CALLING ALL TRAILBLAZERS

The Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC) in conjunction with our Partners Helena SCORE, Helena Chamber, Job Service, are updating the Helena region’s Economic Development Strategy.  This is the third update of this comprehensive document.  Many of the traditional economic drivers are continuing to prosper, but over the last few years the region has experienced several changes, including the emergence of new markets and exciting opportunities.  This includes an emergence in the Fintech and shared workshare arena.

As a part of this update, current and aspiring entrepreneurs are asked to join us for an event featuring Dustin and Megan McKissen. Dustin is a writer for VentureBeat, Inc., CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, and several other national and regional entrepreneurship and innovation focused publications. He is also a two-time LinkedIn Top Voice, and the Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Marketing for the St. Charles County (Missouri) Economic Development Council. Megan McKissen is the Director of OPO Startups, a nationally recognized and award-winning coworking space in St. Charles, Missouri. Megan has overseen the growth of OPO Startups from its founding to its current existence as a coworking space that houses more than 60 startups.

On Monday, January 29^th we are inviting entrepreneurs, tech leaders, and anyone in the region who wants to see a strong local startup scene join us for a “Creativity Crawl” through the hot spots of Helena including The Shop, The Hub, The SideCar and ending at The Placer.  The crawl will start at 2 downstairs at 614 N. Last Chance Gulch (The Shop).  We will be moving to the next spot every 45 minutes ending at The Placer.

Tuesday January 30^th Megan and Dustin will speak at the MBAC annual gathering (5:30) held at Helena College Airport campus to discuss their observations of Helena and their experiences developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem in a smaller metropolitan areas.

We look forward to seeing you there, and if you have any questions regarding the event, please contact Brian Obert 406.465.0619 [email protected] or Rebekah Dupre 406.447.1512 [email protected] or look for more details on our Facebook page.

Sponsored in part by Edge Marketing + Design and the Helena Chamber of Commerce.