Specializing in Unified Communications and speech recognition technology
1429_ 9/3/13 - Larry got some exciting information from Gold Systems CEO Terry Gold. Gold Systems, a Microsoft Corp. Gold Certified Partner specializing in Unified Communications and speech recognition technology, has delivered its Vonetix 7 Voice platform to Microsoft IT. Vonetix 7 Voice will serve as the new platform for Microsoft to develop many of its voice self-service applications, which serve Microsoft customers calling for support on a wide array of Microsoft products and services. Vonetix 7 Voice makes it easy for customers to contact Microsoft, and provides the same great experience customers expect from Microsoft products. By deploying Vonetix 7 Voice as the UC application and IVR platform for these applications, Microsoft now takes advantage of faster application deployment lifecycle on a voice self-service platform running on its Microsoft Lync product line. Terry said, “We have been working for Microsoft IT, the company’s internal information technology organization, for many years creating software that makes it easier for Microsoft customers, partners and employees to get support by calling 1-800-Microsoft and other support numbers. We are thrilled to now be delivering the Vonetix 7 Voice platform alongside the existing Unified Communications applications.” Listen and check their link for more info...
RELATED LINKS: Gold Systems || Vonetix 7 Voice || Gold Systems Blog || Terry Gold Blog || Podcasting Directory || KEYWORDS: Terry Gold, Gold Systems, Vonetix 7 Voice Platform, Microsoft, Unified Communications, Speech Recognition Technology, Gold Certified Partner, UC Application, IVR Platform, bytes=5374853
LISTEN TO: Terry Gold, CEO/Founder, Gold Systems

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Advantages to forming your own captive insurance company
1431_ 9/3/13 - We're talking with Howard Potter Managing Director at ST Consulting, LLC, , a firm he set up in 1996 when he quit the practice of law and also the practice of CPA, and he began consulting, primarily in the area of financial and tax consulting. For the last 13 years Howard's been involved in micro captive insurance companies. The underlying concept is that all businesses have uninsured risks and these uninsured risks are frequently risks that you cannot buy coverage for in the conventional market. Examples might be product recalls, product liability, business interruption, loss of key supplier, loss of key vendor. Howard tells us they set up a captive insurance company for a surgical center up in the mountains. "One of the risks we covered was, loss of income because of reduction of Medicare reimbursements." Howard's challenge is to examine companies, identify these risks so he can actually come up with a premium. The company continues with traditional insurance, but now he pays additional premiums to himself / his insurance company. Last year their company, on a nationwide basis, did 102 of these transactions. The preceding year they did about 60, so this has really caught on. Larry asked if there were limits on the types of companies that could use this kind of insurance. The answer... Listen for the details... Howard is founder of the Cross Networking Event coming up on 9/26/13. The whole event is geared toward networking - no speakers, just great food and the people you are looking to connect with.
RELATED LINKS: S T Consulting LLC || Howard Potter || ACG Denver Channel || Cross Networking Event || KEYWORDS: Howard Potter, S T Consulting, Captive Insurance Companies, Association of Corporate Growth, Denver, ACG, FEI, Financial Executives International, Artex Risk Solutions, Arthur J Gallagher & Co,, bytes=4714060
LISTEN TO: Howard Potter, JD, MBA, CPA, S T Consulting

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Investments or loans range anywhere from $25,000 up to $500,000
1426_ 8/26/13 - Very quickly Darrin Ginsberg, CEO, Super G Holdings and founder of the Guppy Tank, reassured Larry Nelson that this wasn't a 'shark tank'. Darrin said, "This is a non-televised, local version of the Shark Tank. So what you see on TV, we just do a non-televised format. The reason we call ourselves 'guppies' is that we feel we are less intimidating than sharks and we're really not trying to take advantage of companies we're trying to invest in, but we're trying to help them along. So we figured the opposite of a shark is a guppy, hence the Guppy Tank. When you apply to the Guppy Tank you have the choice to ask for either a loan or an equity investment. If you're a small one man shop a loan might be a better avenue for you where you don't have to give up any of your equity. At the Guppy Tank, each deal is individually negotiated. There is an application process where the prospective client would send an application in. "They would tell us about their business, give us some financials and projections on where they thought they were going with the business, tell us how much money they need and what that would do for their business. From there they can say they're looking for an equity investment, or a loan, or some combination thereof. We've done several deals where we do what is called revenue based financing." Typical terms for Guppy Tank investments or loans range anywhere from $25,000 up to $500,000 per business. Listen for more details...
RELATED LINKS: The Guppy Tank || Hospitality Financing Solutions || Galvanize || Economy Builders || Podcast Directory || KEYWORDS: Darrin Ginsberg, Super G Holdings, Hospitality Financing Solutions, Guppy Tank, Entrepreneur, Financing, Investments, Loans, bytes=5069325
LISTEN TO: Darrin Ginsberg, CEO, Super G Holdings

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ViaWest, Awarded first-ever North American Tier IV Design Certification
1308_ 11/12/12 - As the senior vice president of data center operations, Dave Leonard directs all of ViaWest's day-to-day facility operations and procedures, as well as expansion projects and future data center builds. We're at ViaWest headquarters, to get the skinny on the expansion at this dynamic Colorado icon. Very unique and, another company that launched in 1999 (like w3w3.com and Defrag...) We are talking with Dave Leonard, ViaWest Senior Vice President of Data Center Operations. Dave has two separate teams, one that operates the data centers (there are 23 data centers). The second team builds data centers and they are building a new, very large data center in north Las Vegas to compliment their two existing data centers in Las Vegas. So, the expansion is very aggressive and keeps happening throughout our service territory - and coming soon, outside of our service territory. But, Las Vegas is a great example, we are very successful in Las Vegas filling up the existing data centers that we had and demand led us to build a large new data center which came online at the end of December 2012. Larry wondered what challenges ViaWest faced in this expansion? "You read about organizations like Facebook and Google building data centers out in the middle of nowhere, where there is very cheap power and conditions are very good for free cooling, for instance. We don't site data centers that way. We put data centers where we believe our customers are going to be. There are two things happening in the data center industry, building new data centers has been a good opportunity for ViaWest in two aspects, the green aspect, and the other is the quality of the data centers... Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS: ViaWest || Uptime Institute || Software Channel || Data Center Communities || w3w3 Blog || KEYWORDS: Dave Leonard, ViaWest, Uptime Institute, Las Vegas, Data Centers, Green, Marketplace, Data Center Operations, Local Partner, Service Territory, bytes=5214775
LISTEN TO: Dave Leonard, Sr. VP of Data Center Operations, ViaWest

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Investing venture capital in Colorado startups
1428_ 9/3/13 - Larry interviewed Joe Zell, general partner at Grotech Ventures. As one of the longest-established firms in the venture industry, Grotech Ventures has built a reputation for being a collaborative, long-term partner for CEOs and entrepreneurs by aligning our definition of success with that of their partners. Grotech Ventures, is a team committed to helping creative and driven entrepreneurs build technology companies that last. Their strategy is simple: early investors in high-potential technology companies. Grotech Ventures initially invests from $500,000 to $5 million and looks to continue investing and building value throughout the growth of your enterprise. They have the operational knowledge, personal networks, and industry expertise necessary to support their portfolio companies at each stage of the partnership. They know what it takes and the Grotech team works hard to help make big things happen. Whether you need help building your team, introductions to new business development opportunities, or unvarnished advice on strategic issues, the Grotech team is here for you. They invest to win: expect the collective power and network of all your partners behind you and your vision. Grotech has invested in a number of Colorado companies... Listen for more details...
RELATED LINKS: Grotech Ventures || Convercent || Event Photos || Economy Builders || Blog || KEYWORDS: Joe Zell, Grotech Ventures, Investments, Convercent, Entrepreneurs, Venture Capital, Colorado, Technology Companies, Portfolio, bytes=5940770
LISTEN TO: Joe Zell, General Partner, Grotech Ventures

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Just 3 months into the life of the company and they got acquired
1430_ 9/3/13 - [Part 2 of 3] The conversation with David Cohen (TechStars Founder/CEO) continues with what is happening at TechStars today and in the foreseeable future. We start with a new product, the major company branded TechStars program. It is a TechStars program in every sense with the added benefit of also being around that corporation. So taking Nike as an example, if you're building something in health or digital sport, you get the TechStars investment, you get the TechStars Mentor Network, but you also get the hands-on help from Nike and the potential to do business with them, gain distribution or possible investment, and M&A if things are amazing - But there is no obligation to do any of those things with that corporate partner. It's really a magic combination. In the seven years of operation, TechStars has funded around 250 companies and about 120+ per year now, so it's gotten up to speed and they've seen their 24th acquisition. A company called Good April, was presenting at DemoDay made an announcement - at DemoDay... so just 3 months into the life of the company, said 'we've been acquired by Intuit. That was a first, seeing a company being acquired, a positive outcome like that before the program was even over. Looking at what's coming down the road... Listen now to part 2 of 3...
RELATED LINKS: TechStars || 2007 Interview David Cohen and David Brown || Foundry Group, Brad Feld || Entrepreneur Channel || GoodApril Sold || KEYWORDS: David Cohen, TechStars, Brad Feld, David Brown, Jared Polis, Investing, London, Startups, Nike+ Accelerator, The Kaplan EdTech Accelerator, The Microsoft Accelerator, and R/GA Connected Devices Accelerator, Entrepreneurship, GoodApril, bytes=4802667
LISTEN TO: David Cohen, CEO, TechStars -[Part 2 of 3]

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Investing and mentoring startups to success
1425_ 8/26/13 - [Part 1 of 3] Larry corralled David Cohen, CEO, TechStars, who just returned to Boulder after spending a month in London and it was good to be home. It's been quite a journey for David and the co-founders Brad Feld, David Brown and Jared Polis, and we talked about that. It was 2007 and David points out they go way back in the w3w3 Archives - you can check out some of those original interviews on w3w3.com. David became the active founder/CEO of the company, "We invested in ten little startups here in Boulder in 2007 and had a pretty interesting outcome, and said Wow!" Seven of them raised venture capital, and the reality was obvious, to use this great community in Boulder, to attract companies here, and bring in some new talent! Fast forward to current days and global success - a fabulous three month program focused on intensive mentorship with funding for each company. Back then it was only $18,000 - today it is $118,000. Their expansion first took them to Boston, their successes continued and now they are in seven locations including London. TechStars also works with and on behalf of corporations that run the program like Nike+ Accelerator, The Kaplan EdTech Accelerator, The Microsoft Accelerator, and R/GA Connected Devices Accelerator (just announced recently). Today, David tells us, "We are running about 12 programs a year globally and that's funding somewhere around 120-140 companies a year." PART 1 of 3
RELATED LINKS: TechStars || 2007 Interview David Cohen and David Brown || Foundry Group, Brad Feld || Entrepreneur Channel || KEYWORDS: David Cohen, TechStars, Brad Feld, David Brown, Jared Polis, Investing, London, Startups, Nike+ Accelerator, The Kaplan EdTech Accelerator, The Microsoft Accelerator, and R/GA Connected Devices Accelerator, Entrepreneurship, >bytes=3100737
LISTEN TO: David Cohen, Founder, TechStars

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Focusing Corporate View on Unseen Assets
1427_ 8/26/13 - Larry interviewed Michael Hess founder of the organization, Blind Institute of Technology (BIT). Mike started BIT with one mission in mind, and that is to bridge the gap between the Visually Impaired [VI] Community and the corporate environment. He is making an impact with the 80% unemployment within the visually impaired community. Mike is a very determined young man and, of course, he has a connection with this community and that connection only makes his story that much more impressive. Michael Hess is legally blind and a technical professional. Michael said, "I've learned how to leverage what I call, 'Tips, Tricks and Technologies' to my fullest advantage to overcome the very real obstacles that you will encounter in the corporate workspace." The federal government actually spends on average, and statistics show, as high as $11 Billion annually on the visually impaired community alone. And yet, Michael has been able to earn a six figure income for the last third of his career, out there in the private, very competitive, very visually centric workspace. Now he wants to take his education two-fold... he wants to teach other visually impaired community members the tips tricks and technologies that he's used to overcome the visual obstacles. He's also out there talking to executives with amazing organizations locally, Denver Water, Denver Health, Cricket Communications, Avaya, Webroot, Liberty Media, amazing local companies about the true asset which is the blind individual. "We have a lot of assets that we bring to the game every day that corporations are looking for. Natural innate skills like..." Listen for more...
RELATED LINKS: The Blind Institute of Technology || Project Management Institute Mile Hi || Podcasting Directory || CIMCO || Social Entrepreneurs || KEYWORDS: Michael Hess, Blind Institute of Technology, BIT, Visually Impaired, Project Management Institute Mile Hi, CIMCO, Community Reach, DU, Social Entrepreneurs, bytes=6875327
LISTEN TO: Michael Hess, Founder

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Mastering Change in the Midst of Chaos™1307_ 11/12/12 -

Here’s what you’ll learn in this 200 page book!
     - Apply the Principles of A-to-Z Planning to
        Build a Winning Team
     - Tap into Your Team’s Mental DNA to
        Increase Performance
     - Understand Your Sector’s
        History, Trends & Ground Swell

Regardless of the economy, application of these 3 initiatives will help you achieve your goals, meet your bottom-line metrics and accomplish incredible results. These 3 initiatives are Powerful, Proven and People-Oriented. Larry predicts there will be more significant changes in 2013 than in the last 10 years combined…across all sectors. Read More at Mastering Change .

Order now… It’s yours for $10.00 and we’ll pay the shipping in the US… (last chance - free shipping)