PIE Brings More Businesses Together with Its Expanded Workforce

Profitable Ideas Exchange (PIE) established itself as a business development partner to large consulting firms in 2001. Based in Bozeman, Montana, PIE has been bringing national and global clients together to help grow their businesses by facilitating communities of C-suite executive peer networking groups through events such as virtual roundtables, corporate dining events, and advisory board management.

PIE has seen significant growth and increased demand for its services in the last 20 years. To stay on top of this growth, PIE originally connected with Prospera in July 2018, when it applied for, and received, its first of two Big Sky Trust Fund (BSTF) grants to help with the expansion of its Bozeman-based team. At that time, PIE had 22 full-time employees and is now forecasting 70 full-time and 30 part-time employees by the end of 2021.

PIE was awarded its second BSTF grant in 2021, which helped to continue to expand its employee workforce. “The grant has been helpful in reducing our costs during onboarding and training, and we have been grateful for that as we have onboarded 30 plus new full-time members,” said PIE’s Director of Human Resources, Renee Storm.

“The grant is really helpful in allowing us to continue to offer competitive paying jobs in a community that is seeing the increased cost of living and higher wage pressure,” said PIE Managing Director and Partner Andi Baldwin. Despite its virtual business model, PIE maintains its goal to intentionally hire local employees and has invested in building a new space to house the expanding team.

In 2018, PIE joined Prospera’s Emerging Companies Roundtable program. This roundtable group is a peer network of local businesses created for owners and managers to connect and find solutions to challenges businesses in Bozeman face. “We’re really excited and grateful to be part of the business community in Bozeman. Our experience is that there are a lot of talented people and great businesses here, and it’s a fun and exciting time to be a growing business. We’re appreciative of Prospera for aiding in our growth,” said Baldwin.