Every technology company, no matter what size, needs a little help. Fred Hoch, president of the Illinois Tech Association (ITA), is a resource for any tech company there, regardless of revenue or number of employees. Hoch admits that while Illinois has a great technology community, it's not as collaborative as it could be. So the ITA goes out of its way to help all companies, startups to enterprises, in five different areas: acceleration, collaboration, visibility, talent and advocacy. The ultimate goal is just to help support building companies. At different times in its growth cycle, a tech company has different needs. For example, a startup needs connections, information, strategy work, help driving a pricing model, visibility and talent. Essentially, they need everything. But an enterprise, such as Motorola, an Illinois-based tech company, looks to the ITA as a place where they can be showcased as a thought leader and to help them connect them with innovative, young partners. Watch my interview with Fred Hoch, and if you're an Illinois-based tech company, contact him to find out what it takes to be an ITA member.