BOISE - Tony DuPont embodies the simple philosophy of "go big or go home."

"We're going bold. It's time to go bold,” DuPont said.

For DuPont, the risk taking is paying off. Five years after starting a business out of his garage, he is selling PowerCordz to distributors around the world. The bike cords are “stronger, lighter ... They have a big future,” DuPont said.

IO DuPont is one of several startups in The WaterCooler, a small business incubator in Boise that offers a creative environment to its patrons.

Jeff Russell founded Easy Office nine months ago in the WaterCooler. The non-profit bookkeeper has grown to seven employees and is looking to add more.

“If it wasn't for WaterCooler, I'd be in a lonely strip mall somewhere,” Russell said.

But it's not just the businesses that are growing, the WaterCooler is also expanding. Employees are litter ally building walls to make more office space. It doesn't seem a lot of businesses are growing in the bad economy, but WaterCooler creator Mark Rivers isn't surprised.

"We've got a legacy of innovation here in Boise, along with this entrepreneurial spirit, great people in this town who have got ideas. We just need to unlock their opportunities for them,” Rivers said.

Rivers says the future of the Treasure Valley is not finding the next Micron, but launching a handful of starters like IO DuPont that could employ 40 to 60 people. Tony DuPont has bigger ambitions.

“Ideally it would be nice maybe someday we could have thousands of employees, but we'll start where we are and keep going,” DuPont said.