MONTHLY CHANCE MEETINGS
DECEMBER 2, 2019 - 6-9 pm
@ The National Museum of Wildlife Art (2820 Rungius Rd)
Silicon Couloir + Mix'd Media
Holiday Party!
Silicon Couloir and The National Museum of Wildlife Art are teaming up again this year for the December Mix'd Media and our annual Holiday Party with the theme "The Art of Entrepreneurship."
Local entrepreneurs will have interactive displays to highlight the creativity of entrepreneurship, including Powwater, Mountainist, DMOS Collective, Avalon 7, Franco Snowshapes, High Point Cider, and MusicLessons.com.
Open to everyone, with complimentary food and drink all from 6-9 pm at the
National Museum of Wildlife Art!
Music by DJ Vale.
Wine tasting by First Republic Bank.
We hope to see you there in holiday spirits!
A Note from the Executive Director
Dear Friends of Silicon Couloir –
It’s been about 8 months now since I took over the reins here at Silicon Couloir. I am blown away every day by the energy surrounding our organization – internally with our board and staff, and externally with everyone in our ecosystem – entrepreneurs, mentors, ventures, volunteers and others. Our little corner of the world certainly punches above its weight when it comes to start-up activity and innovation!
Many of you know me and know that I am always trying to “make a difference” – as former Chair of the School Board, as former COO of the hospital, as ED of our local youth lacrosse club, and, of course, as a candidate for higher political office. Silicon Couloir is somewhat uniquely positioned as a non-profit in the entrepreneurial for-profit space to do just that, as set forth in our Mission Statement: “Silicon Couloir seeks to align entrepreneurship with community vision to promote a diverse economy and healthy environment for current and future generations.”
In my time at the helm, one thing has stuck out to me. While the programs we offer are incredible for entrepreneurs – Start-up Intensive, Chance Meetings, TEAMS Mentor program, the Cowork Space, Angel Investor Group, they are programs that could be, and are, offered in “Anytown, USA”. There is no programmatic connection between our mission statement and the environment of our unique and special region. To that end, we recently held a strategic board retreat to better define Silicon Couloir’s vision of our community going forward, and how our organization, the programs we offer and the people/ventures in our ecosystem can materially impact the pursuit of our mission.
You’ll be hearing more about this as we settle on concrete decisions in this regard in the very near future. I, the staff and our board are excited to refocus our efforts towards contributing even more to Jackson Hole and the surrounding WYIDaho region, and especially to ensuring our programs have a positive impact on ensuring we do our part to keep the special attributes that drew most of us to this one-of-a-kind place.
I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.
Yours in service,
Gary Trauner, Executive Director
Start the New Year Rested
Instead of burning the candle at both ends, find out why prioritizing your sleep will help you be more successful in your business. In this lunch and learn, I'll be going beyond basic sleep hygiene tips and getting into the nitty-gritty science of why you wake up in the night and have a hard time going back to sleep. If you haven't been able to get a good night's sleep for a long time (even decades), you'll learn why and, more importantly, what you can do to fix it.
TEAMS Update—Mentors Needed!
Our highly successful TEAMS mentoring program continues to grow by leaps and bounds with a 50% increase since our pilot program. We now have 16 active companies in this ongoing mentoring program, modeled off the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Venture Mentor Service. One of our newest companies is Powwater, overall winner of Pitch Day and recipient of the Bob Arndt Community Caretaker Award.
With several new companies ready to enter the program, we are eagerly looking for additional mentors to join the group. This is a great opportunity to use your business expertise to give back to local entrepreneurs, while connecting to an engaging network of dynamic locals. If you or someone you know would be a good fit, please learn more at www.siliconcouloir.com/teams-mentoring.
HAVE NEWS
TO SHARE?
As always, please feel free to send news of your company's press, events, successes, and milestones to Gary@siliconcouloir.com and we'll do our best to feature them in our newsletters!
ARE YOU A COMMUNITY CARETAKER?
Silicon Couloir strengthens our Teton regional community by empowering the entrepreneurial ecosystem. More than just business development, we believe in enriching our community character and enhancing our mountain town culture. Help us support business pioneers in the Tetons by becoming a community caretaker!
To offer your time or talent, please email us at Gary@siliconcouloir.com.