Looking For Entrepreneurial Resources? Try Jackson Hole
Quick, what’s the nation’s top mecca for entrepreneurial training and talent? Before reading this headline, I’m betting you wouldn’t have said Jackson Hole. Nor would I before talking to Liza Millet, a former Wall Street investor, entrepreneur and co-founder of Silicon Couloir, a non-profit organization in Teton County for the advancement of entrepreneurs.
I met Millet, a consummate lover of sports (she played four years of Division 1 ice hockey for Dartmouth, I learned) last September at a Summit event for the Hero Partners, where she presented on funding strategies for entrepreneurs.
At the event and afterwards she told me about the growing migration of talent to Jackson, and what it means to aspiring entrepreneurs. In a nutshell, as leaders achieve lucrative exits or reach retirement, they are no longer required to live in the nation’s high metropolis districts. Free to live wherever they please, many are choosing Jackson as a prime location for fishing, skiing, rafting and riding and a myriad of art and culture events.
Michael Dowda, Facilities Director for the Center for the Arts, Jackson Hole, entrepreneur Liza Millet, and daughter and future entrepreneur Zizi (nearly 4). (Image courtesy of Liza Millet)
By their nature, however, entrepreneurial icons rarely sit still. They often divert their business attention to angel investing, mentoring and teaching future entrepreneurs.
Millet is one of them, and is heavily involved in coalescing the area’s rich business resources toward programs to benefit the next era of entrepreneurs. As a case in point, she’s joined with former Bostonian Sandy Hessler, a former Assistant Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, to create the Start Up Institute, providing a focused training program for entrepreneurs in cooperation with Central Wyoming College.
Start Up Institute Co-Founder Sandy Hessler was formerly Assistant Dean of the Harvard Kennedy School and a serial entrepreneur. (Image courtesy of SiliconCouloir.com)
Participants gear up for a 10-week 200-hour program that meets 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to accomplish MBA- and MFA-level projects related to the ins and outs of owning and running a business. Most days include live presentations from world-class entrepreneurs who’ve already experienced great successes or who have valuable information and experience to add. Members also learn from each other, getting candid about what they’re good at and the realities of business they hate.
