FinTech’s Frontier:

Bozeman’s Zoot Enterprises Invests in a New Platform, New Markets, and Montana Communities

By Katy Spence

Zoot Enterprises has come a long way from its early days in Chris Nelson’s basement in 1990. Today, more than 250 people work at the sprawling campus in Bozeman, with more employees in Billings.

Client Delivery Manager Haden Busch has been with Zoot for 11 years. His team currently manages four of Zoot’s top 10 largest clients. Busch has seen Zoot’s and Four Corners’ growth firsthand over the past decade. He remembers when he could look out Zoot’s windows and see nothing but grass- and farmland.

Now, Bozeman’s growth has caught up to Zoot, and new buildings are being erected all around the campus.

“There's just been extreme growth out here, plus our expansion into the worldwide area,” Busch said. “The valley really lends itself well to bringing in talented folks because there is kind of a hub of it here in Bozeman. We're continuing to grow not only in personnel size, but also in depth of knowledge.”

One of these talented folks is Vice President of Marketing Eric Hathaway.

Born and raised in Bozeman, Hathaway’s career in financial services took him all over the world. Working for huge companies such as Microsoft and T-Mobile, Hathaway has lived all over the U.S., in the Czech Republic, and in Hong Kong.

But Hathaway wanted to raise his two young daughters in the place where he grew up, so he resettled in Bozeman in 2015 and began working for Zoot.

This year, Hathaway won a Gold Stevie Award for “Marketing Executive of the Year,” and his department won a Silver Stevie Award for “Marketing Department of the Year” for achievements including a 265 percent increase in lead generation results, a three-fold increase in social engagement, a 49 percent increase in social followers, and a full visual rebrand.

But Zoot’s been busy with more than just improving their branding. With the addition of a new team in Billings and a new platform for world-wide clientele, Zoot is doubling down on its reputation as a big company dedicated to Big Sky Country.

Montana leaders ramp up efforts to meet growing need for high-tech workforce

By Noah Hill

In 2015, Paul Gladen welcomed the inaugural class of students at the Montana Code School. Three years later, the Code School has graduated more than 100 students.

Graduates of the Code School now boast jobs at companies like Oracle, LumenAd, and ATG, which has recently been acquired by Cognizant. The average age of students in the 12-week coding “boot camp” sits somewhere in the late twenties, and most enrolled already have a first degree or even graduate qualifications. According to Gladen, the school occupies a unique niche in the Montana because it introduces employees with life experience into the tech industry, but making the jump into tech, regardless of background, has some associated risks.

“Most of our students haven’t found a job that is rewarding them for their academic abilities,” said Gladen. “Giving them an appreciation of code can make them effective employees.”

Gladen and other Montana technology leaders gathered in Bozeman at a Montana High Tech Business Alliance CEO Roundtable in July hosted by Foundant Technologies to discuss workforce training and how employers can make the transition to technology-driven jobs more enticing to prospective employees.

In addition to the Montana Code School, which caters to individuals looking to make a career change, educators from the University of Montana (UM) in Missoula and Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman discussed how their respective programs prepare college graduates to immediately enter the high tech workforce upon graduation.

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