Employees are being called upon to become caregivers
1379_ 4/22/13 - One of the biggest challenges for companies today is that employees are increasingly being called upon to become caregivers for elderly and/or ill relatives. Almost 66 million Americans, or one in every four, is a caregiver and it is estimated that over 16 million people in the U.S. who serve as primary caregivers are also employed full time. The cost to their employers in terms of absenteeism, lost productivity and turnover is estimated at over $30 billion annually. We are speaking with Debby Henkens, director of business development for IngeniumCare, a health IT company that develops advanced technology solutions to help individuals with health concerns living at home or in facilities to be as safe and independent as possible. Many Americans with health issues, whether they are elderly, have a chronic illness, disability, or other condition, need help staying connected to their family and caregivers. The impact on businesses is likely to increase as several population and health trends converge. Every day, approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65, with a total cohort of 75 million people. The incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease increases with age and as many as 50% of individuals over age 85 may develop the disease. People are living longer with more chronic illnesses and due to the healthcare funding crisis, there is more pressure to provide healthcare services in the home. All of this adds up to more employees being actively involved with care giving, which can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Long-distance care giving, a situation many adult children find themselves in, can be extremely stressful and take a great deal of time away from work. One of the biggest opportunities for companies today is to support their employees who are care givers so that they maintain their productivity, energy, and creativity. Companies that do this will build employee loyalty, reduce healthcare costs if they are self-insured, and attract talented new employees who appreciate these benefits...there is more great advice...
RELATED LINKS: Ingeniumcare Info || TiE Rockies || Innovation Pavilion || Software Channel || KEYWORDS: Debby Henkens, IngeniumCare, Health IT Company, CareGivers, CareGo Connected Care, TiE Rockies, Innovation Pavilion, Software bytes=7022866
LISTEN TO: Debby Henkens, IngeniumCare

Powered by Podbean.com

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 || 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

Powered by Podbean.com

Top Stories August 29, 2005

2005 History - Building Business in Colorado...
1378_ 8/29/2005- HISTORY and perspective from 2005! We will transport you back to 2005 - eight years ago to listen to interviews and see tons of photos from 2005 business events. Just click on the Listen/Subject link and we can take you back. You will see the 100s of photos that are not found on other websites. Let us know what you think email radio@w3w3.com.
LISTEN TO: Phil Weiser, Merc Mercure, Chris Johnson, Stan Feld...
Keywords: Stan Feld, M.D., Healthcare system, Merc Mercure, photonics, Chris Johnson, VoIP, Phil Weiser, political environment changes, Silicon Flatirons Center, University of Colorado, Law School

801_ 3/8/10 - Grant leads to a sale to Disney
Silicon Flatirons, ATLAS, and ITP present Krista Marks, Kerpoof as their featured entrepreneur in the Entrepreneurs Unplugged program. Krista Marks is the General Manager of Disney Online Kerpoof Studios. Prior to the acquisition by the Disney Interactive Media Group in July 2008, Krista was the CEO and Co-Founder of Kerpoof. With Kerpoof.com, and now Disney.com/Create, Kerpoof Studios has delivered the Internet's premier creativity platforms for children of all ages, platforms praised by press, educators, parents, and kids worldwide. Krista is also passionate about engineering and has long been active in efforts to broaden kids' awareness of engineering. Lucinda Sanders, CEO and Founder of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and NCWIT moderated this discussion and dug deep into the facts. Brian Patrick, founder of Colorado Tech TV video and audio taped this lively discussion. After bootstrapping Krista and team went forward on applying for a government grant. Krista said, "The NSF (National Science Foundation) has many different programs aimed at advancing the cause of research and science in the United States and even internationally in some cases. SBIR stands for Small Business Innovation Research, so to qualify for an SBIR Grant you have to be a small business (fewer than 500 employees), and the grant has to be used specifically for funding research. A phase one grant is $100K and this funds the first part of that research, typically a feasibility type of analysis." In about two short/long years Disney bought Kerpoof. ..listen for more details...
Related Links: Kerpoof Studio || Disney.com/Create || Entrepreneurs Unplugged || NCWIT Channel || NCWIT Home || Keywords:Krista Marks, Kerpoof, Disney, Silicon Flatirons, ATLAS, ITP, Lucinda Sanders, NCWIT, Small Business Innovation Research, Grant, Entrepreneurs Unplugged > 3/8/10 Bytes:45382115
LISTEN TO: Krista Marks, Entrepreneurs Unplugged

Powered by Podbean.com

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)

Straight Talk about the Ups and Downs of the Coming Market
1378_ 4/22/13 - At the 'Straight Talk' Luncheon Series, program last week, Chris Pelley, CEO & Managing Director of Capital Investment Management (CIMCO) introduced an old friend and today's keynote speaker, Mike Robertson, 'an experienced investment advisor'. Chris says, "Mike wants to share his wisdom and advice gathered over the years - he enjoys complex problem solving and helping people see there are better ways of doing things." Mike's radio show has been very successful in Texas for the past few years - they're now opening up in Denver, broadcasting weekdays from 7:00am to 8:00am on Denver radio, AM-1060 on your dial. Larry was really interested and surprised at some of the things Mike talked about that maybe coming up in this year and in the next few years... Robertson said, "Well, I'm really happy, like everyone, that we've done so well these last couple of years. You roll back the clock and talk to somebody about this time in 2009 - the market was just beginning to turn around. We'd gone through a devastating loss, the market was off by 57% and people were really depressed. Okay, it's recovered now. One of the things that's great about Americans is we wake up in the morning ready to conquer the world, but we also tend to forget history a little bit. So my concern now is that people are not preparing for the next time it's going to happen. I can't say when it's going to happen, the pull back in the market - There will be a pull back. How deep will it be? Who knows. Obviously we've done very well, we've come back a very long way. We have some systemic problems in the U.S. - We have way too much debt. We've got interest rates at zero, you have people that are investing in investments like stocks that have never been there before. There are people that literally used to invest in CDs that could get 7 - 8 - 10% on their CDs... they're actually going to invest in stocks now because that's the only place they can get in." The bond market? Your interest rates are practically zero - they peaked on September 30th of 1981 - interest rates have been dropping since that time. They've pretty well hit the floor now and there is really only one way to go now. They can stay where they are now, at zero. Or, they're going to go down in price as interest rates rise - at some point interest rates will rise... that's just the way it is, everything goes in cycles. The important thing to remember is to prepare for those cycles in advance. Mike's favorite quote, by John F. Kennedy, 'The best time to prepare the roof is when the sun is shining.' ...listen for more valuable information...
Chris Pelly, Capital Investment Management, Securities offered through First Allied Securities, Inc. A Registered Broker/Dealer (Member FINRA/SiPC) Advisory services offered through First Allied Advisory Services Inc., A Registered Investment Advisor. Mike Robertson, Robertson Wealth Management, Securities offered through First Allied Securities, Inc. A Registered Broker/Dealer (Member FINRA/SiPC) Advisory services offered through First Allied Advisory Services Inc., A Registered Investment Advisor
RELATED LINKS: CIMCO || Community Reach || Social Entrepreneurs || Straight Talk Event Photos || KEYWORDS: Mike Robertson, Wealth Creation, Chris Pelley, Capital Investment Management, CIMCO, Straight Talk, Jeffrey Hartmann, CDs, Bonds, Interest Rates, John F. Kennedy, Ben Bernanke, Federal Debt, bytes=5868119
LISTEN TO: Mike Robertson, Robertson Wealth

Powered by Podbean.com

Jason Mendelson, VC Investments, Glue and Community
1221_ 6/11/12 - Sometimes, a person can really surprise you. We're talking with the very serious, local business mogul, JD, part-time professor, volunteer, and very busy telephone personality, Jason Mendelson, founder of the Foundry Group here in Boulder, Colorado. You will have to listen to this interview to understand that opening and it will be worth your time. We're at the Glue conference and Jason said, "You know it's just such a great conference. It's all these companies that the average person is never going to know exists - but if they didn't exist their entire Internet world would fall apart. It's just amazing looking at all these things; they're making other people's lives easier. In fact, most of these companies are making developer's lives easier. There are companies like Cloudabilty, for instance. Today you've got a developer with a dozen spread sheets just trying to manage their web architecture across the cloud. So one service does it all. You can see everything, how much your paying, what the loads are, and from one dashboard, see everything that's going on in your company. Or other companies, one of our new investments, a company called SendGrid, a very gluey company in our world. Jason puts a lot of time into volunteering with CU and other organizations; we asked what he was looking at today. "Well from a volunteer standpoint he is still very much into the Silicon Flatirons and what they're doing at the University of Colorado. Our buddies Phil Weiser, Brad Bernthal and Paul Ohm who has now taken a temporary position with the FTC - 'privacy god', these guys are just unbelievable. It's not just what they're doing for the students, but what they're doing for the community. Jason and his partner Brad Feld are coming out with a second edition of their book, Venture Deals which will be geared toward students. Starting even earlier in the process to help students have a view into what entrepreneurism and venture capital looks like. Then on the other hand, TechStars, that is one of the hubs of our community here and rapidly spreading across the nation. Spending time with these young, awesome entrepreneurs and really trying to help them accelerate their business. Don't miss Jason Mendelson and partner Ryan McIntyre at the Fox Theatre, August 25th, for their Album Release Party
Related Links: Foundry Group || Mendelson's Musings || TechStars || Glue 2013 || Defrag and Blur || Software Channel || Keywords: Jason Mendelson, Foundry Group, Venture Capital, GlueCon, Brad Feld, Ryan McIntyre, Cloudabilty, SendGrid, Picasso, Photobucket, Facebook, Cloud, bytes=4498393
LISTEN TO: Jason Mendelson, Managing Director, Foundry Group

Powered by Podbean.com

JumpStart 2013 Denver's economic development strategy continues
1376_ 4.12.13 - There are more than 25,000 Denver businesses and enterprises, approximately 420 of which have more than 100 employees. However, the 420 firms with more than 100 employees represent nearly 50 percent of the total jobs in Denver. Compared to the U.S. economy, Denver has a significantly higher concentration of persons employed in the energy, healthcare, information technology, finance and professional/business services fields. These firms generally produce high-value products and services. Employees of these firms tend to receive higher wages and are required to hold advanced educational training. Top concerns of Denver’s employers include a strong educated workforce, safe and energetic business areas, and reasonable operating costs as compared to other parts of the state and country. In 2013, OED will continue to focus on retaining three groups of businesses: (1) the largest private and nonprofit employers; (2) high-growth sector companies; and (3) firms with soon-to-be expiring leases. A continuous outreach campaign to owners and C-level executives will demonstrate the city’s commitment to the business community while identifying issues and highlighting the benefits of operating a company in Denver. We are setting focus on the best strategies to advance economic prosperity for the city, its neighborhoods, residents and businesses. The 2013 JumpStart strategy provides a clear signal to the community as to how we are working to build a stronger Denver, with jobs and housing opportunities for all. And, JumpStart 2013 is a road map for our staff — it drives the work plans and priorities for all OED staff divisions. Because economic development is a continuous, multi-year task, this year’s strategic plan also includes a separate longer-term plan that sets forth our strategic direction for the next three years. You’ll see that our 2013 initiatives relate directly to this broader three-year plan. Similarly, our future annual plans will also support the long-term strategy. JumpStart 2013 clearly builds upon our successes from last year. We again have seven main sections, or what I refer to as “pillars” of economic development. Each of our pillars for 2013 includes a series of bold, forward-thinking strategic initiatives to help us accomplish our important mission. The OED will continue to engage in partnerships with business industry groups, including better support for renewable and traditional energy companies located in downtown Denver. This heightened focus will result in more business leaders choosing to live, work, play and stay in Denver.
RELATED LINKS: Denver OED || JumpStart 2013 Denver || Greenprint Denver || Entrepreneurs || KEYWORDS: Paul Washington, Denver, Office of Economic Development, Jump Start 2012, Business Retention, Small Business Advocacy, Business Recruitment, Sustainable Neighborhood Development, Business Lending, Workforce Development, Key Strategic Projects, bytes=6260927
LISTEN TO: Paul Washington, Executive Director, OED, City & County Denver

Powered by Podbean.com

Brad Feld and David Cohen:
Do More Faster Book
903_10/4/10- Larry sat down with Brad Feld, managing partner of Foundry Group to talk about an exciting announcement. Larry began the interview with, "You know there are a lot of powerful words out there, and three of them are Do, More, Faster, do you have any comments to make on them?"
With a chuckle, Brad said, "Good setup! Do More Faster is the title of a book that David Cohen, the founder of TechStars, and Brad Feld have written." By strange coincidence, this is Monday, October 4th, the publication date! The origin of the book was a phrase thrown around TechStars, Do more faster. If you're not familiar with TechStars, it is a mentor driven accelerator, started in Boulder four years ago. It's a 90 day program, usually 10 companies, usually 25 to 30 entrepreneurs go through the program, full time, extremely immersive. They have about 50 mentors, experienced entrepreneurs that work with them along with those of us in the program. They get a small amount of seed financing at the front end of the program. About a year ago David and Brad sat down and talked about a way they could codify some of the things that they've learned. They settled pretty quickly on having the mentors and entrepreneurs involved in helping create the book. "We looked around and there aren't many books written by entrepreneurs, especially first time entrepreneurs about the experiences they've had creating companies. We then organized the chapters around usually one line phrases like 'do more faster' that have come out of the last four years of running TechStars that David and I sat down and put together with some other people. Then we had a bunch of people write first drafts about which we spent a lot of time on and then David and I organized the book and put some connective tissue between the essays. So very experiential, lots of details from the founders, from the entrepreneur’s perspective, from the mentor’s perspective, about specific things that all entrepreneurs could use, but especially first-time entrepreneurs or perspective entrepreneurs. We were on the verge of self publishing and we got introduced to some folks at Wiley and they took that book on. They were incredibly helpful."...There's more...
Related Links: Foundry Group || Brad's Blog || Venture Capital Channel || Amazon || Tech Stars || Mastering Change || Do More Faster Book Home || Startup Communities || Keywords: Brad Feld, Author, Do More Faster, David Cohen, Tech Stars, Entrepreneurs, Wiley, bytes: 7984590
Listen to: Brad Feld, Author, Do More Faster

Powered by Podbean.com