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U.S. local craft brewing company ranks 34th in size!

Bootstrapping the company and it grows in size and profits
1628_ 10/20/14 - Wynne Odell is Co-founder and CEO of Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. She was the keynote speaker at the ACG Denver monthly meeting. Doug, Wynne and Corkie Odell started their brewing odyssey in 1989. The trio had no grand plans, but after five years of a draft-only format, bottles were introduced and rapid growth ensued. Twenty-five years later, Odell Brewing Company ranks 34th in size among craft breweries in the United States. Odell is a Colorado-centric company, with 65% of its sales coming from in-state. With the addition of Texas in 2014, it now distributes in 11 states. Doug, Wynne and Corkie, along with three of their children, still remain active at the brewery. A culture of family and collaboration fosters a brewery full of beer-centric people. It is this passion for beer that inspires Odell Brewing to create quality, hand-crafted, innovative brews. As a regional craft brewery, Odell Brewing is also committed to serving the communities in which it distributes by sourcing local raw materials, and through its charitable giving program known as Odell Outreach. Wynne said, "If you can bootstrap and hang on to the ownership of your company as you grow, you have an opportunity to reap all the rewards down the road." Listen for some great ideas for your business...
RELATED LINKS: Odell Brewing Company || ACG Denver || M&A Channel || Slideshow || Blog || KEYWORDS: Wynne Odell, Odell Brewing Company, Colorado, Fort Collins, Beer, Entrepreneurs, Doug Odell, Corkie, Draft-Only Format, Bottles, ACG Denver, Association for Corporate Growth, bytes=1953201
LISTEN TO: Wynne Odell, CEO, Odell Brewing Company

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Completely hide/convert this room - it's almost Magic!

Talking about having a global presence
1620_ 10/6/14 - We're speaking with the 'master of deception', that is in terms of finding those creatively hidden beds in some very cleverly designed, hand-built furniture, to achieve a dual purpose room. Located in Denver, FlyingBeds International, Inc. and Ron McKey, president/founder, are very well known locally and internationally. We're talking about having a global presence, and Ron tells us how it begins with the presentation of your best. In this case, at the show. That would be the Hospitality/Design Expo in Las Vegas this past May - with 900 exhibitors. It was a very good show for Ron because he was able to demonstrate to the hotel trade that you can lift a king-size bed with one hand. They were pretty impressed - it was a giant mattress in a very nice unit that he'd done for the Marriott Corporation. Right now in their factory Ron has two queens in a rustic cherry that are going to Bermuda with a very unusual finish to it. He's actually got a great amount of crazy stuff going through right now, including a bed from a New York designer that has antique books that came from London. It is actually books and a television put together... but you'll just have to look at the website where hundreds of amazing examples are displayed...
RELATED LINKS: FlyingBeds International || FAQs || Economy Builders || Blog || KEYWORDS: Ron McKey, FlyingBeds International, Murphy Beds, Furniture, Custom Made, Space Design Company, Home Office, What do You Want this Room to Accomplish, Hospitality, Design Expo, Marriott Corporation, Bermuda, bytes=6704799
LISTEN TO: Ron McKey, President/Founder, FlyingBeds International

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Check that idea out, fast

Test those ideas very rapidly, before you build anything
1621_ 10/6/14 - Vice President of Operations at TechStars in Boulder, Daniel Feld is a natural for the organization, born and bred in an entrepreneurial family environment. Larry asked what are some of the first things one should do when building a company? Daniel replied, "I think most important for an entrepreneur is to find a problem that they are deeply passionate about solving. And, to test that idea very, very quickly to make sure it's a problem worth solving. That someone's willing to pay for the solution and that the pain is real. Sometimes, we as entrepreneurs like to make up what we believe to be a problem. And then we get so enamored with the solution that we are blinded by our own passion for it without validating that there's a real need out there. One of the things that's become a lot easier for people to do and encouraged through programs like TechStars and other methodologies, is to test those ideas very rapidly, before you build anything. So go talk to your potential customers. Find them very quickly and find out if the pain is truly shared and worth solving."
RELATED LINKS: TechStars || TechStars Blog ||TechStars 7th Anniversary Video || Economy Builders || KEYWORDS: Daniel Feld, TechStars, Entrepreneurs, Disney Accelerator, David Cohen, David Brown, Brad Feld, Jared Polis, Nicole Glaros, Boulder CO, Entertainment, Walt Disney Company, Technology Startups, bytes=2317482
LISTEN TO: Daniel Feld, VP Operations, TechStars

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Leading Lady: 35 Years startup experience

Going from co-founder and CEO to angel investor
1618_ 10/6/14 - Terry Morreale, Associate Director and CTO for the National Center for Women and Information Technology or NCWIT and Larry Nelson, from w3w3.com. are interviewing an entrepreneur with 35 years experience in the startup community. Carol Clark, the co-founder and CEO of Mindleaders Inc. since its formation in 1981, until Mindleaders was acquired in 2007. Carol has more than 35 years of management experience as well as an extensive background in computer programming, software development and education. Carol currently serves on the Board of Directors of EdMap Inc., Sealund and Associates Corp. and Ecolibrium Solar Inc.; on the Investment Committee for the Patient Capital Collaborative ’13 Fund; and on the Executive Committee of the Ohio TechAngels Funds. An active angel investor in Golden Seeds, the Ohio TechAngels and Investors’ Circle, Carol is a founding member and Manager of the Columbus-based X Squared Angels Group. In addition Carol provides business consulting for growing businesses and is a member and past President of WELD (Women for Economic and Leadership Development), a non-profit organization that works to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
RELATED LINKS: Carol Clark LinkedIn || NCWIT Home || NCWIT Blog || Heroes Channel || Podcast Directory || KEYWORDS: Carol Clark, Mindleaders, Angel Investor, Terry Morreale, National Center for Women in Technology, NCWIT, EdMap Inc, Sealund and Associates Corp, Ecolibrium Solar, Patient Capital Collaborative, Ohio TechAngels Funds, bytes=14558670
LISTEN TO: Carol Clark, Angel Investor and NCWIT Hero

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 w3w3® Talk Radio - When you need to get the word out...
1614_ 9/29/14 - When you need to get your story out w3w3® is here...  1. To support local businesses. 2. To help grow a talented workforce, and 3. To reinforce a community attitude that is invigorating, exciting, entrepreneurial and invested in your success! w3w3® provides an on-demand menu of programs, materials and resources, 24/7. We are committed to support the efforts of our sponsors to be profitable and to serve as a vehicle to help get their message out as well as keep their prospects informed about the sponsor's latest developments. Also, we actively support a full range of associations, public events and public sector organizations physically as well as offering access to a Web Community Calendar, portal pages and announcements about their activities. We have a virtual historical snapshot of the Colorado Technology and Business Community over the past 15 years and a fabulous resource to reference and learn about the people and events of this community.

Photos from DSW - What a week

1613_ 9/22/14 - Celebrating Entrepreneurship Denver Style

Competing with the noise...

The biggest challenge to an entrepreneur today
1610_ 9/22/14 - What is the biggest challenge to an entrepreneur today? Larry asked our expert Brad Bernthal, Director of the Entrepreneurial Initiative, Silicon Flatiron Center and Clinical Law Professor, CU Boulder - Law School. His reply... "The biggest challenge I'm seeing today, is often competing with the noise. So, in broad strokes, the democratization of entrepreneurship in just the last ten years has been amazing. The fact that, especially in Information Technology, startup costs have dropped so dramatically, has leveled the playing field. That's a great thing in terms of giving innovation opportunities to a wider group of entrepreneurs. But, I think it also introduces a lot of noise into the system. In terms of competition for angel funding, but especially venture capital funding and most importantly market share. Getting attention, showing traction, it's always been a challenge, but I think it may be even more challenging today." And, we couldn't be more proud and humbled to hear Brad as he gives a shout-out to w3w3.com "If you look back over the 15 years of Silicon Flatirons, nobody has been more present at events and getting the word out and doing the kind of community building that you do Larry, than w3w3 - So thanks for all you've done to build the entrepreneurship scene!" ...There's more...
RELATED LINKS: Silicon Flatirons Center || SFC About || Economy Builders || PodCasting Directory || KEYWORDS: Brad Bernthal, Silicon Flatirons Center, University of Colorado, Entrepreneurs Unplugged, Digital Broadband Migration,, bytes=4465792
LISTEN TO: Brad Bernthal, Silicon Flatirons

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Denver tops for entrepreneurs

Technology, design, entrepreneurship & business

CU Boulder was ranked in that top 20...

Forbes Top 20 Universities for Entrepreneurship List... CU-Boulder
1607_ 9/15/14 - "The Entrepreneurship Initiative is entering its seventh year - an interesting trajectory for us in terms of what we've done around entrepreneurship in particular. And, this is year 15 for Silicon Flatirons overall, and of course, Phil Weiser the Executive Director and Dean of the Law School" pointed out Brad Bernthal Clinical Professor of Law at CU Law School and the Entrepreneurship Initiative Director for Silicon Flatirons Center. Brad said they got a real shot in the arm this summer, Forbes listed the top 20 universities for entrepreneurship and CU Boulder was ranked in that top 20..."There is much discussion about, 'what would it look like for us to truly be a Top Five public university for entrepreneurship... We've done two things right, one missing. We've brought the innovation community to the campus on a regular basis. Silicon Flatirons did over 40 events last year that had an entrepreneurship orientation, over 6000 attendees - a high velocity of interaction between campus and community. Second, our students across the campus are engaged. We have the New Venture Challenge that's for anyone with a CU ID - faculty, staff, student from any discipline across campus. Anybody can get involved, we will help them build a business; we'll give them mentors who are the best and brightest in the community...
RELATED LINKS: Silicon Flatirons Center || SFC About || Entrepreneurs || PodCasting Directory || KEYWORDS: Brad Bernthal, Silicon Flatirons Center, University of Colorado, Entrepreneurs Unplugged, Mentors,, bytes=6910435
LISTEN TO: Brad Bernthal, Professor, Law School, CU Boulder, Director Entrepreneur Initiative, Silicon Flatirons Center

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Why diversity in computing matters...

These resources are not only free, but also adaptable to your needs (Facts from NCWIT, Your Way)
11602_ 9/8/14 - Why spend hours searching for stats and graphics for an upcoming presentation about women in technology when NCWIT has done the hard work for you? Whether you're heading to the boardroom, the classroom, or a conference center, you can drag and drop graphics and slides into your own slideshows and proposals.      Has anyone ever asked you why diversity in computing matters? With NCWIT's first mobile app, PockIT Facts, you can get stats about women in computing on the fly and share them throughout your social networks.

PockIT Facts: Shake your phone, and view colorful graphics containing statistics about girls and women in technology. Search the Apple App Store or the Android Apps on Google Play for "NCWIT" or "PockIT" to discover and share best practices for improving gender diversity in computing. www.ncwit.org/pockitfacts

NCWIT Scorecard (updated!):
View trends in girls' and women's participation in computing and computing-related professions in the U.S. over time with one of NCWIT's most popular resources. Available files include JPGs, PPTs, and a PDF.
www.ncwit.org/scorecard

Girls in IT: The Facts
Gain a clearer picture of the current state of girls in computing, including key barriers to girls' participation, and what you can do to advocate for and implement change efforts. ("Girls in IT" is sponsored by NCWIT's K-12 Alliance.) Available files include JPGs, a shareable infographic, and a PDF. www.ncwit.org/thefactsgirls

Women in IT: The Facts
View a coherent story about women in technology, one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S., including data and tools to identify barriers to women's participation and promising practices to support your company's efforts to improve conditions for women in technology.
("Women in IT" is sponsored by NCWIT's WA Alliance.) Available files include JPGs, a PDF, and an animated slideshow.
www.ncwit.org/thefacts

These resources are only a small sampling of free tips and tools available from NCWIT. Visit www.ncwit.org/resources to browse through hundreds more...