A new economic engine at Idaho State University is driving up business in Eastern Idaho and giving students hands on experience. Over the past couple of years the Entrepreneurial Center has shaped the future of the Gem State and continues to make an economic impact.

The program is a collaboration between business students at ISU and Brigham Young University-Idaho. These students are matched up with a local business and provide professional consulting services.

RFinity - Mobile Open-Encryption Platform: An innovation that offers a low-cost, plug-n-play option that enables virtually any wireless telecommunications device to safely store sensitive personal information and perform secure transactions. INL researchers include Steven McCown, Aaron Turner, Kurt Derr, Kenneth Rohde and Troy Moore. McCown and Turner have formed a company called RFinity of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and licensed the technology for commercialization.

Precision Nanoparticles: A revolutionary technology that efficiently produces nanoparticles in uniform and prescribed sizes (1-100 nanometers) using supercritical fluids. INL researcher Robert Fox was joined by Idaho State University researchers Rene Rodriguez and Joshua Pak in developing the technology. It has been licensed to Precision Nanoparticles, Inc., of Seattle, Wash.

The Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center officially launched the Idaho State University extension on Thursday, April 30. The E Center introduced the model to ISU in late 2008. The first group of interns were then selected for the spring semester of 2009.

ISU has joined BYU-Idaho in the Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center. The program sends business students to local companies to help with a variety of projects.

The E Center was established in the fall of 2006 as a non-profit organization seeking to build the Idaho economy by assisting entrepreneurs to build and maintain successful businesses. The E Center serves the 18 county region of: Madison, Jefferson, Fremont, Teton, Clark, Butte, Bonneville, Lemhi, Custer, Madison (MT), Teton (WY), Bingham, Caribou, Bannock, Bear Lake, Franklin, Power, and Oneida.

To better serve community members in these counties, the E Center, along with Dick Gardner, have established a Community Outreach Program. The first phase of this program involves workshops designed to educate local entrepreneurs on the importance of their role in the economic growth of their area. During these workshops, the E Center will meet with attending entrepreneurs who are interested in receiving consultation services from the E Center.

The E Center will be able to identify entrepreneurs and businesses to consult and provide those services between September and December, 2008. This will be the beginning of what the E Center plans to be ongoing involvement in all of the counties they serve.

Roberts, ID – A training and consultation workshop will be held at the Roberts City Hall Mustang Events Center from 3:00 – 6:30 pm on Friday, April 25, 2008. This workshop is targeting community members throughout the Madison and Gallatin, Montana and Fremont, Idaho counties.

The E Center was established in the fall of 2006 as a non-profit organization seeking to build the Idaho economy by assisting entrepreneurs to build and maintain successful businesses. The E Center serves the 18 county region of: Madison, Jefferson, Fremont, Teton, Clark, Butte, Bonneville, Lemhi, Custer, Madison (MT), Teton (WY), Bingham, Caribou, Bannock, Bear Lake, Franklin, Power, and Oneida.

To better serve community members in these counties, the E Center, along with Dick Gardner, have established a Community Outreach Program. The first phase of this program involves workshops designed to educate local entrepreneurs on the importance of their role in the economic growth of their area. During these workshops, the E Center will meet with attending entrepreneurs who are interested in receiving consultation services from the E Center.

The E Center will be able to identify entrepreneurs and businesses to consult and provide those services between May and July, 2008. This will be the beginning of what the E Center plans to be ongoing involvement in all of the counties they serve.

The Economic Development Administration of the United States Department of Commerce has awarded a $250,000 grant to East Central Idaho Planning and Development Association, doing business as The Development Company. This grant, along with the required matching funds, will help facilitate the continuing efforts of the Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center (E Center). The E Center will use the funds to provide a variety of business assistance programs and will facilitate all of Eastern Idaho.

BYU-Idaho Department of Business professors recognized the need for a local entrepreneurial center to provide students with opportunities to help businesses in a real-world setting. Under the direction of Robert Pothier, Managing Director of the E Center, this concept was brought to realization. The E Center model called for the establishment of partnerships with local and regional economic development organizations, the Idaho National Laboratory, other local colleges and universities, plus ties to venture and other funding. Some of the local economic development partner organizations include: The Development Company, The Regional Development Alliance, Southeast Idaho Council of Governments, Madison Economic Development Partners, and The Small Business Development Center. It has and will continue to introduce entrepreneurs and small businesses to venture funding groups such as Epic Ventures out of Utah and Idaho and Highway Twelve out of Idaho. These partnerships have been instrumental in establishing the E Center's successful model.

With this strong partnership base and with political and local community leaders' support, the E Center has had a very successful 18-month existence. An additional grant of $120,000 was awarded by Rural Development to provide an outreach effort introducing the Entrepreneurial Center and the concept of entrepreneurs to the communities of Southeastern Idaho.

The E Center has been assisted with its operations and office location by The Development Company which currently houses the E-Center at its business office at 299 East 4th North in Rexburg. The State of Idaho Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Agriculture- Rural Development awarded grants to The Development Company totaling $111,000. This money was awarded to establish the E Center's organizational documents along with remodeling The Development Company's Business Development Center located at 310 North 2nd East, Rexburg. Once the remodeling is completed, the Business Development Center will provide new office space for Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center. The remodeling is under way and should be completed by the end of July.

With the entrepreneurial center concept established in Rexburg and the partnerships that have been created, this effort will continue and remain a strong economic development enterprise for Eastern Idaho. Entrepreneurs and businesses will benefit from this innovative effort with technical, managerial, communication, marketing, and new media skills. It will provide students with opportunities to enhance their educational experience. Our communities will be reinforced with stronger businesses and job retention and creation opportunities, thus building the economy of Idaho well into the future.

For more information you may call The Development Company at (208) 356-4524 or call the E Center at 356-5009 extension 401.