High-tech startups taking root in Eastern Idaho

Two local entrepreneurs showed it’s possible for Idahoans to make high-tech products in their own homes during a seminar at the Idaho Department of Labor offices in Pocatello.

Mark Jaster and Kyle Rawson, founders of PrintSpace and Syphon, respectively, both started their companies with an idea. For Jaster, it was to create a 3D printer that could fit on his desk. Rawson was looking for a comfortable way to listen to music while snowboarding.

Both shared their backgrounds, how they got their idea and how they turned them into a product ready to sell. Their biggest advice was to focus.

“Have a solid vision and a goal,” said Jaster. “Once you set out on that, focus on it.”

Regional economist Dan Cravens says Eastern Idaho has a lot of resources for these types of businesses to prosper. Computer science and other related programs at Brigham Young University-Idaho and Idaho State University, along with the Idaho National Laboratory, are all in the region. He says people just don’t know how to use them to market a product.

“They just don’t realize that this day they have potential if they so desire,” Cravens said. “There is opportunity here to start one’s business, to market and sell a product globally, right here from Eastern Idaho using the resources that are here.”

That’s exactly why entrepreneur David Robles went to the seminar. He said, “All of us have ideas that are really good ideas. The problem is we don’t really know what the steps are to get that off the ground and to get a project that you can sell.”

Another point stressed was networking. Both Jaster and Rawson talked about the collaboration needed when creating their startups.

“If you have a good idea, and then you can work with the right people; the right resources and people will come to you,” said Jaster.

Officials from the Small Business Administration also were at the seminar to go over resources for funding. The Kauffman Foundation, a resource for business and entrepreneurship data, says high-tech startups are now opening at a higher rate than private sector businesses.