Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurs Enjoy Stellar Support, Resources

Hans Koepsell

Eastern Idaho is where high-tech resources meet low operational costs. Driven by a top-tier workforce and a culture of collaboration, the region offers a business-friendly environment where startups – from specialized manufacturing to clean energy – don’t just launch, they thrive. 

According to Thomas Mecham, career employment manager who oversees the Experiential Learning Program at BYU-Idaho, the school has long been a resource for local entrepreneurs through its career center as well as through groups like Soapbox Agency and Scroll Publications. The university has also recently introduced its Experiential Learning Program, which provides business owners direct access to student talent for short-term projects at no cost. 

Real-World Experience in Eastern Idaho 

“Entrepreneurs or organizations simply submit project requests, and BYU-Idaho’s Experiential Learning team pairs them with talented students who can deliver on the project’s needs,” Mecham says. “It’s become a practical way for business leaders to tackle meaningful work, get to know the talent pipeline being developed at BYU-Idaho and often discover future interns or hires.” 

Local companies that work with the BYU-Idaho program benefit most from the talent, knowledge and core values that are found in the university’s student graduates. As Mecham explains, BYU-Idaho is intentional about its mission to develop disciples who are leaders in their communities. 

“This intentional focus creates an incredible talent pool of young professionals who bring technical ability, real-world experience and a strong sense of integrity to the workplace,” Mecham says. 

One example comes from a local manufacturing company that was growing quickly and had thousands of customer records with no effective way to organize or segment them. That made targeted marketing almost impossible. 

“Our students built tools to categorize and segment the company’s entire customer base, giving them a clean, usable data set and the ability to tailor their marketing efforts,” Mecham says. “The result was a far more efficient system for reaching the right customers at the right time. This is just one of many cases where a short-term student project created a long-term advantage for a local company.” 

Igniting Growth Around the Region 

Altura Community Consulting & Business Finance is another organization that supports entrepreneurs and small businesses in two main ways: by providing essential financing to fund startup business growth and through the operation of business development/ incubator centers. 

“Altura’s loan programs provide small businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing specializing in major fixed assets purchases such as owner-occupied real estate and equipment,” says Rick Miller, director of community development at Altura. “As a mission-driven lender with the mission to increase access to capital for underserved businesses, Altura’s loan programs often provide small businesses with access to funding that they may not qualify for without Altura’s participation.” 

In addition, Altura is a Preferred SBA Lender under the Accredited Lender Program administering the Small Business Administration 504 Loan program. The organization also has several other internal loan programs that provide the ability to find the right program for each borrower. 

“Our business development/incubator centers in Rexburg and Driggs provide entrepreneurs with affordable office space and a supportive environment to foster business growth and innovation,” Miller says. “Over the years, many tenants have leveraged our lending programs to purchase or build properties for their businesses as they made the transition from startup business to a thriving business.” 

The office space also provides small businesses with a professional commercial address. 

“Tenants of these spaces also gain a professional setting suitable for meeting clients, lenders and partners with access to larger conference rooms as needed,” Miller says. “Tenants gain more than office space – they become part of a supportive community of local business owners who encourage collaboration, problem-solving and mutual growth.”