Group pushes for Idaho tech council

Oct. 12--Can Idaho's tech industry come together and form a technology trade association?

The 30 or so people who stuck it out for the whole day at the Idaho Innovation Summit in Boise on Thursday seem to think so.

But deciding to make a go of forming an association is still a long way away from making one a reality. That point was driven home by Steve Zylstra, the former CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, who spoke about what it takes to form a successful council.

The Pittsburgh council is the largest tech trade association in the country. Formed in 1984, the council is free of any government support. It has nearly 1,400 company members and about $5 million in revenues.

Zylstra stressed that for any group to be successful, it must have a strong board of directors.

The Pittsburgh council has 42 members, and 50 percent of those are CEOs from tech companies, while the other half are bankers, lawyers and academic leaders.

"You have to build a good board of informed members," Zylstra said.

He said getting a strong board requires the organization to sell its importance to potential board members.

"I think your ability to get things done has to do with ability to sell these kinds of leaders how important to participate because of the results you can achieve," he said.

Rick Ritter, executive director of Idaho TechConnect, the organization that sponsored the event, said finding key people to lead the effort would be the next step.

He also said he and other backers will look at potential collaborations with groups already set up, like the entrepreneurial networking group Kickstand, the biotechnology group BioIdaho, and the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry.

Zylstra said the the Pittsburgh council performs services for members, from helping with health insurance to organizing training opportunities. But he said the main goal of a council should be advocacy with state legislators to get the benefits the association members need.

The Pittsburgh council writes legislation, finds sponsors and helps move bills through the Legislature, he said. Over the last three decades, the group's efforts have led to nearly tripling the state's research and development tax credits and legislation that allows small companies to sell tax credits.

More than 80 people attended the meeting and participated in several work sessions. The overriding theme was that a council was needed to give small tech companies and entrepreneurs a greater voice in the Idaho Legislature.

One participant characterized potential members as "not being a member of the good old boys network."

Participants considered whether the group should include Idaho's big tech companies, including Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard. Zylstra said large companies must be involved.

"You have to have HP and Micron even if it is just to put up the funding," he said. "They have to be a part of it."

Not everyone agreed. Brian Critchfield, owner of Navel Marketing in Boise said those companies already have a voice.

"We talked about Micron and HP, and these guys are the anchor tenants and are a great source of vitality in the local economy, but Micron and HP already have a seat at the table. They help direct policy," Critchfield said. "We saw this organization as a voice for the small businesses that don't have a seat at the table."

Ken Dey: 672-6757

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