Leads for building your business
964_ 2/7/11 -
If your potential clients can't find you, that's a problem. Once they get to your website, if they can't understand or get something out of your website, that's a problem. It's amazing how many businesses don't have those and other important marketing things put together - today we're with an expert. We are interviewing one of the Colorado Companies to Watch winners, Dan Goldstein from Page 1 Solutions. Dan said, "With the Internet the one thing he's seen is constant change. When Page 1 was started ten years ago, Google didn't exist. Now, Google dominates the search engines, on the other hand we have Facebook, YouTube, all kinds of other social media and they are actually garnering more traffic than Google now. So, what you need if you want to be active and successful, is you need to be able to look at those changing environments and be able to react to them quickly." Larry asked for an overview of what Page 1 Solutions does. Dan explained, "Page 1 offers a wide range of solutions. Our slogan used to be, 'Page 1 Solutions: dominate the Internet'." When they started that meant dominating Google. But more and more that means you have to have a successful presence on all of the different vehicles - search engines, social media and all the different ways that people can come to your business or your practice. Page 1 focuses primarily on web site marketing for attorneys, doctors and dentists. They also have a subsidiary, Mega Hunter, that does website marketing for businesses throughout the nation. "We really do everything from soup to nuts. We start by designing their website, we write the content, we work on SEO for their websites, so they show up high on Google. We do lobbying for them. We do all kinds of things with content, some of that includes writing and publishing press releases, building links to come back to the website. More and more though, we're seeing a really high demand for video."...Listen for more...
Related Links:
Page 1 Solutions ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Home ||
MegaHunter ||
CCTW Channel ||
CCTW Event ||
CCTW Gala Celebration ||
Keywords: Dan Goldstein, Page 1 Solutions, MegaHunter, Colorado 50 Companies
to Watch, Search Engines, Social Media, Google, Facebook, YouTube 2/7/11 bytes=6689335
LISTEN to
Dan Goldstein, Page 1 Solutions
Selling your business, reactive or proactive
962_ 2/7/11 -
Do you know the top five things a business owner should do when preparing for an exit? Well, we're happy to be talking with a sponsor of the Colorado Companies to Watch program. Chris Younger and David Tolson, managing directors of Capital Value Advisors have some great advice for all of us, so listen up and be ready to take some notes. Well the top thing is to be prepared to be put under the microscope. "Due Diligence is a very painful process and most business owners don't think about the process until they get to that point" said David Tolson. "Often times there are things that can be done in advance of the sale. In prepping materials, being prepared to talk about any problems with financials that may have arisen in the prior couple of years, and just be prepared for the questions that you may be asked. The other big issue we see is that most business owners typically will look at an exit as a reactive event instead of a proactive event. If you're proactive about it, it's like any other business process. If you plan for it you can eliminate a lot of mistakes that are potentially made and make sure you maximize the eventual exit." Chris said, "Our view is that risk comes in two forms. You have risk in a business which could be in a number of areas. It could be risking your management team, risking your customer base, or your suppliers. There is also risk in the transaction. So, the ability to plan for that transaction, understand and anticipate those risks, and then develop your game plan for how to address those risks, that's what will lead to a successful transaction. The next big mistake that business owners make is not understanding what they need from the transaction. For example what happens to their employees, to their customers, their strategic relationships, the name of the business is as, or more important than the dollars from the transaction." What is the acquisition market like? "We're seeing No. 1, the credit markets loosen up a little bit. We're seeing private equities getting more interested in transactions. The deals we have at market today, we're getting great reception for. So our view is that the acquisition market has really come back. We're feeling pretty optimistic about 2011." They also wrote a book, "HARVEST: The Definitive Guide to Selling Your Company." ...Listen now, there's much more...
Related Links:
Capital Value Advisors ||
HARVEST: The Definitive Guide to Selling Your Company ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Home ||
CCTW Channel ||
CCTW Event ||
CCTW Gala Celebration ||
Keywords: Capital Value Advisors, Chris Younger, David Tolson Colorado 50
Companies to Watch, HARVEST: The Definitive Guide to Selling Your Company, Due Diligence - 2/7/11 bytes=9150696 LISTEN to
Chris Younger and David Tolson, Capital Value Advisors
Keep at it, eventually there will be a turn around
960_ 1/31/11 -
ARCA Biopharma, Inc. is a Colorado-based biopharmaceutical company developing genetically-targeted therapies for heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. Larry interviewed Michael R. Bristow, MD, Ph.D. CEO & Chief Science and Medical Officer of ARCA at the CU Technology Transfer Office Awards banquet. Dr. Bristow has been a favorite interview for w3w3® for years. Larry asked him, "Michael what are the biggest changes you've seen in this last year in your industry?" He replied, "It's been a couple of tough years, but I think things are starting to turn around and basically the atmospherics have gotten a lot better. Just coming off a JP Morgan meeting, it was, I thought, a completely different tone this year." Dr. Bristow had some interesting insights about funding. "Well, it's sort of like financing of real estate was back in the early 80s when interest rates were 20% - you've got to do creative financing. So, all kinds of vehicles have been used through this period. ARCA biopharma, for instance did a reverse merger, bought a company that was NASDAQ listed, that had a bunch of cash - that proved to be a good move. So people have gotten through this one way or another. But we need to get back to traditional sources of funding." Larry asked, "Is there any particular advice to people in your arena?" Spoken like a true leader he replied, "Yes, don't give up. I mean, tenacity, keep at it, eventually there will be a turn around. Now, when things aren't going too well, may be the best opportunity there is in terms of acquiring assets. Think ahead. Think positive." Dr. Bristow joined ARCA as one of ARCA’s founders in September 2004, and has served as Chairman and Chief Science and Medical Officer of ARCA until he was appointed to his current position of Chief Executive Officer in July 2009. Dr. Bristow is a Professor of Medicine and the former Head of Cardiology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where he has been since October 1991. Dr. Bristow was one of the founders of Myogen, Inc.
Related Links:
ARCA biopharma ||
CU Technology Transfer Office ||
CU TTO Channel ||
TTO Blog ||
CU TTO Awards ||
Award Photos ||
Keywords: Michael Bristow, ARCA biopharma, CU Technology Transfer Office, Biotech,
Cardiology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, University of Colorado Cardiovascular Institute 01/31/11 bytes=2927702
LISTEN to
Michael R. Bristow, MD, Ph.D. CEO & Chief Science and Medical Officer of ARCA
2010 was a pretty vibrant year for entrepreneurship
958_ 1/31/11 -
Larry asks Brad Feld, founder and managing partner The Foundry Group to take out his crystal ball, but first a snapshot of 2010. Brad said, "2010 was a pretty vibrant year for entrepreneurship, certainly for software and tech entrepreneurship, around the country, but also especially for Boulder, Colorado. Programs like TechStars have helped on a national basis, they have lots of programs throughout the country now. This has really helped with early stage and first-time entrepreneurs. There's plenty of venture capital activity and plenty investments in young growing companies and there have been some very large investments in new leaders, companies like Twitter and Facebook, GroupOn, Zinga. Those companies have both raised a lot of money and they're very substantial business that are generating a lot of cash. We've had a great time together. David has been awesome to work with. He's living in New York right now, for the first quarter running the TechStars New York program, which is now the fourth city that TechStars is in, also Boulder, Boston, and Seattle. NYC is into week three now, off to a great start and he's having a blast. The premise behind TechStars initially, and the thing that David presented to me, that appealed to me so much was this notion of working with first-time entrepreneurs with a mentor driven approach. These types of companies have come to be knows as accelerators. It's a good word, a good description." Larry asked, "How is raising money, either angel or a larger VC investment, different in 2011 from 2010?" Brad replied, "Well, independent of when, raising money for a startup is hard. It's hard when you're at the very beginning and it's hard for 2nd or 3rd round it's even hard when you're raising expansion capital. The mistake that entrepreneurs make is they assume it's going to be straightforward - they expect it to be less difficult than it is. Then when it turns out to be a real slog, it's very difficult for them. So, I don't know that I have any good sense as to whether it'll be any easier or harder to raise money in 2011 because I think it's always hard." If someone is approaching the Foundry Group what shouldn't they do? Brad has advice for entrepreneurs who are seeking money...Listen now...
Related Links:
Foundry Group ||
Feld Thoughts ||
Do More Faster ||
VC Interviews ||
More VC Interviews ||
Keywords: Brad Feld, Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, TechStars, David Cohen,
Defrag, Glue, Blur, Eric Norlin, Do More Faster 01/31/11 bytes=8910788
LISTEN to Brad Feld, Managing Partner, Foundry Group
Rebuilding a company one person at a time
965_ 2/7/11 - "When you think about the economy, fortunately for the supermarket industry, people still have to eat. Until that changes, we're going to have some semblance of order. In some cases there's advantage to be taken." We're here at the Association for Corporate Growth luncheon and Sam Martin, President & CEO, Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) is our keynote speaker. Sam's wife Carina attended, she runs a non-profit here in Denver, the name is 'A Precious Child', and she is dedicated to helping children in the Denver Metro Area and throughout the Colorado market, with basic essentials. Last year alone she helped over 26,000 kids. Larry asked, "Sam what advice would you give to executive types running large and medium size companies over this coming year?" Sam replied, "Company culture is important to look at early on and always, so that you don't allow your culture to erode, or change in a dark way and start to take your company down from a results standpoint. It is amazing to me how many companies lose sight of the impact their culture has on the bottom line results. That culture in A&P's example starts back in 1859. One hundred-fifty-one years ago, the culture of the company was one of accountability, trust, a huge focus on discipline and growing the people. They grew the people enough to make a company that had 16,000 stores across the country by the 1930s. If you think about that kind of culture and then you reflect on today on a company that's actually in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, along the way that culture eroded and it brought the results of the company down." Sam feels that the culture is one of the essential pieces in building a team. He said, "If a person doesn't fit into the culture of your organization, and align with your core values, it doesn't matter their skill sets, they're not going to be successful in your organization." It's an important part of recruiting and putting management and leadership in place is to make sure the culture is preserved and the mission of the company, the core values that we stand for are aligned with...listen now
Related Links:
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) ||
A Precious Child ||
ACG Denver Rocky Mountain Capital Growth Conference ||
ACG Denver ||
M&A Channel ||
Keywords: Sam Martin, A&P, ACG, ACG Denver Rocky Mountain Capital Growth
Conference, Carina Martin, A Precious Child, Company Culture, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company > 2/7/11 bytes=4183252
LISTEN to Sam Martin, President & CEO, A&P
Incubator that's coming here to Colorado
963_ 2/7/11 -
We're talking about an incubator that's coming here to Colorado. Vic Ahmed, amongst so many other positions, is CEO of the Colorado Plug & Play Tech Center. We wanted to know what this means, so Larry asked Vic for an overview. Vic is very excited, for himself to be involved personally, but also for what Plug and Play can do for the entrepreneurial system here in Colorado. "So Plug and Play is the most successful, I know for certain, incubator in the U.S. Not just in the U.S., in fact, it's the most successful incubator in the world!," said Vic. A few years ago, as Vic was working on his own virtual incubator, Captain Green, he had incubators researched. He discovered Plug and Play through that research process and discovered this absolutely incredible success. "Now you'll find these numbers amazing, I encourage you to go to the website, plugandplaytechcenter.com. In the last four to five years they've incubated over 600 companies and raised over $700 million for these companies. Right now, we are closing about five new investments a month." Plug and Play has a structured relationship with over 140 VC's, that come regularly to Plug and Play, look at the deal flow, and make various investment decisions. Plug and Play also has its own fund that they co-invest with these VC's. they have relationships with over 15 universities, including Harvard, Cornell, Stanford... They have programs in 15 countries in which they bring the best companies out of those countries to Silicon Valley for a few months and help them get funded. On top of all that they also have strategic relationships with top companies like BestBuy, PayPal. PayPal in fact has a mini incubator within Plug and Play where they're encouraging companies to build products layered on their platform. Very exciting stuff, and Vic says he is most excited to be working on setting up a Plug and Play Tech Center here in Colorado. They're targeting a Q3 timeframe for that. Vic has been working on this now for 6 to 8 months and has made great progress, meeting a lot of the stake holders in Colorado who are very, very supportive of this concept. There's more advice for entrepreneurs...
Related Links:
Plug and Play Tech Center ||
Podcasting Directory ||
In the News ||
TiE Rockies ||
Rockies Venture Club ||
Keywords: Vic Ahmed, TiE Rockies, Plug and Play Tech Center, Incubator, VC's,
Venture Capital, Entrepreneurs, Technology, PayPal - 2/7/11 bytes=7421181 LISTEN to
Vic Ahmed, President & CEO, Colorado Plug and Play Tech Center
Last year was a big year for some
961_ 1/31/11 -
We're hearing so much about Colorado's venture capital business and the lack of new funds. We contacted Vipanj Patel, managing partner of iSherpa Capital for his take on the situation. A few years back when we talked with Vipanj they were just moving into their offices in Greenwood Village, today they were preparing to move out. That's actually up and out. They're expanding, moving up and taking additional space. Vipanj said, "We're actually going to be housing a couple of companies that we're going to be working with. Actively work in an operating fashion in some of the companies we are investing in and help get them off the ground." Last year was a big year for iSherpa. They expanded beyond wireless into media and entertainment, Internet type of play, a few years ago. There's one company out in San Diego called Taaz, (they do virtual makeovers) that iSherpa invested in about three years ago. Recently hired a new CEO (replacing Vipanj) Harry Lin. "Harry used to run Evite and before that abc.com. He actually was the first one to introduce video to the Internet, well before YouTube and all that. So he's on board full time and running the show day-to-day. He's doing a great job and Taaz is getting a lot of traction. "In the last year we've closed Clinique as a client; rolled out Estée Lauder across 13 countries; In Style magazine, People magazine, Revlon, and we've got quite a few exciting things coming out this year. So that's a company we're excited about." They've grown over 100% each of the last three years. Probably the biggest thing for iSherpa in 2010 was the sale of a company, Sequent, which was in the wireless caller and ID name space, based out of Seattle, WA. iSherpa sold Sequent to a publicly traded company and got a nice exit. Larry asked Vipanj what he saw for VC firms. "It's still an interesting time for the VC industry. The term you'll hear is, 'it's frothy out there right now. There's definitely frothiness in the market, but there are differences too. In other words, back in '99 everyone was chasing everything. The second thing I've seen is a fundamental shift in people's attitude and what it takes to build a business. In the last three years we've been approached by entrepreneurs that have a much more realistic view, in our opinion, of what it takes to build a business. That mind-shift to me has been huge." Vipanj has more to say about wireless...listen now...
Related Links:
iSherpa Capital ||
Taaz ||
Venture Capital ||
Podcasting Directory ||
Keywords: Vipanj Patel, iSherpa Capital, Wireless, Venture Capital, Taaz, Virtual
Makeovers, Sequent, Evite > 01/31/11 bytes=11217923
LISTEN to
Vipanj Patel, Managing Partner, iSherpa Capital
Silicon Valley's biggest IPO since Google
959_ 1/31/11 -
w3w3® Media Network is proud and honored t
o bring another NCWIT interview to our audience. We've long since recognized the need for education and support for our youth and particularly for young women, in math and science, engineering and technology. The women we interview are bright guiding lights for the future of our youth, generously sharing their experiences - challenges and all. They are inspiring, often humorous and motivating. This series is a real jewel and a valuable set of tools for the future of young women and everyone who has the good fortune to listen. Lucy Sanders, the CEO for the National Center for Women and Information Technology or NCWIT along with Lee Kennedy, Founder, Bolder Search and board member for the National Center for Women and Information Technology or NCWIT along with Larry Nelson, Director of w3w3® Media Network interviewed Diane Greene, founder of VMware. VMware introduced something really innovative which was a virtualization layer between hardware and software that allowed different operating systems to run on the same machine. When the company went public in 2007, it was Silicon Valley's biggest IPO since Google. We asked how she came to be an entrepreneur. Diane explained, "I had always been an organizer, like working with people if their visions are aligned and that led to reading people and being in charge. So, it's a desire to do new things, make things happen. When you need to work on a passion and vision you are sometimes left with no option but to do it yourself. When asked for her advice to young people who are thinking of entrepreneurship, she said. If you see something that really excites you then set about doing it and doing it right. Don't cut any corners, go about it with absolute quality in every way that you approach it and think it through, and execute on it." There's more advice for entrepreneurs.....
Related Links:
NCWIT Home ||
NCWIT Practice ||
VMware ||
Heroes Channel ||
Keywords: Diane Greene, VMware, National Center for Women and Information Technology,
Lucinda Sanders, NCWIT, Lee Kennedy, Bolder Search, Entrepreneurs, Technology 01/31/11 bytes=12086442
LISTEN to Diane Greene, founder VMware
Achieving Your Personal and Professional Goals 933_ 11/29/10- Don't Let Another Year Go By - The Ultimate Win is Yours - Larry Nelson has taught this material in seminars in over a dozen countries, from China to Canada, from Norway to Australia, from Germany to Japan as well as throughout the USA. He shares the results of his international research about the Characteristics of an Achiever and then goes on to help you lay out your "personalized blueprint" to personal and professional success. Larry is an internationally published author, has been a consultant to many Fortune 1000 companies and is best known for his train-the-trainer programs. ...listen now a complete step-by-step program including a downloadable manual and resource guide...this is an in-depth strategic planning and goal setting system for achievers...Read More about how to Supercharge Your Business... The links below are valuable and extremely helpful to setting your course for the next year! And they're free. Related Links: Ultimate Win Resources || Training Trends || 3-Filters Technology™ || Podcasting Directory || Your Goal || Keywords: Ultimate Win, Your Goal, Training Trends, 3-Filters TechnologyTM, Setting
Goals, Larry Nelson; 11/29/10 Chnl: Entrepreneurs
Change Is Not an Event,
It Is an Ongoing Process
as it is with Chaos
Google ranks Colorado’s w3w3.com in the top 10 for the “Business Internet Talk Radio” show
Google has millions of listings in our category. We are ranked in the top 10. Check it at… The same is true for the category “Entrepreneurs Internet Talk Radio” show…see at…
Coming EVENTS w3w3® Media Network Covers the Best
o bring another NCWIT interview to our audience. We've long since recognized the need for education and support for our youth and particularly for young women, in math and science, engineering and technology. The women we interview are bright guiding lights for the future of our youth, generously sharing their experiences - challenges and all. They are inspiring, often humorous and motivating. This series is a real jewel and a valuable set of tools for the future of young women and everyone who has the good fortune to listen. 
933_ 11/29/10- Don't Let Another Year Go By - The Ultimate Win is Yours - Larry Nelson has taught this material in seminars in over a dozen countries, from China to Canada, from Norway to Australia, from Germany to Japan as well as throughout the USA. He shares the results of his international research about the Characteristics of an Achiever and then goes on to help you lay out your "personalized blueprint" to personal and professional success. Larry is an internationally published author, has been a consultant to many Fortune 1000 companies and is best known for his train-the-trainer programs. ...listen now a complete step-by-step program including a downloadable manual and resource guide...this is an in-depth strategic planning and goal setting system for achievers..
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