Written by: Kurt Frohlich, President
Tech is good started out as a bunch of disconnected thoughts that had to roll around in my head for several months before the idea came together. What I knew for sure was the following:
- We wanted a way to give back to the community…but not in an ordinary way. We could have taken an easier, more traditional route in simply donating money to an existing charity, “adopting a highway”, cleaning up a local park, or volunteering to read to kids or the elderly. But taking an existing route – which certainly would have benefited the charity or cause of our choice – just didn’t feel right for us.
- We wanted to benefit local disadvantaged youth.
- The pursuit of education is one of our core values and we wanted to honor that.
- Technology is a huge part of our lives, and we wanted to tie that in with our youth and educational goals.
- Tech is good is our third business endeavor (but first non-profit venture) in the last 25 years, and was founded in 2011.
One morning (while brushing my teeth, I think) all of the elements came together in what was a fairly basic premise:
We love technology, and Apex consults with some of the world’s top technology companies…so in more ways than one, “Tech” has been “Good” to all of us…Tech is good! After the lightning bolt idea struck, I wondered if any internet domains for techisgood.org were available. I was pretty sure they must be taken…but they weren’t! That day I reserved every techisgood domain available, and also created the LLC under the same name.
So, we had the name, but what would we use it for? And then the second idea came:
What if we could develop a line of merchandise that was of high quality, truly useful, and featured cool and fun “mascots” or cartoons that conveyed how much fun technology could be? And if the products were uniquely branded and the community got behind us and bought the stuff, we could use all net profits to fund scholarships and provide computers for disadvantaged youth!
The idea came together all at once and hit all of the goals we wanted to accomplish. It was a pretty exciting few days as concepts were put into PowerPoint and were shared with some of my most trusted advisors.
My first rough sketch of a potential “mascot” was of a stereotypical older programmer-type guy, complete with thinning hair, goatee, white shirt, tie, and pocket protector.
Pretty bad, I know…and so not fun now that I look back on it.
Luckily, our Apex Marketing Manager, Seth Stell, has some excellent contacts with people who are much more creative than I am, and our line of mascots was born.
Our next big step was hiring the right person to run the whole Tech is good adventure. Enter Kelly Troescher, our Executive Director, who jumped into our crazy project with both feet. She and Seth transformed an idea in a PowerPoint and a bad drawing into what you see within this website today.
We also owe huge thanks to my wife, Dawn, for forging the relationships between Tech is good and our local area high schools. Her efforts were instrumental in working with the schools to identify our scholarship recipients. She and Kelly make a great team!
Now all we need is your support in making our dream a reality: To help deserving youth achieve their educational and life goals through a college education and the benefits of technology.
All the best!
Kurt Frohlich - President
Reno, Nevada
April, 2011