597_ Climate Prosperity is Denver’s Economic Development Strategy
Saving the planet makes dollars and sense…the environmental movement which has been around a long time, has really come together with the economic development movement. André Pettigrew, Executive Director, Office of Economic Development, City and County of Denver went onto say, "In a way it’s where green suits and blue suits now come together. Mayor Hickenlooper basically put a plan called “Green Print Denver” that talked about us reducing our carbon footprint in the City of Denver, back to 1990 levels, and to do that by 2012. The first premise of our economic development strategy is what we call ‘green savings’. Green savings, the ability for a company to reduce the cost of energy and their use of energy through alternative means or just reducing their consumption enables them to be more competitive in the long run. So if you’re first in your industry to reduce your costs for energy. I also hear people talk about it as the ‘dot com bubble burst’ but you and I both know there are some incredible assets that remain… Level 3, Sun Microsystems, the VC community, angel networks are all there and they now become the foundation that helps us grow the new green tech environment. We have some incredible assets, NREL the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, there is no organization in the world that has spent more money or more time looking at alternative energy in the last 20 years. CH2M Hill is one of the companies headquartered here in the metro region, has recently selected Denver to map out where there are solar installations in our community and we are really looking forward to that. This green movement gives us all an opportunity to use the expertise of a CH2M Hill, to begin to map out where wind, solar installations. The Sustainable Opportunities Summit and CORE and the other sponsors were very visionary. We’re celebrating the 4th Summit coming up and it has consistently been about the economics of sustainability."
Related Links: Denver OED || Green Print Denver || Solar Mapping || Sustainable Opportunity Summit || Sustainability Channel || Keywords: André Pettigrew, Economic Development, City and County of Denver, Mayor John Hickenlooper, CH2M Hill, Sustainable Opportunities Summit, Green Print Denver, CORE, Level 3, Sun Microsystems, NREL
Channels:CEC Bytes: 13479500 - 12/8/08 LISTEN

601_ Denver takes a big ‘green’ bite!” says Mayor Hickenlooper
"In today’s economy where there is so much fear, people are pulling their money out of stocks, out of their 401Ks, out of money markets and putting it under their mattress," said Mayor John Hickenlooper in his interview with Larry. The Mayor went on discussing other important topics including entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship Day proclamation, his outlook on the economy, and raising capital. He has the experience in all those areas. "Today, everyone is selling, trying to get their cash out to put under their mattress. You measure risk vs. reward, in times like this is where people can do very well. I would argue that in the next 18 months there will be more money made than in the following decade. People shouldn’t be hiding their money under the mattress; they should be looking for good, long term investments. You’re probably never going to find a better time to buy some of these blue chip stocks. It’s a great time for starting a business. You know, I started the Wynkoop in 1986- it took us two years, we didn’t open until 1988, but our rent for the first part of our lease was $1 per square foot per year, and that’s because the economy was in the toilet. There’s a huge opportunity for people to step back and say ‘things aren’t that bad and even as bad as they are, there are great opportunities now." Hickenlooper enjoyed sharing his 'Green Bite' views. Green Print Denver is trying to look at every single place that city government touches energy, consumption of resources, and how can we be more frugal. Kind of a throw back, you know my mom grew up in the Great Depression; she used to wash Saran Wrap and tin foil and tape it to the refrigerator door while it dried, so she could reuse it. That might be a little extreme but to a certain extent we’re moving back in that direction. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint. We have to do a lot of little things; just riding a bike is not going to do it." How about planting a million trees?
Related Links: Denver OED || Green Print Denver || Solar Mapping || Sustainable Opportunity Summit || Sustainability Channel || Keywords: Mayor John Hickenlooper, Economic Development, City and County of Denver, Economy, Sustainable Opportunities Summit, Green Print Denver, CORE, Channels: CEC Bytes: 9200016 > 1.5.09 LISTEN

593_ Hickenlooper: From Geologist to Entrepreneur to Mayor of Denver
Twenty-one years ago when they were trying to start the Wynkoop Brewing Co, John Hickenlooper came to RVC, and it was kind of a similar time. The price of oil skyrocketed and then began a very rapid decline. One thing that creates is tremendous opportunity. Kevin Johansen, Chairman of the Business Catapult and Executive Director of the Rockies Venture Club Angel Capital Summit introduced the opening keynote speaker, Mayor John Hickenlooper. The mayor shared a number of insights about his entrepreneurial beginnings. He said, " I literally went to the library with a friend and got a book on how to write a business plan. I was a geologist; I didn’t know what the word ‘Performa’ meant. No matter how tight credit is now… I think you all recognize that economic framework follows perceived opportunity. The worse the public perceives opportunity, the lower your opportunity costs are – our rent was $1.00 per sq. ft. for a year in lower downtown. When I pitched to this group, Rockies Venture Club, it was a much smaller group, I will say nobody laughed out loud. I had two great angels I think are worth mentioning was a guy named Jim Owen. His father started Home Roberts & Owen, he was the managing partner there for many years, and he loved entrepreneurs and he loved helping businesses start. The second investor was my landlord, Jack Barton, he owned Kacey Fine Furniture, and our old building was their old warehouse. After long negotiations we worked out if I put $200,000 into this empty warehouse, I would get 12% ownership in the building." It's a great story. This is 25 minutes of his address...unedited.
Related Links: Angel Capital Summit || Rockies Venture Club || Venture Capital || Entrepreneurs || RVC Angel Capital Summit || Keywords: Mayor, John Hickenlooper, Rockies Venture Club Angel Capital Summit, Kevin Johansen, Business Catapult, Wynkoop Brewing, Entrepreneur - Channels: VC Bytes: 23563601 > 12/1/08 LISTEN