.
- Obesity war's latest battlefront: the school cafeteria School nutrition is activists' passion
Schools weren't always citadels of health. For years, they were more like junk food coliseums. Now, as this school year begins, cafeteria menus are being scrutinized as closely as the curriculum in preparation for compliance with recently passed legislation to better students' diets.
- Reforming Education Could Reduce Crime and $1.3 Billion in Prison Expenses
“Reforming the nation’s high schools could potentially increase the number of graduates and reduce the nation’s crime related costs and add billions of dollars to the economy through additional wages,”
Montana Economic Development
- Ligocyte receives $1.3 million research grant
"LigoCyte's drugs are unique in that they work by altering the disease process, rather than just simply reducing the disease symptoms,"
Developing Funding Opportunities in Montana
- Things are looking up on Montana's Hi-Line
It's probably early to call for immediate completion of a Hi-Line freeway, but economic news from Montana's northern tier counties is uncharacteristically upbeat these days.
- City-county revamps Web site. Helena and Lewis and Clark County are sporting a new look online.
“We also have taken a more citizen-friendly approach to the Web site,”
Funding and Building your Business
- Venture Capital in the Rockies Gathering a "Summit of Big Sky" Success
The VCs say they don't invest because there is no "deal flow," i.e. no companies worth investing in, while the entrepreneurs say they can't build companies because they have no sources of capital. The Big Sky Venture Capital Conference, being held today at Big Sky Resort, aims to help bridge that gap.
- State venture capital to be put to work. Fund raises $200 million to bolster young tech companies
Venture capitalists often like to have their pet projects located nearby.
Utah Economic Development
- Make an office's dog days dog friendly
Dog-friendly offices are good for dogs, but more importantly, they're good for business. It certainly helps attract and retain great employees.
- Startup Success 2006 with a Successful Panel of Entrepreneurs
This is a video of “Startup Success,” the Churchill Club’s annual look at what it takes to build a successful startup.
- Funds Required For New Startups Average $10,000
More than half (53%) feels their business development would have been smoother with more funding at the outset.
- Book Preview: Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz - Reviewed by Guy Kawasaki
I highly recommend this book because it was so practical, tactical, and hysterical. Here are the ten ideas, stories, and recommendations from the book that I liked the most:
- 2006 Bend Venture Conference - Seeking Seed / Early Stage Ventures
We are currently seeking seed and early stage companies to present at the 2006 Bend Venture Conference on October 20th.
- Boise law firm works to protect intellectual property
The Technology Law Group is entering its fourth year of practice in Boise with a focus on helping Idaho high-tech companies recognize the importance of protecting IP before bringing a product to market.
- Employers Increasingly Favor Performance-Linked Bonuses
Employers are making employees work harder for their money.
Idaho Business
- Chamber's SLC vision: Trails, rails and culture. Vibrant downtown sections, fluid travel are main goals
"[In] cities that are successful, one of the common threads is they have a unified vision that transcends political administrations,"
Wyoming Business
- Association names Idaho travel guide best in nation
A recent analysis determined that tourism generates more than $2 billion of Idaho's annual gross state product, drawing more than 22 million visitors a year to attractions and businesses that provide 47,000 direct jobs and 22,000 indirect jobs.
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
- Hathaway Scholarship, created out of the state's budget surplus in an effort to create a larger and more educated work force in Wyoming.
After a steady decline in UW enrollment throughout the 1990s, recently the university's Outreach School has helped boost enrollment back over the 13,000 mark, and now it appears the Hathaway Scholarship will continue the university's growth into the future.
Incubators and R&DUniversity TechTransfer
- UM has changed policies after audit of space center...Hoping to save space group, attorney orders financial audit
A preliminary legislative audit showed three former U-M employees may have violated state law in the office of research, and at a spinoff of the Northern Rockies Center for Space Privatization.
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Generous Schools Generate More Licensing Revenues
The more a university shares its royalties with faculty researchers, the more overall licensing income that university earns, the study suggests.
Careers
- The Montana State University-Billings College of Technology program receives scholarship pledges from Montana Businesses for New Program
The donations will allow the College of Technology to award scholarships to qualified students each year for the next five years.
Non-Profit News
- Finding Good References When You Can't Ask Your Boss
Ideally, you should choose a strategy and put it into action at the time of your dismissal, before you even exit the building.
Energy
- Internet latest forum for volunteer work
Instead of building homes, volunteers like Murphy can build Web sites.
- Montana Nonprofit Association Receives Nearly $200,000 in Grants from Foundations
The grant awards will allow MNA to expand its programming in advocacy and public policy, professional and organizational development, and discount products and services.
Making the Most of the American Prairie
- From light bulbs and insulation to electrical appliances ... Energy efficiency tips a hit with homeowners
Steve Titus, of Bozeman, models his Solar Bug energy efficient vehicle Thursday at NCAT’s SustainabilityFEST in Butte. The electric car travels at a cost of one cent per mile.
- Maine Takes The Lead On Energy Independence
When Gov. Baldacci was elected four years ago, crude oil was just over $20 a barrel and gasoline and heating oil were both less than $1.50 per gallon. Global warming was not a household word. Nevertheless, the governor created the Office of Energy Independence.
Connectivity & Communications
- Prarie Dreaming - A bold initiative is underway to buy a huge swath of Montana...and turn it over to Mother Nature. The American Prarie Foundation
The group's plan—called simply the Prairie Project—is to create one of the largest and most innovative conservation projects on Earth, a grassland reserve replete with as many native species as can be sustained.
Commuter Rail Development
- Ride The Bus, Surf The Web
"Folks will be able to surf to work and back,"
Transportation
- More Housing Pops Up Near New Light Rail Stations
"We're starting to see people having access to transit on their checklist when they're going out and looking for places to rent," Sirois said. "People really like the idea of being able to live here, get on the train, go into LoDo for dinner, go out to a bar, and never have to worry about getting into a car."
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- Campus robocop at U of M. Has your car been "Segwayed"?
“I went from nobody wanting my job to everyone wanting my job,” Kramer-Jorgensen says as she effortlessly rolls back and forth on the sleek red-and-black two-wheeled marvel.
- New York to L.A. in Two Hours
A new generation of supersonic private jets could trigger a boom in luxury high-speed flight -- without the sonic boom normally associated with breaking the sound barrier.
- COOL WEB 2.0 SITES
OK, we get it. Web 2.0 is a big deal.
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