"This year's Colorado Companies to Watch winners show the impact small business has on our economy and demonstrate why Colorado is one of the nation's leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. "We want to congratulate each of these companies and wish them continued success."
"Small businesses are the cornerstone of Colorado's economy and a vital part of our economic recovery," said Ken Lund, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. "The winners employ nearly 2,000 and had combined revenue of $377 million. We are delighted to be part of the Colorado Companies to Watch program to highlight their accomplishments."
IT is complex, there is no standardized model
1293_ 10/8/12 -
We're talking with Ben Budraitis, CEO/President of Denver based iTruss Solutions. In addition he is a founding member of the board at Colorado Companies to Watch. iTruss Solutions provides a standardized approach to IT for small and midsized businesses, leveraging the kind of things that large companies do that help them succeed, distilling that down to the small business user so they can enjoy the advantages that large corporations do in their businesses. With Colorado Companies to Watch [COCTW], back in 2009, iTruss Solutions was the first industry partner to join the team and to help bring COCTW to where it is today. Ben said, "Our role was to help engage other industry partners, to get them involved in the program and we got involved in sponsorship and recruiting sponsors." Ben said his first key opportunity was having an introduction by Dave Mead to the ACG Denver board. Stephanie Steffens and Ben joined in that meeting, ACG Denver joined and helped, really, catapult the program in to 2010. Switching gears back to iTruss Solutions, Larry asked, "What is the basic industry problem for small and midsized companies contending with IT challenges?" Ben told us there are two basic problems. First, there is no standardization when it comes to IT and the risks and costs associated with this are not readily recognized by chief executive officers until a crisis happens within the organization. "Taking the latter issue first", Ben said, "we liken IT to an iceberg. And what companies typically see is the tip of the iceberg, but it's that other 85% of the mass, under the water, that will sink the ship. The IT industry is like the automotive industry where Henry Ford Never existed.." .listen for more...
RELATED LINKS:
iTruss Solutions ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
PodCast Directory ||
Gala Event ||
Business Network of Emergency Resources ||
KEYWORDS: Ben Budraitis, iTruss Solutions, IT, Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to
Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Dave Mead, Second Stage Companies, Henry Ford, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade,
bytes=7867980
LISTEN TO: Ben Budraitis, President/CEO iTruss-Solutions
This program is a perfect example of public/private partnership
1259_ 8/13/12 -
We're talking to Sam Bailey the Relationship Manager for the Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade. That means he primarily works in business retention and expansion, helping existing businesses grow and expand their businesses. Sam is also the new program director for Colorado Companies to Watch, which is now four years into the program with 200 companies highlighted and close to, if not over a thousand finalists. Sam said, "We have really seen a lot of companies and communities come out and support these businesses - highlight them, recognize them - so the program has grown to quite a prestigious honor. This year alone we had a wonderful geographical diversity across the state of Colorado. We had companies from rural and urban communities - communities that we haven't seen on stage before. So this has been a banner year for COCTW. We're looking to continue that through outreach to our community partners across the state. It's important to note this is not a program just for the Front Range. It's for the entire state; we have companies from Durango, Carbondale, Craig, and Holly." Listen for more...
Related Links:
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
w3w3.com Blog ||
Gala Event ||
Keywords: Sam Bailey, Office of Economic Development and International Trade, OEDIT, Colorado Companies to Watch, COCTW, Colorado, Second Stage Companies, Lowe Foundation, bytes=6226236 LISTEN TO: Sam Bailey, Program Director, COCTW
Colorado companies that are making a big impact 1225_ 6/18/12 - The Edward Lowe Foundation and the Companies to Watch Program were started by Edward Lowe in Michigan. His claim to fame was that he invented Kitty Litter. With that he made his fortune and then decided he wanted to put part of that fortune back into an organization that would help make the life of an entrepreneur a little easier than what he had. So that was the genesis on which the foundation was started. Penny Lewandowski tells us "What they do is work with communities and help them understand what we call their second stage growth businesses. We help them understand those businesses and their special needs as they grow their companies, what kind of programs can be put around those companies -[ the foundation has developed a significant number of those programs] - and Companies to Watch is one of those." Larry said, "The second stage companies that you work with have such a tremendous impact on the state of Colorado." Penny replied, "You're right and I've got some numbers for you. We have a database called 'Your-Economy-dot-org'. Existing, expanding companies contribute most to U.S. job creation. In fact, from 1990 to 2008, existing companies generated 71 percent more new jobs than startups." We're talking with Penny Lewandowski, Director, Entrepreneurship & Development, Edward Lowe Foundation, about a very interesting event we have coming up on June 23rd, here in Denver. Pat and I along with lots of celebrities and well known business people will be looking for you at the Colorado Companies to Watch Gala and Award Celebration. There are plenty of good reasons for you to be there and that's why we've cornered Penny, to give us a little background about this program and why it's so important to all of us. Companies to Watch is really centered around recognizing second stage companies. "Those are companies between 6 and 99 employees with $750K to $50 Million in revenue. And these are companies that have both the intention and capacity to grow. We pay a lot of attention to them because they are huge job creators, so they are making a big difference in their communities in a lot of different ways." There's much more and we are looking forward to seeing you there on June 23rd. Related Links: Colorado Companies to Watch || YE (Your Economy) || Edward Lowe Foundation || YE (Your Economy) || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || Gala Event 2011 || Keywords: Penny Lewandowski, Edward Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala
Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, bytes=4359212 LISTEN TO: Penny Lewandowski, Edward Lowe Foundation
Submit your winning nominations now...
1335_ 1/14/13 -
COLORADO COMPANIES TO WATCH ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS
Colorado Companies to Watch recognizes second- stage companies that are developing valuable products and services and creating quality jobs. They are currently accepting nominations for the 2013 Colorado Companies to Watch award. Companies may apply without being nominated. The nomination deadline is January 28, 2013. To learn more, please click here.
This program is a perfect example of public/private partnership
We're talking to Sam Bailey the Relationship Manager for the Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade. That means he primarily works in business retention and expansion, helping existing businesses grow and expand their businesses. Sam is also the new program director for Colorado Companies to Watch, which is now four years into the program with 200 companies highlighted and close to, if not over a thousand finalists. Sam said, "We have really seen a lot of companies and communities come out and support these businesses - highlight them, recognize them - so the program has grown to quite a prestigious honor. This year alone we had a wonderful geographical diversity across the state of Colorado. We had companies from rural and urban communities - communities that we haven't seen on stage before. So this has been a banner year for COCTW. We're looking to continue that through outreach to our community partners across the state. It's important to note this is not a program just for the Front Range. It's for the entire state; we have companies from Durango, Carbondale, Craig, and Holly." Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS:
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
Nomination Link ||
w3w3.com Blog ||
Gala Event Photos ||
KEYWORDS: Sam Bailey, Office of Economic Development and International Trade, OEDIT,
Colorado Companies to Watch, COCTW, Nominations, Colorado, Second Stage Companies, Lowe Foundation, > bytes=6226236
LISTEN TO: Sam Bailey, Program Director, COCTW
Colorado's Top 50
Companies to Watch 2012 Fueling the Economic Fire
Check out the 50 Selected Colorado Companies to Watch at ColoradoBIZ online - and Join w3w3® Media Network for one-on-one interviews throughout the coming year - Congratulations!
Getting funding for innovation can be tricky
1301_ 10/22/12 -
Despite the fact that there are few women entrepreneurs and even fewer women entrepreneurs in technology fields, Jennifer and Jean Spencer are finding success doing just that. The mother-daughter team has invented, branded and marketed technology-enhanced winter gloves that work on all touch screen devices. The gloves are called Agloves and have been a major hit in both domestic and international markets. The reason for gloves’ year-in-year-out success? “It’s a simple solution to a very common problem with technology,” said Jennifer Spencer, the company’s vice president of communications. The gloves are knit with real silver thread. Silver is, in fact, the secret ingredient to the gloves functionality, and are also how the company gets its name. 'Ag' is the chemical symbol for silver on the Periodic Table of the Elements. The gloves work well on all touchscreen devices like smartphones, tablets and e-readers. Agloves are winter gloves that work on touchscreen devices. Why? Because normal winter gloves don’t work on our favorite devices like iPhones or Androids. So when it’s cold out you have to take off your gloves and freeze your fingertips just to answer a call or write a text message. Agloves integrates patent-pending technology to deliver the most functional touchscreen gloves on the market. Jennifer also offered some great advice for entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes. "If you believe in yourself and your product move beyond the entrepreneur stage. Growth, collaboration and teamwork with help bring your idea or innovation to a bigger and more impactful state." ...Listen for much more...
RELATED LINKS:
Agloves ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
Blog ||
Gala Event ||
KEYWORDS: Agloves, Jennifer Spencer, Jean Spencer, Entrepreneurs, Touchscreen, Lowe Foundation,
Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Henry Ford, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade,
bytes=4701103
LISTEN TO: Jennifer Spencer, President, AGloves..
IT infrastructure solutions for companies of all sizes
1286_ 9/24/12 -
We are here with a valuable resource, AppliedTrust Co-CEOs/CoFounders, Trent Hein and Ned McClain and winners of the Colorado Companies to Watch 2012.
AppliedTrust is an IT consulting firm and we help mostly with IT infrastructure problems for companies of all sizes. They like to say they do the hard IT stuff so you can be awesome! What that really means is they do Internet or network plumbing stuff like performance, security and availability. And Trent points out, AppliedTrust is one of the few organizations that helps other organizations with Open Source technology - so they help them apply, maintain and operate open source technology in their environment. Because of the economy we've asked Trend and Ned what they think are the biggest challenges to entrepreneurs today. Trent said he thought one of the biggest challenges was for an entrepreneur to differentiate their company from the rest of the marketplace. ATE has that challenge and they work with a lot of startups in Boulder, and they have that challenge. There is so much noise out there that it's hard to pick out what are the companies that can really deliver what they say and that there's a need for whatever it is they do. Next question, what are the greatest opportunities. Ned takes this one and said, "In our space it's really exciting, cloud services. Companies can roll out first class infrastructure, first class products without investing millions of dollars in computing infrastructure ...Listen for much more...
RELATED LINKS:
AppliedTrust ||
The Barking Seal Blog ||
AppliedTrust History ||
Boulder IS ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
Gala Event ||
KEYWORDS: AppliedTrust, Trent Hein, Ned McClain, IT infrastructure, Cloud Services,
Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and
International Trade, > bytes=6464055
LISTEN TO: Trent Hein, Ned McClain, Applied Trust
Customer Focus is North America, Colorado a Sweet Spot!
1282_ 9/17/12 -
Here's how a Denver based company became a winner in the Colorado Companies to Watch program, 2012 - Fueling the Economic Fire of Colorado. Find a niche - like an SAP professional services company. That's what Yosh Eisbart and business partner Michael Pytell did. They founded NIMBL about three years ago. A Denver startup with customers from Miami, Florida going all the way up to the northern tip of Canada. They are North American focused but their customers really do run from coast to coast and north to south with clients like ExxonMobil, PepsiCo, Nestle... From a Colorado perspective NIMBL has a very nice Colorado customer base - and they are really growing because there are no SAP specialized, Denver based services firms like NIMBL. Yosh explained, "While SAP, the most widely used business software package on the planet, is dominated by the Big Four, NIMBL is small enough to not be subject to the fiscal constraints of the business model of a big consulting firm. Eisbart says. "There's a trend in the SAP marketplace that organizations are looking for more agile, nimble and flexible consulting firms that are able to react quickly and moving away from the institutional behemoth. NIMBL isn't shackled by the traditional handcuffs of profit margins..." RELATED LINKS:
Home | NIMBL ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
PodCast Directory ||
ColoradoBiz ||
Gala Event ||
KEYWORDS: Yosh Eisbart, Nimbl, SAP, Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event,
COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, bytes=7599650
LISTEN TO: Yosh Eisbart, CEO/Founder, NIMBL LLC
They bootstrapped the company and came out with a single product
1280_ 9/17/12 -
Founded in 2010, Gordon Nuttall said, this company was built on Courage and Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation and Care, CICIC and from that came the name CourAgent. They bootstrapped the company and came out with a single product, Flip Pal Mobile Scanner. CourAgent is the innovative maker of the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner - a remarkable solution for preserving and sharing memories. No longer will your precious photos, documents and other memories be scattered, lost or hidden. Have fun and enhance your creativity, then share your memories with family and friends. And save time in the process. Take advantage of the patented flip-and-scan technology to scan photos safely in their album or frame. CourAgent was also selected as a 2012 Colorado Companies to Watch Award Winner. Couragent launched the nation’s first equity crowdfunding solicitation for investors using the Small Company Offering Registration (SCOR) procedure to register and legally solicit its intrastate stock offering. The cloud-based campaign’s goal is to raise $350,000 in working capital to accelerate the company’s flagship product, the Flip-Pal mobile scanner, into the national and international retail marketplace, as well as to develop and bring to market additional digital imaging products...Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS:
CourAgent ||
Crowdfunding Launch Pad ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
PodCast Directory ||
Gala Event ||
2012 Winners List ||
KEYWORDS: Gordon Nuttall, CourAgent, Crowdfunding, Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, bytes=6691843
LISTEN TO: Gordon Nuttall, CEO/Founder, CourAgent
A wide variety of different winning companies
1281_ 9/17/12 -
The Colorado Companies to Watch program Award Winners program, 2012, has a variety of different winning companies. "This year's Colorado Companies to Watch winners show the impact small business has on our economy and demonstrate why Colorado is one of the nation's leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. "We want to congratulate each of these companies and wish them continued success." "Small businesses are the cornerstone of Colorado's economy and a vital part of our economic recovery," said Ken Lund, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. The winners employ nearly 2,000 and had combined revenue of $377 million. We are delighted to be part of the Colorado Companies to Watch program to highlight their accomplishments." SoundTraxx’ corporate entity, Throttle Up! Corp., was founded in 1989 in Pocasset, Massachusetts. Our first product was a powerful little lighting system called the Hyperlight. In 1991, SoundTraxx introduced the SoundTraxx D220-IR Diesel Sound System. This was the first sound and throttle system to incorporate wireless control. In 1994, the company moved to Broomfield, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. The DSD-2408 Digital Sound Decoder was the first DCC decoder to be integrated with sound and lighting functions. In 1998 they moved to Durango, Colorado and purchased a new SMT (Surface Mount Technology) line of manufacturing equipment...
RELATED LINKS:
Home|SoundTraxx ||
Soundtraxx Blog ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
PodCast Directory ||
Gala Event ||
KEYWORDS: Nancy Workman, Sound Traxx, Digital Sound Decoder, Lowe Foundation, Colorado
Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade,
bytes=4493377
LISTEN TO: Nancy Workman, Co-Owner, Sound Traxx
Agloves, Jennifer Spencer, President/CoFounder AppliedTrust, Trent Hein & Ned McClain, Co-CEO/Founder Birko Corp, Kelly Green, Owner & Mark Swanson, CEO CourAgent, Bob Nuttall, CEO/Founder LEC Global, Avram Saunders, President/CEO NIMBL LLC, Yosh Eisbart, CEO/Founder SoundTraxx, Nancy Workman, CoFounder
Index of CCTW Interviews - 2011-2012
AccuCode, Kevin Price, CEO 10/10/2011
Aspenware, Josh Swihart, President/CEO 1/9/2012
Assist Group, Larry Gray, CEO 10/3/2011
comCables, Greg Greenwood, President/CEO 3/5/2012
Confio Software, Matt Larson, CEO 11/14/2011
Energy Logic, Steve Byer, CEO 10/17/2011
FiberForge, Jon Fox-Rubin, President 8/22/2011
Garmat USA, Debbie Teter, Marketing Director 3/19/2012
Gorilla Logic, Stu Stern, CEO 2/13/2012
Green Energy Corp, Peter Gregory, Founder/CTO 1/30/12
Vivax Pro Painting, Jeremiah Owen, President 8/15/2011
Index of CCTW Interviews - 2010-2011
Adperio, David Asseoff 1/18/11
ADSS, Mark Seglem 3/28/11
ADSS Celebration Week Great Employees = Success 3/28/11
Alpine Waste & Recycling, John Griffith 9/20/10
Eating Recovery Center, Dr. Kenneth L. Weiner 3/14/11
Funovation, Erick Mueller, CoFounder 2/28/11
Infinite Power Solutions (IPS), James Norrod 1/11/11
IP5280, Jeffrey Pearl & John Scarborough 1/24/11
Location 3 Media, Alex Porter, President 3/14/11
M & E Painting, Matt Shoup 11/1/10
Page 1 Solutions, Dan Goldstein 2/7/11
PLAYTIME, Mike Evans 8/12/10
Product Architects, Judy Amabile 8/23/10
QualVu John Williamson, CEO 8/30/10
Red Canyon Software, Barry Hamilton 12/13/10
J B Holston, Newsgator (2009 Winner) 6/1/10
Penny Lewandowski, Edward Lowe Foundation 6/06/11
David Mead, Mead Consulting Group (Sponsor) 6/7/10
Richard Ninneman, Exec VP, M3 Insurance Solutions 6/20/11
Stephanie Steffens, Director Colorado Workforce 6/14/11
David Tolston & Chris Younger, Capital Value Advisors (Sponsor) 2/7/11
For entrepreneurs it takes passion and planning 1341_ 1/21/13 - Colorado Companies to Watch winner, Applied Trust cofounders Trent Hein and Ned McClain (a new father, Congratulations) join Larry Nelson for a check-in visit. We love to get successful entrepreneurs to weigh in on what they see as the barriers and challenges to becoming an entrepreneur today. The advice is always worth hearing. Trent directs us to a very personal and important step. "You've got the great idea - but you've got to have the plan that says here's how you're getting from point A to point B. Here's how I'm going to manage my staff. Here's how I'm going to get revenue. There was a mindset for a period of time, where if you just hoped it would happen - it would. But hope's not a method here. We've got to have a plan." Trent tells us that for the 12+ years that he and Ned have been working together they plan everything out, in some cases multiple years out." Doing that, Trent says, "It is critical to an entrepreneur's success." Ned and Larry agree, it's a hot time for entrepreneurs in Boulder and Denver right now. But Ned believes you have to find something you're really passionate about. They started Applied Trust just after the dot com boom - it was probably not advisable to start an IT infrastructure - security - performance company then. But, it was something they were passionate about and that passion is what helped them be successful. It's certainly a challenge today, there's a temptation to just find something so they can do a startup. Agreeing heartily, Larry coined the Double P words here... Passion and Planning. Listen for more great advice...
COLORADO COMPANIES TO WATCH ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS
Colorado Companies to Watch recognizes second- stage companies that are developing valuable products and services and creating quality jobs. They are currently accepting nominations for the 2013 Colorado Companies to Watch award. Companies may apply without being nominated. The nomination deadline is January 28, 2013. To learn more, please click here. RELATED LINKS: .AppliedTrust || The Barking Seal Blog || Gala Event || Colorado Companies to Watch || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || Gala Event Photos || KEYWORDS: AppliedTrust, Trent Hein, Ned McClain, IT infrastructure, Cloud Services,
Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and
International Trade, , bytes=7539882 LISTEN TO: Applied Trust, Trent Hein & Ned McClain, CoFounders
A woman-owned company and a third generation family business
1295_ 10/15/12 -
With 60 years in the business there is an enormous number of people to pay tribute to. We can't forget about what our customers have done for us. They've been with us through thick and thin for 60 years. We've had a great group of suppliers and partners with our trade organizations and most importantly the employees of Birko that have helped make it successful, both current and past. We are talking with Kelly Green, owner and Chairman of the Board along with Mark Swanson, CEO of BIRKO Corp. Colorado Companies to Watch winner, Birko Corp. provides food safety solutions to the beef, poultry, pork, produce and brewery industries including concentrated chemical formulations and specialized equipment. Birko’s chemicals are green, sustainable and environmentally responsible, and our equipment line includes state-of-the-art chemical mixing and dispensing systems, as well as meat processing equipment. Founded in 1953, Birko is woman-owned company and a third generation family business. The company was voted the Supplier of the Century by one of the most respected meat associations in the country, the National Meat Association. Kelly tells us that her grandparents started the company almost 60 years ago - they're coming up on that anniversary - really excited about that. Kelly is third generation owner of the business. We've been practicing food safety solutions since 1953 when her grandparents started the company in their garage. We are really proud that we haven't had to lay any people off during this time...Listen for much more...
RELATED LINKS:
Birko Corp. ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
PodCast Directory ||
Gala Event ||
KEYWORDS: Kelly Green, Mark Swanson, BIRKO, Safety Solutions, Beef, Poultry, Pork,
Produce, Brewery Industries, Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Colorado Office of Economic Development
and International Trade, bytes=6794661
LISTEN TO: Kelly Green & Mark Swanson, Birko
The world is a very big market these days
1295_ 10/15/12 -
Like a bolt of lightning, Larry struck a Colorado Companies to Watch 2012 winner. Here's the background. The traditional lightening rod has been around since Ben Franklin. Forty-one years ago, Lightening Eliminators was founded by Roy Carpenter, an engineer at Rockwell working on a NASA project. NASA's equipment was getting hit by lightening, routinely, creating havoc. They tasked Roy with coming up with the solution. He did! But it was an out of the box, unique, highly creative solution. It's called the 'Charge Transfer System'. Avram Saunders, president and CEO of LEC Global, tells us that fundamentally what it does is provide a zone of protection around the facility so that the lightening does not hit at all. It goes somewhere else, literally. Lightning rods attract lightening and send them into the ground - but that has all kinds of problems associated with it such as electrical surges. If you have a billion dollars invested in a facility which would you prefer? Lightning to go somewhere else or to be attracted to your facility? So, Avram tells us that is how they began 41 years ago - now they are in 69 countries with 3000+ installations around the world. LEC Global works with clients from the beginning to the end of the spectrum of need. To the entrepreneur, Avram says the best piece of advice he can give is FOCUS. You have to be very clear on what you're doing, why you're doing it, and how you're doing it. Avram is a serial entrepreneur having started and run many businesses over the years...listen for more...
RELATED LINKS:
Lightning Protection ||
Colorado Companies to Watch ||
Colorado Companies to Watch Channel ||
Blog ||
Gala Event ||
Business Network of Emergency Resources ||
KEYWORDS: Avram Saunders, Lightening Eliminators, Lowe Foundation, Colorado
Companies to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade,
bytes=7495578
LISTEN TO: Avram Saunders, President/CEO, Lightening Eliminators
They contribute about 86% of the employment in the state 1227_ 6/18/12 - We're talking with David Tolson, Managing Director at Capital Value Advisors investment banking firm, and they're involvement with a community project that we think is very special. Larry said, "Give us an overview of Capital Value Advisors." Dave said, "We are an investment bank which is basically a fancy term for our focus on valuations, mergers and acquisitions, both buy side and sell side representation, as well as capital raises. And we really focus on mid market, privately held businesses, anywhere between $5-$50 Million in terms of revenue." We are all really excited about the annual Colorado Companies to Watch event coming up this week, Friday, June 22, 2012. Capital Value Advisors is the presenting sponsor. David tells us they became involved about three years ago, they attended the very first Gala. It was right in the darkest depths of the economic recession. What they saw was amazing and very compelling. And that was a lot of second stage companies with great ideas, that were growing very rapidly, that were adding employees. It was such a stark contrast to what you were hearing in the news at the time, not only regionally and locally but also nationally. We looked at this and said these are the types of companies we need to support not only as a company, but quite frankly as a community need to support. Because these companies while they represent only about 8% of the overall companies in Colorado, they contribute about 36% of the total employment in the state of Colorado. So it's a wonderful place for experienced people to go and develop their business and continue to grow their business. Colorado Companies to Watch focuses on and celebrates second stage companies and really the alums who have been past winners and this year's current winners are part of a community that includes sponsors like Capital Value Advisors, community partners, media relations partners like w3w3®, as well as a host of other government and community resources that are working towards the success and trying to help these second stage companies continue to grow and prosper." Tickets are still available to attend the gala...we'll see you there... Related Links: Capital Value Advisors || Colorado Companies to Watch || Edward Lowe Foundation || YE (Your Economy) || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || COCTW Gala 2010 || Keywords: David Tolson, Capital Value Advisors, Edward Lowe Foundation, Colorado Companies
to Watch, Gala Event, COCTW, Second Stage Companies, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, bytes=4462448 LISTEN TO: David Tolson, Managing Director, Capital Value Advisors
Helping existing businesses grow and expand 1180_ 3/19/12 - We're talking to a very popular guy, he works for the Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade as a relationship manager. That means he primarily works in business retention and expansion, helping existing businesses grow and expand their businesses, but also working to keep businesses here in the State of Colorado. In addition to this, Sam Bailey is also the program director for Colorado Companies to Watch. Sam says they're really the sales team for the State of Colorado, selling Colorado, promoting and really making this a great place not just to live and play, but also to conduct business. Larry asked, "Sam you run into and see all different kinds of businesses not only with CCTW, but obviously with OEDIT. With all the things we've been through in the last couple of years, can you give us a handle on the challenges businesses might be facing this coming year?" Sam pointed out, "One of the big issues that we're seeing is access to capital. Companies want to grow, but they are really looking for that backing to help them grow, grants, small business loans, venture capital. Banks are still at that point where they're still evaluating the risks, are not lending as much as they used to. So companies are really struggling to find that liquidity or access to capital to help expand, make capital investments in their company, acquire new equipment - So that's one issue that we've seen. Another issue is workforce, and that's throughout the state. Issue that there is a skills mismatch. We've got jobs here in the state, but having a trained, skilled workforce to fill those jobs is hard. So we're working with local institutions, higher education, community colleges, other industry associations to identify how can we be better at training our workers here in the state of Colorado so they can fill those positions with workers here in the state. Sam described the focus of Colorado Companies to Watch. "We're focused on second stage companies. In Colorado these are privately held, headquartered in Colorado, have between six to 99 employees, and have revenues between $750k to $50M. These are full startup companies, so they're really set to take off. The reason we focus on these companies is they make up roughly 8% of Colorado's economy, yet they account for almost 35% of all the jobs created." There's more... Related Links: Colorado Companies to Watch || Colorado Companies to Watch Channel || PodCast Directory || Gala Event || Colorado OEDIT || Keywords: Sam Bailey, Colorado Companies to Watch, Office of Economic Development and
International Trade, Edward Lowe Foundation, COCTW, Nominate, Second Stage Companies - bytes=5377779 LISTEN TO: Sam Bailey, Program Director, Colorado Companies To Watch
"This year's Colorado Companies to Watch winners show the impact small business has on our economy and demonstrate why Colorado is one of the nation's leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. "We want to congratulate each of these companies and wish them continued success." 
1293_ 10/8/12 -
We're talking with Ben Budraitis, CEO/President of Denver based iTruss Solutions. In addition he is a founding member of the board at Colorado Companies to Watch. iTruss Solutions provides a standardized approach to IT for small and midsized businesses, leveraging the kind of things that large companies do that help them succeed, distilling that down to the small business user so they can enjoy the advantages that large corporations do in their businesses. With Colorado Companies to Watch [COCTW], back in 2009, iTruss Solutions was the first industry partner to join the team and to help bring COCTW to where it is today. Ben said, "Our role was to help engage other industry partners, to get them involved in the program and we got involved in sponsorship and recruiting sponsors." Ben said his first key opportunity was having an introduction by Dave Mead to the ACG Denver board. Stephanie Steffens and Ben joined in that meeting, ACG Denver joined and helped, really, catapult the program in to 2010. Switching gears back to iTruss Solutions, Larry asked, "What is the basic industry problem for small and midsized companies contending with IT challenges?" Ben told us there are two basic problems. First, there is no standardization when it comes to IT and the risks and costs associated with this are not readily recognized by chief executive officers until a crisis happens within the organization. "Taking the latter issue first", Ben said, "we liken IT to an iceberg. And what companies typically see is the tip of the iceberg, but it's that other 85% of the mass, under the water, that will sink the ship. The IT industry is like the automotive industry where Henry Ford Never existed.." .listen for more... 
This program is a perfect example of public/private partnership
We're talking to Sam Bailey the Relationship Manager for the Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade. That means he primarily works in business retention and expansion, helping existing businesses grow and expand their businesses. Sam is also the new program director for Colorado Companies to Watch, which is now four years into the program with 200 companies highlighted and close to, if not over a thousand finalists. Sam said, "We have really seen a lot of companies and communities come out and support these businesses - highlight them, recognize them - so the program has grown to quite a prestigious honor. This year alone we had a wonderful geographical diversity across the state of Colorado. We had companies from rural and urban communities - communities that we haven't seen on stage before. So this has been a banner year for COCTW. We're looking to continue that through outreach to our community partners across the state. It's important to note this is not a program just for the Front Range. It's for the entire state; we have companies from Durango, Carbondale, Craig, and Holly." Listen for more...
