The picturesque landscape of Wyoming spans across mountainous regions and expansive plateaus. Wyoming is the 9th largest state by area and is the least populous state. Despite the sprawling divide and isolation, the rich network of entrepreneurial support organizations is surprisingly well connected.
“They have an engaged community,” notes SourceLink Project Manager Solomon Lee IV, “and I think that’s because despite having a smaller population the state’s small business resources are really connected.” The Wyoming Business Council, established in 1998, is a team of passionate professionals with a Board of Directors consisting of 13 business leaders from across the state.
While the Wyoming Business Council had successfully built strong connections among businesses and organizations, the state’s economic development agency recognized a gap: entrepreneurs themselves weren’t accessing these resources. Many operate in remote areas with limited access to information, support services, and networking opportunities. As a result, business owners often don’t know where to begin or who to turn to for help. What they needed was a centralized, one-stop resource to guide and support them on their entrepreneurial journey.
“Wyoming has a robust, but geographically dispersed and organizationally fragmented, network of entrepreneurial support organizations,” said Taylor Vignaroli, Entrepreneur Development Manager for the Wyoming Business Council. “For years, the primary challenge for entrepreneurs was simply a lack of awareness, they didn't know what help was available or how to access it. This created significant inefficiencies and barriers to growth, hindering our state's economic diversification efforts.”
So, the Wyoming Business Council engaged SourceLink in Fall 2024 looking for more than just a website. They needed a statewide solution that could serve as both a front door for entrepreneurs and a central hub for the business support ecosystem. SourceLink would build the hub consisting of SourceLink Pro℠ CRM, the Resource Navigator® interactive database and SiteConnex™ website.
“We needed a sophisticated, data-driven platform that could not only centralize these resources,” noted Vignaroli, “but also provide a seamless user experience for entrepreneurs and robust analytics for our economic development leaders.”
“When you are dealing with the whole state,” says Lee, “you still have to drill down to what people need geographically, because that could be different from one side of the state to the other.”
This problem wasn’t new to SourceLink, who created the largest network of state, regional and local communities in the United States working on entrepreneurship-led economic development. Their experience includes implementing several full-state platforms as well as many rural communities.
“Because of the extensive work with rural communities across the country, I knew we were uniquely positioned to help Wyoming build a solution that truly meets the needs of entrepreneurs, no matter how remote their location,” said Krista Markley, Business Development Director at SourceLink. “We understood the importance of creating a centralized, accessible platform that could bridge geographic gaps and bring statewide resources into one cohesive space.”
"The real value in working with SourceLink is their proven methodology and industry-leading expertise having worked in a host of various contexts,” added Vignaroli. “We weren't just buying software; we were adopting a system with best practices built in. Their expertise in network development, from partner engagement to data taxonomy, saved us months of guesswork and ensured we built a platform that was both powerful and sustainable from day one."
The program was named WyoBizLink and its mission was clear: to empower Wyoming business leaders and provide a no-cost, statewide bridge that connects entrepreneurs to the right resources, at the right time. As discussion began on the shape of the program, there was an emphasis for an online platform that could simplify the entrepreneurial journey. Business owners needed a single, trusted source for everything from licensing and funding to legal guidance and marketing support. At the same time, they also needed a backend tool that could strengthen the connection and collaboration among Wyoming’s support organizations.
When it came time to bring the network together, it was clear that this project was a welcomed and shared common goal.
“The partners were really engaged at the initial resource partner meeting.” said Lee. “I felt a strong sense of willingness to collaborate. Experiencing that collaboration and seeing the cohesion between different partners was really special.”
Several trusted Wyoming economic development partners dedicated their time and energy to make the platform a reality, including the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Innovation Partnership, the Laramie County Community College, as well as the Wyoming Library system, and the Wyoming Library innovative business.
While SourceLink had worked with full states and rural communities before, a new experience was the chance to work with a private marketing firm to create the visual look and brand of WyoBizLink. The public/private partnership was unique to this experience.
“Something new was working with a private sector firm on the design of the website,” recalled Lee, “which I thought was really cool. They were able to craft out and create a nice website that spoke to their vision and to what they were trying to do visually in a way that I think will be well received amongst their entrepreneurs.”
The result of all the hard work and effort put in was a visually engaging and easily navigable website. In the next five years, WyoBizLink hopes to become the undisputed single source of truth for every entrepreneur and business leader in the state while evolving to become the central nervous system of Wyoming's entire entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“For any state or region serious about building a measurable, collaborative, and truly effective entrepreneurial ecosystem, a platform of this caliber is not a luxury, it's a necessity,” said Vignaroli. “The decision to partner with SourceLink was a critical inflection point for our initiative. Their technology provides the infrastructure, but their partnership provides the blueprint for success. We consider WyoBizLink to be a core asset for Wyoming's economic future, and SourceLink has been the ideal partner to help us build it.”
