What began as an informal clique of like-minded individuals working for themselves is now a growing organization devoted to bettering small businesses, capitalizing on the latest in information technology, and revitalizing the Valley’s overall economy. Five years after its creation, Hidden Tech has many irons in the fire and many yet to be placed, but as members of its board of directors report, the old adage that there is strength in numbers has never been truer in the Pioneer Valley.

In a small meeting space at Packard’s restaurant and bar in Northampton, a handful of business owners sometimes meet to trade ideas and information, and, while doing so, are inadvertently popularizing new verbiage to describe the world in which they live — terms like ‘lifestyle entrepreneurship’ and ‘intellectual capital.’

The group is a small but mighty cross-section of the 1,500-plus members of Hidden Tech — now marking its fifth year of formal operations — and it has evolved from a casual group of colleagues into a formal board of directors governing members across the Valley and, increasingly, across the nation and around the globe.
The organization was founded by Amherst resident Amy Zuckerman, who wrote an article for the Boston Globe in February 2002, regarding the preponderance of small or home-based businesses that use information technology to survive and thrive in the hills of Western Mass.

She coined the term ‘Hidden Tech’ therein, and jump-started a movement among like-minded business owners aimed at individual business growth and development of one of the region’s fastest-growing, and lesser-known, economic sectors.

Claudia Gere, owner and founder of a publishing resources and services firm in Shutesbury who joined Hidden Tech early on, calls such business owners ‘solopreneurs,’ and counts herself among the ranks.

“I wonder sometimes how I would have survived the first year of my business without Hidden Tech,” she said, noting that her publishing business began in 2004, just two years after the group held its first formal outreach session in the area. “If I needed something, I reached out, and it was there — everything from coaching to typesetting, writing, editing, and transcription support.

“I am thrilled to be a part of it, and privileged to be on the board,” she added. “This is a very complementary group of people, and very diverse.”

All Things Great and Small

The board began as a steering committee with a handful of members led by Zuckerman, who moved on to new ventures in November. Over the past few years, however, the group has taken on more responsibility as Hidden Tech grows, and now functions as a non-profit organization.

“We went from being kind of a loose networking organization to becoming a much more structured group, with bylaws and rules of operation, which is still growing and evolving,” said Gere, adding that while Hidden Tech is based in Western Mass. and the majority of its members live and do business here, nothing prevents any related business across the globe from becoming a member, or from hiring and partnering with local firms.

Further, membership is not restricted to technology-related companies only. Gere explained that the ‘tech’ portion of the group’s name refers more to the use of technology, primarily the Internet, as a major part of business development, rather than to a member’s products or services. In general, Hidden Tech businesses include public relations and marketing firms; E-commerce, hardware, and software developers; retailers; Web design and hosting companies; and management, consulting, and training outfits.

“One of the big misconceptions is that our membership has to be tech-savvy, but the reality is that technology enables small and home-based businesses to flourish, and anyone who is using that technology is welcome,” said Gere.

And as Hidden Tech continues to grow, so do the events and services its members provide for each other and the public. Gere said most are geared toward education and the sharing of information, and it’s in this area that Hidden Tech is seeing the most profound growth.

“We started having events that took us in three directions,” she said. “One was toward providing networking opportunities, then we began holding showcases of sorts that, in some cases, are very large events — things like trade shows or talks on specific topics such as marketing or new media. Those gave small or virtual companies the opportunity to show themselves off.”

Third, Hidden Tech provides business information and assistance to its members, drawing on their diverse expertise. Gere said that, through this prong of the organization, members can find answers to their pressing small-business questions — how to charge for services or how to draft contracts, for example.

“The depth and breadth of the knowledge and the talent in the area simply amazes me, and Hidden Tech allows me to reach out to that community to get help,” said Gere. “Sometimes, I not only get answers in minutes, but I get a variety of answers, so there are different avenues to take.”

Geared Up and Keyed In

That sharing of information has created a more bonded set of small-business owners in the region. But beyond that, Gere said Hidden Tech is also one avenue to make new, potentially lucrative relationships.

“I think Hidden Tech provides a camaraderie and a sense of security for owners of small and home-based businesses and sole proprietorships, who often feel isolated,” she said. “But the hope is that being involved with Hidden Tech will also generate customers.”

With that objective in mind, the organization recently held its annual meeting, and plans were mulled to host a new series of seminars and informative events, both live and through virtual channels. Those programs are slated to address some of the specific concerns members have voiced, including the growing role of written communication as a business tool or to build credibility, and the broader issue of running a business in today’s constantly changing technological climate.

Silvana Gravini, a Web site designer based in Northampton and a long-time Hidden Tech board member, said the group also hopes to continue to promote itself as a resource for larger companies, who might want to outsource various tasks to solopreneurs like those involved with Hidden Tech.

“The idea would be to advertise and have timely presentations, to which we would invite larger businesses,” she said, noting that the group has also begun to forge strategic relationships with other local entities, such as the Regional Technology Council, with that goal in mind.

“We have a relationship with the RTC, and are in the process of working toward making it a more robust relationship,” said Gravini. “There are a lot of opportunities for overlap, and we’re hoping to come up with some synergies to capitalize on our shared market interest.”

In addition to those new relationships, however, Gravini said Hidden Tech also revisits its own internal operations frequently, including virtual and technology-based services, to promote growth.

The largest piece of those services is Hidden Tech’s Web site, which also serves as a portal for members to connect, ask questions, or share concepts.
“It’s a fairly important component of the service we provide to our members,” she said. “The site went up five years ago and has grown substantially.”

The most important benefit of the site, said Gravini, is a ‘list serve’ that enables the Hidden Tech community — which participates in the organization and on the site to varying degrees — to post a general E-mail that is delivered to all registered users, thus maximizing the returns.

In addition, Gravini said the site includes comprehensive information regarding Hidden Tech programs and members, which is searchable by outside visitors looking for specific vendors.

“It provides access to a lot of real, qualified, heavyweight talent, and that’s one of the most important functions of the site because it affects our bottom lines,” she said. “And I have definitely gone to the Web site and used our resources to hire talent or trusted partners. It’s extraordinarily useful.”

As Hidden Tech moves forward, said Gravini, continued attention to the site and its functions is an ongoing concern. But in addition, the group is also in the process of evaluating and instituting more technology-based services for the public, potential business partners, and its members.

“As chair of the Web site committee, I think revamping the site is a primary goal,” she began. “But we’ve really grown a lot in recent years, and it’s time to get back to the table as a steering committee and make decisions based on that growth. We need to ask, ‘who are we?’ and ‘how do we best serve our members?’”

Jon Reed, a writer and developer of hardware and software programs now serving as co-chair of the Hidden Tech board, said with a group as vast and diverse as Hidden Tech, often the answers to those questions are equally far-flung. However, he added that the broad mix of participating businesses also enriches Hidden Tech’s overall presence in Western Mass.

“In general, we want to have an impact on the economic quality of life in the region,” said Reed. “There is this phenomenon of talent drain — many people and businesses have moved out of the Valley, and I often have this image of myself standing at a dock, waving goodbye.”

Reed listed a number of programs now being developed or mulled by Hidden Tech that use technology as a tool to enhance the economic profile of the area, and to reduce the number of times he stands on that proverbial pier, watching his colleagues disappear into the sunset.

“There’s a lot going on, and a lot ongoing,” he said. “For example, we recently polled our members to see what they were interested in seeing, and one of the big responses was a podcasting service.”

Reed explained that Hidden Tech podcasts could range from downloadable presentations, discussions, and interviews to online snippets of live seminars and workshops, and the service is slated to begin in the fall of this year.

“It’s a whole new way to connect to people, through their computers or mobile devices,” he said. “We’re in the process now of figuring out how to capitalize on this new trend as a group, to bring expertise to each other and the public.

“We’re also talking about more virtual events through online conferencing, for example, which will extend our reach, and empower members to get a better handle on those technologies to improve their own businesses. There’s always a learning curve, and as an organization, we can lessen that.”

The Human Variable

Beyond technological interventions, however, Reed said Hidden Tech has maintained a strong person-to-person presence. That’s in part to lessen the isolation that Hidden Techies often feel — “we don’t have water coolers to stand around,” he said — but also to keep a finger on the pulse of the changing business and technological community in the region.

“One of our most successful programs over the past few years was called Valleywood, held at Hampshire College,” he said.

“The idea was to bring people with connections to the movie industry out of the woodwork — we’ve seen an increasing number of people involved in that sector in Western Mass., such as in animation, screenwriting, and sound engineering.”

That workshop was an example of yet another goal of Hidden Tech, said Reed — defining and documenting the various professionals living and working in the Valley, and the economic benefit they can provide in general terms.

“We want to know who is here,” he said simply. “Once you start looking for people, you begin to realize just how much talent there is, and how many interesting things are going on.”

Reed returned to the notion of ‘lifestyle entrepreneurs’ to better define the people behind Hidden Tech who hope to drive regional growth in the technology and small-business sectors forward.

“Hidden Tech entrepreneurs tend to veer toward achieving a certain lifestyle for themselves,” he said. “Some are more ‘Bill Gates entrepreneurs,’ more classic and ambitious, but a lot of people seem to have the idea that running their own business, and not having a business own them, is the real measure of success.”

Reed explained that these entrepreneurs tend to build a company on their own terms from the ground up, and are less likely to relocate to another area that may be less expensive or more appropriate for quick expansion, thus combating brain drain in their own small way.

However, when those small steps are made not by one company but by thousands, Reed said the entire region benefits.

“The big vision behind the organization is to see if we can make a contribution to the economic picture in the Valley in meaningful ways,” he added. “That drives us, and it’s a model of trying to organically build new opportunities in the Valley.”

Out of the Woodwork

Whether or not those new opportunities will also spawn some new terminology in Western Mass., as its hidden technology sector continues to make itself known, remains to be seen.

However, the solopreneurs of the area now have a not only a water cooler to stand around, but renewed proof that even when standing alone, there is viable strength in numbers.

Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at stevenson@businesswest.com