AMHERST - The founder of the networking group Hidden-Tech resigned from the organization's board this week, but said she will remain involved in community events hosted by the organization.

Almost five years ago, author and consultant Amy Zuckerman recognized a trend among businesses in the Pioneer Valley. Small, home-based companies were springing up locally, but lacked a network and support group. Zuckerman created Hidden-Tech to provide a network for small businesses. The group now lists roughly 1,500 members.

Zuckerman, a resident of Amherst, operates a home-based marketing strategy company called A-Z International Associates.

The mission for the group, which she named Hidden-Tech, was formed around this principle: to "come together to beat isolation, share business tips, find resources, create alliances, learn business skills and alert regional economic planners and technology service providers about our presence."

When she created the group, Zuckerman said she was trying to bring to the fore businesses that had been overlooked.

Since then, board members said Zuckerman has helped raise the profile of the group by coordinating many outreach efforts, such as new media events at the Jones Library and the University of Massachusetts, both in Amherst.

Zuckerman said the group was "successful beyond my wildest dreams" and continues to be her "baby."

Hidden-Tech is applying for nonprofit status as a 501(c)(6) and has been working on strategic planning to make the group more of a formal > organization. Board members said that a replacement for Zuckerman would now be found within the ranks of the Hidden-Tech community.

In emails to other board members, which Zuckerman provided to the Gazette, she gave several reasons for her resignation this week. Chief among them was her desire to focus on her other business ventures, such as working as a consultant on Hidden-Tech issues. Her roles as a > consultant and as a board member, Zuckerman said, could create a conflict of interest.

Zuckerman said she also wanted time to focus on her career and her family

"I feel five years is enough," Zuckerman wrote. "Founders are great visionaries, often and can even build organizations, but they traditionally don't run organizations very well."

This week, Zuckerman also expressed her gratitude to the other board members and to the rest of the Hidden Tech community for their tireless work and support.

"Amy was not just the founder, she was the one who brought the entire concept," said Claudia Gere, a Hidden-Tech board member and a close friend of Zuckerman's.

Zuckerman's roots in journalism helped her to be a trend-spotter when it came to economic development, particularly in the Pioneer Valley, said Gere.

Zuckerman helped run workshops on new media and showed local > businesses how they could use the new technology to build their businesses, she said. Without Zuckerman, Gere said, many people would have been unaware of the force that new media was becoming in the Pioneer Valley.

"No one would have known it existed if it hadn't been for her," said Gere. "What an amazing legacy for one person to have."

She said that Zuckerman would be "sorely missed" in this leadership role, but would continue to be a large part of the Hidden-Tech community.

"She's been a gem," said Gere. " It's been a privilege to have worked with her."

Rick Feldman, who also serves on the Hidden-Tech board, said Zuckerman would continue to be a large part of the group's future. Feldman, who was recently appointed as interim treasurer of Hidden-Tech, said that the greatest challenge for the organization now was "to live up to expectations."

"Her sense of the organization remains the foundation of the organization," he said. "We'll continue to build off that. Her influence is permanent."