Two of Montana's startups

The founders and owners of Dee-O-Gee, a dog and cat store in Bozeman, will speak at the 13th annual Montana State University Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship Entrepreneur Day, set for Monday, Oct. 17.

Josh and Holly Allen will share their story during a keynote lecture, “Dee-O-Gee: From retail boutique start-up in Montana to national expansion,” set for 1-2 p.m. in SUB Ballroom A.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

Montanans and past MSU students, Josh and Holly Allen started Dee-O-Gee in Bozeman in the fall of 2008, after they said they sensed a gap in the local pet supply marketplace. Holly Allen had previous experience as a lead veterinary technician at a local vet clinic and knew the pet product and service landscape well.  

Josh and Holly Allen of Dee o Gee

The MSU Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship hosts Entrepreneur Day as part of its commitment to enhance entrepreneurial spirit and education in the area, as well as improve the economic development of the state. In addition to the event’s keynote lecture, college faculty and current business students will facilitate group workshops that are designed for high school students interested in business and entrepreneurship.

For more information, contact Linda Ward at (406) 994-1995 or lward@montana.edu.

THAT'S TOTAL BS

Two Montana entrepreneurs make it up as they go

Brit Booth and Sarah Hunter, co-founders of Total BS Media, will serve as the Montana State University Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship’s fall entrepreneurs-in-residence and give a free public lecture at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in Jabs Hall 111 on the MSU campus.

"Irreverent Strategery, Entreprgirls, Sock Puppets, and Faking Awesome," will include information about the firm’s successful approaches to inbound marketing and its trademark pending-"Irreverent Strategery" approach.

As entrepreneurs-in-residence for the week of Oct. 10, Booth and Hunter will also visit business classes and meet with students in the college’s entrepreneurship program.

Total BS Media is a full-service media firm specializing in content marketing and public relations. The firm works to push clients to approach content with what Booth and Hunter call “irreverent strategery,” or “the process of taking a holistic look at business goals, buyer personas, trends and marketing history and then applying an irreverent spin to stand out in an extremely crowded marketplace.” Booth and Hunter say Total BS Media’s goal is to entertain, educate and elevate a brand to reach new and existing customers with a more interesting and intriguing dialogue. The firm has partnered with the Blackstone LaunchPad at MSU.

The “B” in Total BS Media stands for Brit Booth, the firm’s creative director. Booth, who grew up in Butte, is an MSU alumna and also studied at the Art Institute of San Francisco. She then went on to work for a host of companies, including Nike, Adidas, Lands’ End and PrintingforLess.com, specializing in copy writing, creative direction and public relations.

The “S” stands for Sarah Hunter, the firm’s strategy director. Hunter grew up in Billings and attended The New School in New York, where she received a degree in film and media studies. Hunter went on to work for HDNet, Montana PBS, DiMarzio Pickups and PrintingforLess.com, where she was in charge of managing marketing teams and overseeing the strategic planning and marketing execution.

For more information on the lecture or the entrepreneur-in-residence program, contact Linda Ward at lward@montana.edu or (406) 994-1995. More information about the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship is available at www.montana.edu/business/e-center/entrepreneur-in-residence.html.

-