w3w3.com

ARZU became the focus of her philanthropy

Social Entrepreneurism focused on women
1295_ 10/20/12 - Social entrepreneur Connie Duckworth founded ARZU, (which means “hope” in Dari), in 2004, to empower destitute women weavers in rural Afghanistan. Connie serves pro bono as Chairman and CEO. Starting with 30 weavers, ARZU has transformed into a learning laboratory for holistic grassroots economic development —today employing some 700 women, providing access to education and basic healthcare, seeding multiple micro-business start-ups, building community centers, pre-schools and parks, and creating award-winning fair-labor rugs—all in a country ranked as “the world’s worst place to be a woman.” Ms. Duckworth retired in 2001 as a Partner and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs, the first woman to be named a sales and trading partner in the firm’s history. She tells us she really wanted to rebalance how she spent her time. So she envisioned 1/3 business activities, 1/3 philanthropic activities and 1/3 family oriented activities. ARZU became the focus of her philanthropy. ARZU is an example of a 'for benefit corporation'. It uses private sector practices to create jobs in very remote rural villages in Afghanistan, and produces export quality products. Because of her business lens, Connie sees a social business as the way to empower people through employment. It seemed like a natural fit as Connie's passion has always been women's rights. To Connie, the shortest path is through economic advancement. The women in Afghanistan are truly among the most disadvantaged women in the world. Connie Duckworth is the Keynote Speaker at the CIMCO Annual Social Enterprise event at ACG Denver! Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS: ARZU Studio Hope || CIMCO || Community Reach || Social Entrepreneurship || M&A Channel || ACG Denver || ACG Denver / CIMCO Annual Social Enterprise Event || KEYWORDS: Connie Duckworth, ARZU, Studio Hope, Social Entrepreneurship, Afghanistan, Women, Philanthropy, CIMCO, Community Reach, ACG Denver, bytes=5276215
LISTEN TO: Connie Duckworth, Founder/CEO, AZRU

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Investment & Finance Cross-Networking Event

Networking Rules of Engagement, the do's and don'ts
1263_ 8/24/12 - Howard Potter, recovering attorney and CPA is here to talk about his favorite subject, networking. We're discussing his Networking Rules of Engagement, and then we'll talk about the 7th Annual Investment & Finance Cross-Networking Event on September 27th, 2012, hosted by Mr. Potter and sponsored by ACG Denver, w3w3.com and many others. Last year over 400 people attended this event and it has been sold out each of the last four years. The format is appreciated by all - there are no speakers, just a lot of time to network and make or renew your contacts. We asked him to talk about his networking best practices. Networking should be about 'How can I help you?' You walk into a meeting, the first thing you want to think is, 'What can I do to help these people in the room?' First, try to arrive a minimum of 15 minutes early. Those first minutes are the most important. You can get the ground work going, canvass the room, get a feeling for what's going on. I would also suggest, try to leave 15 minutes late, at the end of the networking time is some of the most valuable time that you spend. After the networking session is over you have to take the cards you've collected, make notes on the cards to remind yourself later of who you met. Talking about business cards - Never, Never, Never be without your business card. Howard goes so far to say if you are fishing or hunting - have a business card with you. The business card should be a card on which you can write and take notes so the people who meet you and you meet - you can make notes about who these people are and what their background is. Listen for more and be ready to take notes...
Related Links: Investment & Finance Cross-Networking Event || ACG Denver || M&A || w3w3.com Blog || Howard Potter || Keywords: Howard Potter, Investment & Finance Cross-Networking, ACG Denver, Networking Rules of Engagement, Business Cards, Brand Yourself, bytes=5760630
LISTEN TO: Howard Potter, Cross Networking 2012

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One Man Succeeding by Investing in the Community

The lending side is one, but it's also the capital side
1261_ 8/20/12 - We are talking with Rick Fort, the founder and former Chairman of Educational Sales Management (ESM), a provider of student lifecycle solutions to help schools enroll, graduate and place more students. Rick sold the company a year ago to Xerox. Here too is Dorothy Donnelly, National Marketing Director for Hein & Associates, a public accounting firm based here in Denver, and Dorothy is also a board member of ACG Denver. Dorothy pointed out that Rick Fort enrolled, by founding ESM, graduated by selling ESM to Xerox and now he is succeeding by investing into the community - a true entrepreneur who now heads up The Fort Knocks Company. Larry asked, "What are some of the biggest challenges for mid-sized companies today?" Rick said, "For mid-sized companies down to small companies as well, it is in part, finding the right people to help grow innovation, not getting stuck in where-you-are, constantly developing new ideas and bringing new change." Dorothy said, "What I’m hearing from folks is that it is still very difficult to get lending even though it's loosening up a bit. That being the commercial banks are at the will of the lenders and their organizations and not so much able to support business on their own without that stamp of approval." Rick agreed with that and added, "The lending side is one, but it's also the capital side. Now venture capital and the equity groups are starting to loosen up their pockets more and more, making good investments in companies. But there's a leverage that they have too, so it's not necessarily all it's made out to be." They then discussed the possibilities, potential advantages and strengths coming up this next year...Listen for more...
Related Links: ACG Denver || M&A || Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference || The Fort Knocks Company || Hein & Associates || Keywords: Rick Fort, Dorothy Donnelly, ACG Denver, Association for Corporate Growth, Educational Sales Management, ESM, Fort Knocks Company, Hein & Associates, Mid-sized Companies, Venture Capital, Equity Groups, bytes=4271023
LISTEN TO: Rick Fort, The Fort Knocks Co. & Dorothy Donnelly, Hein & Associates - ACG

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Banner year for COCTW

This program is a perfect example of public/private partnership
1259_ 8/16/12 - We're talking to Sam Bailey the Relationship Manager for the Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade. That means he primarily works in business retention and expansion, helping existing businesses grow and expand their businesses. Sam is also the new program director for Colorado Companies to Watch, which is now four years into the program with 200 companies highlighted and close to, if not over a thousand finalists. Sam said, "We have really seen a lot of companies and communities come out and support these businesses - highlight them, recognize them - so the program has grown to quite a prestigious honor. This year alone we had a wonderful geographical diversity across the state of Colorado. We had companies from rural and urban communities - communities that we haven't seen on stage before. So this has been a banner year for COCTW. We're looking to continue that through outreach to our community partners across the state. It's important to note this is not a program just for the Front Range. It's for the entire state; we have companies from Durango, Carbondale, Craig, and Holly." Listen for more...
Related Links: Colorado Companies to Watch || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || w3w3.com Blog || Gala Event || Keywords: Sam Bailey, Office of Economic Development and International Trade, OEDIT, Colorado Companies to Watch, COCTW, Colorado, Second Stage Companies, Lowe Foundation, bytes=6226236
LISTEN TO: Sam Bailey, Program Director, COCTW

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Representing 8% of Colorado companies

They contribute about 86% of the employment in the state
1227_ 6/20/12 - We're talking with David Tolson, Managing Director at Capital Value Advisors investment banking firm, and they're involvement with a community project that we think is very special. Larry said, "Give us an overview of Capital Value Advisors." Dave said, "We are an investment bank which is basically a fancy term for our focus on valuations, mergers and acquisitions, both buy side and sell side representation, as well as capital raises. And we really focus on mid market, privately held businesses, anywhere between $5-$50 Million in terms of revenue." We are all really excited about the annual Colorado Companies to Watch event coming up this week, Friday, June 22, 2012. Capital Value Advisors is the presenting sponsor. David tells us they became involved about three years ago, they attended the very first Gala. It was right in the darkest depths of the economic recession. What they saw was amazing and very compelling. And that was a lot of second stage companies with great ideas, that were growing very rapidly, that were adding employees. It was such a stark contrast to what you were hearing in the news at the time, not only regionally and locally but also nationally. We looked at this and said these are the types of companies we need to support not only as a company, but quite frankly as a community need to support. Because these companies while they represent only about 8% of the overall companies in Colorado, they contribute about 86% of the total employment in the state of Colorado. So it's a wonderful place for experienced people to go and develop their business and continue to grow their business. Colorado Companies to Watch focuses on and celebrates second stage companies and really the alums who have been past winners and this year's current winners are part of a community that includes sponsors like Capital Value Advisors, community partners, media relations partners like w3w3®, as well as a host of other government and community resources that are working towards the success and trying to help these second stage companies continue to grow and prosper." Tickets are still available to attend the gala...we'll see you there...
Related Links: Capital Value Advisors || Colorado Companies to Watch || Edward Lowe Foundation || YE (Your Economy) || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || COCTW Gala 2010 || Keywords: David Tolson, Capital Value Advisors, Edward Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, bytes=4462448
LISTEN TO: David Tolson, Managing Director, Capital Value Advisors

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Check out Your Economy

Colorado companies that are making a big impact
1225_ 6/18/12 - The Edward Lowe Foundation and the Companies to Watch Program were started by Edward Lowe in Michigan. His claim to fame was that he invented Kitty Litter. With that he made his fortune and then decided he wanted to put part of that fortune back into an organization that would help make the life of an entrepreneur a little easier than what he had. So that was the genesis on which the foundation was started. Penny Lewandowski tells us "What they do is work with communities and help them understand what we call their second stage growth businesses. We help them understand those businesses and their special needs as they grow their companies, what kind of programs can be put around those companies -[ the foundation has developed a significant number of those programs] - and Companies to Watch is one of those." Larry said, "The second stage companies that you work with have such a tremendous impact on the state of Colorado." Penny replied, "You're right and I've got some numbers for you. We have a database called 'Your-Economy-dot-org'. Existing, expanding companies contribute most to U.S. job creation. In fact, from 1990 to 2008, existing companies generated 71 percent more new jobs than startups." We're talking with Penny Lewandowski, Director, Entrepreneurship & Development, Edward Lowe Foundation, about a very interesting event we have coming up on June 23rd, here in Denver. Pat and I along with lots of celebrities and well known business people will be looking for you at the Colorado Companies to Watch Gala and Award Celebration. There are plenty of good reasons for you to be there and that's why we've cornered Penny, to give us a little background about this program and why it's so important to all of us. Companies to Watch is really centered around recognizing second stage companies. "Those are companies between 6 and 99 employees with $750K to $50 Million in revenue. And these are companies that have both the intention and capacity to grow. We pay a lot of attention to them because they are huge job creators, so they are making a big difference in their communities in a lot of different ways." There's much more and we are looking forward to seeing you there on June 23rd.
Related Links: Colorado Companies to Watch || YE (Your Economy) || Edward Lowe Foundation || YE (Your Economy) || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || Gala Event 2011 || Keywords: Penny Lewandowski, Edward Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, bytes=4359212
LISTEN TO: Penny Lewandowski, Edward Lowe Foundation

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Innovating and motivating around the world
1193_ 4/9/12 - The monthly luncheon speaker at the Denver Association of Corporate Growth was George Godfrey, who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Crestcom International, a leading international franchiser of management training programs. He joined Crestcom as its Chief Operating Officer in 2008, accepting his current position in March, 2009, when he also became President, CEO and Director of its parent, Crestcom Holdings, LLC. He had previously served as Senior Vice President of Sales for Phoenix American, a provider of insurance vehicle service contracts in Miami, Florida. Before joining that firm, George spent eleven years with General Electric, as a Regional Sales Manager and Senior Vice President. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he served five years as an officer in the U.S. Army, where his final assignment was as Detachment Commander. Crestcom poses these questions (and has the answers). How are businesses learning to innovate and motivate in India and Germany? How are executives leading change in Asia? How are managers throughout Africa and the Middle East planning for tomorrow? And how are most admired firms in North and South America making a bottom-line difference through better negotiation and strategy?
In addition to our luncheon presentation, ACG Denver also awarded the annual David Sloan Scholarships as well as the ACG Cup. The Scholarship Program is named after one of our former board members, David Sloan. As a result of MS, David had to leave his job and his work on the ACG Denver Scholarship Program. David was recently featured in the Denver Post and has written a very inspiring book about his journey. Each attendee at the April luncheon received a copy of his book, 'One Day at a Time'...listen for more...
Related Links: Crestcom Home || ACG Denver || M&A || Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference || One Day at a Time Book || Denver Post Article || Keywords: George Godfrey, Crestcom, ACG, Denver, Leadership, Training, Association for Corporate Growth, David Sloan, One Day at a Time, ACG Cup - bytes=3258726
LISTEN TO: George Godfrey, President/CEO, Crestcom International

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Came out of retirement, because this is important!

CEO Environment, Leadership in a Turbulent Economy
1189_ 4/2/12 - The Corporate Growth Conference in has been very exciting. Here we are talking with Bob Prince who just got off stage from the "CEO Roundtable - Leadership in a Turbulent Economy". We asked Bob for an overview of what his company does. Last February Bob came to Hyperion as it's new CEO and spent the last year changing the company, changing the direction, new leadership throughout the company. And, so today we changed the name to Gen4 Energy. What the company does, we're bring commercial, out of the Los Alamos Laboratory, a new type, more safe, nuclear power plant than has existed. It's really little, about the size of a Mini Cooper. It's a sealed unit and lasts for ten years for 24/7 power. We take it out sealed, we hook it up and you operate it for ten years. Ten years later, we'll come and get it and give you a new one. Larry said, "One of the things you referred to in your experiences along the line were the values established by your people." Bob said, "I think good companies just make money. Great companies make money and do a lot more. I think everybody wants to work for a great company. How do you do that, I think setting up a set of values and then adhering to them and driving them down into your procedures, your methods of operation, your performance appraisals and living those values makes the difference. We developed them over time and there came to be six values. The first was safety (handling radioactive material - they needed to),. The second one was people. You've got to believe in people and the key is what does that mean, how do you implement that and how do you drive that into your business? And how do you show that you value people, because they'll see right through it - if it's just a plaque to put on the wall, they will see that. 3.) Integrity is the next. Bob thinks that is the number one characteristic of a company or a leader.... Next is quality. You do it right because it's right and you want to be the best quality. If you're handling nuclear waste..."listen for more...
Related Links: Gen4 Energy || ACG Denver || M&A || Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference || Event Photos - Corporate Growth Conference 2012 || Keywords: Bob Prince, Gen4 Energy, Hyperion Power Module, ACG, Denver, Leading Resilient Growth, Association for Corporate Growth, Los Alamos Laboratory, - bytes=6225400
LISTEN TO: Bob Prince, President/CEO, Gen4 Energy

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Rocky Mtn. Corporate Growth Conference - Big Success

The dot bomb that became a worldwide winner
1181_ 3/21/12 - The Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference in Denver was kicked off with a great breakfast and as always smothered in comfortable, natural, awesome networking. No one was at a loss for words. Then the program began with the open fireside chat with guest, Joe Assell, Co-founder, CEO, President of Golf TEC. Larry interviewed Joe - 17 years in business & 148 locations. If you want to play better golf, you have come to the right place. For more than 15 years, GolfTEC has been helping golfers of all skill levels play better and enjoy the game more. Larry asked Joe to share some of his many experiences. "When you start up with an idea that's never been done before and you have to innovate along the way, there are trial and error and we certainly had a roller coaster in our business. The hardest part was the late 90's when we were navigating through the dot com days and we were really a service business, a golf lesson business, but all the investors wanted us to be a dot com. We tried to be a dot com but it led us to be a dot bomb. We ran into some severe problems and it was almost the end of our business. Joe was dating his future wife at the time and Joe told us she believed in him so much and encouraged him to stay with it, stating that she made enough to support both of them. In the meantime like so many startups have stated, Joe cleaned the bathrooms, gave golf lessons, did the marketing and anything else that was needed. "But we persevered and found the right partners and then from there road a really significant up where we partnered with a private equity fund. We partnered with Golf Smith to collocate and open our GolfTEC in their centers and we started franchising. Those three things... in 2007-08 we opened a new GolfTEC every nine days, 77 improvement centers in a two year period, and really cemented GolfTEC as the market leader in the United States for golf instruction." It took Joe/GolfTEC three years to hit their first million dollars. "Then it took another six or seven to do a million in a month. Then last year we did a million in a day. It's been fun to watch it grow" said Joe. Now they are in Mexico, Canada and...listen for more...
Related Links: GolfTEC || ACG Denver || M&A || Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference || Event Photos - Corporate Growth Conference 2012 || Keywords: Joe Assell, GolfTEC, Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference, Denver, Golfer, ACG, Denver, Leading Resilient Growth, Association for Corporate Growth - bytes=2856649
LISTEN TO: Joe Assell, CEO/CoFounder, GolfTEC

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Master Habits for Success

Execution, the difference between success and disappointment
1179_ 3/20/12 - It is interesting when speaking to many successful business leaders, we find a lot of grads from the 'school of hard knocks'. We are speaking with Tom Krekel, CEO of Full Sail Strategies. He says he learned the hard way, he started his first business back in 1983, which they grew and developed. Over the last 30 years he has run and developed business that ranged in size from the startup that he had to companies that had a couple hundred employees. He wishes he had had access to the kind of resources out there that he now brings to companies through the Mastering the Rockefeller Habits seminar and workshops, they will be conducting in Denver on April 24th. Larry asked, "with the economy we've been through the last few years, with the challenges we've been through, what are the biggest challenges coming up this year?" Tom replied, "It's interesting, we talk about what's happened with the recession, new technology impacting businesses. If you go back to the early 90's, Fortune Magazine does a cover article, "Why do CEO's fail?" They looked at strategy, access to resources - cash? No, it was really all around execution. In their study, what they found was the ability to get people rowing in the same direction, at the same time, whatever you want to call execution, that really was the prime area and that's still true today. You see people who start businesses, thankfully because most of our new jobs come from small business startups. But regardless of the business type, they soon learn to grow they have to change from being a functional specialist to becoming a leader of other people. That's not an easy transition. What I try to do is have them focus on a couple of disciplines. Establish priorities, and btw Tom says he's gone into companies, "...and they pull out their 12 priorities - Tell you what, any more than five, those aren't priorities, that's a checklist." 1.) No more than five priorities and one has to be the top. 2.) You've got to have some metrics so you can see what's happening on a contemporaneous basis. Not things that look backward, but things that will help you predict the future. And 3.) You've got to put in communication rhythm to keep that pace going, make sure everyone is aligned around what the goals are. And you drill it right down to every member of the team." Listen for more great ideas...
Related Links: Full Sail Strategies || Mastering the Rockefeller Habits Workshop || Gazelles || Entrepreneur Channel || Podcast Directory || Keywords: Tom Krekel, Full Sail Strategies, Entrepreneurs, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits Workshop, Gazelles, Leaders, CEOs, Fortune Magazine, Metrics, Predict the Future - bytes=4775500
LISTEN TO: Tom Krekel, CEO, Full Sail Strategies

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