{"id":12527,"date":"2016-06-06T07:17:53","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T13:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=12527"},"modified":"2016-06-26T22:38:42","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T04:38:42","slug":"montana-ethic-project-how-to-nurture-entrepreneurship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2016\/06\/montana-ethic-project-how-to-nurture-entrepreneurship\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Ethic Project: How to nurture entrepreneurship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Solon\"<\/a>

Joey and Libbie Early<\/p>

Mark Solon, Highway 12 Ventures managing partner, talks about the merits of entrepreneurship in the Rocky Mountains.<\/p><\/div>\n

This is the 14th\u00a0chapter of the 32-part video series \u201cThe Montana Ethic Project.\u201d This chapter features Mark Solon, managing partner of Highway 12 Ventures, speaking on \u201cCreating an Intermountain West Startup Economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can watch the whole video below. Here is how it begins:<\/p>\n

“My life\u2019s work is spending time with entrepreneurs and startups in the Rockies: Boise, Salt Lake City,\u00a0Bozeman, Helena, Boulder, Denver and a handful of others.<\/p>\n

“My partners and I have invested and helped fund over 30 startups in the region over the last 10 years.\u00a0We\u2019ve spent time with thousands of entrepreneurs. I\u2019ve had a front-row seat to the ongoing\u00a0transformation in this region from an agrarian and natural resource based economy to the inevitable\u00a0future of a knowledge based economy.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s going to happen whether you like it or not.”<\/p>\n

Here is another, edited excerpt from Beltrone\u2019s presentation<\/em>:<\/p>\n

“So what about the 20-somethings in Montana, or Idaho, who are thinking about their career and\u00a0what they are going to do next?<\/p>\n

“Whatever you do, don\u2019t get a job, start a company.<\/p>\n

“Start a tiny company. Start a doughnut shop or start a local blog about the fly-fishing holes you\u2019re fond of,\u00a0or open up a ski rental shop. I guarantee you, you\u2019ll thank me. You\u2019ll learn more than getting a job. You\u2019ll\u00a0probably make more money than getting a job. And you\u2019ll certainly have a lot more fun. And you\u2019ll learn\u00a0more in your failures than you will in your successes.<\/p>\n

“During the failures is when you learn the lessons that will make your next startup successful.<\/p>\n

“There are no excuses. It\u2019s easier than ever for someone to start a company. Even if you don\u2019t know how\u00a0to code, it\u2019s easy to learn. Pick up a book and pretty soon you\u2019re building yourself a website. There\u2019s not\u00a0a lot of risk in starting a business today. And really, is there anything like job security anymore? There is\u00a0no such thing as a golden parachute, or job loyalty, or the gold watch after 20 years on the assembly\u00a0line.<\/p>\n

“If you\u2019re bright, you can start a company.”<\/p>\n