If you are looking for funding, be prepared
1116_ 11/28/11 - For those of you who don't know Russ Farmer, he is a national expert on SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) and that's both grants as well as contracts. He also works with universities and that's STTR, a similar program. Russ is also the founder and president of PBC, Inc. and he's helped many companies get started. With the economic challenges we've been face with over the recent past we've asked Russ to shed some light on raising money, the right way. Russ likes to refer to it as a game that they play. He views all business as a very exciting, complex game and learning more about the game always makes you a better player. "In conjunction with that", Russ said, "we've observed the company out seeking funds will present to a number of companies/investors and typically will come down to a single investor. They get very friendly, talk back and forth, and the investor leads the company to believe that very quickly they're going to issue a term sheet. Once they've established a position of being the only investor - they continue to lead the company on." The company diminishes their cash to the point where they become very desperate for money. The more desperate the company becomes the less value they have and the portion of that company the investor will get becomes greater. From a small business or entrepreneur's standpoint, whose out raising money, there is a valuable less here that you can learn... Number one, you need to start very early on in the process, six to nine months of looking for an investor is not nearly long enough. You're not going to be able to get the kind of attraction, or be able to develop the relationships you need to have to get multiple people involved. What you really want to play to is having two investors independently... Russ offers more valuable advice to help you maximize your opportunity to create good value for the founding share holders and keep the game on an even keel...listen, there's more detail...
Related Links: PBC, Inc || SBIR Link || ADA Technologies || SBIR - Getting Prepared || Commercialization Channel || Keywords: Russ Farmer, Commercialization, SBIR, STTR, PBC, Government Regulations, Funding, Investors, Small Business, Entrepreneur, Grants, Contracts - bytes=6466145
LISTEN TO:Russ Farmer - Seeking Funds-Be Prepared

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Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower
1118_ 11/28/11 - We are here at the fabulous Defrag 2011 event, right here at the Omni Hotel, one of our favorites with founder Eric Norlin. Eric began organizing technology conferences in 1999. In 2002, he became an owner and organizer of Digital ID World, which was acquired by IDG via a joint venture in 2005. More recently, he founded SaaScon (Software as a Services conference) in conjunction with IDG World Expo. Eric's foray into technology began when his father brought home a Commodore 64, evolved into work with the National Security Agency, and transitioned into roles running content for technology conferences, writing articles for technology publications and serving as a vice president of marketing at an identity technology startup (Ping Identity). They started Defrag as something that was supposed to be a topical show where they'd explore a certain theme around information overload and how we're going to deal with that. Eric's running joke is that Defrag was about big data before big data was cool. But over the years, the feedback they received was that people were really interested in passionate people, passionate about specific ideas, as much as they were about having a conversation around a specific theme. So this year is the first time Defrag has been unhinged from any one theme. Larry asked Eric what he saw as the challenges facing people today with all these new technologies... Eric said, "It's interesting, the tech world, especially from the startup side hasn't felt the recession all that much. If anything, they've felt a talent shortage. I think one of the biggest problems that people are facing isn't about raising capital, great ideas or innovation - but once they get over that hump and raised the capital, there aren't the right people to hire. They're just not turning out enough engineering students, or if they are it's in different countries and they're not getting the visas to come work here. So there is a real talent shortage. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."...Listen for more details...
Related Links: Defrag 2011 || Defrag 2012 || Software Channel || Mastering Change Book || Keywords: Eric Norlin, Defrag, Accelerating the AHA Moment, Digital Identity, API's, Mobile, Social Customer, Platform Shift, Collaboration, Social Networks, Activity Streams bytes=2842856
LISTEN TO: Eric Norlin - Defrag 2011 - 5th Anniversary

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It's not just charity and philanthropy. It's about the bottom line
1112_ 11/21/11 - We're talking about one of Larry's favorite subjects, social enterprise, and he's cornered Chris Pelley, the founder of CIMCO a private wealth management firm. Chris has really been behind the social enterprise movement in our area and has organized an annual social enterprise program for years. ACG Denver is hosting this program on December 6th at the Denver Athletic Club, featuring Kim Jordan, Founder and CEO of New Belgium Brewery. Chris got involved with social enterprise seven or eight years ago as a result of his teen age daughters' interests and it was a big theme in major universities around the world. Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship really were an outgrowth, within the academic community and amongst non-profit people attempting to solve social problems in a more creative fashion. Social enterprise is a little bit of social justice with business acumen. As Chris and others talk about the ABCs of Social Enterprise; Collaboration, communication and, sustainability between academics, business and the citizen sector, they've realized they need more business acumen because they're top heavy with academics and nonprofits. Chris said, “It's getting business people involved because it's business metrics and business drive that makes a difference. Now we're seeing business enterprise that really is driven to solve problems that can make a profit. BTW that's not new; clean water is a social justice issue - try going without it for a few weeks. Yet water companies have been designed since the Roman Empire built the aqueducts. Sometimes our society overlooks that much of what business does is to promote social good, like creating jobs. But now there's more of a theme around clean and green and helping with starvation and all of these issues. To recap what we're trying to do is promote and highlight the fact that major global companies and middle market companies here in Colorado can actually improve their bottom line by being more mindful of social enterprise. It's not just doing well by doing good. It's not just charity and philanthropy. It is about bottom line results." There's much more to listen to...
Related Links: 5th Annual Business Social Entrepreneurship Event || Social Entrepreneurship Channel || Community Reach || CIMCO || Keywords: Chris Pelley, CIMCO, Capital Investment Management Company, ACG, Social Enterprise, Social Entrepreneurship, ICOSA, Kim Jordan, New Belgium Brewing bytes=7964946
LISTEN to Chris Pelley, Founder/CEO, CIMCO

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A new money source called crowdfunding
1114_ 11/21/11 - We're talking about the most popular topic in the entrepreneurial sphere and that's about money, with Brian Tsuchiya, founder of Startup Guru. Brian is telling us about a new "money source" - first an overview. Brian explained, "The term is called crowdfunding. There are two different varieties and Brian offers this differentiation. Crowd funding today, the legal version is you can raise money through sites like KickStarter or IndieGoGo, if you have an idea and are selected, you can get a crowd of people. The largest deal that was ever done was on Kickstarter raising $973K from 13,000 donors and this person's goal was to raise like $15K. Brian offers this example to demonstrate how crowd funding, with small amounts can raise a significant round. The new concept is crowdfunding investing. You can take a security and sell that security through the Internet to a crowd of people. The concept has been around for a while the problem being the 1933/34 Securities Act prevents you from disclosing the security and publicly offering it. So if you have a great idea and people would invest - you can't reach them because it's really one-on-one, face-to-face or only accredited investors - or you go public which is very expensive. So there has been pressure to try to get the law updated. For 80+ years this has been the reality. Now, to change the law so that businesses can raise one-to-two million, as it is stated in HR2930 and would allow you to use the Internet to get small dollar amounts from a large number of investors [crowd funding], kind of like crowd sourcing and this is how open source was built. There is a huge momentum. This is about jobs. Without taxes, without government money, trying to free up, democratizing the funding environment for small offerings. For most business it's to get them off the ground or funding inventory growth, etc. It's not just for startups but startups can benefit from it...Listen for more details....
Related Links: H.R. 2930: Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act || Statement of Administration Policy || Startup Guru Home || Kickstarter || IndieGoGo || Mastering Change Book || Keywords: Brian Tsuchiya, Startup Guru, Crowdfunding, HR2930, Money, Investments, Entrepreneurs, 1933/34 Securities Act, White House, Startup America - bytes=6068248
LISTEN to: Brian Tsuchiya, Startup Guru

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Seminars / Keynotes

Increasing the breadth and depth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem
1115_ 11/28/11 - From Fort Collins to Boulder, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Startup Colorado’s mission is to multiply connections among entrepreneurs and mentors, improve access to entrepreneurial education, and build a more vibrant entrepreneurial community. Startup Colorado’s various programs will deepen the communal backdrop out of which new companies emerge. Vibrant new company creation, by extension, improves the broader economic base of Colorado. At the "Launch", Dave Mangum, Executive Director of Startup Colorado introduces Vic Ahmed, president of TiE Rockies and CEO of Plug & Play and is assisting in setting up the Desh Deshponde Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at MIT and now in Colorado...Watch and Listen for more...
Related Links: Startup Colorado || Plug and Play Tech Center || TIE Rockies || Startup America Partnership || Startup Colorado public launch || Silicon Flatirons Home || Startup Women || House of Genius || Entrepreneurs Channel || Keywords: Vic Ahmed, Dave Mangum, Silicon Flatirons Center, Phil Weiser, Brad Feld, Startup America Partnership, Startup Colorado, Startup Colorado Public Launch,

Where Great Ideas Succeed
1117_ 11/28/11 - The DaVinci Institute Inventors Showcase 2011, early in November in Broomfield, Colorado held some very interesting and exciting new inventions and devices. We are talking with Tom Frey of the DaVinci Institute and Louis Foreman, the CEO of Edison Nation, he's also publisher of Inventors Digest magazine and one of the foremost experts on the process of developing products and getting them into the market place. Edison Nation is one of the largest online platforms for people with great ideas. Louis said, "We all have great ideas, the problem is most people don't follow through with those ideas. They may not have the time, the money or the understanding of how you turn that sketch on the napkin into the product on store shelves." Larry asked, "Everyone is talking about the shortage of money, got some ideas?" Louis replied,""If you've got a great idea, some people take those ideas to market themselves. Others want to license their ideas and that can be a daunting process, and it's very expensive. It involves filing patents and building prototypes. What Edison Nation has tried to do is be a conduit between people who have great ideas and companies who are really looking for innovation." In light of the difficult economic environment Larry asked Louis if he felt there is a shortage of money out there or is it just being hidden? Louis said, "No I don't think there is a shortage of money, I think money gravitates to the best ideas. But you need visibility. And so how do you get your ideas in front of the right people, whether that be companies to license your idea or private equity or venture capitalists willing to invest in the best ideas. This year we launched a $25 Million Innovation Fund that invests about a quarter-million per idea to file the patents, build the prototypes, do everything necessary to get that product to market. Then when we are successful in licensing that product, we split everything with the inventor 50/50. So there's really no investment on the inventor's part other than sharing a great idea and then we do the execution. It's a great partnership." Tom Frey adds a bunch, too...
Related Links: DaVinci Inventor Showcase || DaVinci Institute || Louis Foreman Home || Entrepreneurs Channel || Keywords: Tom Frey, Louis Foreman, DaVinci Institute, Inventors Showcase, Edison Nation, Inventors Digest magazine, Investors, Private Equity, Venture Capitalists, Patents bytes=3173044
LISTEN TO:Tom Frey & Louis Foreman - Inventors

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Critical components of a winning second stage company
1111_ 11/21/11 - Talk about an important, wonderful organization that is Colorado Companies to Watch and Stephanie Steffens, the program director, COCTW is part of a national program, the National Company Select Program was founded and hosted by the Edward Lowe Foundation out of Michigan. The first State to do a company select program was Michigan, eight years ago. Colorado was the fourth state in the nation to create a statewide program. Local economic developers came to Stephanie who was at the time the business retention coordinator for the Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and said we need a program like this, let's create it. So Colorado Companies to Watch was created in partnership with the Edward Lowe Foundation, local economic development groups - cities, counties, trade associations and businesses to recognize second stage companies across Colorado. And, to bring attention to the fact that these companies that are beyond startup but not yet mature, are creating a larger percentage of jobs for the percentage of companies than any other segment of our economy. Typically they fly under the radar, people don't even know they're there - but they are creating jobs and fueling the economic fire of Colorado... which is why we made that the tag line for the program. They need to be acknowledged and thanked but more importantly we need to give them the visibility that will help their businesses grow, and help them to continue to be successful and create jobs in Colorado. Being statewide makes this program unique and they work hard to make sure they get companies from all over the state, and every industry. Truly unique about COCTW is the focus on second stage companies. A second stage company is beyond startup but they don't have everything figured out yet. They obviously know what they're doing or they wouldn't have gotten beyond startup. They have between $750K and $50 Million in annual revenue; At least six employees including the owners, but no more than 100 ; and Demonstrate they are not only surviving but growing and dealing with challenges that make them more innovative and standout above companies like them...Listen for more...
Related Links: Colorado Companies to Watch || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || Gala Event || w3w3 Blog || Keywords: Keywords: Stephanie Steffens, Edward Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, bytes=4777590
LISTEN to Stephanie Steffens, Program Director, Colorado Companies to Watch

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Making a meaningful impact on new company creation
1113_ 11/21/11 - The Startup Colorado Public Launch was recently seen by Larry and Pat at a 'standing room only' session hosted by the Silicon Flatirons Center at the Wittemyer Courtroom, Wolf Law Building, University of Colorado. It was very exciting. There was a special thank you to Steve Halstedt, Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Silicon Valley Bank, and Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association for supporting the initiative. The opening introductions were from Vic Ahmed, President TiE-Rockies and CEO of Plug and Play Colorado along with David Mangum, Silicon Flatirons Research Fellow at University of Colorado and Executive Director, Startup Colorado. The opening keynote was Scott Case CEO, Startup America Partnership. Timothy "Scott" Case (not related to Steve Case) is a technologist, entrepreneur and inventor and was founding CTO of Priceline, the "Name Your Own Price" company that was one of only a handful of startups in U.S. history to reach a billion dollars in annual sales in less than 24 months. As Chief Technology Officer, he was responsible for building the technology that enabled Priceline’s hyper-growth. Most recently, Scott was named CEO and board member of the Startup America Partnership, where he’ll invest his energy to drive American entrepreneurship to create jobs and sustain our nation's global leadership. Listen to his exciting address...
Related Links: Twitter @scottcase || Startup America Partnership || Startup Colorado public launch || Silicon Flatirons Home || Entrepreneurs Channel || Keywords: Scott Case, Startup America Partnership, Startup Colorado Public Launch, Silicon Flatirons Center, Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Silicon Valley Bank, and Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association, Vic Ahmed, David Mangum bytes=11289394
LISTEN to: Scott Case, CEO, Startup America Partnership

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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