Trailhead
About Trailhead
Trailhead’s core competencies are entrepreneurship and innovation support. Our 5 Pillars of support are Educational Programming, Experiential Learning Events, Mentorship, Community Building and providing an inclusive and affordable collaborative workspace. Trailhead is Boise’s innovation hub and a gathering place for entrepreneurs. We are leading and integrating the community building efforts between the startups, entrepreneurs, our partners, the greater business ecosystem in Idaho and our community right here in the Treasure Valley.
Trailhead’s mission is to “accelerate the creation and growth of new business ventures”. Our work is about teaching and implementing the entrepreneurial mindset.
We are proud to be an Idaho for Good member because of the partnership growing and evolving our connections with early-stage entrepreneurs, community members and other like-minded businesses who are seeking to do the same - build a successful ecosystem in the heart of Idaho.
B Corp Status: 501c3
Meet the Founders, Faisal Shah, Jason Crawford, & Karen Meyer
Faisal Shah, a serial entrepreneur and founder, launched Trailhead in 2015 based on a vision of the City of Boise, other founders, and key business partners had throughout the Treasure Valley - creating a community where anyone with an idea can receive the mentoring and the experience needed to succeed in the startup world. Throughout his career, Faisal has recognized both the opportunities and the pitfalls that the internet brings to brands and has proven adept at applying technology to address these risks. As the founder of enterprise brand protection pioneer MarkMonitor, Inc., and First to File Technologies, Inc., Faisal is considered to be one of the original pioneers of online brand protection.
Jason came out of retirement to solve a problem faced by many early-stage entrepreneurs, community members and other like-minded businesses. With the other founders, Jason brought Trailhead Boise to life through public and private partnerships to serve the community.
Karen Meyer created a collaborative center for people with ideas to explore options. Trailhead came about as a result of numerous discussions with like-minded innovators looking to create a space where someone with an idea can discover resources, create, collaborate, be educated, and potentially turn an idea into a viable business entity. The idea can be anything: food based, technology, social change, dance, art, film, etc. But all ideas go through a creative process to bring them to life. Trailhead Boise aspires to be that space. Now, Karen is semi-retired and provides consulting services to companies that have manufacturing and logistics requirements, volunteering for community focused organizations, investing in those companies that I believe in, mentoring and advising when given the opportunity.