Education

Expert to speak on how to succeed as an entrepreneur

Posted: Oct 11, 2012 6:19 PM by Jamie Leary

Despite the tough economy, M-S-U is encouraging students to follow their dreams and showing them it doesn't always take capitol to make it happen.

"The basic message for the next generation of entrepreneurs that I hope are gonna build here is that it's easy to start a new business because the capitol requirements are very low if you choose the type of business carefully... in fact capitol requirements are lower than ever," said founder of White Space Strategy Greg Ruff.

Ruff is a Big Sky resident. He has helped businesses in Gallatin Valley as well a some bigger names- American Express, IBM, HP, Adobe, Oracle and Apple.

Ruff will serve as the Montana State University College of Business's fall Entrepreneur-in-Residence and give a free public lecture at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in Reid Hall 108.

His lecture, "Heartland Entrepreneuring: How to Start and Grow Businesses in America's Heartland," will include answers to questions about starting and building new businesses outside of metropolitan areas of the United States. Those questions include "Why start a business now? Why here? What do new businesses mean for the Montana economy and for me? Is there a real opportunity outside Silicon Valley? How do I grow my current business today?"

As Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the week of Oct. 15-19, Ruff will also visit business classes throughout the week and meet with students in the entrepreneurship program.

For more information on the lecture or the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, contact Scott Bryant at bryant@montana.edu or 406-994-6191.