Meet the Rural Innovation Initiative Team

Paul is the Director of Accelerate Montana, the University of Montana’s portfolio of economic development programs and Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad. Paul is a founding team member of the Montana Code School and co-founder of the Hellgate Venture Network, a networking group for Montana entrepreneurs. He also serves on the Board of the Missoula Economic Partnership and MonTEC. Paul was the 2017 Montana Ambassador Educator of the Year. A native of England, Paul has a MA in Mathematics from Oxford University and an MBA from Manchester Business School. He moved to Missoula in 2008 and has been helping to shape the MT entrepreneurial ecosystem since.

Karl Unterschuetz has over 25 years of experience in entrepreneurial ecosystems. He grew up in his family’s organic agriculture supply business in the burgeoning organic industry of the late 1980s. Later in his career Karl directed the Northwest Biofuels Working Group, was on the launch team for the inaugural year of the PNW Clean Tech Open. Before joining the University of Montana, Karl was Director of Business Development for a Washington State based startup, solar manufacturer. As the Program Director for Accelerate Montana’s Rural Innovation Initiative (AMRII), Karl is supporting the mission to foster lasting successes for rural early-stage and growth stage businesses in Montana. Karl earned a BA from Western Washington University and a MS in business management and leadership from Antioch Seattle.