Ever Onward Podcast

How Idaho Is Building Billion-Dollar Companies with Travis Hawkes | Ever Onward - Ep. 134

• Ahlquist. • Season 1 • Episode 134

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In this episode of Ever Onward, Tommy Ahlquist sits down with entrepreneur, investor, and Capital Eleven founder Travis Hawkes to discuss the future of Idaho's innovation economy, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to build companies that create lasting impact.

Travis shares the story behind Capital Eleven, why he believes Idaho is uniquely positioned to become one of the nation's leading technology hubs, and how venture-backed companies can create the next generation of high-paying jobs. He also reflects on lessons learned from his father, Bill Hawkes, whose legacy of hard work, humility, and service continues to shape his approach to business and leadership.

The conversation explores what investors look for in founders, why grit matters more than almost anything else, and how entrepreneurs can navigate failure, pivots, and the realities of building a company from the ground up.

They also discuss:

  • Why Idaho is becoming an emerging technology ecosystem
  • How Capital Eleven has invested in more than 90 startups
  • The traits of successful founders and entrepreneurs
  • Venture capital, fundraising, and building unicorn companies
  • Why company culture and mentorship matter
  • The impact AI will have on startups and innovation
  • Creating the next generation of Idaho's high-paying jobs

Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, business leader, or simply interested in the future of Idaho's economy, this episode offers valuable insights into leadership, innovation, and building companies that make a lasting difference.

🎧 Listen now and subscribe for more conversations with the leaders shaping Idaho's future and beyond.

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Welcome Back Travis Hawks

SPEAKER_00

Today on the Ever Onward Podcast, we uh welcome back Travis Hawks. Uh Travis Hawkes is the CEO and managing partner of Capital Eleven. Um, Travis is one of my all-time greatest friends. It's been amazing to watch what he has done with Capital Eleven in a very short time. Um, he is the founder of Capital Eleven, a venture capital firm investing in high-growth technology companies. He was born and raised in Boise and is a graduate of Boise State University. Uh Travis is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and built multiple businesses here in Idaho and throughout his career. He is the first ever Idaho member elected to the National Venture Capital Association board. He has invested in more than 90 companies across multiple industries and stages, and he advocates for strengthening Idaho's innovation economy and creating high-paying jobs for entrepreneurship ventral backed company growth. Travis is an unbelievable example to everyone around him. He is one of the greatest guys I know. Uh he's going to be my co-host. Uh first uh podcast today will be with just Travis. We'll get caught up with him. I'm sure we'll talk all things uh business in the Treasure Valley. Uh I'm sure we'll get into some Boise State uh uh stuff too. And then Travis will be my co-host with uh several different guests uh this month. Uh we'll have a uh uh podcast with Jeremiah Dickey, and we'll get caught up with uh Boise State Athletics just because we can, and we both are absolute Broncos uh and love uh everything to do with BSU. Um Travis is also the owner of the Blue and Orange store. Um, so a true insider and um alumni and big time Boise State um uh supporter. Uh Travis will also then join us with uh two other guests. We're gonna talk about two of the companies that he has been involved with, with Capital Eleven, uh Aaron Klein, who's the founder of Contio, um, which will be a great uh interview, and then Eric Saunner, who's the founder and CEO of uh Data Airflow. Um again, I hope you enjoy the podcast uh uh co-hosted by Travis Hawks for the next few episodes. Um for those of you who are listening for the first time or joining us, uh please uh like, uh follow, and comment in our um in our uh in the section below. And again, we really appreciate uh you listening to these podcasts and hope you enjoy uh today with Travis Hawkes.

Two Weddings And Family Changes

SPEAKER_00

Hey Travis. Hey, this is gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_02

I know it's gonna be really fun.

SPEAKER_00

You've been busy.

SPEAKER_02

Very busy, yeah. You can't been a busy time.

SPEAKER_00

Kids getting married all over the place.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, two weddings seven weeks apart. I only have three kids, so it seemed uh statistical anomaly that two would get married seven weeks apart, but that's that's what happened. So we just finished that up. Tell us about it. Is it good? It was awesome, yeah. My son got married in May, and then my oldest daughter got married just a couple weeks ago, and and uh it's it's been awesome. So it's an adjustment, as you know. You know, this is first first marriages for our family, but it's really it's really been good.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's it's really cool. Yeah, it's awesome. It's like getting it's like gaining kids and just uh watching them grow is gonna be amazing. Then you're gonna have then when you get a grandkid, yeah. That's when it's that'll be a game changer. That'll be a game changer. We're we're in the middle of that magic right now, and it's just it's the best. Yeah, that's what I hear. So it's weird now because now when I talk about it, I'm I always have to gauge now if they experience it, yeah. Because if they don't, you just have to stop because it's one of those things you don't get until it happens.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And then and then as soon as you have your first one, you like go, I'm so sorry. I should, I I know now.

SPEAKER_02

You're in the club, yeah. Yeah, that's funny. We're we're in the middle of of you know raising a new fund, a venture capital fund. And uh I told my kids, I said, Why did you get married seven weeks apart when I'm in the middle of raising this fund? And they said, Why are you raising this fund when we're getting married? So I didn't have much of a comeback to that.

SPEAKER_00

Who are we to get in love's way? I know, I know. That's awesome. Yeah. Well, uh, I can't wait to catch up today uh uh on everything, Travis. You you're such a great friend and uh a loving man. So it's fun to fun to get back together.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00

Um, Capital 11. I was thinking back getting ready for this. You have been on a tear, man. It's been fun to watch. I'm so proud of you for what you've done in a short time.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah, thank you. It's it's been awesome. Uh we've grown a ton just the last few years um and uh been aggressive and we have an amazing team. And just as you know, like you guys have been through it on your side. Like when you when all the things line up, you know, the market opportunity, the team, the time, the vision, all those things line up together, it's pretty magical. And and that's what that's what we're going through right now. And it's it's been it's been fun. It's it's busy, it's overwhelming at times, but uh I love it. And I wake up every day so excited to go to work because I love what I do.

SPEAKER_00

I know most people who listen to this, I know a lot of our listeners are kind of business community, they probably already know your story and and about you.

Bill Hawks And Quiet Service

SPEAKER_00

But um, I want to go back a little bit because I I told I I texted you like a couple weeks ago, your dad. Let's start there. Yeah, I I got to know your dad pretty well. And and he he just still, to me, Travis, honestly, I tell stories about him all the time. I I had to give a little lesson in church two weeks ago, and I it was the Bill Hawks lesson. And um, your dad was incredibly human and an entrepreneurial and a worker. Um, but man, just how long has he been gone?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's been uh almost eight years. It'll be eight years this September. And and so um, yeah, and that's you know, and we we can talk about him for a minute because I learned a lot, obviously, from him. But also, I was actually just thinking about this today. It's one thing that's makes me a little sad, is that he he would have loved witnessing what's happened, you know, these last five years and with our building and with what what we're doing and the size of the team and the growth, and and even you know, on the retail store side that uh, you know, he started, like we've grown that um uh a lot in the last five years. So he he would have been amazed by all of it and loved to see it. And so uh that that part's hard for sure.

SPEAKER_00

So talk about him. So he was he was as entrepreneurial as they come, right? Hawks Motors, um, sports stores. Talk a little bit about um about him, and then I'm gonna tell a couple stories.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I learned a lot from him. One is just you know, growing up with uh a dad who's a small business owner, who's an entrepreneur, like that. I was drawn to that from the time I was a kid. I always knew I wanted to own my own business. Um, and I think it was just because of you know, watching him and his example. And and not that it was all easy, it certainly wasn't. I mean, I I saw the ups and downs, I saw the long hours. Um, you know, he worked uh Monday through Saturday, you know. I mean, he worked really hard. And and I know there, I mean, I I knew when there were times when it was like, oh, cash flows, you know, a little tight, like business isn't great. But despite some of those, you know, quote, bad things, I was just very drawn to it from his example. And so, so definitely learn from him, you know, entrepreneurship, definitely learn from him just hard work. Um, he no nobody ever outworked him. And then um, you you know, a great thing I got from him and and my mom, both of them for sure, was they what whatever I told them I wanted to do or was going to do, they would always say, Yeah, you can do that. That sounds awesome. Like they never were like, that's a crazy idea, or that's gonna be hard to do, or you shouldn't do that. No matter what crazy business idea or whatever I came up with, they just always said, Yeah, like you can do it. You can, you can execute, accomplish anything, you know. And so that gave me a lot of confidence growing up in being able to do that. Um, and then as you know, I mean, he was he was just behind the scenes, um, you know, just kind and did things and treated people well. And I learned all of those things, you know, from him. And when he when he died, um, one of the coolest parts of that experience was hearing from so many people that, you know, whether it was at the funeral or people that texted me or whatever, and just said, hey, you probably don't know this, but your dad did this, or your dad did this for me, or for my family, or for my parents, or whatever. And that was pretty cool. That that makes you really kind of step back and think like, how do you want to live your life? And what do you want your legacy to be? Because um, you know, it's cliche, like, what do you want people to talk about at your funeral or say about you at your funeral? But I witnessed that firsthand um during that time.

SPEAKER_00

He was so authentic and he was so he never wanted anyone to know what he was doing. Yeah, it was never never about public recognition for what Bill Hawks did. It was all private. And I I've had people that that have heard me talk about him and say, Do you know he came up to me and what I needed the most and slipped me a hundred bucks at a grocery store? And I think that was one of his things. Yeah. Um, a couple other things, his his uh answering his his phone. I one of the first times I ever called him, I remember his his message was, You reached Bill Hawks. If you didn't get me on my phone, it's because I'm off doing something, but I'll call you back. My phone's on 24 hours a day, and I'll call you back as soon as I can. Yeah, it was just and that was his energy, yeah. And even and I know he worked at your stores, so your retail stores till till the end. And I remember seeing him when he was already kind of sick and not, you know, not at his best, you know, and it was around the holidays, and I I had to run to the mall to grab something for a gift, and I ran right into him, and there he was, like, he's restocking shelves. And I said, Bill, what are you doing? And he looked at me. I I'll never forget where I was standing in the mall, like, because it was such one a moment for me. Yeah. And he just looked at me and he's like, I love this. Yeah, I wouldn't have this any other way. This is exactly where I want to be, is working.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. He he was like that. He was not one to want to be retired or sit around. He didn't really have hobbies. Um, and so yeah, he he loved to do that. And the amazing thing about when he worked at the mall, you know, when he um got out of the car business and was just working at the mall, is he would outwork everybody. You know, we've got high school kids and college kids, and and he would outwork them all. And they they would all tell you he outworked them all. And uh, so it's it's fun that there's we we still have you know employees that worked with him, you know, that were there back then and and they all, you know, he's he's kind of a legend uh because of of his work ethic and how he was.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, I we'll move on, I promise. But my last uh because I told the story. So he he was in our church, he you have you have different assignments. And his perpetual assignment that never went away, no matter how long, it was was the was the employment specialist. And this was in 09, 08, post-recession, tough times for everybody. And I remember him, he was just the guy that got everyone jobs, right? And I remember the first time I had to interact with him was there was a there was a guy with two young kids. I I remember meeting him for the first time. I went and knocked on his door in Garden City, and he had two little kids. And I the what was the stark image to me is I opened the door, as there was a zero furniture, these two little kids, and this guy who had uh piercings and long hair, and you know, and I just I'm like, Hey, how are you doing? What can we help you with? And he he had a bad situation, no job, two kids, literally nothing. And I said, Hey, we'll try to figure out how to get you some stuff and figure it out. So I leave and I call your dad and I said, Hey, there's a new guy moved in, he's got two little kids. And this was like on a Thursday or Friday, I can't remember exactly when. And I went back to his house to take some stuff over. And he opens the door and he has got a crew cut. I mean, his hair is cut, his his his piercings are out, he's he's got a new shirt on, and then I look and he's got furniture in his house. And I'm like, hey, what happened? And he looked at me and he said, Do you know Bill Hawks? And Travis, I remember sitting there and I'm like, Yeah, I do. And he's like, Yeah, he came down. I've already had two job interviews, uh, he's gonna have a job for me by next week, and he furnished my apartment. And I called Bill and I'm like, Bill, how did you how did you do all that? He's like, Oh, don't worry about it. There's more to the story though. So anyway, he uh he helped this kid and he got a job, and it's this story that he always stayed close to your dad, and there's probably hundreds of those of people that he helped over the years. But then my favorite part of the story is uh at church, like a couple weeks later, I look in the back and there's Bill sitting by this guy with his kids. But Bill's in Levi's, he's in a Levi's and a t-shirt. So after church, I walked back and I said, Hey, how you doing? And he had brought him to church. And Bill was in Levi's and a t-shirt. And um, and afterwards I said, Man, that was awesome. And he's like, Well, I knew he I knew he didn't have church schools. I don't know why we'd dress up anyway. We should make people feel as comfortable as they are. And then I said, I said, Well, that's awesome. And he said, Yeah, the only thing I thought I might have to do is smoke some cigarettes. He says, Because I didn't want him to feel feel funny about coming in smelling like smoke. I've said, Well, I said, Well, Bill, I'm glad you didn't have to do that. And then he looked at me. This is another Bill Hawk's quote. He said, You know, if everybody in this chapel, if their sin smelt like cigarette smoke, that would be that would be what it should be. Because he's like, that's what people are here for. And I just there's just a few moments like that. He was a he was like a mentor's mentor. Like, that's what he was.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

You had it good growing up with that guy, man. I did. He would be so proud of you, Travis.

SPEAKER_02

I appreciate that. And yeah, I wish I wish he was here to see what what's happening now. But um, yeah, I I definitely owe a lot to him for for the foundation he gave me.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and your mom too.

SPEAKER_02

She's absolutely fantastic.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, they were they were a duo. That was a love affair, man. They loved each other. That's the other thing he's probably known for, right? Oh, yeah. Is just loving his wife.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. From yeah, they got married very young and and uh yeah, we're inseparable.

SPEAKER_00

Inseparable. Um so talk about the growth.

Why Capital Eleven Started Investing

SPEAKER_00

Talk about because I remember when you started this in the vision, and I think Travis, one of the things you're best at is vision. I think you are a visionary. You can see, you can see things where you want to take it, you know how to build teams. Um, and then talk about what you've learned because it's it's a you're you're on a roll, man. You're on your so this tell talk about the fund you're raising right now and talk about some of the results you've had and what you've invested in.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, it's it's been awesome. And and you know, Capital 11 has evolved over time. We uh are unique in that, you know, my background is as a you know, entrepreneur and as a a founder and operator. And so uh as we invest now in other entrepreneurs, that gives us, I think, an advantage. Um, and and it's certainly something they like. You know, there's that that commonality between us. But we uh, you know, we've started companies and we still operate companies, you know, we have a lending business, we have the retail stores that was you know my original business that's grown. Um we've involved in multiple asset classes. We we have an MA advisory side of our business, but where I spend the bulk of my time is on the venture capital side, and and that's what I'm just so passionate about. And we started doing those uh investments in 2019, really for two reasons. One is we we love entrepreneurs and founders, want to be around them, support them, but also really felt like Idaho was on the cusp of becoming a real emerging tech ecosystem. And we looked at what had happened in Utah. You drive, you know, you drive from Salt Lake to Provo and you see all those buildings and all those companies, and you're like, well, I've never heard of these companies, and then you Google them and they're worth you know $10 billion. And so they they've had such success down there. And we we spent a lot of time talking to all the people that were there in the early days of that ecosystem and and asking, you know, what was it like? What what were the signs? What was happening? And really I realized that um a lot of those same things existed here and a lot of those same tailwinds were here, and yet it's it's undercapitalized. You know, there there was no venture capital firm, you know, in in town.

SPEAKER_00

I think it's worth talking about that, because if you think about Boise, when I got here in the 90s, if you looked at the companies we had, Morrison Knutson, largest construction company in the world in Boise, right? Micron, Albertsons, Simplot, um HP was like one of their major like you so you think of the spin-off of all of those companies, both from the entrepreneurial spirit and a lot of them technology companies, just over time, the talent that was here outsized kind of the population in a lot of ways.

SPEAKER_02

100%. I mean, that's the history of this valley, is that it's always outhid its weight, right? Of having these great outcomes, you know, like all those companies that you mentioned. And certainly there was lots, there was investment happening, there was venture capital investment happening, but it was out of state money, you know, coming in to support these companies. Back at that time, a lot of times they would make companies move to follow the capital. There were great startups that started here in Boise that moved to Silicon Valley.

SPEAKER_00

That was kind of the story, wasn't it? You'd hear about these ones. Hey, we started here.

SPEAKER_02

We started, but we moved. We moved to Seattle, we moved to Boulder, we moved to Silicon Valley because that was kind of the model at that time was for companies to follow their capital. And so we we really just felt like, man, there's there's this opportunity, and and also always has felt mission-driven as someone who um you know is born here, has lived here my whole life, of where are the next wave of high-paying jobs coming from, company building? You mentioned all those people. And as you drive around, you know, Boise and you see the buildings and the parks and and these things named after um Albertsons and Morrison, you know, Knutson and Simplot, like all that they have done from a legacy perspective. So, what is who who's coming behind them, right? Who's coming behind them to do that next layer of infrastructure and philanthropy and job creation? And so we felt like it was so important. Started investing in companies in 2019, and then COVID was a big beneficiary or or Boise was a big beneficiary from COVID in this way because of the influx of talent. I mean, we know that you know, there's a lot of people that moved here during that time from Seattle, from the Bay Area. There's a lot of tech talent that moved in. Also, during that time, this acceptance of distributed workforce of, hey, your whole team doesn't need to be under one roof. Engineers can be, you know, remote, you know, sales team can be here, some other team can be somewhere else, right? That just became much more commonplace. So those things all benefited Boise. And then we've just seen continual momentum. So now, seven plus years later, we've invested in 90 plus companies. And and not all of those are in Idaho, about half of them are in Idaho.

SPEAKER_00

But let me make sure. So people listening, so so founded here by you, vision was hey, we got to keep these people here and we got to fund it with Idaho companies, right? So 45 of them are here. Yeah. In a very short time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I think people when we tell them that are really surprised for sure because they they and that's a common question, like as we're outraising this, we're raising our third venture fund right now. And as we're out raising that, and we talk about this geographic thesis, and again, we we invest all over. We love the mountain west. We invest in Utah and Wyoming and Colorado, and and also we're opportunistic. So we have portfolio companies in New York and California and Texas. Like we'll invest everywhere. But obviously, our edge, we really feel is Idaho is this emerging ecosystem. We're here, we're gonna be you know, first ones to see these deals. And a very common question is well, are there enough deals here? Like, is there things happening here? And people are surprised to hear that. And what I can tell you, the difference between now and 2019 in the quantity of founders and deals and the quality of founders and deals, it is it's night and day. Um, it's still early days. I'm not saying we've reached the peak of the mountain. I mean, we certainly haven't. We still need to grow, that we still need a lot of things, but the the progress, the acceleration uh is there in a big way.

SPEAKER_00

I'm gonna ask you to go a little bit deeper on a couple other things too, because I I when you I think back to like the early 2000s and all of the effort and time that was spent on on talent, right? So if you go back to then, it was how do we keep our kids here? Our median wages are so low that we just can't attract and keep companies in talent. I mean, that was the that was the concern. Yeah, and then I think COVID was the perfect storm, but already it started coming to where, okay, Boise is starting to be on the map, right? And um and and and that has not been the case as far as talent goes. Talent has rushed here. It's been interesting to me. The the the thing that we worried about for decades of okay, uh in order to keep companies here, you gotta have talent here. And it's been exactly opposite that. It's been, hey, the companies love big. Here because of lots of things. You think of our heritage, our people, the beauty, the outdoors, the size of our city, the river. You know, for a relatively small town, we still have a lot of arts and and and and people that are love being here for all these reasons. So you get a founder here, or you get a company here, or you get something that starts here, they're not having as much problem as we thought we would of getting talent here. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_02

You're you're exactly right. And for sure, there used there was all this conversation during that time, like you said, you know, early 2000s um and early 2010s of saying, hey, we need more engineering students, we need the universities to do more, do better, and and all those things contribute. But yes, there's just been this influx of talent. The other thing that has really driven it, and it's it's obviously related to what happened during COVID, but what has happened from a policy um from a government perspective in these other states? And so when you look at a place like Seattle that, you know, has one of the best tech ecosystems. I mean, you look at what has come out of there, Microsoft and Boeing and Amazon and um, you know, others, I'm forgetting, like they've such a great ecosystem there, but now they've passed a millionaire tax. Now they're going after qualified small business stock. Now, I mean, I love Seattle, but it's not the safest place to walk around downtown in 2026. So the quality of life has decreased. Um, the policy is pushing people out. And the same things happened, you know, in the Bay Area, the same things happened in some of these other places. And Boise becomes this wonderful, beautiful, clean, safe place. And I know some people hate the growth and want us to stop talking about it, but it's too like it's there's nothing we can do to stop it. So let's let's have the best quality people move here and retain what makes it great and create you know high-paying jobs so we're not just built upon you know a service economy or you know, built upon companies that are based out of state where all the money is leaving the state. Like let's let's keep that money in the state to help build infrastructure.

SPEAKER_00

You just said it really well because there is such an anti-growth sentiment here. It is nutty.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

It is nutty. I mean, I we just any anytime we have a new project or new whatever, it doesn't matter what it is. Um you just read the comments and it is just it is just flamethrowers, right? But you think

Talent Influx And Boise Growth Tensions

SPEAKER_00

about the good part of what's happened and and the ability. No one says, can my kids stay here anymore to find a job? Now, housing, there's other pressures, right? Yeah, cost of living for sure has has changed. And you look at any statistics in the West. Now we're we're up there, if not at the top of the list on the top five. But um but jobs are available. Yeah it's figuring out how to do the cost of living thing um and growth and the right companies and companies that want to stay here and and and the longevity. I I'm really interested to hear you talk about some of the companies you've invested in and the talent they've received, but they're committed to Idaho too, right? They love Idaho.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. They're they're intentionally building here, right? And um, you know, there's some some great examples of that. And listen, I I I totally understand the anti-growth mindset. Again, I've lived here my whole life. Like I've seen how much things have changed. I understand traffic is different from what it was even 10 years ago, and there's infrastructure issues, all that. But again, we're not gonna stop it. Um, and so how do we make the best of it and the most of it? And part of that is with the types of companies that are built here, the types of jobs that are created, because the rising tide's gonna lift all boats, right? And when you look at, you know, um Contio, that uh, you know, Aaron, their founder, you know, moved here from California, intentionally wanted to start his new business here, has hired 12 to 15 engineers that are just those jobs are in person here in Boise, building, you know, building a tech startup, you know, very intentionally. Uh Pest Share, which was started by three longtime, you know, lifelong um Idaho kids that that started that. And now they're in a new office over at 10 mile by us, and uh have I I mean I don't even know how many employees, but they've created 50 jobs, you know, here that didn't exist uh four years ago. And so those are the types of things we're seeing that we just need to continue to to multiply and it it makes a real it makes a real impact.

SPEAKER_00

What are um so what do you I I know what your I'm leading the witness here because I know what your answer is gonna be. But if you go back 10, 15 years ago and all the effort that was trying to do what you've done, there were big organizations, there were like think tanks, there were university subcommittees, there were like a lot of effort trying to do what Travis Hawkes has done privately. What's been your secret? Yeah, because this wasn't like people have been trying to do this for a long time. There were angel investing committees, they were trying field trips to Utah, how are you doing it? Tech transfer, how is Utah doing tech transfer and why is it happening and all this other stuff? Some of it is the times, right? And opportunity, but but what's been the secret for you? Yeah, it's pretty incredible.

SPEAKER_02

That's a great question. Uh, and and yeah, I'll say, I mean, there they're um a lot of people know Highway 12, who was an early venture capital fund here. Amazing people um did a great job. I mean, one of the one of the guys involved with that was uh George Mulhern, who then later became CEO of Cradle Point, which was a billion-dollar exit. They they were incredible. So I don't want to give the impression that nobody before us knew what they were doing. I I think Highway 12 had some great outcomes, but also just really early. And we've met with those guys at our office. I mean, they'll tell you the same thing. Like it was just kind of early from uh what's happening in Boise perspective, and back to some of those things we were talking about earlier, where all the talent did need to be in one place, and money was making companies move, and it was just a different environment. So for sure, we have benefited from timing of this growth of this influx of tech talent, of all of those types of things, honestly, from you know, people seeing what has happened in Utah and and realizing the same thing can happen here. Um, but then I think part of it is it's it's no different than anything that you you go out and try and be successful in, is you you have to have that internal fortitude that will, I mean, I I think you know, when we started talking about this in 2019, we were just very confidently saying this is gonna happen. And and again, not trying to take personal credit. It it's a team, it's stakeholders, it's lots of people. But if enough people start saying this is going to happen, then it happens, right? And part of it is even just having a fund here and having capital here. I mean, we've had founders who've come up and talked to us, founders we we haven't even invested in that have said, I started my company because I saw that what you guys were doing and that you guys were here. And so that gave me confidence that, okay, I can start a company and at least have a chance to raise capital. And with those founders, again, some that we haven't invested in, we'll we'll meet with any founder and try and help them, mentor them, help connect them to other capital. If if there's, you know, maybe it's not the right fit for us, but for someone else. Because again, rising tide lifts all boats, we want to do that. But but some of it is just it's it's like anything. Once the flywheel starts going, then the flywheel just starts going faster. And that has is is what has happened here.

Founder Grit And Near-Death Stories

SPEAKER_00

Um one of the one of the things I admire about entrepreneurs is is just the you talked about it, the fortitude. You got you just gotta you gotta believe. And you gotta get. And I remember him going off on a kind of a soliloquy on entrepreneurship and telling his kind of story that I'd heard before. But a part of the the part he got to was he's like, Do you think anyone really understands how many times you gotta get knocked down? I mean knocked down and out, and in the fetal position, and everyone else in the world would be giving up at that point, and you stand back up again, only to be knocked down again and stand up again and knock down again and stand up again. The the amount of uh the resolve and grit it takes to do, to be a founder, to have an idea, to grind, to go, to work through whatever's coming your way, that's gotta be inspiring because you get a fur you got a front row view of that. You know, well, first of all, that is you, because you've you've started many companies and you've had successes, and I'm sure we don't talk about them very often, but I'm sure you've had some that have struggled. Um but but talk about just the resolve of entrepreneurship.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's it is um I mean it's so hard. What there I always say, like these founders, when when you think about trying to start an adventure-backed company is really trying to achieve a you know, a billion dollar plus enterprise value. Now it's really hard to do that. It's the hardest thing in the world. And I always say that that these people are trying to do the hardest possible thing, which is they're always, you know, undermanned, undercapitalized. People are telling them they're crazy, people are telling them to quit. You know, they have family members tell them to quit, like the things they go through. And I've had many times where I'm talking at 10 o'clock at night to a founder on the phone who's crying because they're they're going through the hardest possible thing. And they and they also, for the most part, have to put on this image like everything's great. I'm strong, you know, I'm resilient, that type of thing. One of my favorite stories is we had um some of the key folks from from Divi uh come up and talk to our founders. And Divi had a $2.5 billion exit to build.com. And they were telling the story, it was very fast, it was an amazing story. Like they they really built all that in four or five years. It was a very fast outcome. And so they tell the whole story and and their secrets and advice and everything. And it was it was a very kind of rosy picture that they painted. And when they were done and asked for questions, one of our founders raised her hand and she said, Was there ever a hard day? And they looked at her and they said, Every day was a hard day. And I think that one of the things that can get lost when you see these great outcomes, when you see these successful founders, is like, oh, it was easy for them. Like it's so hard for me, but it was easy for them. And so we we based on that experience, we started um something that we do called the founder series. And we do this every other month. We'll have about 175 people come, mostly founders. And we will bring in an out-of-state guest for fireside chat that has been a really successful founder or investor. And one of the main topics we always talk about is the near-death experiences. So these companies that became billion-dollar companies will sit there and talk about when they almost had to shut the doors, when they almost quit, you know, when they were laying in on the in the streets bleeding and weren't sure if they could stand back up, but did. And that is the founder journey. And whether they fail, whether the company fails, or whether the company becomes a unicorn, the journey is the same, which is just excruciatingly hard, um, with many near-death experiences.

SPEAKER_00

That's a vivid, that's awesome. Yeah, that's a great story. Um, talk one other thing that you could comment on, uh, because a lot of people that I I know, and when you go into something, this has happened to me too. Sometimes you you think you know the path to profitability and where you're gonna ring the bell is gonna be. And sometimes you just have to be at it long enough to understand that industry, that lane you're in to say, oh, I thought the revenue was here, but it's here. And so there's something to be said for grinding, grinding, grinding, keeping your eye head up and on a pivot and just saying, okay, I I don't know for sure where it's gonna go. I'm passionate and directionally I know where I'm going, but talk about some of the twists and turns that are taken in some of these places.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, also very common. I think most successful companies experience some kind of pivot along the way. And the problem that they set out to solve or the product they set out to build at the beginning changes. Sometimes it's a huge change, sometimes it's a little change. So for us, when we're um evaluating these companies, so much of what we're doing because we're early stage investors, is we're really, and it's it's definitely more art than science, and we're really trying to understand that founder, the founding team, the you know, the the C-suite, if you will, which a lot of times is two or three people, right? And that's the whole organization. But ask ourselves like, can they execute? Are they willing to pivot? Are they gonna listen, listen to customers, listen to the market, you know, because um that's that's just a common path. And that is that is part of what makes it so hard, is uh you set out thinking it's gonna be on this, you know, linear timeline of events, and it never is. It's always different than what you expect.

SPEAKER_00

I was listening to a podcast the other day, and and there was a line that is just stuck in my head, which is I think the more driven some of us are and the more determined you are to achieve your vision, the more likely you are to push, push, push, push instead of pivot.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I think you see pushing as a strength, right? Is no, I am not gonna give up. Yeah. I am not giving up. This is the way I'm headed, this is where it's gonna go. Where where you gotta blend the two and you gotta know when to pivot. And usually it's listening to customers and listening to what your sales history is or what it's doing, and and and that that pivoting at the right time, I think is uh the secret sauce to a lot of success.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's a great point because when we talk about grit and resilience, um, you would think that the part of that is okay, I'm never gonna quit, right? Or I'm never, I'm never go off course. And yes, sometimes you need to pivot, but also honestly, like sometimes you need to pull the plug and move on to something else, right? And so on one side you're saying we want people who will never quit, that are gonna, you know, get knocked down six times and stand up seven, but it's but there's times where this is just not gonna work. Like this company is not gonna work. And so you need to pull the plug. It doesn't mean you're I mean, most founders have failures and this is a learning experience, and your time at this point is better spent going and starting something new. And that's a hard conversation to have with them and a hard reality because often their identity has become so wrapped up in being the founder of this company. And it's hard to admit that it failed.

SPEAKER_00

And you need to have until you have one fail. I I remember Craig Rasmussen, uh, Gro Rasmussen was one of my partners in one of my businesses I started in 2001, that we owned it for 17 years together. But I remember a quote he had early, early on, and he said, if you ever do have a failure, you will you'll you'll always remember what I say. So listen to me. He's like, the first timeout's the best timeout. Yeah. But the problem with that, as you're going through, is that balance of knowing when, and then, and then you do. You get a couple of the ones I've had fail, I'm like, oh my gosh, if I would, I knew it a year ago.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you should have got out two years ago and and saved some money.

SPEAKER_00

So I I think it is it is okay to talk about this because yeah, there are successes, and yeah, there are people that pivot and figure it out. And there's also times where you say, hey, this is not gonna work, and and deciding when and how and who, it is an art, it's not a science. Yeah, and um boy, it it's just it's just you gotta you gotta hand it. And you know, America uh is built on the backs of small business, period. Everything we do. It's a little maddening, actually, because of most of the tax breaks and most of the code is written around big business, and they're the ones that rape most of the awards from from systemic lobbying. Yeah. But it's the small businesses in America that really run this whole place.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, absolutely. That's the backbone of the economy, of the job creation, of everything.

SPEAKER_00

What when you look at all the founders that you've dealt with over seven years and these 90 companies, any common uh when you walk into a room, because I know you're good at this anyway, and you're doing those evaluations, what are what are some of the, because for people listening, what are some of the traits either that you look for or if you were mentoring young entrepreneur starting companies that are listening today, what are the what what are what are the traits you would look for?

What Makes A Founder Investable

SPEAKER_00

What are the strengths that they would need to strengthen? And what are the weaknesses they would need to uncover and kind of strengthen?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's a great question. For sure, as we talked about, like the grit and resiliency, you know, is is uh table stakes. Like they've got to have that. We've got to understand that they're they're in it, right? This isn't just uh uh, oh, I'm gonna try this and see how it goes, but they're they're willing to you know burn the boats and they're they're all in. That's that's very critical. Um, I always tell when people ask me, you know, who are going to school or who want to be a founder, um any any kind of uh like your understanding of financials is a really underrated skill. Um and and often founders don't have that background, you know, they don't have a finance background, they're usually more charismatic, you know, storytellers and salespeople, or they're technical. But um, if if they can at least have a good understanding of PLs and and balance sheets and those types of things, it's really gonna help them. But then I would say an overwhelming need, no matter what they're doing, is that they can be good at sales. And the reason I say that is a CEO of a startup is going to need to sell investors. He's he or she is going to need to sell really good talent. And this is a very underrated part of this. Is if you're gonna build a really successful company, you're gonna have to have a great team and you're gonna have to convince people to come take less money with the potential for upside, you know, through stock options, um, to come work for you. So they're ultimately believing in you and your vision and and you as a CEO, as a founder. Um, and so and then of course selling customers because in in the early days of any startup, um every founder needs to be doing sales. Like you can't just day one go hire a top top shelf sales team. So you've gotta that's that's a question I ask myself a lot is okay, like maybe maybe I really like this idea or this person or this company. We're willing to write a you know, $500,000, a million dollar check, but are they gonna be able to go walk into a different room a couple years from now and get someone to write them a $20 million check? And so they've got to be able to sell.

SPEAKER_00

Don't don't and I'm sitting here listening to you because I'm thinking it it's it's the exception, it's probably incredibly rare that you have someone that's a founder that has it all, right? Most of us don't. Yeah, you know what I mean? There probably are a few that you've seen that hey, that guy is an unbelievable visionary, unbelievable salesman, understands finance, um, and you know, kind of has the whole package. Uh, and I would say management, because a lot of visionaries can't manage. I mean that's just the the the the I can't. I'm not a I'm not a I'm not as good a manager as I am vision, drive, what's next? Yeah, the details of just the daily grind of paying attention to every little thing, and that's that's just not what I do well. But but don't you think early on the advice would be to find out what you do really, really well. And as you hire that team, try to match up your strengths with others' weaknesses to build a team that's well-rounded. Um, because I I think of some of the successes I've had or weaknesses or failures I've had, it's probably because I didn't have someone that matched my my weaknesses on my team. I've been lucky now, I think right here our company now, Ryan Cleverly and us, we we don't see the world almost at all the same. Our vision and talents are just different, right? Yeah, but that's what makes us a great partnership. So, how much is that important about who they surround themselves with?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00

Or the self-assessment, because there's a lot of them that just think they're good at everything.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, good point. Self-insessive self-assessment. And you know, you see oftentimes with these types of companies, it's very common that there is two founders or sometimes three founders, and and hopefully those skills complement each other. And maybe one is very technical, but one is the great salesperson or more of the visionary. But there's always gonna be weaknesses, and so we we will have those conversations a lot where we're like, man, they need a really good ops person, you know, to come in, or they they are lacking this. And the the self awareness of that is important, uh, you know, again, willingness to listen. The other thing, too, that's common is when we think about building unicorns, um, it's very common for for founders to be really good at getting, you know, from from nothing to some kind of scale, you know, maybe the company's work. $50 million and they're really good at that phase, but they're not the right CEO to take it to a billion dollars. And so that's okay because again, the hardest part is that beginning part. And if and some are just really good at that. So it's very common that you'll see, you know, four or five years in kind of a transition where that person who's the who's the founder goes to more of a visionary role. Um, and you bring in uh you know a CEO that can really scale it. And the needs change, right?

SPEAKER_00

It's it's just very dynamic going from a you know in your garage business that you're starting on the side to okay, we got two or three employees, to okay, we're growing to okay, we have a national footprint to how are we going to grow and sell this thing? It's okay to say, hey, you work great for this time, right? But uh sometimes tough conversations. How how uh how involved are you as an investor? Talk talk through so I want to get I want to get to your fund and what you do and get your get the word out there. So, but but how often is the guy that puts the money in, do you have a say?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, it's a good question. We get that question a lot. I mean, we we are not we you know, venture capital is always coming in in a minority position. Ideally, there's other venture capital firms involved. I always like when there's multiple people in the boat that care and are you know trying to move it forward. Uh, but we we want to be active and and helpful. We don't want to just be an investment, a check. And it's a little different for everyone based on what they need, but where we generally will really help them is with customer introductions, um, just utilizing our network, our collective firm's network to help introduce them to potential customers, helping them with capital introductions. We spent a lot of time the last seven years building relationships with VCs all over the country because we know we we we can't self-fund all of these companies all the way through, right? And so we need great other capital to come in. And so we we make a lot of capital introductions. And then um we we have a really deep finance uh team, you know, internally. And so we'll oftentimes get involved in that financial modeling piece and and really help them because again, most early stage teams don't have that as a strength. And where we have those resources, um, we can help them. And then the last thing is kind of back to what I was saying earlier about those 10 p.m. phone calls and being an entrepreneur myself is uh sometimes they just need a sounding board. It's alone, it's lonely. Um, sometimes they just need someone to talk to, someone to be honest with, um, and someone to just bounce ideas off of. And so I always say it's it's those hundreds of 10 minute conversations are what's going to be most helpful to them, not uh, hey, let's sit down and have a two-hour meeting. But hey, you're hiring, you're making a key hire, a key decision, a change of price, a change of direction, whatever. Let's talk about that for 10 minutes. And they should be doing that with multiple people, not just me. Um, I'm just one person's opinion, right? But they should have a stable of you know, five people that they can call and and those people can serve as sounding boards.

SPEAKER_00

I'm sure you excel on that because that's kind of one of your strengths. But I also think of the value in that too, because as the leader, founder with a small group of people, you also can't show signs of weakness. Yeah, you you have to be the rah-rah, it's gonna be fine, guy. So having um an investor or board or whatever you want to call it to go to and say, hey, you know, let me run this by you in a real vulnerable way. Yeah, sometimes you can't be vulnerable when you're the leader.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, for sure. And and a lot of times they don't want to be vulnerable with investors. And I try and really tell them, like, be honest with me and and tell me the truth and things will go better. And so, you know, it that takes time and you have to build a relationship of trust. But you know, I always say when when those founders are really vulnerable um with you and really honest, like that's always a breakthrough, you know, moment.

SPEAKER_00

Let's let's talk about your current

Raising Fund Three And Betting On Idaho

SPEAKER_00

business. Yeah. So you're uh so capital11.com, um, and you have a fund right now you're raising. Talk about it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. So as I mentioned, we're we're raising our third venture capital fund, and it's a it's a lot of work um to be out there meeting with folks. But this fund will um will be the house for our next 40 investments, next 40 companies over the next, you know, four years or so it'll take us to deploy that into 40 companies. And you know, it's interesting, like we we're really trying to get in front of as many Idaho stakeholders as we can and really help them understand why this is so important for our economy and for our future. Micron is is such a great uh example of this, you know, with them recently crossing a trillion dollar valuation, I mean, a top 10 most valuable public company in the world. I mean, who would have thought? And I love talking about Micron because that was a company started by Boise founders, you know, in a dental office and basement in Boise, backed by Boise investors. And so when we see what's possible, I mean, Micron would not exist if not for J.R. Simplot and Alan Noble and Ron Yankee and these guys who invested, right? And those were local investors that supported local entrepreneurs. That's what we're just trying to build on a on a greater scale so that we can produce more microns in the future. Um, so that's really the story we're telling. And then um, you know, there was a study that came out from Stanford last fall that uh was amazing uh for us and a really great timing that talked about what states are most likely to produce a unicorn, produce a company that's based, you know, that's that's valued at a billion dollars or more. And um the methodology was we're we're gonna normalize for for capital deployment and number of startups. Obviously, California has produced the most unicorns, but they also have the most companies and the most dollars, right? So where are your dollars most likely to have the best outcome? Idaho came out number one on the list. I think you you have a graph. Yeah, for those watching on YouTube. So this so Idaho, number one. Number one, number one state for most likely to to to to have a unicorn. So that one with the Stanford logo, a couple slides down there. Um yeah, that last one. And then Utah's number two. So um, and then and when you look at this list, you see again, when we talk about our thesis of these emerging ecosystems, you know, in the West, you see Arizona on the list, Nevada on the list, Montana on the list. But this is just an example of how what we were talking about earlier that Idaho has this long history of just out hitting its weight. Um, and when we look at outcomes like Micron, like Clearwater Analytics, uh like counts, cradle points, T-Sheets, et cetera, et cetera, the the dollars have just gone further here. And this is core to our thesis of saying as we get more dollars invested in here and more companies going, we're gonna have just more and more of these outcomes.

SPEAKER_00

That slide's gotta be helpful as you're raising cap.

SPEAKER_02

That's the go-to slide. Yeah, that's that's when when I get to that one, when I'm pitching, it's always I just kind of sit back with a smile and say, here's this is this is the money slide.

SPEAKER_00

So for those listening and not watching, it's it's it's from Stanford, it's a study done by Stanford, Stanford Venture Capital Institute, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and it's it's got Idaho clearly at the top of the whole heap there.

SPEAKER_02

Isn't that amazing? And if you go, if you go to the slide right before this one right here, this is kind of a similar story told a little differently, where this is looking at just the states in the West and the dollars put in and the outcomes, and this data all comes from Pitchbook, which which uh is is the one that has all this might be a better slide. This is this is also a really good slide, yeah. So this shows that essentially your your opportunity of a of a dollar invested is 11 times better here than what the norm would be. And I mean you see Utah again is second, but but Idaho has five five X the opportunity.

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_02

So it's a very compelling. It it's also interesting. There's a big education piece for us because if we're if we're meeting with potential investors in Seattle or in Utah, they understand venture capital as an asset class. Um they've invested in it or their neighbors invested in it, like they they understand it. It's very new still in Idaho, and so there is this learning curve of helping people understand it's such a unique asset class because you can invest in a company and get a 100x you know return. It's the only asset class like that. And then there's some great tax incentives with the qualified small business stock where much of the capital gains or all of the capital gains you know, you don't have to pay taxes on if you hold the stock for a certain amount of time. Um, so there's there's an education process. Um, and it's just it's also just very unique because someone who has spent their life building a very successful, you know, business here in the valley, and then they see, okay, so you're telling me these two kids that have an idea, you're gonna give them a million dollars and say their company's worth 10 million and they don't even have any revenue. Like that doesn't even make sense when I spent 30 years, you know, building my my business. And so it's it's a learning curve because the unique thing with with this is that company can literally be become a billion dollar you know company. And so you're you're taking uh, you know, like I said, we're gonna invest in 40 companies from this fund. And and the way venture works and the power law works is we would expect that almost all of the returns from the fund are gonna come from three to five of those companies. So you get these massive, massive returns from three to five companies. You get you know, some returns from another group, and then you're gonna have others that that fail. And that's that's just how it works.

SPEAKER_00

Um for for people to get more information. So it's qualified investors. Talk a little bit about that. Yeah. Yeah. The way these funds work, you that you qualify your investor and yeah, accredited investors.

SPEAKER_02

Um, another unique thing I mentioned, it takes four years to deploy the capital. So we don't take all the capital up front, you know, it's just common in venture funds. It's it's called over 40 years, so that uh, you know, helps from a cash flow perspective. Um, but yeah, I mean, we're we're we're here. I mean, we we we're really trying to build these long-term relationships in this ecosystem with founders, with investors, with stakeholders, kind of bring everybody together. So we love uh, you know, we always love meeting with with folks and whether uh, you know, whether they end up investing or not, I just feel like there's always ways that we can collaborate and help each other. And so we want to meet with anybody that's has started a company, is going to start a company, knows of someone that you know is starting a company, like we're interested in all of those introductions and meetings, and then absolutely people that are you know interested in helping helping build uh this tech ecosystem.

AI Acceleration And Upcoming Guest Lineup

SPEAKER_00

Okay, last few minutes. I want to hit a couple of rapid fire answers from you. Yeah. So comment on a few of these these things I'm gonna say. The biggest challenge isn't ideas, it's capital and coordination.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, with with we've talked all about the ecosystem. It's there's there's plenty of talent, founders, ideas, it is, but we need more capital. And and it's not just like self-serving through us. I mean, I hope other venture capital firms set up shop here. That that's would be a win. We need that. Uh and and uh as great as things have progressed, it's still early days, and so there's still there's a lot that can be improved upon from a programming standpoint, from a coordination standpoint. Um, I mean, I I think there's a lot of stakeholders from the government side and the business side that really have no idea what's going on. And and that's not a criticism of them. It's just, you know, they're heads down and what they're doing. So there needs to be more coordination. I love that. What's built over the next decade will shape Idaho's future for generations. Absolutely. I mean, Micron again is such a great example of that. And you look at what's happening out there, you look at the wealth creation, the job creation, this infrastructure they're building. Um, we're at a crossroads with Idaho. We we haven't dove into AI today, but AI, we're we're in an AI super cycle that's going to make everything go faster. People are gonna build faster, fail faster, pivot faster, succeed faster, all of those things. And everything is set up for Idaho to benefit from this. But if we miss the opportunity, uh it'll it'll be built other places and we're gonna be left with the with a job, a quality job problem in Idaho if we if we don't capitalize on this.

SPEAKER_00

Amen. I like to think we're kind of trying to be out there and trying to figure things out and being leading edge with our businesses. And if you asked me where I was a year ago with AI and the use of AI for in all aspects of our business, I'd say, Oh, I'm not sure how we're gonna use it. Yeah, and where we're using it today. I've never seen anything like this in my career. It's amazing. So, Travis is going to be the co-host. We got some good, great guests. Amazing. So, for those of us, this will be the first one we we launch together, and then you will be co-hosting the next three guests over the next three weeks with us. Um, so we have Eric uh Saunner, who will be the founder and CEO of uh Data Airflow, which is going to be all about data centers. And this can be fascinating, man.

SPEAKER_01

He's an amazing guy.

SPEAKER_00

I'm I'm I'm blown away with who with who you're bringing on. Yeah, can't wait to talk data centers with him. And there's a lot of things, a lot of places we'll go. I can't wait. And then you've got Aaron Klein, founder of Contio. Contio. Yep. Um, and that's AI related. We'll we'll talk a lot about AI there. And he's he's the company you mentioned already in our podcast that that came here from California.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, he moved here from, I mean, he's a perfect example of what we're talking about. Moved here from Caldis, uh, had a very successful tech business that he sold, moved here from California, starting a business here.

SPEAKER_00

And then finally, last but not least, I couldn't be with you and not talk some Boise State. I'm really proud of us. Like one entire podcast. I don't think it's a good one. You didn't bring it up. That's because we're gonna have the great, the legend. Yeah, the goat. The goat. Seriously. Yeah. The goat. Yeah, Jeremiah Dickie.

SPEAKER_02

Can't wait.

SPEAKER_00

And we'll talk Boise State because that's another one of our passions. Yeah, I can't wait. And I stinking love that guy.

SPEAKER_02

He's amazing. Yeah, we gotta we gotta pin him down on the podcast to sign a 20-year contract.

SPEAKER_00

Lifetime. When I when I die, he can leave. Lifetime comes back. That's on the sake. When I when I'm on a cold marble slab somewhere dead, he can leave.

SPEAKER_01

He can leave. I like, yeah, I think that's what that's what we gotta do.

SPEAKER_00

He's he's unbelievable. It's gonna be fun. Travis, you're an amazing guy, man. This was fun. I'm I'm just so I'm sitting here just like taking it all in, listening to you. It's incredible what you built. Like, I hope you realize just watching you do what you've done for seven, eight years now. Unbelievable. I'm so I'm so proud of you. I'm so happy for what this means to you and Idaho and all the people you're influencing, and you know how you're mentoring. It's it's not just the money, it's the mentoring. It's so cool.

SPEAKER_02

Well, thank you. And again, amazing team. Um, couldn't do it without a team, you know, amazing uh investors that are believing in us. And and yeah, I just it it is so mission-driven though, of Idaho needs this. Um, we need this from a job creation and company building standpoint. And if we can play a part in that for again, a guy that is uh lifelong Idahoan. My parents, you know, met in in Pocatello, Idaho, got married in Pocatello, Idaho, moved here to Boise in 1969. Like I am an Idaho guy through and through. And uh it just this this matters a lot to me.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Well, and where we started, Billy Hawks, wherever you are right now, looking down, he would his heart would be pounding out of his chest, man. I appreciate that. All right. Thanks, Ralph. Thanks, everybody.