By Montana Standard; Link to Story
Oct 12, 2022
BUTTE- Montana Tech’s Department of Business is hosting an entrepreneurship speaker panel at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 14, in the Student Union Building’s Copper Lounge. The public question-and-answer forum will be moderated by Business Department head Todd Tregidga and includes the following local entrepreneurs.
Luke Anderson, co-owner/founder and CEO of UpTop, which was established in 2010. UpTop is a Montana-based lifestyle company dedicated to celebrating your enjoyable moments and sharing them with the world. Together, founders Luke and Colt Anderson with a team of friends created a platform that combined a live-for-today-lifestyle.Those who wear the brand have further inspired the company to continue sharing the idea of doing what you love with integrity, enjoyment, and in an original way.
Courtney McKee, owner/founder and CEO of Headframe Spirits. Headframe Spirits produces distilled spirits and operates a tasting room while its manufacturing counterpart designs and builds high-tech distillation equipment for distilleries around the world. McKee’s two highest values are community and courage and she brings both of them to the planning and execution of all the work she does.
Jen O’Brien, president of Montana Craft Malt. Montana Craft Malt is a $30 million malthouse located west of Butte in the Montana Connections Park and is designed to produce diverse varieties of malted barley and wheat designed to supply the craft brewing and distilling industries. O’Brien is a brand strategist, having experience guiding large brand names to establish and manage brand positions across technology, healthcare, and professional services industries and provided the leadership that persevered through very difficult circumstances to bring the plant online in 2020.
Jon Wick, owner and lead designer of 5518 Designs and Dig City Supply. Wick started 5518 Designs in 2012 as a branding, graphics and print design company out of his extra bedroom in Butte. Through his graduate work at Montana Tech, client work and passion projects, he began to develop a unique 5518 style of outdoor, recreation-inspired graphics and eventual line of Montana lifestyle apparel. In 2022, 5518 Designs launched its second brand, Dig City Supply to focus on the Montana Tech brand as well as local elementary and high school apparel.
