May 31, 2018 Newsletter

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Montana High Tech News

Blackfoot Hosts Tech Leaders for Alliance CEO Roundtable and Reception in Missoula

Blackfoot hosted tech leaders from across the state - Billings, Bozeman, Hamilton, Helena, Polson, and Rocky Boy - for the Montana High Tech Business Alliance member reception in Missoula on May 24, 2018. Blackfoot CEO Jason Williams, Marketing Communications Specialist Debbie Dantic, and their team provided gourmet appetizers and beverages, fabulous door prizes, and warm hospitality for the reception held on the third floor at Missoula College. Members and guests had sweeping views of the Clark Fork River flooded to record heights. Blackfoot also hosted the CEO Roundtable in the Blackfoot Cafe on the River Level at the college.

View the album on our website. Photos by Paige Pavalone, Pistol Creek Photography.

View the Photo Album

CONNECT: Innovative companies from across Montana meet with peers

Brian Johnson, right, Business Development Director for Bozeman-based Core Control, talks with Montana Manufacturing Extension Center Director Paddy Fleming. Core Control, a Building Systems Automation provider, is a new member of the Alliance as of late March 2018 and joined as a referral from Fleming and MMEC. Johnson also participated in the CEO Roundtable discussion on Planning for Growth and connected with like-minded firms from Missoula and Bozeman. He said it's a challenge for Core Control to find workers who can navigate the interface of high-tech, plumbing, and HVAC, but the company is committed to finding and training the best talent.

PROMOTE: Missoula's WGM Group and Sunburst Sensors give lightning talks

WGM Group Land Use Planner Nick Kaufman gave an update on his company's growth from 55 to 75 employees in the last 6 months. WGM Group is a planning, engineering, survey, transportation design, hydrology, environmental and water rights firm with headquarters in Missoula. WGM opened an office in Kalispell last year and an office in Bozeman three months ago. The firm has also added employees in Helena, where it hopes to open an office soon. Kaufman presented his team's philosophy to "learn from the past, plan for the future, and imagine" in re-envisioning land use in areas like the East Missoula corridor near WGM Group, MonTEC and the University of Montana.

Sunburst Sensors CEO James Beck shared the story of how his small 10-person company in land-locked Montana won both purses of the $2 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIZE in 2015. Sunburst Sensors was launched in Missoula in 1999 by Michael DeGrandpre and David Irwin to manufacture CO2 and pH instruments for marine and fresh-water use. Scientists across the globe use the company's sensors to collect data and measure the impact of increased acidity on coral and other ocean creatures. Born in Missoula, Beck joined Sunburst Sensors and fulfilled his dream of returning to Montana after reconnecting with DeGrandpre at their class reunion at Capital High School in Helena.

ACCELERATE: Tech leaders share best practices in planning for growth

Left to right, Joe Easton, Director of Project Development for Jackson Contractor Group in Missoula, Jason Williams, CEO of Blackfoot in Missoula, and Jimmy Talarico, Project Designer/Business Development for CTA Architects/Engineers in Bozeman were featured speakers at the CEO Roundtable on "Planning for Growth." The discussion focused on best practices for growing companies considering real estate needs, as well as issues affecting members across the state such as limited downtown parking and affordable housing. Watch for detailed coverage of the conversation in a future newsletter.

From the Executive Director:
Relationships Matter: Why Montana is Becoming the Unlikely Winner in Attracting Global Tech Firms

Left to right, Brigitta Miranda-Freer, executive director of the Montana World Trade Center, Christina Henderson, executive director of the Montana High Tech Business Alliance, and Aaron Pratt, business development specialist for the Montana Governor's Office of Economic Development, at the 2018 Manufacturing & International Trade Day hosted by the Montana Chamber of Commerce in Missoula on May 22. Partnerships and openness among entrepreneurial support organizations are crucial in serving Montana companies and attracting new tech firms to the state. Photo by Brigitta Miranda-Freer.

By Christina Henderson

Last month, executives from Israeli high-tech firm 4Cast announced their decision to locate their U.S. base in Montana. This summer, 4Cast is setting up an office in Missoula and hiring the first of what they hope will ultimately be a workforce of 100 employees in sales and software development. According to CEO Nissim Titan, Montana was the winner out of 19 states considered.

I asked Titan this week what led 4Cast to choose Montana. "Relationships," he said.

According to Titan, Brigitta Miranda-Freer, executive director of the Montana World Trade Center, had established a strong connection with the 4Cast team and the Israeli consul general. More than direct flights, tax incentives, or lovely scenery, relationships mattered most in the company's decision to come to Montana.

4Cast specializes in decision-making software. They know what they're doing.

In their April 2018 announcement, 4Cast noted multiple public and private partners in Montana who played a key role in the site selection process.

“In our search for a U.S. base, we were particularly impressed with the enthusiasm, responsiveness and cooperation we received from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Montana World Trade Center and the Missoula Economic Partnership,” Titan said.

4Cast is not alone in their assessment of Montana's supportive business community.

According to the 2017 Kauffman report on Montana's entrepreneurial ecosystem, Montana boasts a robust network of individuals and organizations who work together to support companies. The study described connections among entrepreneurs and supporters "built out of open relationships with small degrees of separation."

Montana's ecosystem has won the hearts of other global tech firms searching for HQ2 or 3. In late 2017, venture-backed fitness technology company ClassPass announced that after reviewing 900 cities in the U.S., the firm would open its third North American office - after San Francisco and New York - in Missoula.

Brian Mitchell, head of talent acquisition for ClassPass told Martin Kidston of the Missoula Current in January, “The reason why we chose to come to Missoula was the support that we got before we got here."

ClassPass initially planned to hire 50 employees in Montana in 2018, but Mitchell said in a conversation this week the company now intends to hire 200 people by the end of the year.

As Mitchell said in his interview with Kidston, the support ClassPass received after they arrived in Montana "just underlined that we made the right decision."

According to state and local economic development officials, many more global tech firms have cities across Montana on their short list for new offices. The relationships Montanans are building today mean we will see more big announcements, more jobs, and an even stronger high-tech economy in the future.

Explore open Montana jobs in our latest issue of the jobs newsletter.

Member News:

Helix Acquires Accelas

Broader CX Capabilities now include Oracle Engagement Cloud and Sales Cloud

By Mitch Staley, Helix Business Solutionsq

Customer Experience leader, Helix Business Solutions, expands Service Cloud, Field Service Cloud, and Policy Automation offerings adding Engagement Cloud, Sales Cloud, Sales Performance Management, Marketing Cloud and Analytics Cloud.

Helix Business Solutions is proud to announce its acquisition of Accelas Solutions. Accelas is known for its innovative Oracle Sales Cloud and Oracle Engagement Cloud capabilities. With the merging of two great CX-focused organizations, Helix now offers a broader suite of Customer Experience consulting and professional services.

“The Helix promise is simple. Be the best at what we do,” said Kevin Sherwood, Helix CEO. “We deliver unparalleled innovation and speed to value to our customers. With the combined CX capabilities of Helix and Accelas now under one, seamless umbrella, Helix is the best suited partner to consult and lead the world’s top brands.”

Helix’s client portfolio represents the largest slice of Oracle Service Cloud customers of any other CX partner with over 1200 successful engagements. Adding Accelas’ Sales and Engagement Cloud experience, Helix leverages one of the deepest talent pools available to Oracle CX customers.

“Our combined team is now equipped unlike any other in today’s market,” said Ryon Brewer, Accelas CEO, now VP CX Sales & Engage at Helix. “Combining the industry’s top experts in cloud-based Customer Experience products creates the perfect knowledge blend to consult on and deliver game changing solutions.”

Read more on Helix's website.

Early Stage MT announces 6 regional finalists, plans statewide showcase Sept. 22 in Bozeman

Joel Martin, co-founder of Sellout, presents during a showcase of emerging technology businesses sponsored by Early Stage Montana, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Montana State University in Bozeman. Photo by Coryn Johnson via MSU News Service

After the completion of three regional competitions, Early Stage MT has announced the finalists who will participate in a weeklong hyper-accelerator in Bozeman in July. Business leaders will work with instructors and mentors to refine their business vision, strategies, plans, and presentation.

The finalists are:

Alosant, a lifestyle management platform connecting planned communities to residents;
Elation, which focuses on content and software tools to help reduce the epidemic of physician stress and burnout;
Elebase, a next-generation content management system for today's data-driven and geo-targeted content needs.
Sellout, a next-generation event ticketing software platform;
Superior Traffic Services, mobile construction site traffic management equipment connected by Wi-Fi, wireless and satellite to significantly improve safety and reduce costs;
WebBuy, which offers software that allows consumers to purchase a car online and complete the entire process from selection to financing in one place;

The showcase finals will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, at MSU’s Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. The event will be part of an all-day conference on accelerating the growth of the early-stage technology ecosystem in Montana.

Read the full article by Anne Cantrell, MSU News Service.

Prime Labs secures $225K NSF SBIR Phase 1 Grant

By Katy Spence

Missoula, Montana -- Biotech software company Prime Labs has secured phase 1 funding from the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant program for the development and rollout of its software-as-a-solution tool for mass spectrometry analytics.

Mass spectrometry is used to determine masses of components within a materials. It’s used in a number of fields, but perhaps most notably in healthcare, such as discovering and testing new pharmaceuticals.

The process outputs vast amounts of raw data, which must be carefully analyzed. Prime Labs Founder Rob Smith said current analytic software is limited, resulting in researchers spending ample amounts of time and money to get only a fraction of the data they could get with a better analytic tool.

“Scientists will spend up to 50% of their time just wrestling with software,” Smith said. “Our strategy is different. A part of our ethos as a company is to create software you don’t need to be trained to use. You can sit down and figure out how to work it.”

Prime Labs will provide solutions for time- and energy-intensive limitations of current analytic software, such as algorithmic limitations, data storage and retrieval constraints, and user interface problems.

Smith said the SBIR grant will help grow his small, but agile team. Once the tool completes beta tests and is introduced as a product, Smith anticipates that revenue and the size of his team will both double within a year. He said the tool will help make mass spectrometry more accessible to researchers around the world and provide more accurate analysis in a fraction of the time.

Visit the Prime Labs website for more information.

Montana High Tech Business Alliance, onX, Foundant Technologies, pulseCHECKER, Business for Montana’s Outdoors: Local high tech executives advocate for public lands, outdoor recreation (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

Montana High Tech Business Alliance, Business for Montana’s Outdoors: Outdoor Recreation Draws Tech Companies to Montana (Public News Service)

ATG: Firth’s take on tech: Technology consultants reduce risk as businesses adapt, grow (Missoula Current)

Blackfoot, Audience Awards: Up and running: Blackfoot’s innovation lab looks to shape Missoula’s technology future (Missoula Current)

SoFi: Designers at SoFi and Robinhood explain how they trick users into actually saving (and making) money (Business Insider)

Bridger Aerospace: DOI unveils first ever $17M contract option for UAS providers (UAS Magazine), Bridger Aerospace Group is launch customer for Viking CL-415EAF (SKIES)

Missoula Economic Partnership, Missoula airport: MEP sees healthy increase in companies looking to locate, expand to Missoula (Missoula Current)

Missoula airport: City preparing plans to annex Missoula airport, development park ahead of growth (Missoula Current)

Montana workforce: Montana unemployment dips to 4 percent; 3.1 in Missoula County (Missoula Current)

Welcome New Members:

DFman Enterprises LLC, Dallas Fischer, Bozeman

Kendah El-Ali, Kendah El-Ali, Bozeman

Robot Snacks, Jessica Baldwin, Billings

Upcoming Events:

2018 Montana Energy Summit Agenda - Billings. May 30-31. The Montana Energy Summit serves as an opportunity to bring the nation’s energy business leaders to Billings. The summit will highlight Montana’s growing energy sector, the jobs Montana energy will create and how to unlock Montana’s energy potential. The summit, co-sponsored by the Montana Chamber Foundation, will feature keynote speakers, including Northwestern Energy Pres. and CEO Bob Rowe. Find the agenda and registration on the event website.

Where Montana Technology Meets the Outdoors - Missoula. May 31, 9am-10:30am. Public Place, Missoula. Business for Montana’s Outdoors Presents a Series of Roundtables: Where Montana Technology Meets the Outdoors. Join us in May in Bozeman and Missoula for technology roundtables highlighting the impact of our booming tech sector, and how tech business leaders are weaving in the importance of our outdoors and lifestyle amenities into their business models and efforts to bring new jobs to Montana. Hear from a panel of technology entrepreneurs who champion the role of our public lands and recreation in their value proposition for the businesses they represent. Panelists to include LumenAd, onX Maps, SiteOne Therapeutics, Adelos, Wisetail, pulseChecker, Next Frontier Capital, MT High Tech Business Alliance, and more. Learn more and register.

Big Sky Code Academy Full and Part Time Classes - Billings, Bozeman, Missoula. Learn Full Stack JavaScript and become a Web Developer in just 12 Weeks! In person and online options. Scholarships Available. Accept GI Bill for tuition payment. Job Offer Guarantee. Full-time classes start June 4 and Sept. 17. Part-time courses start June 9 and Oct. 1. Learn more and register here.

1 Million Cups Monthly - Bozeman. June 6. Meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 am at Red Tractor Pizza, Bozeman. Creating conversation around Bozeman startups, business development, and economic growth in the most entrepreneurial state in the nation (plus, coffee). For more information and application to present, visit the website.

1 Million Cups Bi-Weekly Meeting - Missoula. June 6. Meets the first and third Wednesday each month at 9:00 am at The Loft, Missoula. 1 Hour Free Parking across the street in the city parking garage. Start your morning with coffee and start your business with 1MC Missoula, a place to percolate your startup. Entrepreneurship runs through it. For more information visit the website or Facebook page.

Mentor's Guide to Coaching - statewide. June 6, noon -1 pm. This webinar presented by Associated Employers will discuss types of mentoring, benefits of mentoring, goals & objectives, and more. Email reg@aehr.org, call 406-248-6178, or register online.

Hellgate Venture Network meeting - Missoula. June 7, 4:30pm, location TBD. HVN facilitates informal networking among entrepreneurs and advisers engaged in building growth businesses in Montana. Future meetings will be held on July 12, August 16, September 13, October 18, November 8, and December 13. Learn more on the HVN Facebook page.

Big Sky Dev Con - Bozeman. June 9, The Commons, Bozeman. A Montana state-wide tech conference for developers hosted by Montana Programmers. Information about speakers and registration are now available on the event website.

AudFest 2018 - Los Angeles. June 14-17, 2018, in Downtown LA at LA Live, Regal Cinemas, hosted by Audience Awards. Three exciting headline red carpet events this year: Dr. Sylvia Earle's Ocean Film Challenge on Thursday, April Reign's Race to Justice on Friday, and Women's Film Challenge on Saturday. Learn more about attending or entering open contests.

1 Million Cups Bi-Weekly Meeting - Missoula. June 20. Meets the first and third Wednesday each month at 9:00 am at The Loft, Missoula. 1 Hour Free Parking across the street in the city parking garage. Start your morning with coffee and start your business with 1MC Missoula, a place to percolate your startup. Entrepreneurship runs through it. For more information visit the website or Facebook page.

How to Build an IT Security Culture - statewide. June 20, noon -1 pm. This webinar presented by Associated Employers will discuss security awareness, creating a security culture, and more. Email reg@aehr.org, call 406-248-6178, or register online.

The Future of Technology, Industry, and Economy: Embrace the Future! - Bozeman. June 20, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm. Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture, 111 South Grand Avenue, Bozeman. The featured presentation is by Stephen Ezell, Vice President, Global Innovation Policy, Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Lunch provided by Kick Back BBQ. Learn more and register by June 13.

Mile High Innovation Network meeting - Butte. June 21, 4:30 - 6 pm. 65 E Broadway, Thornton Building, Fifth Floor. The Mile High Innovation Network facilitates informal networking opportunities— both online and in-person— among entrepreneurs and community leaders engaged in building growth businesses in Butte and Southwestern Montana. See more information.

Montana High Tech Business Alliance Reception - Bozeman. July 5, 2018, hosted by Greg and Susan Gianforte.

Conflict Management: Handling Difficult Behaviors - statewide. July 11, noon -1 pm. This webinar presented by Associated Employers will discuss conflict overview, coping techniques, behavior patterns of difficult people, and more. Email reg@aehr.org, call 406-248-6178, or register online.

Big Sky Dreamin' Salesforce Conference - Bozeman. July 19 - 20. Big Sky Dreamin' is in its inaugural year and will be hosted at the Rialto in downtown Bozeman, Montana. They are looking for presenters on topics that will grab the attention of novice and experienced members of the Salesforce Ohana. Call for papers and early bird registration closes April 30, 2018. Learn more.

2018 Economic Update Series, Make Montana Home - Enticing Entrepreneurs - Statewide. August 2 in Kalispell, August 6 in Glasgow, August 6 in Sidney, August 7 in Billings, August 7 in Bozeman, August 7 in Butte, August 8 in Helena, August 8 in Great Falls, August 9 in Missoula. ‘Montana University’ of the Montana Chamber Foundation invites you to participate in the 13th Annual Economic Update Series. This annual series provides brief mid-year updates and economic projections for local, state, and national economies. The series takes place in nine locations across the state, with additional stops in Glasgow and Sidney being added this year. The State of Entrepreneurship study will be released in conjunction with the series. Additionally, a panel of local entrepreneurs will participate, providing reactions to Patrick Barkey’s (Bureau of Business & Economic Research, University of Montana) economic projections and thoughts on entrepreneurs can succeed in Montana.Learn more and register.

Wage & Hour Part I: Exempt Employees - statewide. August 8, noon -1 pm. This webinar presented by Associated Employers will define exempt employees, discuss the importance of job descriptions in determining exempt status, and more. Email reg@aehr.org, call 406-248-6178, or register online.

Wage & Hour Part II: Non-exempt Employees - statewide. August 22, noon -1 pm. This webinar presented by Associated Employers will define non-exempt employees, discuss the definition of a work wee, properly determining and paying overtime, and more. Email reg@aehr.org, call 406-248-6178, or register online.

Early Stage MT statewide showcase - Bozeman. September 22, Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman. From each regional ESMT competition, two finalists were selected to advance to the Statewide showcase taking place on September 22, 2018 in Bozeman. There, competitors will have the opportunity to pitch their business to dozens of investors, mentors, and members of the Montana business community and possibly win your share of up to $50,000 in investment capital. Learn more here.

Past Newsletters:

05/17/2018 - Kalispell's PROOF Research achieves 1,000 percent growth; Zoot earns Gold & Silver Stevie Awards; MPP receives $210K grant to create 31 jobs in Butte

05/03/2018 - Diamond B Technology Solutions hosts 60 tech leaders at Billings member reception; Tester visits with Missoula companies; TECNA CEO retreat; YE in MT

04/19/2018 - PFL secures $25M from Goldman Sachs; Invest in Montana tour shares funding info; Blackfoot launches C2M Innovation Lab; MercuryCSC acquired by NY firm

04/05/2018 - 12 Montana High-Growth Companies to Watch 2018; Project management best practices; RMB hosts open house; Next Frontier Capital opens Missoula office

Click to view more past newsletters.

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Montana High Tech Business Alliance

1121 E Broadway St, Suite 108

Missoula, MT 59802

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Montana High Tech Business Alliance · 1121 E Broadway St, Suite 108 · Missoula, MT 59802 · USA