There have been more than 100 business licenses processed in Bozeman since the start of the year.
According to the City of Bozeman, 104 business licenses have been processed within the time span of January 1 to March 22, 2022—averaging 1.2 business licenses a day.
Student entrepreneurs at Montana State University see this surge in business as affirming yet difficult. A master's student in the School of Film and Photography, Olivia Andrus, started a production company called Genesis Productions.
“It’s highly competitive and a little saturated because Montana is now giving a lot more bonuses for the film community to come in,” Andrus said.
Andrus is passionate about producing wildlife films and believes southwest Montana is an ideal place to locate her business.
“You’d be surprised how many people just want to tell their story; it’s incredible, it’s the perfect place to be,” Andrus said.
The state of Montana is not only a promising location for filmmakers, but for budding technology businesses, such as Posted!.
Posted! was created and founded by Michael Mawn as a way for students to find flexible jobs on campus. Jauquin Monterrosa is the Tech Lead for Posted! and finds the growing tech industry encouraging.
“Over the past five years, we’ve seen more tech companies start here, more start-ups here,” Monterrosa said. “It’s been kind of an affirmation going through that process.”
Currently, Posted! is reaching out to universities around the country, including the University of Washington, Colorado State, and different institutions in Montana. Genesis Productions is working on a thesis project involving dolphins.
Both businesses credit their ability to work independently of an office space and use skills to be self-sufficient in daily tasks.
