New resources support entrepreneurship community at Montana State

BOZEMAN - When Montana State University nursing professor Elizabeth Johnson was seeking support to commercialize her business idea, she didn't need to look far. In fact, she didn't even need to leave campus.

In 2022, Johnson connected with the MSU Launchpad to fine-tune her invention: a wearable medical device called TrialWear. The device seeks to improve communication of complex care details between clinician teams caring for clinical trial patients and patients transferred between hospitals.

The Launchpad helped Johnson with several aspects of realizing her idea, including helping identify a market and recommending graphic designers to refine the brand. She is working to commercialize the TrialWear device and began partnering with hospitals last year, now expanding to global markets.

Started in 2013, the Launchpad has helped hundreds of MSU faculty, students and alumni turn their entrepreneurial concepts into reality, providing guidance, technical support and funding. Its annual competitions - the Big Idea Challenge in the fall and the $100K Venture Competition in the spring - have awarded funds to more than 100 student, faculty and alumni teams to support new ventures and business ideas, said Trevor Huffmaster, director of the MSU Launchpad.

The resource is housed in MSU's Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship but is available to support people across all fields of study.

"The Launchpad has coached thousands of students, faculty and alumni, helping create hundreds of new businesses and jobs in Montana," Huffmaster said. "In total, our work has seen a substantial return on the Launchpad's initial investment, and going forward, we are set up for an even greater impact."

The Launchpad's work is further complemented by two other resources also available to all majors: the Jabs Entrepreneurship Center and the new Sustainable Enterprises Initiative, which leaders are excited to expand in collaboration with the Launchpad.

Huffmaster said that it's never too early for people with an idea to come to the Launchpad, and it's complementary to have other resources supporting people in the earlier stages of idea development.

"We know people seek different tools and insights depending on where they are in the entrepreneurial process," said Brian Gillespie, dean of the business college. "While our entrepreneurship minor and business curriculum prepare our students well, it's important to support students and faculty in other disciplines who also have great perspectives and ideas."

Indeed, the efforts dovetail with a $6 million grant awarded to MSU in 2024 by the National Science Foundation to accelerate getting critical university research into society, such as Johnson's TrialWear device. Huffmaster, who is a co-principal investigator on the grant, said growing MSU's entrepreneurship ecosystem will advance those efforts.

Matt Barlow, assistant professor of management, took lead of the Jabs Entrepreneurship Center last fall. In his work so far, Barlow has found that many MSU students are seeking entrepreneurship advice without wanting to commit to the entrepreneurship minor offered in the business college.

Additionally, faculty are interested in more support. Having entrepreneurial faculty benefits MSU by involving students in real-world applications of academia, Barlow said, while also helping the university boost its reputation and appeal to outside funders.

One element of the center will involve supporting academic research surrounding entrepreneurship, he said, which poses questions such as how demographics and geography impact entrepreneurship, and how businesses successfully overcome failure.

He also plans to work with Coursera, an educational platform for online learning, to develop micro-credentials and short courses for people seeking assistance. That way there will be accessible, standard training available to all majors while keeping the advising load manageable for Barlow.

Also new this year is the Sustainable Enterprises Initiative, which will support businesses focused on social and environmental well-being.

The goal is for the business college to become more active in the space of sustainable entrepreneurship, said Brooke Lahneman, assistant professor of management who is heading the initiative. She hopes it becomes the go-to resource for students, faculty or community members seeking guidance or connection with existing sustainable businesses, often delineated with a B Corps certification.

In previous years, Jabs has hosted a panel of local B Corps business executives who come to campus, representing companies such as Oboz, Onsite Energy and Profitable Ideas Exchange.

There are multiple benefits of sustainable businesses and companies that have earned certified B corps status, Lahneman said. For one, B corps businesses often attract and retain employees better than conventional businesses due to a focus on positive workplace culture. Additionally, taking a long-term perspective for sustainability can better prepare a company to predict future challenges and risks.

These kinds of conversations were already happening at MSU. But the SEI will now serve as a formal organizer of them and point of contact for local businesses.

"Ultimately our goal is to create more synergy between these resources," Lahneman said. "We are proud for Jabs to house these resources that will help people realize their ideas no matter their starting place, timeline or academic interest."

To reach the Launchpad, email: [email protected]

To reach Jabs Entrepreneurship Center, email: [email protected]

To reach the Sustainable Enterprises Initiative, email: [email protected]