MATR Newsletter - Tue Apr 24, 2012 |
"Creativity is the residue of wasted time." Albert Einstein
New Toolkit Aims to Educate Leaders on How to Support Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses http://www.matr.net/ar ... .html
iConnect Montana
Blackfoot Telecommunications Group
- Large enterprises planning more data center builds
"You still need data center capacity, whether or not the economy booms,"
Great Falls Development Authority
- New Tools: New Worlds Of Learning-Education Technology Conference (ETC), 8/6-8, Missoula, Montana
Blackfoot sponsors the entry fee for all member schools.
Come Home Montana
- New Water Line Marks Major Milestone For Great Falls, Montana Agritech Park
This marks the first piece of infrastructure for the Great Falls AgriTech Park and is one of the first major milestones in the Park's development.
Montana Business
- Montana Career Opportunity - Quality Engineer - SiMatrix
SiMatrix http://www.simatrix.com/ , a medical device manufacturing company in Montana is seeking a Quality Engineer experienced in the medical or pharmaceutical fields with a Bachelor's Degree in a technical field or equivalent combination of experience and education.
- Meet David Mirisch: Mirisch has been publicist to the stars and now calls Montana home
Why did you move to Montana?
- Montana Talent - Economic Development and Community Growth Professional - Deborah Ridley
I am looking for a unique employer. One who has gotten beyond buzz words; has strong leadership and mentoring capabilities; and who takes a proactive approach to business and involvement in the local, regional, state, and global community.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Development Director - Opportunity Link
The Development Director will supervise Opportunity Link program teams and be responsible for and/or coordinate securing of funds necessary to support program implementation.
- Montana Career Opportunity - Non-Profit Fund Accountant - Great Falls Development Authority
Requires extensive experience with non-profit fund accounting and federal fund regulations, budgeting, cash flow management, and grant tracking and reporting.
Montana Economic Development
- Inbound Video Marketing Strategy, Tim Danyo and Imagination Media of Missoula, Montana
The goal with Inbound Marketing is to win the customer's confidence and trust in your company so that they will do business with you.
- Montana Startup Videos: Dave & Pauls Butter
Dave & Paul tell about how they turned an idea on a chair lift from a concept to being on the shelves of major grocery stores in 4 states throughout the northwest.
- Montana Startup Videos: Mamalode
Elke talks about how 3 short years ago, Mamalode started in a linen closet and is now being sent out to all 50 states and even different countries. We hope you enjoy the story as much as we do.
- As Montana's Bakken oil booms, so does crime
Officials say up to 30,000 workers could descend on the Bakken oil fields of Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan in the next few years.
MSU Leadership Institute & UM Global Leadership Initiative
- The 2012 Rural Community Conference is less than a month away - register today!
What characteristics must communities develop and maintain in order to flourish? What legacy will be left to our rural communities? What will the population of Montana look like in the future, and how can these changes be addressed?
- Yellowstone County's Big Sky Economic Development agency helps local businesses, recruits new ones
"When we came to Billings to look, we found that the economy was stronger than we had anticipated. We contacted Big Sky and the rest is history. They really took us in."
- Project deflates: No wind turbine plant in Butte, Montana
Fuhrländer is “a caustic example of a project that was announced too early.”
The Missoula Economic Partnership
- More than 1000 Montana students learn challenges, thrills of climbing Mount Everest
Not only are the students seeing exotic photos and reading updates on MSU's Expedition website, but they are using some of the same equipment in the classroom that the climbers are using on Mount Everest.
Careers
- New Toolkit Aims to Educate Leaders on How to Support Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses
The tool kit profiles efforts in cities of all sizes to support entrepreneurship and small businesses. These efforts range from knowledge focused in Boston's Innovation District, governance focused in Seattle, Wash., export focused in Wichita, Kan., or regulatory focused in Rockhill, S.C.
- Investing in local companies key to long-term growth
It was a huge step for economic development in Missoula.
Come Home Oregon
- Get A Free Flight To Boulder For Boulder Startup Week
Boulder Startup Week, a five day celebration of the tech scene here in Boulder, is offering several free plane tickets to people who would consider relocating.
- Virtual world teaches life skills to people with autism - Guardian Spirit
Guardian Spirit Inc. is looking for 100 participants, age 17 and older, to enroll in the virtual training world for the fall semester. The target client is a person diagnosed as a high functioning individual with autism or Asperger's syndrome.
- Inside Job: When seeking employment, it really is who you know
Like other cities, the higher paying professional jobs in Billings get filled largely by word of mouth, employers asking friends who would be a good fit. That's why mentoring is so important to a student's career, said Justin Millet, a brokerage associate at Wells Fargo Advisors.
- Opportunity Link is looking for a Development Director
Business Plan Forums
- Oregon Career Opportunities - Inside Sales, Developer, Account Manager - Chirpify
Chirpify turns Tweets into transactions, enabling consumers and businesses to buy, sell, donate and transact on Twitter.
Developing an Angel Network in Montana
- University of Utah Students Win $100,000 with Quantum Dot Technology
Quantum dots might be the next big thing in the electronic industry.
- Startup Weekend and the $100K Business Plan Competition
The University of Portland is hosting its own business plan competition Saturday, offering a prize up to $100,000 for the winning for-profit team.
Idaho Business
- Angel Investors: Watch for Business Plan Competitions
Every year, the companies that compete get more real and more attractive, on average, to angel investment.
Incubators and R&D
- Idaho council considers expanding use of job training funds
The workforce development fund has provided more than $37 million to train nearly 26,000 workers for more than 200 businesses, department officials say.
- Boise research institute 2AI Labs is making science pay -- for more science
The research that I'm most interested in are things that don't have any obvious application."
Oregon Business
- Brain Implant Helps Paralyzed Hand Move
The dream of true cybernetics -- merging man with machine -- just got a bit closer.
- Team from Montana State University, Mayo Clinic studies body's limits on Everest
The professional climbers are blogging about their adventures as "lab rats" for National Geographic; Mayo is sending a member of its communication staff to cover the story online (www.mayocliniconeverest.com) and on Twitter. If all goes as planned, even the climbers' vital signs will be posted on a website for all to see.
Other Economies
- Portland startup Chirpify lands $1.3 million in backing to promote commerce on Twitter
When a retailer with a Chirpify account solicits purchases on Twitter, customers can simply tweet the word "Buy" to make a purchase.
Regional Economic Development
- Joel Kotkin: The Great California Exodus
The Golden State's fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape.
- Iowa sees shortage of skilled workers
Some fear economic growth could be hampered if the current struggle to fill jobs continues.
- States can learn from Ohio's data determination - Better network needed to attract companies, jobs
The Buckeye State's most ambitious economic growth strategy involves building a high-speed electronic data network that can serve researchers, businesses and communities alike.
University of Montana & Montana State University Tech Transfer
- The Expensive Folly of Tax Incentives
Every state has at least one tax-incentive program for economic development, according to a recent report by the Pew Center on the States which concluded that "no state ensures that policy makers rely on good evidence about whether these investments deliver a strong return."
Washington State Business21st Century Education Initiative - "You Should Care..."
- Event aims to foster new businesses - Startup Weekend at Gonzaga intense
About 50 would-be business owners are jumping into a whirlwind weekend designed to help them start a successful company.
Education
- Khan Academy and 23andMe Link Up For Genetics Education
Khan Academy has added two series of videos made by 23andMe to its roster of educational clips.
- Thomas Jefferson High School For Science And Technology Breeds Young Innovators
What's the secret? As chemistry teacher Brian Kennedy sees it, there isn't one. Young people just like to learn. "It's very easy to get students excited about learning just for the sake of learning something new and something advanced,"
- Companies growing roots for more STEM in middle and high school to grow the employee pipeline
"Companies have been diversifying their investments," from looking beyond college students to kids in middle and high schools. To the extent that you're really trying to look at the big picture ... [companies are betting] that if we make the pipeline stronger there, it will have ripple effects upwards."
- Seeing the signs: Class teaches children to communicate before they can talk
"I would recommend it to everybody. It doesn't fix everything, but it's really made our relationship better and he's really proud of it."
- Activities will focus on preschool years - Early Childhood Coalition of the Greater Helena Area
The coalition, which is made up of over 80 members representing 25 agencies, is dedicated to providing support, access and service to area families so all children have the opportunity to become happy, healthy and successful adults.
Montana Education Excellence
- Community Colleges Not Up to 21st-Century Mission, Their Own Report Says
"As they currently function, community colleges are not up to the task before them."
Funding and Building your Business
- University of Montana hires media company with ties to Penn State
Hammock said Mind Over Media is well-respected in the higher education marketing community, and the company has worked on similar branding campaigns at other major universities throughout the nation.
- Lame Deer, Montana schools one of 8 in the U.S. in new Turnaround Arts initiative
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Washington, Forest Whitaker, Artist Chuck Close, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, dancer Damian Woetzel and actress Alfre Woodard are adopting schools in the two-year program.
Energy and Climate Change
- How you can make Pinterest work for your small business
First, for those who aren't familiar with it, here are the basics:
- Crowdfunding Rules Now Up to SEC
The commission will have to make rules for crowdfunding websites--"intermediaries" in the law's jargon--including, for example, what disclosures they must make to investors, how they'll make sure people don't invest more of their money than the law allows, and how they'll vet the people behind the companies selling shares.
- 10 Top Business Models for New Ventures Today
The revenue model you select is basically the implementation of your business strategy, and the key to attaining your financial objectives.
- 10 Smart Risks That Every Business Should Seek Out
For true entrepreneurs, risk is viewed as a positive, with its implied challenge to overcome the unknown and hitting the big return.
- 8 Angel Investors That Entrepreneurs Should Avoid
Most angels are pure, but there are some exceptions that may cost you more than an investment:
- Google's Creative Destruction
"If it weren't for Google Ventures, we'd be forking out a lot of money to hire great recruiters and designers. They're helping save dollars I would have had to put into those functions." SHARMILA SHAHANI-MULLIGAN
- Searching for the Next Snuggie - Is This Really the Golden Age for Inventors?
Our patent-law system is one of the key barriers to progress, because wealth typically wins out.
- Adobe to launch new software suite for designers
Unlike previous versions, which came shrink-wrapped in a box, Creative Suite 6 will be available on a monthly subscription basis as part of Adobe's Creative Cloud offering.
- Startups Need the 'Why' Before the 'What' to Build
The right approach is to start by solving a problem causing real pain to a large number of customers willing to pay real money for a solution.
- Businesses Forget How to Listen to Customers
Don't confuse customer needs with your needs.
Non-Profit News
- Glacier Park embracing green initiative
The colossal ice masses that once draped the park's high alpine peaks have faded from an enduring crystalline blue to a pale and ephemeral latticework and are now on the brink of extinction.
- Wind-Powered Traffic Lights to Get Real-World Testing
Reworking traffic lights may not be the first thing that comes to mind when local governments consider ways to save money. But a project in Lincoln, Neb., is researching if traffic lights could pay for themselves by feeding renewable energy into the power grid.
- Coal states fear for future of the industry
The current consensus of experts is that coal may not be in quite as much trouble as its supporters sometimes claim -- or as its enemies might wish.
- Making Energy Conservation a Local Prerogative
This community of pragmatists is on full display in EARTH: The Operators' Manual, the critically acclaimed documentary on climate change and sustainable energy solutions, which returns to PBS for Earth Day accompanied by two new specials, Energy Quest USA and Powering the Planet.
HACKING AND VIRUS ALERTS
- Montana forgoes $60M in income taxes from nonprofit corporations
Had they been charged the 6.75 percent corporate license tax rate that other corporations pay, these nonprofit corporations would have to pay $60.4 million in state corporate taxes.
- Hundreds of thousands may lose Internet in July
After July 9, infected users won't be able to connect to the Internet.
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