1384_ 5/15/13 -
The 40th annual World Trade Day features technology from some of the world’s most innovative firms like Google, IBM, IHS Global, Microsoft, SAP, SDL, aWhere, and eCustoms. More than 400 expected participants will also have the opportunity to hear high-profile speakers—like Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide's Chief Information Officer Yuri Aguiar and Visa's Global Head of Network Processing Judson Reed—who work at the apex of international business and technology, as well as other Colorado-based thought leaders, like the professional hackers at One World Labs. International business experts from top global companies like Jeppesen, Arrow, MWH, and Hitachi will also be on hand to share how they're using new technology to better their sales and increase their profits. Thursday, May 16, 2013
RELATED LINKS:
World Trade Center - Denver, CO ||
Straight Talk about the Ups and Downs of the Coming Market 1378_ 4/24/13 -
At the 'Straight Talk' Luncheon Series, program last week, Chris Pelley, CEO & Managing Director of Capital Investment Management (CIMCO) introduced an old friend and today's keynote speaker, Mike Robertson, 'an experienced investment advisor'. Chris says, "Mike wants to share his wisdom and advice gathered over the years - he enjoys complex problem solving and helping people see there are better ways of doing things." Mike's radio show has been very successful in Texas for the past few years - they're now opening up in Denver, broadcasting weekdays from 7:00am to 8:00am on Denver radio, AM-1060 on your dial. Larry was really interested and surprised at some of the things Mike talked about that maybe coming up in this year and in the next few years... Robertson said, "Well, I'm really happy, like everyone, that we've done so well these last couple of years. You roll back the clock and talk to somebody about this time in 2009 - the market was just beginning to turn around. We'd gone through a devastating loss, the market was off by 57% and people were really depressed. Okay, it's recovered now. One of the things that's great about Americans is we wake up in the morning ready to conquer the world, but we also tend to forget history a little bit. So my concern now is that people are not preparing for the next time it's going to happen. I can't say when it's going to happen, the pull back in the market - There will be a pull back. How deep will it be? Who knows. Obviously we've done very well, we've come back a very long way. We have some systemic problems in the U.S. - We have way too much debt. We've got interest rates at zero, you have people that are investing in investments like stocks that have never been there before. There are people that literally used to invest in CDs that could get 7 - 8 - 10% on their CDs... they're actually going to invest in stocks now because that's the only place they can get in." The bond market? Your interest rates are practically zero - they peaked on September 30th of 1981 - interest rates have been dropping since that time. They've pretty well hit the floor now and there is really only one way to go now. They can stay where they are now, at zero. Or, they're going to go down in price as interest rates rise - at some point interest rates will rise... that's just the way it is, everything goes in cycles. The important thing to remember is to prepare for those cycles in advance. Mike's favorite quote, by John F. Kennedy, 'The best time to prepare the roof is when the sun is shining.' ...listen for more valuable information... Chris Pelly, Capital Investment Management, Securities offered through First Allied Securities, Inc. A Registered Broker/Dealer (Member FINRA/SiPC) Advisory services offered through First Allied Advisory Services Inc., A Registered Investment Advisor. Mike Robertson, Robertson Wealth Management, Securities offered through First Allied Securities, Inc. A Registered Broker/Dealer (Member FINRA/SiPC) Advisory services offered through First Allied Advisory Services Inc., A Registered Investment Advisor RELATED LINKS:
CIMCO ||
Community Reach ||
Social Entrepreneurs ||
Straight Talk Event Photos ||
KEYWORDS: Mike Robertson, Wealth Creation, Chris Pelley, Capital Investment Management, CIMCO, Straight Talk, Jeffrey Hartmann, CDs, Bonds, Interest Rates, John F. Kennedy, Ben Bernanke, Federal Debt,
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LISTEN TO: Mike Robertson, Robertson Wealth
2005 History - Building Business in Colorado...
1378_ 4/19/2013 - 8/29/2005- HISTORY and perspective from 2005! We will transport you back to 2005 - eight years ago to listen to interviews and see tons of photos from 2005 business events. Just click on the Listen/Subject link and we can take you back. You will see the 100s of photos that are not found on other websites. Let us know what you think email radio@w3w3.com.
LISTEN TO: Phil Weiser, Merc Mercure, Chris Johnson, Stan Feld... Keywords: Stan Feld, M.D., Healthcare system, Merc Mercure, photonics, Chris Johnson, VoIP, Phil Weiser, political environment changes, Silicon Flatirons Center, University of Colorado, Law School
17 April 2013
JumpStart 2013 Denver's economic development strategy continues 1376_ 4.17.13 -
There are more than 25,000 Denver businesses and enterprises, approximately 420 of which have more than 100 employees. However, the 420 firms with more than 100 employees represent nearly 50 percent of the total jobs in Denver. Compared to the U.S. economy, Denver has a significantly higher concentration of persons employed in the energy, healthcare, information technology, finance and professional/business services fields. These firms generally produce high-value products and services. Employees of these firms tend to receive higher wages and are required to hold advanced educational training. Top concerns of Denver’s employers include a strong educated workforce, safe and energetic business areas, and reasonable operating costs as compared to other parts of the state and country. In 2013, OED will continue to focus on retaining three groups of businesses: (1) the largest private and nonprofit employers; (2) high-growth sector companies; and (3) firms with soon-to-be expiring leases. A continuous outreach campaign to owners and C-level executives will demonstrate the city’s commitment to the business community while identifying issues and highlighting the benefits of operating a company in Denver. We are setting focus on the best strategies to advance economic prosperity for the city, its neighborhoods, residents and businesses. The 2013 JumpStart strategy provides a clear signal to the community as to how we are working to build a stronger Denver, with jobs and housing opportunities for all. And, JumpStart 2013 is a road map for our staff — it drives the work plans and priorities for all OED staff divisions. Because economic development is a continuous, multi-year task, this year’s strategic plan also includes a separate longer-term plan that sets forth our strategic direction for the next three years. You’ll see that our 2013 initiatives relate directly to this broader three-year plan. Similarly, our future annual plans will also support the long-term strategy. JumpStart 2013 clearly builds upon our successes from last year. We again have seven main sections, or what I refer to as “pillars” of economic development. Each of our pillars for 2013 includes a series of bold, forward-thinking strategic initiatives to help us accomplish our important mission. The OED will continue to engage in partnerships with business industry groups, including better support for renewable and traditional energy companies located in downtown Denver. This heightened focus will result in more business leaders choosing to live, work, play and stay in Denver.
RELATED LINKS:
Denver OED ||
JumpStart 2013 Denver ||
Greenprint Denver ||
Entrepreneurs ||
KEYWORDS: Paul Washington, Denver, Office of Economic Development, Jump Start 2012, Business Retention, Small Business Advocacy, Business Recruitment, Sustainable Neighborhood Development, Business Lending, Workforce Development, Key Strategic Projects, bytes=6260927
LISTEN TO: Paul Washington, Executive Director, OED, City & County Denver
Penny Lewandowski Second Stage Development and Growth 1373_ 4/10/13 -
We're here with keynote speaker, at the ACG Denver's April Luncheon, Penny Lewandowski director of entrepreneurship development for the Edward Lowe Foundation. Lewandowski works with entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) as they develop creative ways to grow their communities by serving second-stage businesses. She is a frequent speaker on the topics of building an entrepreneurial culture, as well as the importance of working with growth companies. She also directs the foundation’s Entrepreneurship Team and manages the technology services for the organization. It's been six months since Lewandowski was in Denver, Larry asked for an update on what's happening with Colorado Companies to Watch. Penny said, "Tomorrow evening we will be at the Governor's Residence with all of the finalists - and I think we have 184 finalists. We had a record number of nominations this year. Colorado is always out front when it comes to nominations. Then on Thursday we're going to be judging those companies, and they go through a pretty intensive process with that. We'll probably make an announcement in the next several weeks after we do the judging."
ACG Denver’s David Sloan Scholarship Program. Set your goal to become an ACG Scholar! Each year the Denver Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) awards one scholarship to a promising 1st or 2ndyear student at each of five area graduate business programs, in the amount of $2,500 annually. The scholarship is renewable for a second year based on both the academic performance and the career ambition of the student. To be eligible for the award, the recipient must be currently enrolled in one of five programs with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better...Listen for much more...
RELATED LINKS:
ACG Denver ||
M&A Channel ||
ACG Denver's David Sloan Scholarship Program ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
ACG Photo ||
KEYWORDS: Penny Lewandowski, Entrepreneurship, Second Stage Companies, Edward Lowe
Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, ACG Denver, David Sloan Scholarship, University of Denver, bytes=2751741
LISTEN TO: Penny Lewandowski, Director of Entrepreneurship, Edward Lowe Foundation
Developing Colorado's Science and Technology Leaders of Tomorrow1372_ 4/9/13
Watch this short but important video. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Human Transporter. FIRST was founded on partnerships with businesses, educational institutions and government. Many Fortune 500 companies provide funding, in-kind donations and volunteers to support the program. The key to FIRST's success is the work of thousands of volunteer mentors, professional engineers, teachers, and other adults working with youth across the country. In addition to the volunteer team mentors, FIRST competitions and other events were organized and staffed by over 5000 event and committee volunteers. FIRST programs are growing rapidly in the United States and Canada, and demand is accelerating in other countries...VIDEO to watch...
RELATED LINKS:
Colorado FIRST Home ||
FIRST Impact ||
ColoradoFIRST Robotics Competition Photos 2013 ||
Channel: University of Denver on w3w3.com ||
PodCast Directory ||
KEYWORDS: Colorado FIRST, Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,
Student Competition, Volunteers, Mentors
Michael Hamers, logo design, branding, excellence 1370_ 4/8/13 -
We're talking with Michael Hamers, a long time associate in the Colorado business community and founder of Lightspeed Design & Branding Group. Larry asked, "How did you get your start?" Mike replied, "I Went to commercial arts school and was hired by Harley Davidson based on the strength of my line art. They taught me how to read blueprints. I spent many years as a technical illustrator doing cutaways and exploded views of engines and transmissions. When I moved to Colorado I went to work at Ball Aerospace and moved up to laser communication devices and infrared telescopes and the space station. After working there for about six years, I started my own company, LightSpeed Commercial Arts." Larry said, "It's an interesting name why did you pick that name and what was your business like back then?" Besides thinking it was a cool name, Mike said, "people kept telling me how fast I was compared to the other illustrators and designers working whatever projects I was working on. Back then I was still primarily an illustrator doing work for Xerox, Metronics, working on cold laser and heart catheters, a lot of technical manuals for Mobil Oil, their emergency management plan - how to deal with a terrorist attack or helicopter safety... so very technical back then." Larry asked, "When did you start creating logos and branding?" Mike replied, "Pretty much from the start. My first logo was for a company Calling All Cars, some of the first cell phones for the car - it was about the size of a shoe, had a little antenna on the back window." Then Mike did a logo for Larry - the Institute for Change Research and Mike received his first 'award for excellence', he's been hooked ever since. "What do like most about logo design and branding?" "I just love the story telling aspect. I just love bridging the company name and tag line and the mark [the logo] into a homogenous whole - giving it a stable base. People love stories. So if you're able to get the branding story out, you're more apt to be remembered." So Mike really enjoys helping to do the telling and the selling of the branding message for these companies. Mike also produces a wonderful newsletter - extremely informational, easy to read and it can help you to build your business - the name of it is 'Good Design is Good Business: The business builder update'. Mike said, "It's just a great way for me to express myself, share my opinions about design and marketing." Topics covered in Mike's newsletter to this point, and available on his website newsletter archives are ...listen for more great ideas...
RELATED LINKS:
Lightspeed ||
Economy Builders ||
Mastering Change ||
Institute for Change Research ||
KEYWORDS: Michael Hamers, Branding, Design, Commercial Arts, Logos, 'Good Design is
Good Business, Harley Davidson, Ball Aerospace, Xerox, Metronics, Calling All Cars, Institute for Change Research, bytes=6461965
LISTEN TO: Michael Hamers, Lightspeed Design & Branding Group
John Mackey, Culture, Strategy and Conscious Capitalism 1368_ 3/26/13 - Larry and Patricia Nelson are here at the ACG Denver's 11th Annual, Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference 2013 speaking with John Mackey, CEO and Cofounder of WholeFoods and co-author of Conscious Capitalism.
At this year's conference we heard a lot of speakers talking about strategy - we asked John Mackey to give us his take on strategy. He responded, "My theory is that you have to first find your purpose for the business, why you exist. After that you have to ask, How do I create value for our customers? Ultimately it is value creation for the customers that leads the business to flourish. Then we ask the strategy questions. What strategy do we implement that allows us to follow purpose and allow us to create value for our customers and other stakeholders?...READ MORE RELATED LINKS: Conscious Capitalism || ACG Denver || RM Corporate Growth Conference || M&A Channel || Amazon || KEYWORDS: ACG Denver, Rocky Mtn Corporate Growth Conference, John Mackey, WholeFoods Market, Association for Corporate Growth, Keynote speaker, John Mackey, Conscious Capitalism, M&A, Entrepreneurs, RMCGC, BYTES=10372809 LISTEN TO: John Mackey CoFounder/CEO, WholeFoods Markets and
Author, Conscious Capitalism
Leonard Nimoy and Star Trek come to Colorado 3/20/2013 [832_ 4/26/10] - At the 26th National Space Symposium, Larry and Pat had an opportunity to have a discussion with Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame. But Nimoy is so much more than that. They decided to talk about other topics that help us learn more about him and what has shaped his character over the past 79 years as well as understanding his hot buttons. We started out by reflecting on some poetry Leonard read as 'whale song' was heard in the background...that was decades ago but it opened up insights to his current interests and concerns. When asked, Is there something businesses can do to motivate children?" His reply was an ouch. "I'm not a sociologist, I'm not a businessman, I can't speak intelligently about that. I'll tell you what I am concerned about; I'm concerned about how much television kids watch that is not uplifting, or educational or inspiring in any way. It's all about celebrity, and if you're celebrity, come and tell us about your celebrity. What have you accomplished? I'm a celebrity - I'm famous for having a lot of children, so I want a TV show - It's crazy. What we have descended to in our education, it's crazy! It's really sad, I could go on about that, I'm not going to." He had a great deal to say about advice he would give to someone following his career path. "The biggest fantasy, myth about my work, about being an actor is people who think a look will get you somewhere, be at the right place and time, that kind of thing - luck plays a big role, but I never believed that, not even as a teenager ...Education, it's all about education. Learn, learn, learn and devote yourself to a profession. Be professional about it." Larry asked, "Do you feel the U.S. is losing its position in terms of space?" Leonard replied, "Yes, I don't know to what degree this is true. I don't want to be an alarmist about this, but I do think we've got some work to do." We did end with a Vulcan salute. Listen for much, much more... April 8th Begins 29th National Space Symposium... Related Links:
29th National Space Symposium ||
Space Technology Hall of Fame® || National Space Symposium ||
Space Foundation ||
More About Nimoy || Keywords: Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek, Spock, Vulcan, National Space Symposium, Space Foundation, Education, Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award 4/26/10 Chnl: News bytes: 5458968 LISTEN to Leonard Nimoy, aka Mr. Spock
Sarah Schupp, aggregating resources so that they're easy to find 1367_ 3/19/13 -
We are speaking with Sarah Schupp, founder and CEO of UniversityParent. As fate would have it, we first heard of Sarah when we were on the Parents Board at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and Sarah was a bright young student who came to the University with a very good idea and that was the beginning of a successful bootstrapping startup. We've asked Sarah to give our listeners an overview. Basically UniversityParent is the number one destination for college parents to find everything they need to help their students. So it's everything from safe, off-campus student housing to nearby moving and storage facilities, to information on how they can help their student if they're dealing with a challenge on campus. The idea came up because Sarah was an out-of-state student here in Boulder and her parents had all kinds of questions about the local area as well as the university. Not surprisingly their questions were different than those of Sarah's as a student. Almost all of the information the university provided really was directed at the student population and not the parent population. This was crazy - parents are such big stakeholders in the student's education that they really need to be constructively involved and have the right resources available. So Sarah approached the university with "the idea" for a parent guide. They were supportive of the idea the problem was a lack of funding. Sarah's response? "I said, that's great, I'm glad you don't have any money, I'm going to make this into a business." Sarah walked downtown Boulder knocking on doors and asking people to advertise. Parents want to know about the local businesses almost as much as they want to know about the local content. Larry asked, "What resources do you offer to both parents and students?" Sarah replied, "Basically we are aggregating resources so that they're easy to find for families. That's everything from where is the academic advising center on campus; when is tuition due; when is spring break. Some of these questions don't seem to be serious, like when is spring break, but they're important because parents have to book flights and arrange travel." Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS:
UniversityParent.com ||
Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship ||
Economy Builders ||
Mastering Change ||
KEYWORDS: Sarah Schupp, UniversityParent, Crash Course Series for Entrepreneurs,
Entrepreneurs Unplugged, New Tech Meetup, Entrepreneurship, Silicon Flatiron Center, bytes=6915451
LISTEN TO: Sarah Schupp, CEO, UniversityParent
