[Hidden-tech] Fwd: great publicity/great skills news

A - Z International az at a-zinternational.com
Thu Mar 31 20:12:30 EST 2005


Hi all,

Thanks go to The Greenfield Recorder and Richie Davis, and the Amherst Area 
Chamber of Commerce, for their super coverage of Hidden-Tech events this 
week. Note Richie's article below that highlights the March 21 meeting in 
Greenfield. The Chamber gave HT a full page preview of Hidden-Tech Connect.

By the by, we have over 20 members signed up on the "early bird" special 
for Hidden-Tech Connect (see promo on Web site) and hoping that 100 or more 
of you decide to display your products and services. You can't beat $15 for 
promoting yourselves.

And, we passed the 200 mark on the Skills Inventory and Financial/customer 
surveys. Still want to see at least 500 of you signed on, but it's 
gratifying to learn about that many members. You'll be seeing the aggregate 
data collated in a chart that Jeff Lander of Appilistic has designed 
shortly. It's fascinating. We represent 100s of skill sets of all varieties.

Those of you who have taken the time to do this work at the true winners. 
Once all data is presentable, the world will find it lots easier to locate 
you and your services.

best,

Amy Zuckerman
Hidden-Tech founder, co-chair



>>By RICHIE DAVIS
>>
>>Recorder Staff



>>GREENFIELD  To call Paul
>>Hake, at 22, an entrepreneur, might
>>seem a bit grand.
>>Yet as a partner in Paul Hake
>>Productions, a business he created in
>>November, he’s already compiled an
>>impressive list of credentials, includ¬
>>ing developing prototypes of five
>>games for Hasbro’s Tiger
>>Electronics division, as well as
>>multi-media work for Fidelity
>>Investments.
>>“One of the big issues for me is
>>getting health insurance, as a small
>>company,” said Hake, a University of
>>Massachusetts graduate who moved
>>here from Rhode Island to be with
>>his fiancee. He was among 50 small-
>>scale, technology-related businesses
>>to attend a recent meeting of the
>>Pioneer Valley’s “Hidden Tech” busi¬
>>ness group at Greenfield Community
>>College’s downtown center.
>>Like the other small start-up busi¬
>>nesses, which included research ser¬
>>vices, a voice-over recording artist, a
>>conference planning service, and
>>graphic designers, Hake’s small
>>operation pointed to the need for a
>>shared “incubator” space where the
>>tech-savvy business could not only
>>share facilities and support service
>>but also “bounce ideas off each
>>other.”
>>“Without this (cross-pollination
>>provided by the two-and-a-half-year-
>>old organization, which now boasts
>>about 600 members) we wouldn’t
>>know who else was out there,” said
>>Hake. “It’s like a chain-reaction, net¬
>>working with other people, and it
>>opens up more doors.”
>>Other needs expressed by the
>>business people  from a Gill-based
>>“Shop Western Mass.” e-commerce
>>business to nationwide voiceover
>>artist Jill Connolly of Shelburne
>>Falls  were better telecommunica¬
>>tion services in the region, tax and
>>legal advice, as well as training.
>>“It was probably the tip of the ice¬
>>berg,” said Ann L. Hamilton, presi¬
>>dent of the Franklin County
>>Chamber of Commerce, which co-
>>hosted the event. “It was fascinating
>>to see how broad the scope of this
>>group is. They all have the potential
>>to grow, and to work with local com¬
>>panies, as they get known.”
>>The significance of such “hidden
>>tech” looms ever-larger, Hamilton
>>said, as giant employers downsize,
>>steal away to other regions or coun¬
>>tries or disappear altogether. In fact,
>>75 percent of Pioneer Valley busi¬
>>nesses employ 10 or fewer people, she
>>reported.
>>Christopher Sikes, executive
>>director of the Valley Enterprise
>>Fund, said, “This area’s always been
>>a breeding ground for micro-enter¬
>>prise. Technology is advancing to the
>>point where individuals can make a
>>living out of their own homes doing
>>some pretty powerful things.”
>>Although there are potential
>>spaces for more “incubator spaces”
>>like the Greenfield Venture Center,
>>it’s hard to find the public financing
>>now to develop them, Sikes said.
>>Patricia Crosby, who heads the
>>Franklin Hampshire Employment
>>and Training Board, showed up at
>>the gathering to stay in touch with
>>emerging businesses but said she
>>was blown away by “the energy in
>>the room, the youthfulness and new
>>ideas” she found at Wednesday’s
>>event.
>>Some of the businesses are
>>already at the point of needing to
>>employ workers, Crosby said.
>>“They’ve been telling us for more
>>than five years that the workplace is
>>changing,” she said. “But this is the
>>first time I’ve seen that made real.
>>Increasingly what you are is what
>>you can do. If you can promote it,
>>you don’t necessarily need the big,
>>paternal company. That may not be
>>available, and this may be the way to
>>make your own niche.”
>>On the Web: www.hidden-tech.net
>>
>>______________________________
>>
>>* Richie Davis
>>
>>Senior Staff Writer
>>The Recorder
>>Greenfield, MA.
>>(413) 772-0261 x. 269




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