By COLIN STONER
Entrepreneurs are big dreamers, but there is a fine line between that dream and the realities of business.
That’s where IdeaMensch comes in. The mission of IdeaMensch is to help people make those entrepreneurial dreams a reality.
On July 13, they will be in Missoula (at the Missoula Winery, no less) to help bring your idea to life.
Mario Schulzke, head Mensch, is a 2002 graduate from the University of Montana. He had spent the last ten working years working in advertising “selling people crap they don’t need”, and it was time for a change.
Enter IM48: A Road Trip for People With Ideas. With 48 states, 50 cities, 4 months, and 1 Honda Element, Mario hopes to help inspire entrepreneurs all across the US.
IM48 kicks off July 3 in Los Angeles, and will make its way up the Pacific coast en route to Missoula, stop number five out of 50.
Each event features a variety of speakers, all discussing how they brought an idea to life and what you can learn from it. The 20-minute speeches are followed by an additional time for questions. Networking time bookends the speakers, and you can bet the Missoula Winery will “enable” your networking and get your Friday off to a nice start.
Featured Missoula speakers are: Bjorn Nabozney and Neal Leathers of BigSky Brewing, acclaimed UM professor Jakki Mohr, Jesse Lakes of GeoRiot, and Missoula internet entrepreneur Chris Yates. All five speakers are well accomplished in their own fields, and have been through many trials bringing their own ideas to life.
I anticipate this being a well-attended event, and would urge any entrepreneurs looking for a little inspiration to attend, no matter what your business focus is.
As I’ve touted before, Missoula’s startup scene seems to be heating up, as much of the recent news regarding Submittable would support, and events like these only help build more momentum locally. Early bird (aka discounted) tickets are on sale through July 10 – save $5 with coupon IM48. And keep your eye on Make it Missoula, as I’ll be writing about IM48 as IdeaMensch events unfold.
So, all you Missoula entrepreneurs, be a mensch and bring your ideas to life!
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For more Rocky Mountain High Tech, check out Colin’s other posts: Advancing Beyond the Missoula Lifestyle Business, The Dreaded “C” Word: Cloud, and After the IPO, Facebook Has No Friends.
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Colin Stoner is a Missoula IT consultant and entrepreneur. He has worked in almsot every aspect of IT, and loves most of them that don’t involve Microsoft. He is a Linux nut, a Python hack, and a lover of the cloud. When not stuck behind a monitor wall, you can find him enjoying a beer at one of our many breweries, skiing anywhere but Snowbowl, or playing handball at the Peak.