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Trailhead has been the starting place for Boise’s entrepreneurs since 2015. Over a decade later, our programs and coworking space help Idaho founders compete across the globe.
2014
Serial Boise entrepreneurs Faisal Shah, Karen Meyer, and Jason Crawforth went to Boise leadership in 2014 and made a simple case: our city needed a place where companies could start, scale, and succeed.
Trailhead opened on 8th Street the next April with the City and CCDC behind it, and the room filled up quickly.
With a room full of entrepreneurs, the next thing missing was a stage. Boise Pitch Night and the first Boise Startup Week both launched in 2016.
2017
By the two-year mark, Trailhead had hosted more than 400 events for 12,000 people, and in 2018 the community started putting real money behind the pitches – $32,000 that first year, with Trailmix launching alongside Albertsons the same year.
Lumineye won that year’s main stage and went on to Y Combinator, and by 2019 Boise Startup Week had grown to 3,400 attendees.
The week went fully virtual in 2020 and still drew 1,560 people, and in 2021 it became Boise Entrepreneur Week.
2024
Tree City Trailblazers began in 2024, and its alumni have since raised more than $15.4 million.
Idaho Startup Lab ran its first cohort in 2025, and Boise became a Startup World Cup regional qualifier that sent Galena Innovations to a top-ten finish at the global finals.
This year Trailhead moved back to the 8th Street Marketplace, where it ran a second location nearly a decade ago, and Jacob Grinwis was appointed the organization’s fourth Executive Director.
Boise Entrepreneur Week now runs fifteen tracks over five days, and over $1.2 million in early-stage capital has gone to Idaho entrepreneurs.
Founders hear no most days, from investors, from potential customers, and sometimes from the people closest to them. Trailhead gets to be the one in the room that says we believe in you, and we’re here to help. Anybody with an idea gets the coffee meeting here, and if we can’t move the idea forward we can usually help move the person forward, which matters just as much.
Trailhead started with a gift, when the City of Boise and CCDC covered the rent so a room full of entrepreneurs had somewhere to gather, and the community has helped us keep our doors open ever since. We pay that forward anywhere we can. Most of our support is free, the rest is priced so the entrepreneurs who need it can access it, and those who get the most out of Trailhead tend to come back as mentors for the ones building next.
We encourage founders to work hard, stay resourceful, and make every dollar count, and we try to run Trailhead the same way. We’re a small team working right alongside the founders building with us, and we’re proud to hold ourselves to the same expectations we have for them.
Mayor, City of Boise
“Boise has always been a city of builders, creators and innovators, and Trailhead helps entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into successful businesses by providing the knowledge, resources and connections they need to thrive. Through our partnership, we’re investing in the people whose creativity, determination and vision help make Boise a place of opportunity.”
Partner, Ashurst Perkins Coie
“Investing in local founders matters to me because all boats rise. More startups lead to a better and stronger middle market and hopefully a few more unicorns. We see many founders fail, not because the ideation isn’t there, but because the execution isn’t. Trailhead exists to reduce that risk and create a platform where founders are supported.”
Director, Boise State Venture College
“We’ve kept showing up because Trailhead isn’t just a partner. They’re a cornerstone of our entrepreneurial ecosystem. By working together, we’re able to create a stronger, more connected support system that gives entrepreneurs the resources, relationships, and opportunities they need to succeed.”
Dean, College of Business and Economics
Founder, C3 Consulting
“As a founder myself, I understand both the excitement and the uncertainty that comes with building a business. Sometimes one introduction or one conversation changes the trajectory of a company. I’ve experienced that firsthand, and it’s one of the reasons I believe so strongly in what Trailhead provides. When founders succeed, our entire community benefits.”
Business Development Specialist, Idaho Commerce
“Idaho’s innovators are essential to a strong and diverse economy—they create meaningful jobs, solve tough problems, and continually push our industries to improve. Trailhead nurtures exactly this kind of entrepreneurial energy, and Idaho Commerce is grateful for the support they provide to the founders who help Idaho thrive.”
Meet the team behind it all.
Jacob grew up in Belgrade, Montana, in a family of small business owners. His mom ran a breakfast and brunch cafe downtown and his dad ran his own construction company, and by twelve Jacob was working in the cafe and already thinking about the excitement of building businesses.
He came to Boise in 2017 for Boise State, where he earned a BBA in economics. His career started with co-founding a subscription wine club focused on education and exploration.
Jacob started as a social media intern at Trailhead, and nearly four years later, in January 2026 became Trailhead’s fourth Executive Director. He’s an operator and builder at heart, and his favorite part of the job is helping local founders tell their story, connect with the right people, and most of all, succeed.
Kelby grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho, as the daughter of small business owners. Having watched them run it all up close, she was certain of one thing: she was never going into business.
She studied journalism and technical writing at Boise State instead, leading a newsroom of student journalists and mentoring writers at the university’s writing center. Only gradually did she recognize that what she enjoyed most in both places was helping something grow, whether that was a team of reporters or a student’s first draft. That realization led her, of all places, to an MBA, which she completed in 2026 (much to her parents’ amusement).
Kelby joined Trailhead as a program coordinator intern, and within a year she was named its Director of Operations. Building, it turns out, runs in the family, and she loves getting to help Idaho founders grow what they’ve started.
Violet grew up in Spokane, Washington, as the youngest of four kids, and for most of her childhood she followed wherever her older siblings went. In high school that meant DECA, a business and marketing club for students. She competed alongside a partner in situational role-play events at the local, state and national levels, and that’s where business clicked for her.
For college she finally broke from the family path and moved to Boise, a city she had never been to, and she fell in love with it. She’s studying business administration at Boise State and will finish her BBA in spring 2027.
Violet found Trailhead through a Boise State internship and came in without knowing much about it. It turned out to fit what she cares about most: nonprofit work, serving others and doing work that means something. She started as a program intern in fall 2026 and is now Trailhead’s Program Coordinator, where she helps coordinate smaller programs and marketing. Her favorite part is playing a role in something bigger than herself, and getting to help grow programs that have done so much for founders across Boise.
Comprised of local business leaders and entrepreneurs each proudly supports Trailhead with their time, advocacy, and money.
Founder & CEO, Scoggin Capital Investment
Idaho Market President, KeyBank
Founder, C3 Consulting
Co-Founder, Keynetics
Founder & CEO, SWEAR
President & CEO, VYNYL
Managing Partner, Deloitte
CS Department Chair, Boise State University
Partner, Ashurst Perkins Coie
