TECNA NOTES

TECNA Member Spotlight - April 2014

Loren Spoklie, Technology Communication Specialist, Utah Technology Council (UTC)

Bio: Loren Spoklie has been Utah Technology Council’s Technology Communications Specialist since February of 2011.   In this role, he manages UTC’s technology needs, which include: website design and content, database management, event marketing and emails, project management and local support for UTC staff.

Loren has over 12 years of technology and sales experience gained from working with companies such as Qwest, Verizon Wireless and Tektronix.  Loren has studied many computer languages and enjoys dabbling in new technologies.

Loren has a B.S. in Technical Management from DeVry University. 

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I am most proud of our C-level forums.  They provide a way for our C-level members to gain knowledge by sharing best practices and forming relationships that help them become better at their specific roles.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I would like to learn how they use their website analytics, how they get their members engaged in using their website and best practices for rolling out new features to members and tracking the success.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

I have changed the way I develop content for our website.  The key is to always keep it simple, the more complex it is for people to use the less people will use it.  You can keep it simple by always asking these questions:  Who is my audience?  What is the purpose of this content?  Why is this important?  What action do I want them to take?  Is it easy to access? Why? Why Not?

If you can answer these questions, your content will be relevant to your audience and easy for them to access.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

In my role, the most helpful tool is Crystal Reports.  I am able to write reports that pull the data from our database and transform it into content that can be digested and used to improve the way we do business.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

Spending time with my family, fishing, bike riding and learning new technologies.

Entrepreneurs Need to Think Global From Day One

At TECNA's summer conference, we heard from Ari Huczkowski, CEO of Finland's Otaniemi Technology Hub and Jaime Parada, CEO and President of Mexico's  Monterrey International City of Knowledge.  Both spoke of international opportunities for markets, talent, partners & suppliers - and this article below gives entrepreneurs a list of ways to plan to be international from the get-go!

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New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate.

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance.

What all this doesn’t mean is that you should roll out your product in every country at the same time. But it does mean that you think about the global implications at every step of the process:

• Pick your company and product names carefully.
• Anticipate greater growth outside of North America.
  
• Reinforce your brand in international markets.
  

Read more tips, the full article on Startup Professionals Musings, click here.

 

What are TECNA members doing in their regions? The Innovation Ecosystem and the Assets it comprises

This report is the result of research on technology councils in regions throughout the United States and Canada, and interviews with 39 tech council CEOs and Executive Directors. It includes information gathered from the interviews and from Tech Council websites which reflect what a selected number of Technology Councils have already been doing relative to the creation and nurturing of Innovation Ecosystems. View the report below, or Click here to download the .pdf file

Tecna jobs and innovation ecosystems 6-1-2011

View more documents from CTTech.

Principal author:Jack Antonich, President, Sales Leverage Group
Support and consultation from: Matthew Nemerson, President, Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) 2009-2011President & CEO, Connecticut Technology Council

 

From the report summary:
The Technology Councils of North America demonstrate broad coverage across the U.S. and Canada. This is not only meaningful in terms of the number of regions but also in the fact that they are located in areas of greater population density and represent a large number of the innovative technology companies that are being relied upon to achieve success, grow, and provide the jobs of the future.

In collecting and assembling information for this report, relating to the Impact of Innovation Ecosystems on economic development, the author was reminded of the 50’s song “Two Different Worlds; We Live In Two Different Worlds”.  It wasn’t too long ago that technology councils were primarily trade organizations that represented the best interests of their members, and economic development organizations at federal, state, and locallevels were focused on creating environments conducive to promoting commerce and providing incentives to business and industry to locate in a particular place or take a particular course of action.

No longer can we afford to function in this way. Competition, from throughout the world, has had an unanticipated, and profound, effect on our domestic economy. The results for many citizens who have been negatively impacted are: incomes either lost or reduced, standard of living impaired, and future opportunities made unclear. And; this does not appear to have only current consequences. Loss, or reduction, of income makes it difficult, if not impossible, to save for children’s education or for retirement which can translate into a greater burden on society in the future.

So; in a certain respect, what we’re really talking about is competing more effectively in the globalmarketplace. In the past, our rivals took over manufacturing many of the products we consume, and took advantage of technological advances to provide services to us. They accomplished this, for themost part, by capitalizing on lower cost human and physical resources and, in some cases,manipulating currency and creating trade barriers.

Overcoming the advantages they possess, represents a formidable challenge which, as has been provenin the past, cannot be overcome by individual action. This is the time when people in a position to make a difference have to come together and become part of something bigger.And, the people coming together must be the ones that recognize what is meant by being innovative inthe twenty-first century. In a world of extreme high-tech and science, the winners will be those whodiscover, create, and deliver the advanced products and services of tomorrow.

Thus, the idea of bringing together members of organizations focused on the technology community with those in economic development can produce a synergistic effect that will power our competitiveness andrestore our economic strength. As with most things, it’s a matter of will.

It’s been shown in this report that Innovation Ecosystems exist and are producing results. The next step is to expand on what’s already been accomplished by spreading the word, getting more players on board, deepening our understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it and, most importantly, doing it. We’ll finish with the old sales adage: “There are no Problems, only Opportunities”.

Seizing the opportunity and helping to bring our country back to a strong economic condition can be fulfilling and rewarding. It offers an opportunity to leaders with foresight, courage, conviction and stamina to step up to the challenge and effect change. Did we just describe you?

Do More Faster: Lessons to Accelerate your Startup

I first met Brad Feld when he spoke at the TECNA Summer Conference in Denver in 2009. He is a force in the tech and entrepreneurship community in Colorado - and travels east and west checking on his investments, speaking at college graduations and encouraging entrepreneurs.  

After that first impression,  I started reading his blog and became an fan of his straight talk.  His latest book "Do More Faster: TechStars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup" , co-authored with David Cohen - who is also worthy of a follow - is recommended reading for startups with very practical tips - many of which were likely painfully learned.  

Video below of David and Brad talking about the book: