August 2008

542_ Lots of Innovation and a 30 Billion Dollar Deal Flow on the Horizon
The venture capital syndication environment is not working for some today, but for others it is taking center stage. Stephanie Smeltzer McCoy, Managing Partner at Meritage Funds discusses their new deal flow with Larry as Meritage Funds recently made two exciting new investments. One thing Stephanie feels sure of is now that evaluations are down compared to 2003 and 2004, it is a great time to invest. With the interesting deal flow today and the tremendous amount of innovation, some are comparing this period to the late 1990s. If the market does experience a significant downturn in the next couple years it will have not impact Meritage Funds' investment because they operate and invest with a five to seven year exit plan. By then, the market will be up. Their investments are in the hundreds of millions in US dollars. While the majority of venture capitalists are very cautious about fundraising, Meritage Funds is well on the way of raising its third fund...and a big one at that. They invest in network-enabled service companies, specifically those that leverage networks to enable communication, deliver content and facilitate commerce. Whether you are an investor or an entrepreneur seeking venture capital, you should listen to Stephanie in her own words. She shares some great insights.
Related Links: Meritage Funds || Venture Capital Channel || CTP Channel || PodCast Directory || Keywords: Stephanie McCoy, Venture Capital, Meritage Funds, Capital Syndication, Exit Strategies, Network-Enabled Service > Bytes: 11281870 LISTEN 8/18/08

541_ Colorful Leadership: Skill Set for All Leaders, All the Time
We now live and operate at Web speed. The five year plan is out. If you can plan ahead for five quarters, you're doing well. We must produce more with less. Steve Wille and Bill Kuehn, partners of Tough Teams are also co-authors of Colorful Leadership along with Larry Nelson. When it comes to Leaders, Managers and Entrepreneurs Steve always asks, "Are you looking at the world through rose colored glasses?" Listen to their discussion as it will give specific how-to ideas that can be used right away. Past frustrations will be understood and then dissipated. You will be able to win with any boss, sell more ideas, and get results that exceed expectations. Simply stated, we all see the world through three filters - future, people, and security. We prefer to communicate with one filter. This means, if we communicate through the future filter only people with the exact same filter will receive our message with clarity. To attain total clarity, we must communicate through all three filters all of the time. This also explains why we don't understand other people the way we really want to. If they don’t communicate in our preferred filter we will be confused. Every communication needs to be 3-Filters™ compliant, and there are three simple questions to ask in any situation. 1- What do you think? 2- How do you feel about it? 3- Where can this go? Listen for some great ideas fo all Leaders.
Related Links: Colorful Leadership || Tough Teams || 3-Filters Technology™ || Amazon || Keywords: Steve Wille, Bill Kuehn, Colorful Leadership, 3-Filters Technology™, Tough Teams, Leaders, Total Clarity, Communicate - Bytes: 11125240 LISTEN 8/18/08

Ambitious Companies Not Big Enough for an IPO Have Another Alternative
537_ "Entrepreneurial companies tend to put in their financial plan that their first exit is that somebody will buy them out. And if they’re not going to be bought out, then surely they’ll do an IPO. Neither one of those really take into consideration what the real world is," states Leo Solomon, President and CEO of Premier Capital Alternatives. Our deal size is $2.5 M to $10 M. Our funding process is four steps. The first is to have the legal and accounting documents prepared for filing to the SEC for public trading. The second step is file to the SEC. The third step is to use a Private Investment in a Public Entity known as a PIPE to raise the cash. The final step is to secure stock volume through the market makers. Premier Capital Alternatives offers an innovative funding mechanism for the developmental or early commercialization companies. Their areas of expertise are medical devices, alternative fuel (not alternative energy), banks, and proven companies seeking to expand their business. This makes their business unique as they fill the capital requirements for ambitious companies who are not substantial enough to qualify for an IPO (usually $25 M) but who seek a capital infusion and want all the advantages of a public company. Listen, there's more...
Related Links: Premier Capital Alternatives || Venture Capital Channel || Blog || PodCast Directory || Keywords: Leon Solomon, Premier Capital Alternatives, IPO, Private Investment, Venture Capital, SEC, PIPE > Bytes: 9770112 LISTEN 8/11/08

HB1001 Provides 3 Different Dimensions or Components of Funding
535_ "HB1001: Delighted that CBSA, the legislature and the governor’s office came together to pull an integrated program of bio science development and commercialization for Colorado. We have a 5 year funding, $5.5 mil/year and in almost all cases there will be matching funds, basically $11 million per year program for the next 5 years. It provides 3 different dimensions or components of funding. 1. Proof of concept funding. 2. Matching funding for companies (that’s any kind of non-founder matching. 3. A dimension to infrastructure as concerns University commercialization," said David Allen, Associate VP for Technology Transfer at the University of Colorado. David and leaders from TTO continued to share their insights Kate Tallman, Director of Technology Transfer, Boulder and Colorado Springs Campuses; Tom Smerdon, Director Of Licensing & New Business Development; Rick Silva, Director of Technology Transfer, Anschutz Medical Campuses. To be really successful at Tech Transfer, the organization that does it has to have 5 core competencies. The first is to develop relationships with the faculty such that the investigators will make disclosures to us, in that we can make judgments about a potential asset in that research. Second, Working to protect that intellectual property longer because maturation process is so long. But at the same time, if we get more proof of concept money the maturation period might not be so long. Third is leveraging. Fourth: is the whole notion of the technology maturation, relatively new for us, and we have to rely a lot on people outside. Fifth: The last, we do an exceptional job, compared to other universities.
Related Links: 2007-08 Metrics Report || CU TTO Home || CU TTO Channel || Find It || Keywords: Sierra Neuropharma, Precision Biopsy, Tissue Genetics, ARCA, Apoplogic, Barofold, Copernican Energy, Dave Allen, Kate Tallman, Tom Smerdon, Rick Silva, Tech Transfer, Boulder Innovation Center > Bytes: 16327892 LISTEN 8/11/08

533_ Ninth Annual IQ Awards, Honoring the “Innovation Quotient”
The IQ Awards are presented by the Boulder County Business Report to recognize innovative products and services developed by companies in Boulder and Broomfield counties. Winners in 10 categories will be announced during an awards ceremony beginning at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug.14 at the Stadium Club at Folsom Field in Boulder. Five judges are assigned to the 10 categories. 2008 IQ judges included Frances Draper, executive director of the Boulder Economic Council; Paul Jerde, executive director of the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business; David Herring, former chief technical officer for Storage Technology Corp.,; Theresa Szczurek, chief executive of her Boulder-based consulting firm, Technology and Management Solutions; Jerry Lewis, former publisher of the Boulder County Business Report and current Business Report contributor. Larry discusses the exciting details with Chris Wood, publisher of the Boulder County Business Report.
Related Links: IQ Awards || IQ Award Finalists || Blog || PodCast Directory || Keywords: IQ Awards, Chris Wood, Innovation Quotient, Boulder County Business Report, BCBR > Bytes: 5621867 LISTEN 8/4/08

532_ Colorado Success Stories; Industry; Education; Government
In part 2 of this series about the 2007-08 Metrics Report at CU TTO, a number of success stories are highlighted. Listen and you'll hear about Sierra Neuropharma, Precision Biopsy, Tissue Genetics, ARCA, Apoplogic, Barofold, Copernican Energy and more. Four leaders from TTO continued to share their insights: Dave Allen, Associate VP for Technology Transfer; Kate Tallman, Director of Technology Transfer, Boulder and Colorado Springs Campuses; Tom Smerdon, Director Of Licensing & New Business Development; Rick Silva, Director of Technology Transfer, Anschutz Medical Campuses. The transformation into renewable energy economy is having a great impact on CU. There has been some interesting leadership involvement with the Collaboratory. The Collaboratory has been active in the last couple of years in bringing together several research centers among the four institutions (CU, CSU, Mines & NREL). CU TTO has also formed Over the past couple of years we’ve formed a strong relationship with the (BIC) the Boulder Innovation Center. Listen for more details...
Related Links: 2007-08 Metrics Report|| CU TTO Home || CU TTO Channel || Web Community Calendar || Keywords: Sierra Neuropharma, Precision Biopsy, Tissue Genetics, ARCA, Apoplogic, Barofold, Copernican Energy, Dave Allen, Kate Tallman, Tom Smerdon, Rick Silva, Tech Transfer, Boulder Innovation Center > Bytes: 13492039 LISTEN 8/4/08

540_ $100K in Angel Money and an Additional $650K with More to Come
"Here’s a piece of advice, don’t waste your time talking to a lot of west coast investors if you don’t have a pre-existing relationship. Focus your attention on people that know you and have known you in the past, and you’ll find yourself with a lot more traction in a less time,” says Ari Newman and Tom Chikoore co founders of Filtrbox. Mark Weakley, Partner, Holme Roberts & Owen, Boulder has been working with Filtrbox and knew this was the type of story we like to cover. In late summer as TechStars was wrapping up Tom and Ari brought in about $100K in angel money. That carried them through the end of the year when Filtrbox started some serious fund raising for a seed round. "Fund raising takes way longer than most people think, it’s harder than most people think. It’s incredibly stressful and to actually try to run the business and be fund raising – it’s hard to put your head in two places at once. And if you’re a tiny little startup and you have no capital... flying around, trying to meet investors – ooh! Travel and expense dollars can burn your development budget." So far they have raised around $620K. Their investors are both institutional investors and angels. They have quite a story...listen now...
Related Links: Filtrbox Home || HRO Named Go-To Firm || It's the Law Channel || Holme Roberts & Owen || Keywords: Ari Newman, Tom Chikoore, Filtrbox, Mark Weakley, Holme Roberts & Owen, Boulder, HRO, TechStars, Institutional Investors, Angels > Bytes: 12801570 LISTEN 8/18/08

539_ A Venture Capital Firm Targeting the Green Tech Industry
Here is Part 2 of 2: New Perspective on the 10 Immutable Laws for Raising Capital. David Moll was the President and CEO of Webroot and still remains on the board. Today he is the Founder and General Partner of Infield Capital, a Venture Capital firm targeting the Green Tech industry. Although David has his focus, his experience in manufacturing as well as high-tech companies guide his current thinking about raising venture capital. He mentioned to Larry and Pat that the 10 Immutable Laws are the same, but there is a new twist with some of them. His fifth law brings up a big question in the minds of many when they first hear it...it is, 'Don't be the first or last investment in a fund' (although there can be exceptions). The sixth is 'Make sure you have a strong bench' (the team will make the difference). The seventh is 'Make your numbers and the milestones while engaged' (have a strong CFO). The eighth is 'Negotiate everything' (valuation is only one thing). The ninth is 'know how much to take' (more is better). And the tenth is 'Think about the morning after (who is in your foxhole and what did you promise in the process?). David doesn't pull any punches...listen now.
Related Links: Infield Capital || Conscious Economy Channel CORE || Venture Capital Channel || Keywords: David Moll, Infield Capital, Venture Capital, Clean Technology, Capital, 10 Immutable Laws > Bytes: 15472329 LISTEN 8/18/08

New Perspective on the "10 Immutable Laws for Raising Capital"
538_ In 2005 when Larry interviewed David Moll he was the President and CEO of Webroot and still remains on the board. Today he is the Founder and General Partner of Infield Capital, a Venture Capital firm targeting the Green Tech industry. During that 2005 interview, David shared his "Ten Immutable Laws for Raising Capital. Now that David is on the other side of the isle, Larry and Pat wanted to ask him how he looked at those same 10 immutable laws for raising capital. Now that he is a venture capitalist, will his take on them be the same or is the new perspective changing his point of view? Infield Capital has built their fund around a model that really addresses some of the huge requirements of early stage clean technology companies. Recognize the nuances of commercialization of industrial products that wasn’t there for software and high tech. Infield Capital is built on the idea that they can provide unique assistance to the companies that are ready to move from the lab to the production floor. David's first immutable law is 'Make sure you need the cash'. The second, 'know what your options are' and the third, 'choose your investor like you choose your spouse' (David is a winner in both areas) and the forth 'check out the references of your investors'. Listen now in David's own words...
Related Links: Infield Capital || Conscious Economy Channel || CORE || Venture Capital Channel || Keywords: David Moll, Infield Capital, Venture Capital, Clean Technology, Capital, 10 Immutable Laws - Bytes: 14370171 - 8/11/08

Female Serial Entrepreneur Raises Millions of Dollars
536_ Here's a story about a female serial entrepreneur who literally fell into becoming a co-founder of a couple companies. Jean Kovacs has raised tons of money and in 2006 and her company was bought by Sterling Commerce an AT&T company. Lucy Sanders, CEO and Founder of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and NCWIT board member, Lee Kennedy along with Larry Nelson interviewed Jean who had some very interesting replies to their questions. When they were discussing some of her best learning experiences Jean replied," I learned the most from bad managers." That's another way of learning vicariously. Today Jean Kovacs is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Strategic Alliances for Sterling Commerce, responsible for driving global strategic alliances, including the AT&T strategic relationship, and all corporate marketing and communications. Kovacs has over 25 years experience directing technology companies and a track record of using her strategic business skills and background to deliver exceptional results with growing enterprises. Jean also is Chair of the board of BUILD, a non-profit that gives entrepreneurial experiences to under-served communities - she believes that all students have the same potential and drive to succeed. The reality, however, is that students in under served neighborhoods begin with limited, and sometimes no, motivation or role models. Listen now.
Related Links: Sterling Commerce || E-Business Article || NCWIT Channel || NCWIT Practice || Keywords: Jean Kovac, Sterling Commerce, Lucy Sanders, Lee Kennedy, NCWIT Practice, National Center for Women & Information Technology, BUILD - Bytes: 16801857 LISTEN 8/11/08

534_ Change Is Not an Event, It Is an Ongoing Process (the Same is true with Chaos)
Mastering change is one of Pat and Larry Nelson's favorite topics. There's a good reason. They have lived in and owned businesses in five foreign countries stretching from Norway to Australia. They are truly serial entrepreneurs as they have started more than a dozen companies. Some were extremely successful and others learning experiences. One thing that was true in every situation were the rushing changes. At times they were victims and others they were victors. Larry has conducted seminars for numerous companies both large and small, public and private sectors, in dozen countries, on the subject of 'Mastering Change in the Midst of Chaos'. In this recorded discussion Larry and Pat discuss the 'Six Truths About Change'. The topic includes; Resistance, Involvement, Making Losers, Vision, Benefits, and Follow up. Like the Nelsons say, "Master Change Before It Masters You." Listen now...
Related Links: Beyond the Trends || 3-Filters || Training Trends || Free Newsletter || Keywords: Mastering Change, Chaos, Pat and Larry Nelson, Involvement, Making Losers, Vision, Benefits, Follow up > Bytes: 8472349 LISTEN 8/4/08

531_ "We Could Change This Industry Forever With the Right Team"
“Our goal was to develop a disruptive technology, photonic integration, and use that to change the fundamental economics of optical communications for our customers. When we started the company, the experts told us it couldn’t be done. We didn’t know if we could do it. But we knew that if we could do it, we could change this industry forever.” That's what Jagdeep Singh, President, CEO and Founder, Infinera said when he received the 2008 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award for networking and communications in the Northern California program. Prior to founding Infinera, Jagdeep was Co-Founder and CEO of OnFiber Communications, an optical telecommunications carrier. He was also Co-Founder and CEO of Lightera Networks, an optical switching equipment company, which was acquired by Ciena Corporation. Jagdeep was the keynote speaker at a TiE Rockies event held at the Level3 Event Center and there he revealed a number of key strategies for entrepreneurs of all sizes. The focus of these three strategies is people, teams and the need to not be concerned that others don't think you are right. Listen now.
Related Links: Infinera Home || TiE Rockies || Entrepreneur Channel || Photos, TiE Rockies || Keywords: Jagdeep Singh, Infinera, TiE Rockies, Photonic Integration, Optical Communications - Bytes: 4450328 LISTEN 8/4/08

July 2008

529_ Tech Transfer: The Challenges; Choices and the Champions
Every US research university is involved in inventive activity and technology transfer. Licensing new technology to innovative companies also creates significant economic development benefits. Larry has been following the University of Colorado Tech Transfer Office (TTO) for a few years and is extremely impressed with with their track record. This is a follow-up series that focuses on the 2007-08 Metrics Report and the interview includes the challenges, also. Four leaders from TTO shared their insights: Dave Allen, Associate VP for Technology Transfer; Kate Tallman, Director of Technology Transfer, Boulder and Colorado Springs Campuses; Tom Smerdon, Director Of Licensing & New Business Development; Rick Silva, Director of Technology Transfer, Anschutz Medical Campuses. They discussed the revenue challenges, disclosure rate, patent reimbursements, infrastructure building and more. Listen as this is significant information about the future of Colorado.
Related Links: 2007-08 Metrics Report || CU TTO Home || CU TTO Channel || PodCasting Directory || Keywords: Dave Allen, Kate Tallman, Tom Smerdon, Rick Silva, Tech Transfer, Anschutz Medical, TTO - Bytes: 16766331 LISTEN 7/28/08

527_ Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Reporting in From Homer Alaska
Entrepreneurial challenges started the the conversation Larry had with Brad Feld. Learning more from mistakes than entrepreneurial wins, Brad shares some great advice for all of us. The challenges and the choices he put it this way, "It's summarized in one word...'people'. Whether it was as an entrepreneur or as an investor, I realized at times that I was working with people that had different value systems than I did. Essentially the different value systems and perspectives are helpful, but a lot of times get in the way, especially when there’s stress on the system. Another big lesson I’ve learned is that I really want to spend my time with people I enjoy working with. Spending time, especially when you’re trying to create businesses with people, who get stuck in endless drama because they don’t like you, or you don’t like them, or you don’t like working together is kind of a pointless experience." Brad also adds on the people issue by talking about his partners. Larry asked him if we were heading for another 'Dot Bomb'. "I think there are always cycles of positive time and negative times. While I have no idea what the peaks and the troughs of the future will be, I think it doesn’t matter. What we know is there will be peaks and troughs." Brad went into a deeper discussion on this topic and then went onto share his thoughts on social media and Web 2.0...which are subsets to an overarching movement.
Related Links: Foundry Group || Feld Thoughts || Venture Capital Channel || Podcast Directory || Keywords: Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Entrepreneur, Venture Capital, Dot Bomb, Web 2.0, Social Media > Bytes: 9307013 LISTEN 7/21/08

528_ Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Talks About the 'Change' in the Air
(Part 2 of 2) With all the changes occurring at the fast pace, Larry asked Brad Feld, Managing Director and co-founder of the Foundry Group in Boulder, "If you were giving advice to a roundtable of business leaders and entrepreneurs, what would you have them do to better prepare for change?" Brad was very straight forward and said, "I would tell them not to fight change, to recognize there are a whole bunch of things you can't control and are going to happen, regardless of what you do. My father gave me great advice when I was a kid. He said, 'Find your 2% of the world that you can impact and spend all your time there.' Obviously the 2% is metaphorical. Picture your tiny part of the universe. Try to create something that dominates that area that's your favorite, rather than try to control all of the things that you cannot impact." Brad also talked about the disappearing age breakdown on the Internet, including mobile devices. He also has some interesting views about Google and today's changing search strategies. Brad is a master at entrepreneurial strategies and how innovation impacts business development. Brad said, "Well the way innovation works, especially with information products, is the newer innovation just constantly supersedes the older innovation. So, it's natural that they are popular and critically important for relatively short periods of time. Whenever I hear people talking about innovation slowing in the software/ hardware business, I just chuckle." Obviously, change is in the air. Listen for more insights.
Keywords: Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Entrepreneur, Venture Capital, Dot Bomb, Web 2.0, Social Media - Bytes: 9307013 LISTEN 7/28/08

525_ The Denver Botanic Gardens Goes High Tech in a Big Way
When you do a Google search for 'botanic garden' or 'botanical gardens' the number one web site is the Denver Botanic Gardens ...beating out New York, Atlanta, Fort Worth, Chicago, Brooklyn...yes all of them including The United States Botanic Garden. But it does not stop there. The visitor experience at the Denver Botanic Gardens is enhanced many ways because of new technology, both hardware and software, that has been installed by a partnership of high tech companies that are part of the CSIA membership. Larry talked with Brian Vogt, Chief Executive Officer of the Denver Botanic Gardens along with volunteer extraordinaire, Michael Vaughn, Director of Customer Relations at TEK Systems. About 20 organizations have been involved with this leading-edge makeover. They have a fully enabled Wi-Fi across the Gardens, re-designed Web site with blogging and video capabilities, HD video conferencing, and much more... The project was started about a year ago and they are going to celebrate by holding a Technology Day event on July 31, 2008. This full-day event includes panel discussions and product demo and information booths..
Related Links: Technology Day Link || CSIA Online || Software Channel || Blog || Keywords: Denver Botanic Gardens, Brian Vogt, Michael Vaughn, CSIA, Technology Day, > Bytes: 13521296 LISTEN 7/21/08

522_ Federal Funding Available for Small Businesses with Innovative Ideas
Many entrepreneurs with innovative high-tech ideas get their start through the federally funded Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. If their "innovative idea" looks like it has possibilities, that entrepreneur can submit a proposal for Phase 2 and Phase 3 SBIR funds for substantial amounts of money. Larry was introduced to Greg Baxes, President and CTO of TerraMetrics by Russ Farmer, President of PBC and Colorado SBIR expert. TerraMetrics took a very different approach that also works. Greg pointed out that they went commercial first and then as new innovative ideas came up, they submitted technical proposals for Phase 1 SBIR funding and then successfully received a number of Phase 2 project funds. Carefully choosing from a selection of SBIR research topics with an emphasis on collaborating with larger companies has paid off for TerraMetrics. Greg explains how they have collaborated with some of the largest companies to further enhance their growth. We have seen TerraMetrics’ imagery used on Google Earth and many news broadcasts. Listen to Greg as he gives us a glimpse into future applications of aviation synthetic vision and earth visualization tools, as well as providing tips for small businesses interested in exploring SBIR opportunities.
Related Links: TerraMetrics || TruEarth® Global Imagery || PBC, Inc. || Commercialization || Keywords: Greg Baxes, TerraMetrics, TruEarth®, Global Imagery, Google Maps, Boeing, SBIR, Russ Farmer, PBC, Synthetic Vision, Google Earth > Bytes: 11004345 - 7/14/08

518_ Boulder, Epicenter for Organics and Hub for Outdoor Industry
The 12th LOHAS conference was held at the St. Julian hotel in Boulder and was originally created in Boulder. Ted Ning, LOHAS Conference Director shared some very interesting statistics with Kari Nelson that puts Boulder into a whole new perspective. Ted pointed out, "People come to Boulder for the lifestyle, you have nature in your face constantly, which is great. Within Boulder, it’s an epicenter of organics, which is an $11-12 billion industry alone and $1 Billion of that comes from Boulder. Pretty amazing. At the same time it’s also the hub for the outdoor industry, so there are big companies like Nautilus and Giam and Spyder and Warren, Miller & Scott, they’re all here. With the university – scholastic aspect to it as well, it’s very young and just seems like the place to be." Kari attended and said, "If you made it to Boulder for the LOHAS Forum you saw what a booming industry this is. Many also found that once you're exposed to (LOHAS) Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability there is no turning back." Ted expanded on some additional market areas and said, "The conference is really an intersection of a lot of different people from a lot of different sectors that make up LOHAS. Really the conscious consumer has a lot of touch-points throughout their day, different components the Yoga studio, the hybrid vehicle, the organic food company – none of these people really talk to each other and yet they’re targeting the same consumer. So at this conference we bring together all the leaders of these different sectors." Over the next several weeks Kari will be sharing some other insights and exciting ventures that are sure to impact your life and this precious world we live in...listen...
Related Links: LOHAS || CORE Colorado || Conscious Economy || Life Maintenance || Keywords: LOHAS, Kari Nelson, Ted Ning, Lifestyle, Organics, Yoga, Health, Sustainability > Bytes: 7414912 LISTEN 7/7/08

519_ Women in Engineering are Growing in Numbers, But More Are Needed
In the past 10 to 20 years, everything has changed. "Engineering in general has changed a great deal. We are a lot more aware of how students learn and we realize a lot of learning takes place collaboratively – implementing team based learning. We’re trying to reflect what is happening out in industry", unlike when Bev Louie did her senior design project in isolation… "Women really excel in the team environment," said Dr. Beverly Louie, Director, Women in Engineering Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Bev was interviewed by Terry Morreale, producer and director of the Women in IT Channel. Terry is a senior engineer at Applied Trust Engineering and graduated from the CU College of Engineering in 1994. Bev went on to point out, "Everyone needs to know that engineering is broader than just technology. We have all sorts of medical technology developed by engineers from the chemicals used in drugs all the way to the equipment used in diagnoses and surgeries. All that stuff was designed from an engineer’s creative passion to find a better way to do something. We have engineers that are working on tissue engineering, so.. tissue regeneration. We have a group working on growing brain cells that will help address Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. We have folks interested in regenerating cartilage – we know it doesn’t work to just throw cartilage into a joint. It doesn’t work because it doesn’t grow there. So how do you grow it?" Terry is passionate about young people involved and interested in technology and she explored with Bev ways to cultivate that interest. Listen for more stimulating ideas...
Related Links: Women in Engineering || Women in IT || Applied Trust || Engineer Your Life || Keywords: Beverly Louie, Terry Morreale, Applied Trust, Women in IT, Economic Independence, IT, College of Engineering & Applied Science, CU > Bytes: 10435503 LISTEN 7/7/08

530_ Entrepreneurship and Ethics Lead to an Extreme Sport
Today Audrey MacLean is focused on working with the new generation of entrepreneurs. Lucy Sanders, CEO and Founder of the National Center for Women & Information Technology with NCWIT board member, Lee Kennedy and Larry Nelson, president of w3w3.com, interviewed Audrey, Co-Founder & CEO, Network Equipment Technologies. Professor MacLean has a unique track record for entrepreneurial success as a founder, CEO, seed investor, and board member. She has been on the Forbes 'Midas Touch' list and listed by Business Week as one of the 50 most influential business women in America. She was also featured by Forbes in a cover article on Angel Investing. MacLean has over three decades of combined experience in the computer and communications industries. She was a founder of Network Equipment Technologies which went public in 1987 and later co-founded and was CEO of Adaptive which merged with NET in 1993. Building on her own entrepreneurial success, MacLean has been instrumental in helping to launch and grow successful companies through her work as a mentor, capitalist and as a professor of entrepreneurship at Stanford University. She is also an affiliate and advisor to a number of leading Venture Funds. Audrey points out it takes a team, a team you can trust and has a strong leaning toward ethics, entrepreneurship and clean tech...listen now.
Related Links: Audrey MacLean || NCWIT Heroes || NCWIT Blog || CO Coalition for Gender and IT || NCWIT Practice|| Keywords: Audrey MacLean, Stanford, Network Equipment Technologies, Lucy Sanders, Lee Kennedy, NCWIT - Bytes: 17844248 LISTEN 7/28/08

526_ POP 3 Email Service Has Its Challenges With Expansion
ICON Venue Group is an owner's representative and their specialty is professional stadiums and arenas all over the world. John Krzykowski, General Manager, Denver of Workplace2go interviewed Melissa Heiter, Director of Marketing and Communications for the ICON Venue group. ICON had some challenges along with their phenomenal growth the past 3.5 years. Back then, they were using a POP 3 email service. Melissa went onto say, “We now have 33 people in our organization and with everyone being on the road our main form of communication being email, we had two main challenges. One, with the POP 3 system, we didn't have any data backup. The next challenge was the natural limitations of a .pst file in Microsoft Outlook in that it has a 2 Gigabyte limit. When your main form of communication is email and you're dealing with architectural drawings and pictures that happens to fill up very, very quickly. We needed data backup ability and also flexibility as to how large our data files could be. I didn’t want the added cost of the hardware, I didn’t want to manage the warranties and I didn't want to manage another person. I wanted somebody else to do all of that for me, which is why I looked for an exterior, hosted solution and why I found Workplace2go. Listen for some great lessons for all of us.
Related Links: ICON Venue Group || On Demand Software || Workplace 2 Go || 19 Marketplace || Keywords: Melissa Heiter, ICON Venue Group, John Krzykowski, On Demand Software, Workplace 2 Go, 19 Marketplace, > Bytes: 9143173 LISTEN 7/21/08

524_ What a Bright Idea: LED Light Bulbs Give Off Directional Light
What a bright idea, LED lighting. C.Crane, one of the exhibitors at LOHAS featured a new LED light bulb that is far surpassing its mercury laden counterpart the CFL bulb. Lighting is a hot topic these days as we now know the dollars saved when we use efficient light bulbs. LED bulbs last 300x longer than a regular bulb and anywhere from 3-15 times longer than a CFL, the LED boasts an impressive 30,000 hrs per bulb! These LED’s are sexy too. To find out more about C. Crane follow the link. Kari Nelson, producer of the Green Team Channel interviewed Carlos Perez at LOHAS 12. Carlos is with the C. Crane Company and they have a hometown way of doing business. They take the time to listen to their customers, and appreciate their feedback. Kari says LED is the way to go...listen now...
Related Links: C. Crane Company || Green Team || CORE || Conscious Economy || Green Source || Keywords: C. Crane Company, Carlos Perez, Kari Nelson, Green Source, LED Lighting, CFL Bulb, LOHAS, Sustainable, Earth Friendly > Bytes: 2495950 LISTEN 7/21/08

523_ Women Will Drive Media Revenue Once it is Mainstreamed
&Information Technology and NCWIT board member, Lee Kennedy along with Larry Nelson interviewed Kristin Asleson McDonnell, CEO of LimeLife and serious serial entrepreneur. LimeLife, a company that delivers “fun” right to your mobile device, making women’s lives easier. And, LimeLife is the only publisher of wireless content exclusively focused on the women’s market. The company’s products are forging innovations in the mobile industry based on unique insights about what women seek in mobile entertainment. They entered the market with games. The games include 'Girls Night Out Solitaire', 'Girls Night Out blackjack', 'Hollywood Hangman' and and Lucy's favorite 'Law and Order'. Products include lifestyle tools, entertaining mobile games, Sleek & Chic™ fashion wallpapers and original Daily Dose™ text messages. Lucy, Lee and Larry (the 3 L's) asked Kristen what was on the horizon for LimeLife? She replied, "We are creating 'Lifestyle tools like ‘People Magazine on the phone’. Launching this summer is a web and mobile' community for women centered around shopping, fashion, music – our tagline = “Everything I like, wherever I am.” Kristen has some great ideas for entrepreneurs as well as some motivating thoughts for girls and young people considering high tech. Listen and pass this along to others.
Related Links: LimeLife || Kristin at Stanford|| Heidi Roizen || NCWIT Heroes || NCWIT Blog || CO Coalition for Gender and IT || NCWIT Practice|| Keywords: Kristin McDonnell, Lime Life, Lucy Sanders, Lee Kennedy, NCWIT, Women in IT, National Center for Women & Information Technology, NCWIT Heroes > - Bytes: Bytes: 19930282 LISTEN 7/14/08

521_ Celebration of the Past, Present and Future of Technology
Not too many people know that the world’s first commercial grade, alternating current power plant was built in Telluride, Colorado, in 1891, which was in fact, the launch of the technological revolution. Sarah McClain and Larry got an interesting history lesson from Scott Brown who has lived in Telluride for many years. Scott said, "One of the great historical characters in Telluride was a man by the name of L L Nunn. Nunn was very inventive and well read and had heard, back in Pittsburgh, George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla had run some experiments using alternating electrical power. So, L L Nunn took the train from Telluride to Pittsburgh with $100,000." Scott shares many fascinating facts during the interview, and went onto point out, "So these young guys in their teens and early 20's built the 'World’s First Alternating Current Commercial Grade Power Plant', just outside of Telluride. They pushed the button and it worked. It powered the mills, saved the mines and saved Telluride." He also talks about Thomas Edison and JP Morgan. Now the bridge to the future. The Telluride Technology Festival is a Celebration of the Past, Present and Future of Technology. The Tech Fest is based on the historical fact that in 1891, Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse and Telluride’s own L.L. Nunn built the world’s first commercial grade AC power plant in Telluride. The intimate mountain environment of Telluride, Colorado continues to be an ideal environment for discussion and reflection. The 8th annual Telluride Technology Festival is August 1st-2nd, 2008!
Related Links: Telluride Tech Festival || Early Bird Tickets || Software Channel || Applied Trust || Keywords: Scott Brown, Sarah McClain, Telluride Tech Festival, Universal Access to Knowledge, Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse, Thomas Edison, JP Morgan, AC Power Plant > Bytes: 10414187 > 7/14/08

520_ Recycled, Sustainable and Earth Friendly: Turning a New Leaf
in Boulder, the LOHAS birthplace. As a sponsor and speaker at the 12th Annual LOHAS Forum, New Leaf Paper’s Jeff Mendelsohn delivered a speech that would enlighten even the most estranged from this eco-movement. Not only can we begin to heal the planet, save trees and reuse materials (that would otherwise reside in our landfills), we can make money doing so. This self made paper empire is just looking into raising capital for the first time. Follow the link to hear more about New Leaf Paper and why they are taking the industry by storm...listen now...
Related Links: LOHAS || New Leaf Paper || CORE Colorado || Conscious Economy || Green Source || Keywords: Jeff Mendelsohn, New Leaf Paper, Kari Nelson, Green Source, LOHAS, Recycled, Sustainable, Earth Friendly Bytes: 5019170 >> 7/14/08

517_ Renewable Energy and Environmental IT Systems and More
(Part 2 of 2) There are a number of renewable energy and environmental IT systems or green IT systems that CH2M HILL is building with their mapping technology. David Herrmann, VP Sales, CH2M HILL goes onto explain, "One current area of interest is eco or green maps, that include a variety of environmental information. And, it's really targeted at reducing the carbon footprint, whether it be of a person, a building or a city. These include things like LEED Certified buildings, energy efficiency models, where to buy a hybrid car or who owns a hybrid car in your neighborhood, where flight patterns are and really much much more. Each map we build, the information is unique but really the purposes tend to be the same. The cities, which are typically building the eco maps are looking to do three things. One Is to educate the public, and really let them know what green environmental services are out there; two, to provide case studies. Often it is very compelling or at least eye opening to learn that people in your neighborhood are doing some very environmentally sensitive things that maybe you haven't thought about. But thirdly, what these cities are doing with this eco map is accumulating the effect of each of us, individually, doing our part to show the impact that we can make collectively, on the carbon footprint of the city. When you can see the impact of our community overall, it's much more impactful." Listen and you'll hear how we can tapped into this technology with ease.
Related Links: Solar Mapping || Conscious Economy Channel || CORE || Radio Blog || Keywords: David Herrmann, CH2M HILL, Solar Mapping, Energy’s Solar American Cities, San Francisco, Denver, Madison, New York - Bytes: 9307013 LISTEN 7/7/08

June 2008

512_ Geospatial Challenges and Choices for California and Colorado
CH2M HILL is now on the track of a $6 Billion, privately held engineering services company, construction management, and program management company. It is one of the largest privately held companies in the state of Colorado. They have 1800 – 2000 employees here, 26-28,000 employees worldwide. Jeff Akers, President, Enterprise Management Solutions, CH2M HILL points out, "In addition we’re doing things like being the program manager for the rebuild of the Panama Canal; program manager for the London 2012 Olympics; and are relocating the largest military base in the world out of Seoul, Korea. Larry brought up the successful efforts at Rocky Flats and Jeff said, "Yes we are still the number one nuclear environmental cleanup company. We’re doing a great job at the Idaho National Laboratories right now...and the worldwide list goes on."

CH2M Hill originally was in the business of building and managing telecom networks, wireless networks, fiber networks and cable networks all over the world. Jeff mentioned, "We have specific leadership in areas, first and foremost, this one, Geospatial Information Management; we’re the number one systems integrator for Google Works, for Microsoft Virtual Earth, the company called ERSI which makes 3-dimensional software; and there is another company called Auto Desk that we’re a large systems integrator for; and we have over 500 consultants. We also manage a lot of data for very large customers both here in the United States and all over the world. We help companies like Corporate Express, Level3." CH2M HILL has done a great deal for San Francisco and other cities with solar mapping. Now we are looking forward to the same in Denver.
Related Links: Enterprise Management Solutions || Conscious Economy Channel || CORE Colorado || Podcast Directory || Keywords: Jeff Akers, CH2M HILL, Enterprise Management Solutions, Geospatial Information Management, Google Works, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Corporate Express, Level3 - Bytes: 10156306 LISTEN 6/23/08

513_ What Do Corporate Express and Bill Gates Have in Common?
Solar mapping is a new area that industry leader CH2M HILL is looking forward to working with Denver on in 2008. Early this year, Denver became one of the 25 Solar American Cities. Jeff Akers, President, Enterprise Management Solutions, CH2M HILL points out, "We have done a great deal for San Francisco and other cities, now we are looking forward to the same in Denver. They are working with the Department of Energy and are working in GIS (Geospatial Information Systems), Managed Services, other IT Systems and the list continues to grow. Another of the fascinating projects CH2M HILL has taken on is working with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. One of their biggest challenges relates to where specific activities are happening. The Foundation is dedicated to bringing innovations in health and learning to the global community.
      In addition to all the cities CH2M HILL is working with, are organizations around the world such as Corporate Express, Korea Yon Sun Relocation program C4I IT and communications, PMS, IDHO National Lab, MASDAR, and many others." Jeff also shared some insight where his market / industry is heading in the next 3 to 5 years. CH2M HILL is doing more more than just pushing the pencil. LISTEN
Related Links: Enterprise Management Solutions || Conscious Economy Channel || CORE Colorado || Podcast Directory || Keywords: Jeff Akers, CH2M HILL, Enterprise Management Solutions, Geospatial Information Management, Google Works, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Corporate Express, Bill Gates, Melida Gates - Bytes: 15134618 LISTEN 6/30/08

511_ A Small Fund with a Team of Experienced Entrepreneurs
The CO Cap Group is a small fund, and they're a team of experienced entrepreneurs and executives. Their mission is to improve the efficiency of early stage investing and to produce a strategy to reduce risk. Marc Silverman, CEO and founder of the Colorado Capital Group went onto say, "Early stage investing can be very risky. It's difficult to manage the risk; it's difficult to find the right companies and do the proper diligence. But I think there is a better away and that's applying a better methodology, finding the right companies, looking for a higher batting average, a little bit lower risk and instead of looking for grand slams, look for base hits and I think you can manage the risk of finding good companies." Marc said, "It's also very important to keep in mind that we are active investors, we're not passive investors. So when we find a company that really fits, and we invest the money, we also come with the money. We get very involved and we don't take a management role in the company. From that perspective I'll work with and for the CEO. I have two great partners, Rob Geller and Larry Harms. Rob has been in the software business for years and years and also has been a leading clean tech advisor, so Rob is very interested in 'clean tech investing' and knows a lot about it. Larry Harms has been a software and manufacturing guy and has worked in DOD and really understands that process and that cycle. So between the three of us these are the areas we really cover; medical informatics, medical devices, software, clean tech and homeland security."
Related Links: Colorado Capital Group || Venture Capital Channel || Software Channel || Biotechnology || Keywords: Marc Silverman, Colorado Capital Group, Rob Geller, Larry Harms, Entrepreneurs, Clean Tech, Software, Medical Informatics, Medical Devices, DOD Bytes: 11586145 LISTEN 6/23/08

508_ Seth Levine, Managing Director, Foundry Group - with Insights
"People like to say we're in a bubble right now, and I don't even know what that means. I think 'bubbles' are overrated. We have a cyclic economy - maybe it's an up cycle and maybe it's a down cycle. But I think people like to speak too much in superlatives."

Let's get back to the bubbles later. Larry asked Seth, what's the difference between managing directors and managing partners? (On a personal note, I remember when Larry was 'the' managing director of our European firm, 191.. he was the only managing director.) You'll have to listen to Seth's explanation of why they have five managing directors.

More interesting (to me) Larry asked, "What's it like working out of the same office with those guys?" Well, they've worked together for at least seven years (Seth being the new guy and he's been around for 7 years). Chris and Brad have worked together for over ten years! While the Foundry Group itself is new, the five of them have relationships dating back up to a decade or slightly longer. Seth said, "This is a great group to work with. We started out as colleagues and became very good friends. In part, it's because of that friendship and the level of comfort we have with each other that we decided to form the investing end of it."

A lot of people read Brad's blog or Ryan's blog and Jason's blog, Ask the VC or Seth Levine's as well as the Foundry blog, but they don't necessarily see the personal side of my partners. I do get this question a lot, particularly around Brad because he has a 'little bit larger than life' personality. It's a little hard to describe.. Listen, there's more....

509_ Is an Advisory Board or Advisors Really Necessary? Part 2 of 2
A board of advisors for a startup can be critical for some, and situational for others. Seth Levine, Managing Director, Foundry Group discusses the needs, uses and the role of an advisory board. Seth is 'pro advisory board' if the selection process is done the right way. It is very important to try to get at least one advisor from each category necessary to start and run the business. Then add additional advisors to the mix as needed. An overlooked factor in an advisor and startup relationship is compatibility. Startups should work with advisors that share their communication styles, work ethics, interests, and curiosities. It is extremely important to work with people you like and respect. Yet include some who are challenging when it comes to innovation and strategic planning. Seth, in part 1 of his interview talked about what it is like to work with his partners at the Foundry Group...they would be Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Ryan McIntyre, and Chris Wand. Listen and you'll get some personal insights. He also poked a hole in the bubble and comments on Google and a bunch more. Seth gives some great advice that will help you reduce or eliminate the risks associated with building your company and selecting your advisory board. He defines the Role of Company Advisors; answers the question, "Is an Advisory Board or Advisors necessary?" and "What do good Advisors do?" Listen, there's more...
Related Links: Foundry Group || Seth Levine Blog || Venture Capital Channel || Rockies Venture Club || Keywords: Seth Levine, Foundry Group, Advisory Board, Compatibility, Funding, Startup, Entrepreneurs > Bytes: 10052652 LISTEN 6/23/08

505_ Do You Have a Great Business Idea or Winning Product...and? PART 2

At the TiE Rockies event/discussion/debate/lively panel, Pat & I enjoyed Brad Feld's response to "There's not enogh capital," with "That's a total copout. Capital finds deserving companies...entrepreneurs with something great will get funded." There was some uneasiness with the entrepreneurs in the audience...but, they needed to hear it. During the Q&A, a person in the audience raised the assertion that he believed too much emphasis on preparing an extensive and polished business plan. He wanted the reaction of the panel as to whether the idea was far more important, and that it should be presented in a concise executive summary and a follow-up face to face meeting. Dan Caruso's response was, "That even more important was establishing a relationship and positive impression well in advance of presenting an idea. The investors need to conclude they want to fund you. Get over this hurdle first, and then selling the idea will be far easier." This panel discussion is loaded with ideas and hard advice from this first-class panel at the TiE Rockies event. Catharine Merigold, General Partner of Vista Ventures, served as the Event Moderator. Panelists included Dan Caruso, CEO of Zayo Group, Mike Devery, Market Manager - Rocky Mountain Region, Silicon Valley Bank, Brad Feld, Managing Director of Foundry Group, and Vipanj Patel, Managing Director of iSherpa Capital.
Related Links: iSherpa Capital || Zayo || Foundry Group || Silicon Valley Bank || Vista Ventures || TiE Rockies || Keywords: Vipanj Patel, iSherpa Capital, Mike Devery, Silicon Valley Bank, Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Dan Caruso, Zayo, Catharine Merigold, Vista Ventures, Denver, Colorado, Venture Capital, Funding, Business - Bytes: 16862461 LISTEN - 6/16/08

504_ Leveraging Technology to Increase Deal Flow, Efficiency and Visibility
The reality of finding quality investments is a quantity game. And the reality of investing is a quality game. So the investor has to combine quality and quantity, in turn the entrepreneur has to be visible enough to get those quantity views and then ultimately be able to deliver the quality to the investor. And that can be a very time consuming and arduous process without some technology and some tools, explains Kelly Burton, Founder, Investor Avenue.com. InvestorAvenue.com is the private equity and real estate investment community's web portal where accredited investors, entrepreneurs and service providers can present opportunities, capital sources and services to other members of the community. Investors need deal flow; entrepreneurs need visibility, and both need service providers to execute successful transactions. Post, find, and view opportunities and resources quickly and efficiently at your convenience 24/7 on InvestorAvenue.com.
Related Links: Investor Avenue || Venture Capital Channel || Rockies Venture Club || Podcast Directory || Keywords: Kelly Burton, Investors Avenue, Quality Investments, Deal Flow, Efficiency, Visibility, Entrepreneurs - Bytes: 10075222 - 6/9/08

498_ Recognize That Successful Fundraising is a Series of Small Steps (Part 2 of 2)
VCs are notorious for their hectic travel schedules, packed calendars and odd working hours. The cold email approach saves you time and makes it easy for the VC to quickly assess whether your opportunity is one that merits pursuing. Regardless of how you decide to approach VCs, make sure they provide all of your contact info (including email and phone number) so they can re-connect with you in whatever way is best form for them. That's a recommendation from Chris Wand, Managing Director of the Foundary Group. "I really respect it when someone cuts straight to the chase and tells me what they’re looking for and why they think I’m the right person for them to reach out to. It not only tells me the entrepreneur knows what he wants and is confident enough to just ask for it, but it also gives me a sense of where that entrepreneur is coming from, whether he’s done his homework and whether his interpretation of the situation matches my interpretation. I’ve been on the receiving end of emails and voicemails that say nothing more than 'I have a really exciting idea for a company and would like to arrange a meeting with you at your office next Tuesday. Rather than make me intrigued, this approach usually makes me suspicious." There's more...
Related Links: Foundry Group || Private Equity Hub || Ask the VC Blog || Rockies Venture Club || Keywords: Chris Wand, Foundry Group, Venture Capital, Entrepreneur, Funding Bytes: 7421913 - 6/2/08

514_ Another Round of Tech Stars Winners Along with the Best
"What we learned from last year is, just focus on quality and get the best quality of passionate, excited, talented entrepreneurs in the program, and amazing stuff happens. We purposely didn’t change too much. We did add some new mentors into the program and got pretty good engagement from people outside of Colorado. That’s been really great to have - it gives us more diversity and ability to connect the companies with interesting business partners or investors and that’s really the goal." says David Cohen, cofounder of Tech Stars. David is also Founder of Colorado Startups, his Angel Fund. Colorado Startups has now invested in about 8 or 9 companies as well as TechStars. We’re speaking during week three of our 14 week program. The first weeks are pretty varied; we do a lot of what we call sessions. Those are all over the map in terms of what the topics are, but “Starting Your Startup” is a session we do. We had Google in for a day, and we had Microsoft in for a