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
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
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
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
Life of the Entrepreneur: Controlling Your Destiny 421_ 9/06/11 [12/10/2007]Nancy Phillips, NCWIT Hero, offers a few keys for being a successful entrepreneur: Maintain a good sense of humor; Overcome the nay-sayers; and Practice real-world economics. Nancy is the Co-Founder, Director, COO of ViaWest (Today, Nancy is President and CEO as this was recorded in December, 2007) and shared her story and poignant points about building and growing a business even in the toughest of times to Lucy Sanders, CEO and Founder of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and NCWIT board member, Lee Kennedy along with Larry Nelson. Nancy loves technology and people and has a long history with the Telecom industry. She enjoys the challenges of being an entrepreneur for many reasons including her passion to control her destiny. Nancy says her husband claims, "Because I'm a control freak." Phillips has also been a principal, executive and consultant for numerous successful telecommunications companies including France Telecom, MCI and Qwest. Over 15 years ago, she began her career with Teleconferencing Systems Canada as Vice President of Sales and it was in this role that she met Roy Dimoff - the two have been loyal business partners ever since. Nancy shares some excellent advice for managers, leaders and entrepreneurs. Related Links:
ViaWest ||
NCWIT Home ||
Software ||
NCWIT Entrepreneurs ||
NCWIT Blog ||
Keywords: Nancy Phillips, ViaWest, Lucy Sanders, Entrepreneurs, National Center for Women & Information Technology, NCWIT Heroes, Teleconferencing Systems Canada, France Telecom, MCI, Qwest > 12/10/07 Bytes: 48124972 Listen to: Nancy Phillips, ViaWest > Bytes: 48124972 LISTEN to Nancy Phillips, ViaWest
Ed von Bleichert Zero Waste & Ralphie's Green Stampede 1359_ 3/5/13 -
"Here at CU we have one of the oldest college and university recycling programs in the country, going back to 1976." We're talking with Edward von Bleichert, Manager Environmental Operations, Department of Facilities Management, University of Colorado Boulder. Ed tells us, "Our program has some rich history as a recycling program. The term Zero Waste [ZW] is a relatively new term and tries to redefine the approach we're taking." To explain, recycling is somewhat reactive. You take the waste you're given and you try to find an outlet for it. Zero waste is really more proactive where you're looking at the inputs, throughputs, outputs, and trying to minimize waste at all of those stages. As it relates to us here on campus, it's still mostly a waste focus in terms of municipal solid waste, what would be going to the landfill as trash. But we're still being proactive in that we're going upstream, into that waste stream, and we're redesigning the waste from the beginning to make sure it's recyclable, compostable or reusable. Our biggest foray into Zero Waste started with Ralphie's Green Stampede which was the Athletic Department's initiative. It includes other initiatives in sustainability like energy and water conservation. But probably the area that's gotten the most attention is the waste elimination and the Zero Waste effort. As part of that, we literally sort through all the waste of every single home football game [the waste of 53,000 people]. Mostly to identify what is in that waste stream, and be able to design it out or find a market for it, whichever the case may be, to ultimately keep it out of a landfill. The simple definition of Zero Waste, and there are many, but for our purposes we're talking about achieving a minimum of a 90% landfill diversion rate. The campus is currently about 41% conversion rate for municipal solid waste. That doesn't include... Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS:
CU wins EPA Challenge ||
Ralphie’s Green Stampede ||
Single Stream in Housing ||
PodCasting Directory ||
KEYWORDS: Ed von Bleichert, CU, Environmental Operations, Department of Facilities
Management, University of Colorado Boulder, Zero Waste, Ralphie's Green Stampede, bytes=4874556
LISTEN TO: Ed Von Bleichert, Manager, Environmental Operations, CU
Terry Gold, CoFounder of Gold Systems
Microsoft goes live on the Gold System... 1344_ 2/8/13 -
His first day at work was July 4th, 1991, speaking of Independence day. Terry Gold, CoFounder of Gold Systems said, "It was the first time I worked on a holiday too, so welcome to the life of the entrepreneur." Gold Systems helps big companies communicate better with their customers, partners and employees. They are a software company. Originally, they built their software on other people's platforms, like AT&T and Avaya and such, even Microsoft - they're a big Microsoft partner now. Most recently they've built their own platform and Terry was happy to tell us that yesterday Microsoft went live on their platform, that's a big win for Gold Systems. Larry asked how that evolved and Terry told us, about seven years ago, Microsoft called Terry and said, we're going into the communications business. They told Terry what they were going to do and Terry decided, "we've got to be a part of this." So they were a services partner building software on the Microsoft speech recognition platform. A few years ago Microsoft decided to fold that into an even bigger thing that could replace phone systems, replace PBXs... - it's called Microsoft Link, But they weren't going forward with the speech recognition part of it as a stand alone platform. Gold Systems decided to build their own and just launched it late last year. We've got a handful of customers, a couple of the biggest banks in the world, a big aerospace company and then yesterday, [Ta dah!] Microsoft went live with it, so we're excited. Gold Systems got started before the web, with everything Terry's seen and been a part of, Larry wanted to know what he sees coming down the road. "Wow. Everything is changing for people. We're all mobile.. Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS:
Gold Systems ||
Microsoft Vonetix 7 Voice ||
Feld Thoughts ||
Podcast Directory ||
Terry Gold Blog ||
KEYWORDS: Terry Gold, Gold Systems, Vonetix 7 Voice, Microsoft, Brad Feld, PBXs, Microsoft Link, Mobile, bytes=5993851
LISTEN TO: Terry Gold, CoFounder & CEO, Gold Systems
For entrepreneurs it takes passion and planning 1341_ 1/25/13 - Colorado Companies to Watch winner, Applied Trust cofounders Trent Hein and Ned McClain (a new father, Congratulations) join Larry Nelson for a check-in visit. We love to get successful entrepreneurs to weigh in on what they see as the barriers and challenges to becoming an entrepreneur today. The advice is always worth hearing. Trent directs us to a very personal and important step. "You've got the great idea - but you've got to have the plan that says here's how you're getting from point A to point B. Here's how I'm going to manage my staff. Here's how I'm going to get revenue. There was a mindset for a period of time, where if you just hoped it would happen - it would. But hope's not a method here. We've got to have a plan." Trent tells us that for the 12+ years that he and Ned have been working together they plan everything out, in some cases multiple years out." Doing that, Trent says, "It is critical to an entrepreneur's success." Ned and Larry agree, it's a hot time for entrepreneurs in Boulder and Denver right now. But Ned believes you have to find something you're really passionate about. They started Applied Trust just after the dot com boom - it was probably not advisable to start an IT infrastructure - security - performance company then. But, it was something they were passionate about and that passion is what helped them be successful. It's certainly a challenge today, there's a temptation to just find something so they can do a startup. Agreeing heartily, Larry coined the Double P words here... Passion and Planning. Listen for more great advice...
COLORADO COMPANIES TO WATCH ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS
Colorado Companies to Watch recognizes second- stage companies that are developing valuable products and services and creating quality jobs. They are currently accepting nominations for the 2013 Colorado Companies to Watch award. Companies may apply without being nominated. The nomination deadline is January 28, 2013. To learn more, please click here. RELATED LINKS: .AppliedTrust || The Barking Seal Blog || Gala Event || Colorado Companies to Watch || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || Gala Event Photos || KEYWORDS: AppliedTrust, Trent Hein, Ned McClain, IT infrastructure, Cloud Services,
Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and
International Trade, , bytes=7539882 LISTEN TO: Applied Trust, Trent Hein & Ned McClain, CoFounders
The biggest challenge for business is to be ever more efficient 1327_ 12/16/12 - Here at Defrag/Blur Conference 2012, we are talking with Joe Burton, Sr. VP Engineering & Dev & CTO, Plantronics. Plantronics is the world leader in the manufacture of headsets. Everything from end user Bluetooth to business, to contact centers to every headset that's been on an astronaut and in his face, has come from Plantronics over the last 50 years. Larry asked Joe, "With everything we've been through, economically and globally, since you do business all over the world, what is the biggest challenge facing business today?" Joe feels that everyone really understands that the biggest challenge for business is to be ever more efficient while at the same time having a more intimate relationship with their business partners and their customers. When asked about the opportunities, Joe said, "I actually think the challenges and opportunities go hand-in-hand. So many of the things we're hearing about here at the Defrag/blur 2012 conference is the ability to actually use the cloud. To use business analytics, to use unified communication systems in such a way that you can get that leaner, faster business that has that superior relationship with your partners and with your customers, really at a fraction of the price in the past. And then further to actually change a challenge into an opportunity." And Joe has some advice for the aspiring entrepreneur. It's actually very similar to the opportunity and the challenge we've discussed. I tell entrepreneurs, people coming into our company, and that is to really identify a customer need. Find something that is driving people crazy. Something that is slowing down their business, slowing down their entertainment. Really understand it and then go solve that need. And they will indeed beat a path to your door." RELATED LINKS: Plantronics || Defrag/blur Info || Blur Conference Photos || Defrag Conference Photos || w3w3.com Blog || KEYWORDS: Joe Burton, Plantronics, Headsets, Bluetooth, Entrepreneurs, Business, DefragCon 2012, blur, Software, Cloud, Bluetooth, Unified Communication Systems \,
bytes=3372829 LISTEN TO: Joe Burton, Sr.VP Eng.&Dev & CTO, Plantronics
Multi Touch computing in real time 1326_ 12/14/12 - We've corralled the CEO of Gestureworks here at the Blur Conference, Jim Spadaccini. Gestureworks is a multi touch, authoring SDK or Software Development Kit. It processes up to 300 gestures, it works in a variety of different platforms. We've had a version that works with the Action Script language for a number of years and now we're branching out and we have new versions that are going to be across multiple programming platforms. With this software you can create new experiences that take advantage of some of the multi touch hardware and devices that are coming out. So everything from multi touch tables to tablets, all-in-ones, to ultra books, a lot of authoring possibilities with our very powerful multi touch sdk. Larry saw a demonstration at the Gestureworks booth and was fascinated. Jim said, "One of the things that got us excited about multi touch tables in particular, is there is a social dynamic that goes on, that there is more than one person interacting at the same time on these devices. So it's a shared experience and if you think about it, things like the personal computer and our own personal devices are just that, things that we use as individuals. So it is unusual that you have computing experiences where you're sharing those experiences with other people in real time. Larry then asked, "What are the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs face today?" "Certainly when the crisis hit, capital is the biggest issue. Our company has gone through issues like that as well. It's a small company and self-funded. My best advice is to be lean and think lean and just be really focused and really tenacious. That's what we did, we're a very flexible organization. Along with our Gestureworks framework, our larger company which is Ideum, develops multi touch tables..." Jim goes onto talk about the biggest opportunities...listen for more ... RELATED LINKS: gestureworks || Defrag/blur Info || Software Channel || Blur Conference Photos || Defrag Conference Photos || PodCast Directory || KEYWORDS: Jim Spadaccini, Gestureworks, DefragCon 2012, Software, Entrepreneurs,
Emerging Tech, Software Development Kit, Action Script Language, Touch Tables, Tablets, Ideum > bytes=5114883 LISTEN TO: Jim Spadaccini, CEO, Gestureworks
