Bozeman Magazine

Montana State University’s Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship will host “The Business of Building,” a panel with three professionals in the construction industry, at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in Jabs Hall, Room 111, on the MSU campus. The event is free and open to the public. 

Panelists will discuss and explore their journeys with major construction businesses, including what it takes to survive and thrive in an industry that has faced many challenges over the years. They will share what have they learned, what skills were helpful and what they seek in future industry leaders and current students.

The panelists will be Nick Van Tighem, project development director at Jackson Contractor Group; Hannah Van Wetter, CEO and co-founder of Foothold; and Eugene Graf, president and CEO of EG Construction. The panel will be moderated by Peter Nalen, an adjunct instructor at MSU who focuses on entrepreneurship, marketing and business management.

All three businesses represented were founded by MSU alumni. Van Wetter’s company, Foothold, was also the 2021 winner of the top social venture prize at MSU’s $50K Venture Competition – an annual competition open to current MSU students, recent alumni, faculty and staff. 

The Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship offers four undergraduate options of study — accounting, finance, management and marketing — as well as five minors — accounting; business administration; entrepreneurship and small business management; finance; and international business. The college also offers a master of professional accountancy degree, a master of science in innovation and management, and certificates in business and entrepreneurship.