In the cloud with a solutions specialist
1023_ 5/31/11 -
So we're going to be open and unstuck right here at the Glue Conference in Denver, Colorado. We've been fortunate enough to talk to a number of heavy hitters, all kinds of areas and now we've cornered John Sanderson from Microsoft. John is a solutions specialist with Windows Azure. While there is a lot of techie stuff here, it's really interesting to see how this gets transferred into business knowledge. Give us an overview. John replied, "Windows Azure is really Microsoft's development and deployment platform in the "cloud". Think of it as Windows server and SQL server available as a service that you write code to. Windows code, Java, PHP, Ruby, whatever you want to write. Deploy it to Windows Azure, we'll run it in a wildly horizontal scaleability aspect, make it big or small as you want and you only pay for what you use. You know my paradigm comes directly from the cloud computing world. I tell people I hate the word cloud. Everybody's got a cloud offering. It really depends on what you're looking for - if you want email in the cloud, if you want an application platform, if you want to collocate material, data, software, whatever, someplace in the cloud. So, I think one of the biggest challenges is understanding what you want out of this new thing called the cloud, and then being able to ascertain who's the right vendor. You know Microsoft has lots of offerings, but we're not going to be right for everybody. Amazon, Rackspace, they've got great stuff, it really depends on what you want. If we're talking about the cloud business, or a new business, I think the key is to ask the right questions. Really understand where you want to be, and talk about the problems that you want to solve, then look for solutions that make sense for the problem that you have." Listen for more now... Related Links:
Windows Azure ||
Glue Conference ||
Corporate Citizenship ||
Software Channel ||
Keywords: John Sanderson, Microsoft Azure, Cloud, Glue Conference, Web Software,
Technology, Windows code, Java, PHP, Ruby, ViaWest, Amazon, Rackspace, 5/31/11 bytes=4104257
Listen to: John Sanderson, Microsoft Azure Solutions Specialist
LISTEN to John Sanderson, Windows Azure, Solutions Specialist
Do you have a mobile strategy?
1021_ 5/31/11 -
She sold her company for over $40 million and now she's starting a new one. and she is the CEO and co founder of Radish Systems. Theresa Szczurek is a real entrepreneur. Theresa says, we like to call it Radish '2-dot-0', because they liked the name so much they recycled it from their first venture in the 90's. Larry asked his classic question, "What are some of the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs will be facing this next year?" "Big question!" Theresa said, "One of the things I think entrepreneurs face in these times is fundraising. Depending on what technology you are in, we happen to be in the mobile communications / applications space which is pretty hot, so that helps. But in other spaces it's much more difficult for entrepreneurs to find funding, either from friends and family, angels or from institutional investors, venture capitalists. So you have to be very creative - you also have to know your plan and how you're going to make money. So that's one. Another I think is finding the right team, building that team and keeping them directed toward the end goal. That I think is a universal challenge for entrepreneurs from day one. Then two others, I would say keeping on top of the technology, where you have extensive intellectual property in technology based firms, where keeping on top of the technology and how it's moving, making sure that in the flow you are improving and enhancing what's going on. But I think, in terms of the challenges is to stay flexible. You have to stay agile and realize that sometimes you're going to get to a situation where things are just not working like you would like them to be. Realize this is common, be aware and make the right shifts in order to not hit the wall. There are so many examples of companies who have done this, reinvented themselves based on what they are learning from the market." They discussed additional entrepreneurial topics. Radish Systems is looking for more talented people. Much more to listen to...
Related Links:
TMS World ||
Radish Systems ||
Economy Builders ||
Pursuit of Passionate Purpose ||
Podcasting Directory ||
Keywords: Theresa Szczurek, TMS World,
Entrepreneurs, Mobile Communications, App Developers, Cell Phone, Mobile Devices, Radish Communications Systems, 5/31/11
bytes=7605501
LISTEN to
Theresa Szczurek, PhD., CoFounder, Radish Systems
It's a great time for entrepreneurs; and here's
1019_ 5/23/11 -
We're at the Colorado Capital Conference, co-sponsored by Rockies Venture Club and TiE Rockies and we've also cornered the president of TiE Rockies, Vic Ahmed and the keynote speaker, Saad Khan. Vic tells us not to go by Saad's youthful looks; the guy is experienced, brilliant. He's doing some very innovative things with his fund, CMEA Capital, which is over a billion dollars under management. Larry asked Saad, ": “What do you think are the biggest challenges today for entrepreneurs?” He replied, "Which company to start. I mean there are so many options today. I think it's a great time for entrepreneurs - more so than ever before because the means of production have come down so that everyone can be an entrepreneur and do it very cheaply, especially in the area that I look at, the web and software. Actually I'm pretty optimistic about what's going on for entrepreneurs. I think access to capital, is something I've heard here a lot. But there is a lot of stuff you can do without venture capital at all. And by the time you need it, those guys will be knocking at your door because things are going so great! So I'm excited about the prospects right now."
Larry asked, "What can entrepreneurs capitalize on today?" Saad replied, "So again, I tend to focus on web technology and in that world everything is free, infrastructure, software, data centers - none of those things you have to build anymore, or buy yourself, so really the only cost is you and your team. So if you are willing to eat Ramen and live and work in the same place, it turns out your costs are pretty low. I think that's a lot of leverage for people. I've actually seen companies that literally got profitable with no external dollars whatsoever. So there is a lot to capitalize on." Listen now...
...
Related Links:
CMEA Capital ||
Colorado Capital Conference ||
RVC Home ||
TiE Rockies ||
Venture Capital Channel ||
Keywords: Saad Khan, CMEA Capital, Colorado Capital Conference, Rockies Venture Club,
TiE Rockies, Entrepreneurs, Web Software, Technology, Access to Capital - 5/23/11 bytes=271788
LISTEN to Saad Khan, Partner, CMEA Capital
Viral marketing approach which has really caught on
1017_ 5/23/11 -
We are here today with Jim Franklin, a guy who has worked with companies that were down and companies that had, let's say a lot of room to grown, and he's really taken them forward. Jim is the new CEO of SendGrid, an email infrastructure company, "where we basically rent email deliverability services in the cloud". And there's quite an interesting story about how the founders came up with that idea. The founders had worked together at three previous companies building web applications. Each time they had to build email services around that one application. None of them felt that was a particularly fun job, so whoever got the short straw had to spend the weekend building out the email infrastructure. And as it turned out, it worked very well. After three times they said, why don't we build a whole company that just does that and does it well? We'll stick it in the cloud and then rent it to other people like us, other web developers. That was essentially the TechStars application in the summer of '09. Larry asked, "So you've been a mentor at TechStars and SendGrid is an outgrowth of TechStars, could you give us a little background there? Jim Replied, "I've been a mentor with TechStars and worked with many companies, oddly not this one in particular. Going through the TechStars program was the exact right vehicle for Isaac and the other founders, to really build their vision for the email services. And then to launch it that summer with the power of David Cohen and Brad Feld writing and blogging about this. They really started a viral marketing approach which has really caught on. Now 20 months later, we have over 23,000 active customers, which has not cost one dollar in sales or marketing expense, which is truly remarkable." Much more to listen to...
Related Links:
SendGrid Home ||
TechStars ||
Foundry Group ||
Economy Builders ||
Blog ||
Keywords: Jim Franklin, SendGrid, Cloud, Email, TechStars, Foundry Group,
Entrepreneurs, Viral Marketing, Vision - 5/23/11 bytes=5382794
LISTEN to Jim Franklin, CEO, SendGrid
Brad Feld before there was wireless networking
1024_ 5/31/11 -
In this 4th Video segment, we get the 'great story teller' and his best friend/partner selling their business. Again Brad Feld is hilarious, we're sure you will enjoy this segment as much if not more than the first three. We will publish the entire two hour audio as we wrap up the five video segments...Brad says, "We never thought about an exit strategy. So we have this business; we're making pretty good money, we were paying ourselves $100,000, so it was pretty high margin for a consulting business. We knew to go from $2 Million to $4 Million we'd still make half-million dollars in profit. So we figured out we hit this inflection scale point that by doubling the business, I couldn't do all the selling - so we'd have to bring in some non-revenue selling people. He couldn't do all the management. We didn't have people in the business that could actually manage upper level... so we're in this kind of what should we do state. One of the companies we did some work with was a cable company. This was back before there was wireless networking. Like coaxial cabling, I mean it was really funny. There might be a problem and you'd tear down the walls in these first class office buildings to figure out where the cable had been chewed threw by a rat that wasn't supposed to be in a first-class office building. We ended up being approached by the people that had bought this cable company. This again not cable TV but cable wiring company. Here's another guy, Len Fassler, he's been an incredible mentor and partner of mine. I remember one day he came to Boston...watch and listen for more...
Related Links:
Brad Feld Blog ||
Silicon Flatirons, ATLAS, and ITP ||
Brad Feld Video ||
Foundry Group ||
Do More Faster Book ||
Entrepreneurs Unplugged Photos ||
Keywords: Brad Feld, Jill Van Matre, Brad Bernthal, Silicon Flatirons Center,
AmeriData, Len Fassler, Entrepreneurship Initiative, Atlas, Foundry Group, Do More Faster Book,
5/31/11 Bytes: 5365658 LISTEN to
Brad Feld, Foundry Group - Entrepreneurs Unplugged Part 4
Financing in a Tight Money Environment
1022_ 5/31/11 -
The slow economic recovery makes it challenging for companies to raise financing and continue organic growth, or pursue attractive strategic opportunities. Chris Wilson moderated the ACG-Denver Corporate Growth Conference session 'Financing in a Tight Money Environment'. . This panel discussed creative and new ways companies are raising and structuring financing solutions in this tight money environment. Chris is the founder and principle of Fortitude MB. "We put Fortitude together three and a-half years ago to help companies in special situations. Generally speaking we're looking at raising capital situations of ten million dollars or more, and have some capacity to do that." Listen for more details about the company. Larry asked, "What do you think are the biggest opportunities for companies today?" Chris replied, "That is a great question and frankly that is the area where we are very busy right now. we're seeing companies that are able to take advantage of this market opportunity either by buying competitors or finding ways to improve profitability, or take advantage of the depressed market by taking market share or praying on companies that are weaker... So I think for strong companies that are well run, there is a tremendous opportunity to improve their market position and be even stronger as we continue to grow out of this economic environment that we are currently in." When asked, "What advice would you give to business leaders today in this environment?" Chris said, "Be open and honest! Be open and honest with your employees on where you stand, where things are. And also with your financial partners and your advisors. You heard today, transparency is an important key. You have to be in touch with your risks, and the people that work with you and for you - be open and honest." ...listen, there's much more
Related Links:
Fortitude MB ||
ACG: Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference ||
M&A Channel ||
ACG Denver Home ||
ACG Conference Photos ||
Keywords: Chris Wilson, Fortitude MB, ACG, Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth
Conference, ACG Denver, Corporate Capital, Strategic Capital, 5/31/11 bytes=4346674
LISTEN to Chris Wilson, Principal, Fortitude MB
Gov Hickenlooper: Fixing the red tape for the state
1020_ 5/23/11 -
Those who attempt the impossible have very little competition. Gov. John Hickenlooper, was the Day 1 keynote speaker at the 2011 ACG Corporate Growth Conference. In this video segment No. 3, he discusses red tap and how the state is going to deal with it. The governor said, "What are specific examples of red tape? We're willing, we'll make a commitment, you show us the red tape and we'll fix it. If you're spending too much time doing paperwork, if you're getting tied up in bureaucracy that's not benefiting the public safety or the public sector and it's taking time away from your business, we'll fix it. But just help us - write it down. By the time this is through we will have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of gaggles of examples of red tape, culled from all over the state. Those 64 county discussions will help and we'll merge then into 14 regional economic development plan or description of what their vision is. And, you know, How important is public education? We want to be defined as pro business. Colorado should be a state where any entrepreneur, on the east coast or the west coast, if they're sick of the big city, why with technology and the Internet, you can do business almost anywhere, Why not Colorado? But if we want to attract them we've got to have good school districts, we've got to have good universities and colleges - we've got to have those elements that become part of a successful entrepreneurial endeavor." He goes onto explain the details and talk about some very experienced professionals that are part of the team...watch and listen for more..
Related Links:
VIDEO link ||
ACG Conference Details ||
ACG Denver Home ||
M&A Channel ||
City of Denver Channel ||
Colorado State Web Portal ||
Keywords: John Hickenlooper, Governor, Colorado, ACG, ACG Denver Rocky Mountain
Capital Growth Conference, Ed Tauer, Mayor of Aurora, Tim Wolf, Molsen, Miller, Kristin Russell, SUN Microsystems 5/23/11 Watch
Governor Hickenlooper - VIDEO
The number one tool for leaders and CEO's
1018_ 5/23/11 -
We are fortunate to have Sherry Law founder of Evergreen Communications, a recognized national expert on the subject of high impact internal and external communications. Sherry describes communication as an infrastructure for everything that goes on within an organization. She points out, "That's relating to everything from culture, brand, productivity and performance" - Maybe a short list, but it's all encompassing. Larry said, "When I think of communications, I think of the whole organization, but you focus on CEO communications. Could you describe that?" Sherry replied, "I do because everything about an organization has to do with the CEO. Communication is a key competency for leadership and it's the key to the culture of the organization, and its productivity and its performance. I don't think people really think of communication in that way, but it has that level of importance of infrastructure."
"I know you are a regular contributor to the ColoradoBIZ Magazine and one article in particular caught my attention. It was titled 'I Struggle to Find Any Truth in Your Lies'. Can we get into that?" Sherry's reply... "Since I always have CEO communication on my mind, [it seems like] I was jumping to CEO communications because they often don't tell the truth. It's for a lot of different reasons that they don't tell the truth. A lot of times they're trying to protect their employees from bad news, they're afraid they can't handle it. Sort of like a parent with a small child. In actuality employees can handle bad news. What they can't handle is not getting any news at all. Sometimes it's protecting an ego, sometimes it's protecting a brand. Sometimes it's just someone who is uncomfortable communicating. CEO's are people, like anybody else, and sometimes they just aren't very comfortable saying what they think." Sherry shares a ton of information...be ready to take notes...
Related Links:
Evergreen Communications ||
COBIZ Article ||
ACG Denver Home ||
Podcasting Directory ||
Keywords: Sherry Law, Evergreen Communications, ACG Denver, CEO communications,
Entrepreneurs, Leadership, ColoradoBIZ Magazine, Internal Communications, External Communications - 5/23/11 bytes=8528773
LISTEN to Sherry Law, Founder, Evergreen Communications
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
Get your copy of Larry Nelson's popular book...
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Coming EVENTS w3w3® Media Network Covers the Best
1018_ 5/23/11 -
We are fortunate to have Sherry Law founder of Evergreen Communications, a recognized national expert on the subject of high impact internal and external communications. Sherry describes communication as an infrastructure for everything that goes on within an organization. She points out, "That's relating to everything from culture, brand, productivity and performance" - Maybe a short list, but it's all encompassing. Larry said, "When I think of communications, I think of the whole organization, but you focus on CEO communications. Could you describe that?" Sherry replied, "I do because everything about an organization has to do with the CEO. Communication is a key competency for leadership and it's the key to the culture of the organization, and its productivity and its performance. I don't think people really think of communication in that way, but it has that level of importance of infrastructure."
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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