Kickstand Blog

July Monthly Meeting
What:  'Meet Boise' Scavenger Hunt
When: Thursday, July 8, 2010 @ 5:30-7:30pm
Where: Starts at  The WaterCooler
Last chance to RSVP
KICKSTAND MEMBERS MAY BRING ONE GUEST FOR FREE
You spend lots of time focused on putting your best foot forward, whether to new hires, investors, strategic partners or potential customers. The perfect pitch, the ultimate sales deck, the polished presentation. What about the rest? As businesses grow, it is very likely that customers, vendors, investors, or partners will come into town for meetings, sales pitches and otherwise. So what next?

When visitors come to town, what do you do with them?
Where do you take them for lunch, dinner or after-hours entertainment?
Where do you recommend they stay?

No matter what business you are in, or hoping to be in, you are also in the entertainment business.  Join us for an entertaining and interactive July Kickstand meeting - the 'Meet Boise' Scavenger Hunt - designed to get members out and about to find new locales and share their favorite spots with each other. Oh, and have fun and win prizes along the way!


INNOVATION IN THE NEWS

A Unified Statewide Voice for Technology
The boards of directors of the Idaho Technology Council and the Idaho Software Employers Alliance (ISEA) announced that the software employers’ organization has merged with the ITC in a move to unify the voice for technology in Idaho and the region. Effective with this merger, the Idaho Technology Council has established a software working group, called the Idaho Software Alliance, to strengthen the software community statewide. Key ITC members Keynetics, Balihoo, A-T Solutions, Unity Medical Group and WhiteCloud Analytics will join with Microsoft, Healthwise, Clearwater Analytics and other companies that previously were members of ISEA to assume responsibility for fostering leadership recruitment, workforce development and growth among Idaho software developers.

Boise's Biomark Makes Inc. Magazine's Top 2010 Small Company Workplaces
Because Biomark believes cross-training and variety make for higher job satisfaction, all employees have the opportunity to do fieldwork and get their hands dirty tagging fish and animals. Staff members from the CEO to the customer service reps tag salmon with the staff biologists. When choosing his new company headquarters, CEO Dean Park passed on cheaper options and chose a location to minimize commuting time (and maximize the number of employees able to bike to work).

Idaho Statesman: Sun Shines on Micron Green Energy Venture
The partnership could soon be making ultra-thin solar panels in the Valley and help jumpstart an industry cluster. Transform Solar, formed in February by Micron Technology and Australia's Origin Energy, says it will introduce its unique Sliver solar cells to the market "in a limited and strategic way" in 2011.

Balihoo Wins Red Herring 100 North America Award
Boise's Balihoo is a winner of the prestigious Red Herring 100 North America Award. Following a thorough analysis of hundreds of cutting edge companies and technologies and based on Balihoo's potential for explosive growth, the Red Herring editorial team chose Balihoo as one of its award recipients. Each year the Red Herring 100 North America award identifies the most promising private technology ventures from around the world, including past award winners such as Google, Yahoo!, Skype, Salesforce.com, and YouTube.

EVENTS OF NOTE
TechBoise moves to a new day
July 7 (tonight!) marks TechBoise's switch to having monthly meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. Stop by the Watercooler tonight at 5:30 to learn more about the group's new website & new focus.

Girls in Tech Boise moves to a new day
Making the first Wednesday & Thursday the nexus of all things tech and innovative in Boise, Girls in Tech is moving its meeting day to the lunch hour of the first Wednesday of the month. Their next meeting is Wednesday, August 7 from 12-1pm.

BYP Lounging Series with 'The Gang'
“The Gang” is a group of eight high performing, highly creative organizations based in Boise.  They range from the Boise State Football program to Healthwise, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office and ProClarity/Microsoft, as well as The Gang members lounging with you.  The leaders and members of these creative and successful organizations hold an annual Gang Meeting and the leaders meet periodically during the year to discuss “messy problems” they face. Hear from a few members of the Gang on July 27 at 5:30.

Space Days 2010 - Women in Space
A fantastic lineup of speakers and interactive exhibits for the whole family from August 2-6 at the Discovery Center of Idaho.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
Special thanks to our loyal sponsors whose participation enables up to keep growing Kickstand and providing you with opportunities to network, learn and grow.

Platinum Sponsor Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm offering a full spectrum of legal services. With more than 650 lawyers in 14 offices across the United States and in China, the firm serves great companies ranging in size from start-ups to FORTUNE 100. Many of the firm's clients are leaders in traditional industries and emerging technology markets.

Have innovation in the news to share? Events that would be of interest to the Kickstand membership? Email them to jflynn@kickstand.org by the end of the month.