|
|
|
| MATR Newsletter - Fri Nov 18, 2011 |
"if we're going to encourage more innovation, it's not enough for us to just dig in and work harder. We also need to encourage surprise and serendipity." -Steven Johnson
"We Don't Have to Die...' People are more important to towns than things. Successful small towns recruit people not factories. Young people will stay home, or come home, when they have a genuine stake in decisions the community is making." http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
Montana Department of Commerce
PrintingForLess
- Early-Bird Discount Available Until December 7th for 2012 Made in Montana Marketplace
"Exhibitors who meet the early-bird deadline qualify to have images of their products and information about their businesses appear in an online catalog for wholesale buyers from across the world to see in advance of the 2012 Marketplace," said Paul Lloyd-Davies, marketplace coordinator.
Highway 12 Ventures
- PrintingForLess - Website Development - More Than Just a Website - Dynamic Website Marketing Platform
You Can Trust Your Website Project to Us!
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
- Lendio Dangles $2500 Scholarship For Students
Lendio is venture backed by Highway 12 Ventures and Tribeca Venture Partners.
Visit Montana
- Understanding The Impact Of The 2011 America Invents Act, 11/30, Missoula, Montana
Plan to join Dorsey & Whitney attorneys Tim Worrall (http://www.dorsey.com/worrall_tim/) and Jennifer Lane (http://www.dorsey.com/people/detail.aspx?attorney=2632) for an enlightening discussion about practical strategies as the American Invents Act's provisions come into effect.
- Understanding The Impact Of The 2011 America Invents Act, 12/1, Bozeman, Montana
The America Invents Act represents the most significant change to patent law in nearly 60 years.
Come Home Montana
- "Above Yellowstone" DVD provides aerial view of Yellowstone National Park
Narrated by actor Tim Matheson and with an original musical score by Jesse Rhodes, the film puts viewers in the front seat as the helicopter-based camera swoops next to jagged mountain tops, up Yellowstone's Grand Canyon and dives close to the Yellowstone River just outside of Gardiner, Mont.
Developing Tech Jobs in Rural Communities
- Montana Career Opportunities - CEO, CFO, COO, Account Executives - Short Sales Success Inc.
CEO, CFO, COO - Start-up Real Estate Software Company seeking CEO/CFO/COO run daily operations and tend to funding/team building/business plan development. The software is ready to go now we need a team to make it happen!
- Small town Montana residents have big plans for future - Geyser, Montana
"I want to find ways that our kids can move back here and have the same kind of passion."
Warren Miller Freedom Foundation
- 'We Don't Have to Die...' People are more important to towns than things. Successful small towns recruit people not factories. Young people will stay home, or come home, when they have a genuine stake in decisions the community is making.
Seven out of ten rural young people in one survey said they had never been asked by an adult how they would make their communities better. That's a big mistake. Adults need to ask.
Montana Business
- TED Video: Thomas Suarez: A 12-year-old app developer
Most 12-year-olds love playing videogames -- Thomas Suarez taught himself how to create them. After developing iPhone apps like "Bustin Jeiber," a whack-a-mole game, he is now using his skills to help other kids become developers.
Regional Economic Development
- 300 Minnesotans suspected of evading sales tax on RVs by registering them in Montana
The Minnesota Department of Revenue believes a small group of residents are attempting to evade paying sales tax on high end recreational vehicles by registering them in Montana.
- Senator Baucus' Montana Jobs Economic Engine Initiative: Montana Brewers Highlighted
Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus announced his latest "Montana Jobs Economic Engine" today highlighting the state's 29 small breweries for providing more than 250 jobs and supporting the state's grain industry.
- Kalispell Chamber Celebrates its 107th Year with Annual Banquet and Auction
With 400 in attendance, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 107th year of community and business enterprise at a banquet held tonight at the Hilton Garden Inn.
- Information For Sale - Kalispell, Montana based Merlin Information Services marks its 20th anniversary ... and it's hiring
With new products on the horizon, Twete said Merlin is looking to expand in the years to come and there are no plans to leave Montana.
Business Plan Forums
- Cities (and States) Need Less "Recycled Income" To Thrive
Cities that retool for a global economy can set the stage for a reliable revenue stream.
- Innovation-Based Economic Development vs. State Budgets
The trend of the year, though, seems to be the restructuring of state-level economic development efforts, with a particular emphasis on engaging the private sector.
Careers
- Startup wins $500,000 at statewide business competition
"The response to this competition was quite extraordinary, and I think it clearly demonstrates the opportunity that we have in our state."
Funding and Building your Business
- Why you need a personal brand
If you think "personal branding" is a buzzword for self-promotion, think again.
- Cash wrapped in bacon helps startup recruit talent - Work with the cool kids! Culture is a weapon in 2011's hiring battle
Google currently pays recent computer science grads $90,000 to $105,000. That may not sound like much to some, especially with the cost of living in the Bay Area so high, but if your company has only raised $1 million in funding and you need a team of engineers, that salary is pretty substantial competition.
- Contemplating a Career in Nonprofits?
Nonprofit managers and experts caution that perceptions don't always match reality, and business-world veterans frequently undergo a bumpy transition.
- Where the jobs are (in venture-backed firms)
It may be a tough job market, but some companies are desperate for workers. Here are the ten states with the most job openings at venture-backed firms that have remained unfilled for the past 10 months, based on data from StartUpHire.com.
Government and University TechTransfer
- Building A Zappos-Like Culture, Not Just A Business
The answer to the question is, that you want to make more money, you want to retain your customers, you want to decrease the overall advertising cost that you have.
- The Wisest Entrepreneurs Know How to Preserve Equity
Success can spell the difference in billions.
- How Minecraft is taking over the world
Several educators have even started a http://minecraftedu.com/ initiative to find ways to use the game in schools.
- Companies Fail the Test with Metrics
"Most companies are tracking their metrics, but they haven't found a good way to use them to run their businesses."
- Zynga to employees: Give back stock or you're fired
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, along with his top executives, decided last year as they were preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that they had given out too much stock to employees. But rather than accept that reality, the executives reportedly tried a different tactic: demand employees give back not-yet-vested stock or face termination.
- The CEO Should Be The Chief Experience Officer - "Don't just improve the product, improve the experience."
The phrase "Chief Executive Officer" doesn't convey much, if anything. There's a better way to describe the role.
- Unpaid Interns: Real World Work Or Just Free Labor?
The Department of Labor has said that this sort of work may be illegal for unpaid interns to do.
- 4 secrets of creating great internship programs
What can you do if your company is determined to be different, offering interns a genuine learning experience and creating a pipeline of fresh talent for your organization?
Montana Education Excellence
- Who will bridge the tech transfer gap?
University inventors don't have a reputation for pitching to industry
Montana Education/Business Partnerships
- Bitterroot College Program opens new facility in Hamilton, Montana
"We are hoping to fulfill the 'Field of Dreams' prophecy," said BCP writing instructor Todd Johnson. "If you build it, they will come."
Regional Business
- Beartooth Highway supporters turn to UM for economic study
"We really think that knowing who uses that highway and why they're using it is going to help build and direct those conversations going forward," said Kim Capron, project coordinator for Friends of the Beartooth. "We want information that shows how and why that highway is being used."
- Montana State University College of Business seeks area businesses and non-profits for consultation
During the four-month courses, students will help manage special consulting projects requested by area businesses and non-profit organizations.
- University of Montana School of Business Administration Career Development Program
We connect students with employers. Learn how our program can benefit your business
- MSU SoB Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Shannon Stowell, To Speak About Adventure Travel, 11/30, Bozeman, Montana
Stowell's presentation will address the six major trends that affect all industries and delve into how adventure travel can make a very positive impact on vacation destinations and the world. Stowell will also integrate discussion on eco-tourism and sustainability as it relates to adventure travel.
Idaho Business
- Opportunities For Native American Small Businesses The Focus Of SBA's November Web Chat , 11/23
The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Native American Affairs helps to ensure that American Indians, Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians who want to start or grow a small business have access to SBA's entrepreneurial development tools, and lending and contracting programs.
North Dakota Business and Economic Development
- One-bedroom apartments proposed for former Downtown Boise Macy's
The goal is to add affordable housing for Downtown workers who make about $20,000 to $27,900 a year, said David Wali, an investment services director with Colliers International, a commercial real estate company representing Macy's. Macy's has agreed to work with Northwest, he said.
Oregon Economic Development
- North Dakota SBA District Office Newsletter
Dakota Business - Buying & Financing a Business; Technology Grants
Utah Economic Development
- Has Portland Lost Its Edge?
"The rest of the country has been inspired by your work, which means there's more competition."
- Southern Oregon Angel Investment Network gets national honor
Investors in the Southern Oregon Angel Investment Network are launching the 2012 round of investing.
Washington State Business
- Utah State University Spin-Out Company, Wave Inc., Receives $2.7 Million Federal Grant to electrify a bus route on the University of Utah campus
"We are pleased that WAVE was selected from a very competitive field of candidates to receive this grant for the bus electrification project," said Stan Albrecht, President of Utah State University.
Wyoming Business
- A Look Ahead for Washington State's Life Sciences Cluster
We know the life sciences industry has grown to be a significant part of Washington state's economy
- Gov. Gregoire Announces $9.8M Workforce PlanThat Supports University Research, Engineering Grads To Ensure 737 MAX Is Built In Washington State
"There is no question that Washington state is the best place in the world to build the Boeing 737-MAX jetliner."
Education
- Cheyenne lands $35 million wind-powered data center - Company's project is first to receive funding from new incentive program
Unlike other data centers in Wyoming, which are built to serve a single company, Green House Data , founded in Cheyenne in 2007, rents out server and computer storage space to companies such as the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander and New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colo.
Other Economies
- Jack Welch Will Have More MBAs Than Harvard Business School
"The world is going this way," Welch said. "The thing about the online school is that the student doesn't have to pay the opportunity costs of quitting a job and yet still gets a recognized brand MBA."
- Western Governors University - Solutions for today's working students
"A 36-year-old with a job in the IT community often is not served well by having to stop their life and go through a semester-based program, in particular if they already know a lot of stuff because of their industry certifications. That's where Western Governors really comes in and adds to the mix."
- What Did the Nobel Laureate Tell the Super Committee?
"Deficits in skills in early childhood area perpetuated and magnified throughout life. Current policies fail to properly recognize the life cycle dynamics of skill formation. The United States invests relatively little at the starting point - in early childhood development - and as a consequence pays dearly for this neglect at every point thereafter."
Community
- Why Topeka says to businesses: "We Can Do That."
While other communities zigged, Topeka, Kansas, zagged. Since 2009, Topeka has announced new projects involving 2,800 new and retained jobs, totaling $695 million in capital investments.
Connectivity & Communications
- First Public Library to Create a Maker Space
There is a lot of potential around using public libraries in new ways.
- TEN new grant announcements
Energy and Climate Change
- Desktop platform for creating and publishing interactive e-books - Moglue
Moglue uses a drag-and-drop interface to enable amateur writers and publishers to create and sell their own e-books, without prior programming knowledge.
- The Internet Isn't Just Pipes; It's a Belief System That Is Threatened
"The bills would empower the attorney general to create a blacklist of sites to be blocked by Internet service providers, search engines, payment providers and advertising networks, all without a court hearing or a trial. ... the intention is not the same as China's Great Firewall, a nationwide system of Web censorship, but the practical effect could be similar." Rebecca MacKinnon, a former CNN reporter and co-founder of the Global Voices project at the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society
- Analysis: Internet Blacklist Bill Is Roadmap to 'the End' of the Internet
The measure would also boost the government's authority to disrupt and shutter "rogue" websites that hawk or host trademark- and copyright-infringing products, including allowing the government to order sites removed from search engines.
Miscellaneous Ramblings
- Pipelines at risk of failure in Montana, Wyoming
Federal safety regulators disclosed problems Tuesday with oil and other hazardous liquid pipelines at seven major river crossings and hundreds of smaller crossings in Montana and northern Wyoming -- problems that could put the lines at increased risk of failure.
- Georgia City to Deploy New Smart Grid as a Service
he city will use GE's Grid IQ: Solutions as a Service, which is designed specifically for municipalities that operate their own utilities.
- Scientists boost battery strength with small holes
Batteries for phones and laptops could soon recharge ten times faster and hold a charge ten times larger than current technology allows.
Government Technology
- GE going big with Bay Area software initiative
The center is designed "to speed the pace of innovation, collaboration and commercialization of new technologies."
Non-Profit News
- Community Recycles Pavement to Save Money
Called "cold in-place recycling" (CIR), the process involves a machine chewing up existing city streets, grinding up and recycling the rock, injecting it with binding material, and spitting it out as new pavement.
- Dismal economic climate puts Montana Business Assistance Connection in red
We're pursuing every option we can to help the companies through tough times."
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page
