Greg Gianforte and Carroll College are teaming up to develop an entrepreneurship program to help students start new businesses.

The program will provide mentorship and business instruction to students in a variety of fields, including computer science and engineering. Gianforte, founder of former RightNow Technologies, will serve as “entrepreneur-in-residence” for the next academic year.

“Greg’s work with students and faculty will produce a product,” Carroll President Tom Evans said. “Not just theoretical businesses, but we would turn around and actually make those new, real businesses.”

Gianforte will visit the campus monthly and give periodic lectures during the academic year, in addition to meeting with students in the program.

“The expectation is that he’d be working directly with teams of students,” Evans said.

A group of faculty will develop the program over the summer, with rollout planned for September.

Evans said it will blend elements of a business incubator with traditional classroom instruction. The program isn’t a new degree but instead will be project-based, similar to a senior capstone.

“It’s a work in progress, but we’re excited about all of these possibilities,” he said.

Evans began developing the concept in January with Gianforte after the two corresponded through LinkedIn, he said.

Evans said he was intrigued by Gianforte’s goal of encouraging high-tech startups as a boon for state and local economies. He said both share a belief that entrepreneurship is a skill that can be taught to students.

Gianforte has been increasingly vocal about entrepreneurism in Montana since selling RightNow for $1.5 billion in 2012. He is now managing director of the Bozeman Technology Incubator and recently launched his CodeMontana initiative to encourage computer science education.

“He actually did the work, quite successfully,” Evans said. “Then he took it on as a discipline of entrepreneurship.”

Gianforte has spoken at universities including Harvard and Stanford, as well as Montana State University and the University of Montana. Last month he and wife Susan were named spring commencement speakers at Montana Tech in Butte. Gianforte will also deliver the commencement address at Rocky Mountain College in Billings.

Some students and faculty at Montana Tech have threatened to boycott Gianforte’s speech, citing his contributions to conservative groups Focus on the Family and the Heritage Foundation. His wife recently testified against a proposed city ordinance in Bozeman that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and the Gianforte Family Foundation once donated to a creationist dinosaur museum in Glendive.

Evans said Gianforte’s business expertise is what makes him a valuable contributor to the Carroll campus.

“I can’t speak to Greg Gianforte’s religious or political beliefs. Our conversations revolve around engineering, computer science, technology and entrepreneurship,” he said.

“Those are areas where he has beyond proven that he has experience and expertise,” Evans added.

Gianforte is traveling this week and could not be reached for comment.

Distributed by MCT Information Services