Born in Omaha with stops in a number of states and countries, my wife, Alexis, and I spent the bulk of our time together in SF and London before we were fortunate enough to find that Montana had everything we were looking for. We raised our two children here but are still confused by their desire to live in California and even then in LA and not our beloved SF. I love the fact that I can bike to just about any meeting site in Missoula and there’s a river out my front door.
Current Position – Founder – Montana Associated Technology Roundtables
Consultant and advisor to startup organizations on management, marketing, strategic direction and finance. Activist for the improvement of the Montana and Inland Northwest Economies.
What are you working on right now?
Ideas for 3 different startups. Helping get the top 3 finalists of the Montana University System Business Plan Competition meet with Rob Ryan to help them get their companies off the ground. Finishing my new garage/office so my toys have a home and I can watch auto racing without bothering the wife. City Club Missoula is almost 5 years old and doing very well. Getting ready to take CA friends to Glacier and then visit them in August for the Monterey Historics. All in all, just another wonderful summer in Missoula, Montana
3 Trends that excite you?
1. New understanding that you don’t have to have an office to have a company.
2. The changing concept of “career” If you haven’t seen it, take a look at Shift Happens.
3. If you plan on building a garage by yourself, plan on it taking three times longer than your wife would like…
How do you bring ideas to life?
Networking, networking, networking…
Why was MATR the right choice for you?
People ask me why I do MATR. I do it because it’s stuff that I want to know personally anyway so why not offer it to a growing audience who may benefit from it and it gives me an opportunity to receive a lot of business plans so I can try to help the entrepreneurs succeed. There’s a reason that the motto of MATR is “The State with the Best Education Wins!”
Connect:
MATR Website
MATR Facebook
Russ Facebook
Email: [email protected]
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.