Colorado TechCast with Trapper Little

Episode 48: JB Holston – Greater Washington Partnership JB Holston is the CEO of the Greater Washington Partnership and was the dean of the University of Denver’s Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science from July 2015 until August 2020. Prior to becoming Dean he was the founding Executive Director for the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network and founding CEO for NewsGator/Sitrion. JB’s impact on the business, policy, and technology sectors in Colorado have been numerious, including is with at the State’s response to Covid 19. In 2014, the Colorado Technology Association awarded JB the Bob Newman Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the technology industry in Colorado.

Episode 47: JB Holston – Greater Washington Partnership JB Holston is the CEO of the Greater Washington Partnership and was the dean of the University of Denver’s Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science from July 2015 until August 2020. Prior to becoming Dean he was the founding Executive Director for the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network and founding CEO for NewsGator/Sitrion. JB’s impact on the business, policy, and technology sectors in Colorado have been numerious, including is with at the State’s response to Covid 19. In 2014, the Colorado Technology Association awarded JB the Bob Newman Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the technology industry in Colorado. Links to things we talk about:   JB Holston on LinkedIn Greater Washington Partnership   Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 46: Phil Weiser – State Of Colorado Phil Weiser, Colorado Attorney General, was sworn in as the State’s 39th Attorney General on January 8, 2019. As the state’s chief legal officer, Attorney General Weiser is committed to protecting the people of Colorado and building an innovative and collaborative organization that will address a range of statewide challenges, from addressing the opioid epidemic to reforming our criminal justice system to protecting our land, air, and water. Attorney General Weiser has dedicated his life to the law, justice, and public service. Before running for office, Weiser served as the Hatfield Professor of Law and Dean of the University of Colorado Law School, where he founded the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship and co-chaired the Colorado Innovation Council. Weiser served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice and as Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation in the Obama Administration’s National Economic Council. He served on President Obama’s Transition Team, overseeing the Federal Trade Commission and previously served in President Bill Clinton’s Department of Justice as senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, advising on telecommunications matters. Before his appointment at the Justice Department, Weiser served as a law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court and to Judge David Ebel at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. The son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, Weiser is deeply committed to the American Dream and ensuring opportunity for all Coloradans. Weiser lives in Denver with his wife, Dr. Heidi Wald, and their two children. Links to things we talk about: Phil Weiser on LinkedIn Colorado Attorney General page Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 45: Pattie Money – Twilio Pattie Money brings over 25 years of People leadership experience, working with executives and leaders at all organizational levels. Her work is focused on driving exceptional organizational performance while helping those within the organization achieve their fullest potential. She currently serves as the interim Chief People Office at Twilio and was the Chief People Officer at SendGrid until their successful acquisition by Twilio, where she was responsible for the companies greatest asset, their people. She has been responsible for building and implementing the People strategies and programs required to support ambitious growth and an evolving organization while preserving and enhancing an award winning culture. Prior to joining SendGrid, Pattie served as Chief People Officer at TubeMogul, a publicly traded global ad tech company in the Bay area and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Mercury Payment Systems, a payment technology company. Prior to Mercury, she lead the People function for Monotype, a publicly traded font and font technology company headquartered in Boston, leading through multiple stages of growth including a successful IPO and global expansion. Pattie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from University of Memphis and a Master of Science in Human Resource Development Degree from Villanova University. Links to things we talk about: Pattie Money on LinkedIn Twilio https://twilio.org Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Pattie Money brings over 25 years of People leadership experience, working with executives and leaders at all organizational levels. Her work is focused on driving exceptional organizational performance while helping those within the organization achieve their fullest potential. She currently serves as the interim Chief People Office at Twilio and was the Chief People Officer at SendGrid until their successful acquisition by Twilio, where she was responsible for the companies greatest asset, their people. She has been responsible for building and implementing the People strategies and programs required to support ambitious growth and an evolving organization while preserving and enhancing an award winning culture. Prior to joining SendGrid, Pattie served as Chief People Officer at TubeMogul, a publicly traded global ad tech company in the Bay area and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Mercury Payment Systems, a payment technology company. Prior to Mercury, she lead the People function for Monotype, a publicly traded font and font technology company headquartered in Boston, leading through multiple stages of growth including a successful IPO and global expansion. Pattie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from University of Memphis and a Master of Science in Human Resource Development Degree from Villanova University. Links to things we talk about: Pattie Money on LinkedIn Twilio Twilio.org Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 41: Jarret Winkelman – Incident Response Technologies, Inc. Jarret Winkelman is the founder and CEO of Incident Response Technologies. He previously worked for a number of public safety organizations in Colorado, and through that experience saw a need to modernize the processes used to pre-plan and manage emergency responses. Incident Response Technologies solves that need with the Rhodium Incident Management platform. Historically, public safety agencies have used binders of paper to store response plans and whiteboards to track their resources during incidents. Rhodium digitalizes that process on an easy-to-use interface that is accessible from almost any web-enabled device. Rhodium can be used daily for local incident management but can also be scaled to support large events with multiple agencies. Customers have deployed Rhodium to manage events and incidents ranging from the Boston Marathon and major hurricanes, to events right here in Colorado including Colorado Rapids and CSU Football games. Links to things we talk about: Jarret Winkelman on LinkedIn Incident Response Technologies, Inc. Chris Maloney, founder of emergency dispatch giant is latest IRT investor Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 41: Kent Dickson – Yonomi Kent Dickson is the co-founder and CEO of Yonomi, the IoT company creating a more connected smart home. Yonomi builds smart home solutions for people and companies to connect devices, integrate multiple platforms, and Bring the Home to Life(TM). Kent’s background includes serving as General Manager of GridMachine, a massive scale Grid Computing-as-a-Service operated as a business unit of Sentient AI. Prior to that Kent was CTO at Tendril where he led product development and strategy for a first of its kind Cloud platform for the Internet of Things with a focus on residential energy management use cases. Kent also spent 9 years at BEA Systems leading the teams for several market defining products in the WebLogic and AquaLogic lines. Kent has spent 10 years working on the Smart Home frontier, partnering with leading device makers, voice assistants, AI innovators, and service providers. Kent holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering and an MBA from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Links to things we talk about: Kent Dickson on LinkedIn Yonomi Website Yonomi on Instagram Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!        

Episode 40: Adam Ahern – Village Social Adam is CEO and co-founder of Village. As a parent of 4 kids, he saw the problems that social media causes kids and committed to building a safer and healthier alternative. Previously Adam has been a leader in tech companies ranging from pre-revenue to pre-IPO, including a $1.9 billion exit with Mercury Payments in Durango. He started his career in investment banking where he helped companies with capital raising, IPOs and M&A. Links to things we talk about: Adam Ahern on LinkedIn Village Social Mercury Payments Sold to Vantiv Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Paul Foley is a Colorado native and huge tech startup enthusiast. He co-founded and sold a tech startup Augur to BounceX, and has since turned his attention to investing and venture capital. He has created a new investment model, SmartCapital Colorado, which is a portfolio of 25 fast-growth Colorado companies. Colorado is one of the most innovative states in America. We have one of the highest concentration of entrepreneurs and technology companies in the nation. But in order to keep growing, these companies need capital. Capital is the lifeblood of any early stage business, however, according to Pitchbook, we’re not even in the top 10 when it comes to receiving Venture capital funding, although we have a multitude of investment opportunities in early-stage companies. The team at Smart Capital is here to change this. From an Investors Perspective, early-stage companies can be one of the highest returning asset classes out there. But historically, the opportunity to invest in fast-growing companies has been reserved for Venture Capital Funds or wealthy Angels. Early investors in Facebook, Uber, and SnapChat made millions of dollars based on their relatively low initial investment. Early stage investing is risky though. Many investors believe that the best strategy is to invest in around twenty-five companies to ensure diversification. They know that a number of those companies won’t make it, a few will prosper but not make it big, but that of those 25 companies, one will hit it big and return 10x the investment. The founders of SmartCapital Colorado want to enable more people to invest and share in the rewards. With Smart Capital, now you have investment access to some of the fastest growing companies in our state. They have built a portfolio of 25 fast-growth companies, with some pretty clever criteria. To be included in the portfolio, the company must have: Strong ties to Colorado, have revenue and trajectory to grow revenue with additional funding, have an identifiable market size that the company can expand into, and backed by other reputable VC’s or accelerators. Invest with as little as $30,000, which is the approximate equivalent of $1,200 per company. You are immediately diversified amongst a variety of promising and fast-growing companies. You won’t find access like this anywhere else. Investors can invest in the portfolio between now and June 30th, 2019. Links to things we talk about: Paul Foley on LinkedIn SmartCapital

Episode 37: Brian Watson – Proximity Brian Watson is an entrepreneur, connector, and community developer. Brian has been starting and running businesses since he was 17 and believes that entrepreneurship is the greatest tool we have to positively impact our communities. His startup, Proximity, strives to help connect the world’s mobile workforce through an innovative combination of hardware and software that manages coworking spaces across the world. Links to things we talk about: Brian Watson on LinkedIn Proximity https://www.proximity.space/     Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 36: Clint Tasset – AdSwerve Clint is the founder and president of AdSwerve a successful Denver company who recently acquired Seattle-based Analytics Pros. AdSwerve empowers data-driven marketers to achieve more success by using media and analytics technology — together. For more than a decade, AdSwerve and Analytics Pros’ team of Google Marketing Solutions experts have supported Fortune 500 companies like SAP, Visa, Starbucks and GoPro. As a Google Marketing Platform partner, AdSwerve provides implementation, technical training, support and strategic consulting for Google Marketing Platform solutions, Google 360 and Google Cloud products to brands and agencies. Links to things we talk about: Clint Tasset on LinkedIn AdSwerve Analytics Pros Rich Dad Poor Dad Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 35: Bill Morris – Blue Star Recyclers Bill co-founded Blue Star Recyclers in 2009 after discovering people with Autism and other disabilities possess innate skills for tasks involved in the recycling and refurbishing of electronics. Blue Star Recyclers is a nonprofit social enterprise with a mission of ethically recycling electronics to create real jobs for people with autism and other disAbilities. The fulfillment of their mission to date has resulted in the recycling of 18 million pounds of electronics, creating 45 jobs and reducing taxpayer burden by over $2 million. Bill is a recipient of the Colorado Recycler of the Year, Colorado Springs Small Business Person of the Year, ARC Employer of the Year, and Citizen Diplomat of the Year. Most recently Blue Star Recyclers was awarded the 2018 Colorado Top Company of the Year, 2017 Social Impact Business of the Year, and 2016 Social Venture of the Year. Links to things we talk about: Bill Morris on LinkedIn Blue Star Recyclers site Blue Star Recyclers video Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 34: Bart Lorang – FullContact, Inc Bart Lorang is CEO and Founder of FullContact and Managing Director of v1.vc Funding Partners and Startup Colorado. Born and raised in Bozeman, Montana, Bart is a proven entrepreneur, executive and manager in the global technology industry. He is active in the startup technology community as an investor, mentor, writer and speaker. Links to things we talk about: Bart Lorang on LinkedIn FullContact, Inc Principles by Ray Dalio Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business The Three-Body Problem IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 33: Krista Morgan – P2Binvestor Krista Morgan is cofounder and CEO of P2Binvestor, a marketplace lender that helps entrepreneurs and innovators transform their companies from sector newcomers to industry leaders. P2Bi partners with banks and investors, while also offering a robust crowdfunding platform, to provide affordable, flexible capital that evolves with business growth. Krista has quickly grown P2Bi into a multimillion-dollar company, a thriving online marketplace, and one of the few tech-enabled commercial lenders that can underwrite and fund million-dollar lines of credit in a few days. In addition, Krista is a sponsor and cohost of the popular podcast, Women Who Startup Radio, a networking and learning platform for female entrepreneurs and innovators globally. Season Three of the influential podcast includes an interview with Impact Finance Center’s CO Impact Days participant Wendi Burkhardt, founder of Silvernest, as well as numerous other successful women building robust businesses and social ventures. Krista’s combined investment and technology expertise and commitment to supporting female innovators and entrepreneurs are tremendous assets to the Impact Finance Center team. She is also helping to guide strategy in the launch of IFC’s online courses for the new Impact Investing Education Institute. Prior to launching her own business, Krista spent more than five years as a Digital Account Director for Sapient and Story Worldwide, where she worked on such high-profile accounts as Coca Cola, Energy Saving Trust, and Johnson & Johnson. With a BA in Economics and Political Science from McGill University, Krista is now an industry leader who writes and speaks regularly on such topics as business finance, scaling start-ups, and diversity in teams. Links to things we talk about: Krista Morgan on LinkedIn P2Binvestor Women Who Startup Click to Review and Rate Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU – You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 32: Nichole Montoya - Cheddar Up Nichole Montoya has more than 15 years of experience helping to grow and build businesses. She is the co-founder and CEO of Cheddar Up, a platform that helps organizers move online and save time by making it easier to collect payments and information. Nichole has presented at SXSW Interactive, Women 2.0’s PITCH events, was part of the 500 Startups and numerous women entrepreneur panels. Prior to founding Cheddar Up, Nichole worked in management consulting with a focus on marketing and project management for Accenture and KPMG. Nichole also co-founded and operated a high-end children’s apparel company where she oversaw design and manufacturing, and built distribution to 80 stores around the country. Nichole is passionate about women entrepreneurship and active in the Denver startup community. She served on the Advisory Board for Denver Startup Week and is a Founding Mentor in the Commons on Champa Mentorship program. Nichole grew up in the Midwest and received her business degree from Drake University. She currently resides in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two daughters. Links to things we talk about: Nichole Montoya on LinkedIn Cheddar Up Overcoming Imposter Syndrome Click to Review and Rate the Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU - You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE:   Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

  Episode 31: Brock Berry - AdCellerant Brock Berry Mr. Brock Berry is the Co-Founder and CEO of AdCellerant. Under Mr. Berry’s leadership AdCellerant has become a nationally recognized, award winning, digital marketing and adtech company, operating in 300 US cities, 5 countries, managing 10,000’s of local advertising campaigns every year. Under Brock’s leadership AdCellerant has grown from 3 founders to 37 full time team members running in excess of 10,000,000+ in top line revenue growing to almost $15,000,000 in 2018. Brock was recognized as a Gold Medal winner in 2017 by the Globees for his work as CEO at AdCellerant. Mr. Berry specializes in Digital Media, Operations, Sales and Technology. Mr. Berry has over 17 years of professional experience in Management, Sales, Digital Media, Operations and Technology as an operator and entrepreneur. Brock is currently serving as a board member for the Local Media Foundation. Brock was also a Co-Founder of AdTaxi Networks and served as a Board Member for Data Dynamix an email marketing company. Mr. Berry served as the Senior Vice President of AdTaxi Networks responsible for sales and operations on over 3,500 campaigns monthly delivering results for thousands of advertisers. In this position he Brock oversaw sales, operations, marketing, and was responsible for a team of 80 people. In 2013 Brock was named one of Editor and Publisher’s top 25 Under 35 for his work at AdTaxi Networks. In 2018 Brock was recognized by the American Business Awards as the Top CEO in 2017 in the US. In addition to AdTaxi Networks Mr. Berry was Vice President of National Digital Advertising for Digital First Media, the second largest publisher in the United States, Director of Major Accounts at the Denver Post. Mr. Berry held various management positions at the Denver Post and Clarity Media Group along with supporting sales roles at the Herald Times. Mr. Berry has also provided independent consulting focused on workflow optimization, sales force effectiveness, pricing optimization, and mergers and acquisitions. Brock worked with a variety of companies like EToys.com, KBToys.com, ePregnancy, Trulia, Post Media, Tampa Bay Times, FTI Consulting and other media companies. Links to things we talk about: Brock Berry on LinkedIn AdCellerant Click to Review and Rate the Colorado TechCast on iTunes! We value every review we receive, and often read them out on the show. If you take the time to leave one, THANK YOU - You rock! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email Us  

Episode 30: David Barnett – PopSockets David Barnett is the founder and CEO of PopSockets LLC. He was a philosophy major at Emory, a physics major at University of Colorado Boulder, received his PhD in philosophy from NYU, and from 2005-2015 was a philosophy professor at University of Colorado Boulder. His research specialized in philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, before he reached enlightenment, stopped doing philosophy, and became an entrepreneur. In 2010, Barnett was looking for a way to stop his earbud cord from getting tangled, and he achieved this by gluing two buttons to the back of his phone and wrapping the earbud cord around the buttons. As ugly as the buttons were, they worked. In the course of improving on the idea, he developed about 60 different prototypes, making the buttons expand and collapse via an accordion mechanism, so that they could function as both a stand and a grip. In 2012, Barnett launched a KickStarter campaign for an iPhone case that would have two PopSockets grips integrated into the case. In addition to getting successfully funded, the KickStarter campaign enabled Barnett to show the world his dancing prowess. Two years later, in 2014, Barnett launched the business out of his garage in Boulder, Colorado, and has subsequently sold over 50 million PopSockets grips around the world. Links to things we talk about: David Barnett on LinkedIn PopSockets IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode 29: Kristen Stiles – Sitter Kristen Stiles is co-founder and CEO of Sitter. Sitter is revolutionizing the care industry by giving care companies, big and small, the technology needed to compete in today’s world. Sitter was born out of Kristen’s personal interest in removing the dread of booking babysitters for her family. She now taps her 20 years experience in business consulting and technology development to streamline the care-giving process for business owners and families alike. Previously, she held a variety of technology management and business strategy positions at Hewlett-Packard, Convergys, and Vail Resorts. Links to things we talk about: Sitter Kristen Stiles on LinkedIn CoBiz Article featuring Sitter Medium interview with Kristen Stiles IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

OverWatchID helps organizations prevent data breaches with its holistic Identity Security Platform, sealing off the most vulnerable points of attack. Andy Funk has 20 years in the technology industry and managed services segment. An astute investment decision-maker, including angel investments into technology corporations, Andy has held management and executive roles with a Fortune-ranked telecom. He was part of the Executive team and one of the original team members of Virtela Technology Services Inc. which created a successful exit when acquired in 2014 by NTT Communications for $525 Million. From the development of supply chains globally to architecting database systems, Andy’s tight strategic sourcing skills have played out across accounts like IBM, Hitachi, Kraft Foods, and Deutsche Bank. Cameron Williams has extensive experience in product development having led development of next generation MSSP platform including multi-tenant PAM, Correlation Engine (SIEM software), deployment automation, and application monitoring systems. Cameron has also led all aspects of the business including Product Management, Sales, Operations, and Engineering, Designed the software for orchestration for IBM Cloud SDN/NFV automation, Designed CDN and GEO LB environments for IBM LotusLive, Geo LB/Pandemic planning automation for remote access Links to things we talk about: Andy Funk on LinkedIn Cameron Williams on LinkedIn Overwatch ID IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think.

Episode 27: Grant Flaharty – Aleph Objects Grant Flaharty is President of Aleph Objects.  New to Aleph Objects, but not new to the industry, Grantis is bringing over 20 years of Executive Leadership driving Sales, Operations, Product Management and Finance to assist in taking the company to new levels of success through the expansion of products, improved market messaging and awareness, along with the attention to detail internally to maintain the quality of product in our customers hands. Grant talks about the history of Aleph Objects, growth through open source machines, and his vision for the future of additive manufacturing. Links to things we talk about: Grant Flaharty on LinkedIn Aleph Objects Dog with 3D-printed skull gives researchers hope for helping human patients IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode 26: Tracy Rue - Skywriter MD Tracy Rue is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Skywriter MD. Skywriter MD is a HIPAA-compliant virtual medical scribe service focused on helping healthcare providers to become more efficient and improve productivity. Tracy shares his story of how a conversation with a tired and frustrated doctor in the Grand Junction airport sparked the idea for Skywriter and how to streamline the collection of health records. Skywriter MD addresses the 5 major challenges that come with traditional medical scribes: Cost, Intrusiveness, Speed, Scalability, and People Management. Tracy talks about the strategy that has enabled Skywriter supply a scalable workforce in an environment where turnover happens regularly at the same time each year, how he built a technical product without a technical background, and how he pushes decision making to the edge to enable his teams to be successful. Links to things we talk about: Tracy Rue on LinkedIn Skywriter MD Tuesdays with Morrie IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

David Secunda is the founder and CEO of WorkBright, an HR tech startup that serves employers with large contingent workforces. The company was founded in 2014 and has over 350 customers. David is also the founder and Visionary of Avid4 Adventure, an outdoor education company that serves kids from age 3 up. The company was founded in 2003, has 600 seasonal and 25 full time employees, served 14,000 campers this summer, and is #25 on Outside’s Best Places to Work in the US. David has lead numerous organizations including the Outdoor Education Program at CU, PlanetOutdoors, and the Outdoor Industry Association. He also worked as an entrepreneur in residence at Mobius Venture Capital and Sequel Venture Partners. He is an active mentor in the business community at Techstars, MergeLane, and the CU Leeds School of Business, and has served on the boards of Entrepreneur’s Organization Colorado, RMC Health, the Department of Human Services Licensing Advisory Committee, the American Camp Association and was a founding board member of Leave No Trace. Links to things we talk about: David Secunda on LinkedIn WorkBright Avid4 Adventure Outside Magazine 2017 IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode 24: Cody Cornell – Swimlane A respected authority on cybersecurity, Cody Cornell is responsible for the strategic direction of Swimlane and the development of its security automation and orchestration and response (SOAR) solution. His passion for open exchange of security information and deep vendor integration drives him to pursue opportunities to maximize the value his customers receive from their investments in security operations. Collaborating with industry-leading technology vendors, Cody works to identify opportunities to streamline and automate security activities that speed cyber response and enable security orchestration. Links to things we talk about: Cody Cornell on LinkedIn Swimlane SecOps Hub | A security operations community Secure Set Colorado Cloud Security Alliance Denver ISSA Denver ISACA IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Jeff Swaim is the founder and CEO of Influence Technologies — developers of a of a kick-ass Digital Experience Platform (DXP) called iVX®. Influence Technologies believe the entire next generation of digital content will be hyper-personalized, immersive, responsive, and transactional interactive experiences — so they created a platform that can create, distribute, and track these interactive experiences at massive scale. As a five-year Colorado startup — Influence Technologies has now hit growth phase, having attracted blue chip brands to their platform like Starbucks, Ford, Microsoft, Camping World, and Arizona State University—and are currently in the process of raising growth capital and attacking vertical markets with iVX-powered solutions. Links to things we talk about: Jeff Swaim on LinkedIn Influence Technologies Tribes by Seth Godin Start with Why TED Talk by Simon Sinek Membership Economy by Robbie Kellman Baxter   IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Melissa Risteff is the CEO & Co-Founder of Couragion, a social enterprise generously supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), AT&T Aspire, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development. Their mission is to inspire underrepresented students to pursue STEM pathways and fuel educator confidence to succeed in the classroom. Melissa shares the mission of Couragion, the moment she decided to strike out on her own, and the positive impacts they are having on students across Colorado. Links to things we talk about: Melissa Risteff on LinkedIn Couragion Couragion Awarded National Science Foundation Grant IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode 21: Alex Capecelatro – Josh.ai Alex Capecelatro is the founder and CEO of Josh.ai, a voice-controlled home automation system with a focus on artificial intelligence. Josh.ai utilizes a proprietary natural language understanding (NLU) engine with state of the art home control integrations for a powerful smart home experience. Alex started his career as a research scientist for NASA, the Naval Research Lab, and later Sandia National Laboratory. He then ventured into consumer technology first with electric car manufacturer Fisker Automotive, then through founding two social software products “At The Pool” and “Yeti” with members in more than 120 countries. Alex’s focus is at the intersection of elegant design, cutting-edge software, and purposeful hardware to offer transformational experiences. Alex received his engineering degree from UCLA and currently splits his time between LA and Denver. Links to things we talk about: Alex Capecelatro on LinkedIn Josh.ai Josh AI on Instagram AVC - Fred Wilson's Blog for Union Square IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Yoav Lurie is the CEO and Founder of Simple Energy, the leading provider of marketplaces, instant rebates, and customer engagement software for electric and gas utilities. Simple Energy’s software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) offerings drive energy savings, facilitate the sale of energy-saving products and services, and serve as the customer energy action platform for the utility of the future. Before founding Simple Energy, Yoav helped build a Washington, DC-based technology services firm, served as a Managing Director for Teach For America, and acted as national president for a network of free residential summer camps for the children of cancer patients. He has been named one of Inc. Magazine’s top “30 Under 30” Entrepreneurs and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, with his wife and two adorable children. Links to things we talk about: Yoav Lurie on LinkedIn Simple Energy Xcel Energy Store Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30 IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode 19: Phil Elsasser – MARKET Protocol Phil Elsasser is the CTO and Co-Founder of MARKET Protocol. Phil has spent the last 7 years as the lead developer on an algorithmic trading desk. Phil has led teams of developers focused on creating trading infrastructure, user interfaces, execution platforms and quantitative trading analytics. The founding members of MARKET Protocol have been managing a 24-hour algorithmic trading group since 2014. Based on the experiences and over 30 cumulative years, the team realized how immature the crypto exchanges were. This created an opportunity for conceptualization and development of MARKET Protocol which provided a blank slate to address issues with both the crypto and traditional exchange models. Links to things we talk about: Phil Elsasser on LinkedIn MARKET Protocol Boulder Blockchain Meetup IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode 18: Chris Magyar - Techtonic Group Techtonic Group a software development organization that services start-ups and the Fortune 1000, and has called Boulder home since 2008. In 2014 sensing an opportunity to do more, CEO and co-Founder Heather Terenzio launched Techtonic Academy. Techtonic Academy is a Department of Labor (DOL) approved paid Apprenticeship program that recruits people who have the desire, ambition and skill set to be a great software developer – regardless of their background or academic training. Techtonic Academy is currently the only IT Apprenticeship in the State of Colorado approved and registered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Techtonic Group has the first and only IT Apprenticeship Program in the State of Colorado approved and registered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Applicants accepted into Techtonic Group paid 6-month Apprenticeship program begin their paid Apprenticeship with 10 weeks of instructor lead classroom training. Apprentices continue to receive technical and soft skills training throughout their Apprenticeship and learn using pair programming techniques working with senior developers. Apprentices then work on project tasks writing commercial software for Techtonic Group clients acquiring real-world experience. The Techtonic Group Apprenticeship program has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes and Popular Mechanics. Links to things we talk about: Techtonic Group Chris Magyar on LinkedIn The 2017 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards featuring Techtonic Group IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Mike Hess is the Founder and Executive Director of the Blind Institute of Technology. The Blind Institute of Technology is a team of staff, volunteers and board members passionate about addressing an attitude shift for blind professionals and educating companies on how to hire and cultivate success for the visually impaired. As the token blind guy in private Fortune 500 companies, Mike experienced just what it takes to build organizations through people, processes, and tools. Mike managed multimillion dollar projects throughout his career, and states it is because of his blindness, not despite his blindness, that he became a 6-figure engineer. Even though Mike had great success in his corporate career, he always had the notion of serving the greater good and following his calling. In 2013 Mike left Level3 Communications (Now CentryLink) to launch the Blind Institute of Technology. After 4 years of challenges and successes, he has created partnerships with Davita, Uber, OppenheimerFunds and many other organizations to meet the goals of BIT. Along the way, because of key partnerships and wins, the Denver Post, Denver Business Journal, and CBS News 4, have all done significant stories on Blind Institute of Technology. Links to things we talk about: Mike Hess on LinkedIn Blind Institute of Technology 2018 Accessible Technology Symposium IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode 16: Kris Bennett - Aenea, LLC. Kris Bennett is passionate about decentralized architecture. He is a Blockchain educator in Denver and is an active advocate for all things Blockchain. Chris is a frequest speaker and writes about the massive transformative change that's coming our way, and what it all means for business, culture, government, art, and personal relationships. Kris shares the nearly prehistoric history of Blockchain and some modern day applications for it, outside of cryptocurrency. Links to things we talk about: Kris Bennett on LinkedIn The Blockchain Beard Guy Videos Aenea, LLC IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode 15: Reyn Aubrey - PocketChange I believe that entrepreneurs solve problems but traditionally, we’ve been using entrepreneurship to solve pain points not problems. Reyn Aubrey is the founder and CEO of PocketChange. PocketChange is a technology that targets the moment when someone is really genuinely motivated to take action and remove all the barriers to that action. PocketChange helps people support causes on social media in a whole new way. What Reyn and team are creating is a button that sits on Facebook right next to like, comment, and share that lights up whenever users see a post about a cause. It could be literally anything from an article in the New York Times about poverty, a picture posted about someones house that was destroyed in a hurricane, a video about climate change - whatever it is, their technology analyzes the post content and determines what specific cause that post is talking about, then instantly matches the user with the single most impactful charity tackling that problem. Links to things we talk about: PocketChange on the web Follow PocketChange on Twitter Help PocketChange win $25K in a Nat Geo competition! IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think!

Episode #8 - Dave DuPont As one of our people said to me, and this is someone who is top of her class at Stanford Business School, "Society tells me now that I can either work for you or work for Starbucks" The combination of remote work and flexible hours has enabled us to become very active in hiring people returning to the workforce after taking time off to raise kids. It has been a benefit to us and also a positive societal good. Welcome to Episode 8 of Colorado TechCast. In this episode I interview Dave DuPont, CEO of TeamSnap. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Boulder, TeamSnap has taken the organization of youth, recreational and competitive sports into the 21st century for 20 million coaches, administrators, players and families. Dave has more than 20 years of experience in technology leadership positions. He was previously CEO of SANRAD, a venture-funded storage networking company.  He also helped found LeftHand Networks, a Boulder-based company now owned by Hewlett Packard. Dave shares his insights on: -Building a geographically distributed startup, where everyone feels connected -How their iterative product development that has enabled them to remain competitive in the market -Why you should invest in your business community before you ask for money. Now let's get started! Links to things we talk about: About TeamSnap What is TeamSnap? IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list to make sure you never miss a new episode Connect with us on Twitter Email me and tell me what you think!   I am always on the lookout for future guests.  If you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to talk about what you are building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer in from Colorado!

Episode #14 – Fluid Market lets users list items they have but aren’t using, giving people in their neighborhood the opportunity to borrow them in exchange for a fee. James Eberhard is the founder and CEO of Fluid Market, a truck sharing application that allows people to easily and securely list, discover, and rent trucks to and from one another. People are making real money renting out vehicles by the hour, day, or month, using assets that would otherwise go unused. And Fluid Market isn’t only for vehicles alone. You can find everything from power tools to household items for rent on the site. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to buy something you will use for a one time project. And chances are your neighbors likely have what you need, but you don’t know they have it, and they don’t know you would pay to use it. Fluid Market closes that gap. Prior to founding Fluid Market, James was the founder and CEO of 9 Squared and Mobile Accord. James is regarded as an expert on global wireless markets and has extensive experience leading start-up technology and mobile companies.” Links to things we talk about: James Eberhard on LinkedIn FluidMarket Website Fluid Market on 9News IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode #13 – Writing good OKRs is hard; OKRs require thought and iteration. A well written OKR, however, will align resources and empower contributors to make good decisions that support the business’ needs Robert Kluin is an experienced technology executive and entrepreneur. He is passionate about helping companies develop engineering organizations that reliably deliver business value. At Workiva, Robert lead the operations engineering, infrastructure engineering, reliability engineering and support engineering groups to ensure 24×7 operations and ensure systems meet product engineering needs. He has brought that same commitment to excellence to his new practice at Real Kinetic. Links to things we talk about: Robert on LinkedIn [Here] Real Kinetic Blog [Here] Robert’s Book Recommendations: Waltzing with Bears [Here] Team of Teams [Here] Objectives and Key Results [Here] Site Reliability Engineering Book: How Google Runs Production Systems [Here] Cheat Sheet on the SRE book [Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode #12 - CTO Connection is a community for Engineering Leaders where they can connect with and learn from their peers   Peter Bell is a former CTO who started organizing CTO summits in 2014 to learn from and connect with other experienced engineering leaders. He also co-founded the New York CTO School to help the next generation of engineering leaders to build their skills and also organizes a number of other CTO Schools around the world. If you're technical and manage software developers (or want to learn how to), CTO Connection is for you. You don't have to be a hardcore developer or manage a large team, but if you can submit and review a pull request and are responsible for directing, leading or managing other software developers (or would like to learn how), they can help. Links to things we talk about: Peter Bell @ LinkedIn [Here] CTO Connection [Here] CTO Connection @ Twitter [Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the look out for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Episode #11 – The analogy that I’ve been using is that blockchain could do the financial and insurance industries what the information revolution did to our media or what Napster did to record companies. WARNING: Some of this stuff is pretty complex. I spent a while on Wikipedia reading up on the things Kevin talks about just to write this post. Kevin Owocki is a leader in the Boulder tech community and helps run Boulder Startup Week and leads the Boulder Blockchain Meetup group.  He is also a co-host of the StartupCTO podcast. Kevin’s most recent project blends his passion for building Open Source software and his interest in Blockchain as an industry disruptor. Kevin recently launched Gitcoin, a platform that for allows for an Open Source repo owner to create a bounty, or smart contract, using the Blockchain for someone to work on their project. What this means is Developers can choose which Open Source projects to work on and get paid in the cryptocurrency Etherium. A little background on what some of this stuff means… Open Source software Most of the Internet and many of the devices we use each day to connect to it are built using Open Source software.  From the Andriod phone in your pocket to the Chromebooks used in many schools, to the Apache webservers that serve up pages on your favorite website, chances are your experience on the Internet is due in large part to software that was created by an army of unpaid volunteers. Anyone can download and use Open Source software, free of charge and free from restrictions. You can even download the source code and use it on your own projects or contribute your enhancements back to the original project, allowing everyone to share in the collective wisdom of Developers all over the world. Blockchain Bitcoin and Etherium are cryptocurrencies that are built using Open Source and are independent of any centralized organization. This means no government or bank is needed to complete a financial transaction using a cryptocurrency because the transaction ledger is stored in on the Blockchain. Super strong encryption is used to ensure the integrity of the Blockchain so any tampering or attempts to break the Blockchain are automatically detected and discarded.  The Blockchain can be used for more than just financial transactions, Kevin talks about a few examples of using Blockchain to create Smart Contracts that take the place of brokers or officials. GitCoin GitCoin has a strong potential to change the way Open Source software is developed. There are thousands of old and stale code repositories that no one contributes towards. Using GitCoin the ower of that repository can now attract developers to contribute to their project and reward them using Etherium, streamlining the transaction. LINKS TO THINGS WE TALK ABOUT: GitCoin Etherium Project Boulder Blockchain Meetup StartupCTO Podcast IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your feedback. My email address is trapper@coloradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think.  

Episode #10 – I really emphasize networking. It’s kind of a dirty word for a lot of computer science people like myself who don’t see that it’s a positive thing or just equate networking as standing around awkwardly at a party holding a beer. And what I’ve done is help people understand that it doesn’t have to be like that. Miles Matthias joins us for episode 10. Miles is Chief Technical Officer InKind Capital, Boulder Startup Week Organizer, and co-host of StartupCTO Podcast. Miles talks about How InKind Capital Helps fund new restaurants by building a loyal customer base before they even open A random visit to a coffee shop that lead to an introduction to the Techstars network, springboarding his career in the Boulder startup ecosystem The importance of choosing the appropriate communication channel when working with remote teams Miles also shares his thoughts on technology leadership, and the importance of giving back to the community – the Boulder ethos. Links to things we talk about: Mile’s LinkedIn Profile[Here] InKind Capital[Here] InKind Capital Video[Here] StartupCTO Podcast[Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your feedback. My email address is trapper@coloradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think.

Episode #9 - Once we got to the point where we really understood and believed in our brand and the effect we wanted to have on people it changed everything, from what we said on our website to what we said when we were speaking in front of a crowd to what we said on a sales call. It really pervaded all aspects of our communication   In this episode I interview John Williamson, a serial entrepreneur who has found success in bringing technology to business that are traditionally low tech. His first startup utilized mapping technology to streamline the delivery of physical goods in a city.   After this he moved into the Qualitative Research field and founded Qualvu. Qualvu developed and delivered video-based qualitative research services. Qualvu led the offline to online migration in qualitative research.  Qualvu also developed TruePanel.com, an online consumer recruiting, screening, management and fulfillment platform to power online research projects. Next, using many of the lessons learned with Qualvu, he founded a proprietary platform for Research Intelligence called 24tru , a software solution for uploading and mining market research assets including video, images, PPT, PDF, and Word documents using a custom multimedia search engine. Both Qualvu and 24tru were acquired by FocusVision Worldwide in December 2015. His latest venture, in a bold move that again brought technology solutions to undeserved businesses, was to found Elite Massage Chairs. Elite Massage Chairs builds technology-enabled massage chairs, combining full-body massage with brainwave frequency synchronization, for powerful new concepts in mind/body healing. Elite chairs are the preferred solutions among professional sports teams, chiropractors, and others seeking relief from chronic pain. Links to things we talk about: John's LinkedIn Page [Here] Learn more about Elite Massage Chairs [Here] Watch the video about Braintroncis [Here] The Science of Neuroplasticity [Here] Qualvu Recognized as Fastest Growing Tech Company [Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state.  We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved.  Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions.  My email address is trapper@coloradoTechCast.com.  You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast.  I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the look out for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email.  

Episode #7 -    A lot of times when you have conversations with people from small towns they're trying to figure out how to become the next Silicon Valley or how do we become Boulder.  The reality is they never will be those communities.  They are the communities that they are.  But by applying technology to industries that they have invested on in the past they are going to come up with new solutions to old problems which will enter turn into new businesses or enable them to increase capacity that they haven't been able to do in the past.   Welcome to episode 7 of Colorado TechCast.   In this episode I interview Brian Watson, Chief Marketing Officer of Proximity Space, and Co Founder of LAUNCH West CO.  Brian talks about building a community of technology professionals by organizing Meetups, Startup Weekend, and other events to draw out the technology community along the Western Slope.   As the community began to take shape, Brian and Josh set out to open LAUNCH West Co, the first Coworking space in Grand Junction.  They later merged with Proximity Space in Montrose to expand the network of Coworking spaces in Western Colorado.   In addition to running their own locations, Proximity Space has developed hardware and software solutions for other Coworking spaces to help automate the billing, membership, and facility operations.   Brian talks about how tech hubs in rural areas empower people to live where they want and work virtually anywhere.     Links to things we talk about: Learn more about Proximity Space [Here] Forbes Magazine Names Proximity Space Top Coworking Space Inc. Magazine - Proximity Space is #3 Best Coworking Spaces in the U.S. CoBiz Mag - Dynamic duos: Brian Watson and Josh Hudnall IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! I am always on the look out for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer in from Colorado!

Episode #5 -    Jeff founded Turing School of Software and Design with the mission of training a diverse, inclusive student body to succeed in high-fulfillment technical careers and create a world powered by technology where the people building it are represented by the people using it.   Welcome to episode 5 of Colorado TechCast.   Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state.  We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved.  Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state.   I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions.  My email address is trapper@coloradoTechCast.com.  You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast.  I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think.   In this episode I interview Jeff Casimir, Co Founder and Executive Director of Turing School of Software and Design.  Seeking a more diverse workforce than the software development industry had to offer, Jeff set off to build the kind of world that he wanted to work in.   Turing believes that the status quo is not good enough. Their mission is to unlock human potential by training a diverse, inclusive student body to succeed in high-fulfillment technical careers and create a world powered by technology where the people building it are represented by the people using it.   Links to things we talk about: Learn more about Turing School [Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! I am always on the look out for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer in from Colorado!  

Episode #6 –    Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state.  We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved.  Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state.   I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is trapper@coloradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on twitter at @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think.   In this episode I interview Peter Melby, Co Founder and CEO of Greystone Technology.  Racking up an impressive list of accolades that includes Denver Post Top Places to Work for 3 consecutive years, 40 under 40, and CEO of the Year Finalist, Peter has built a thriving technology services company, while staying close to his customers.  Peter talks about what factors lead him to found a technology company in the ruins of the dotcom bust, the importance of having authentic conversations, and learning business lessons from customers.    Links to things we talk about: Learn more about Greystone Technology [Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! I am always on the look out for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer in from Colorado!

Episode #4 -    Paul founded Savvy Amigo knowing that the best way to ensure a great vacation was to ask a local, but not just any local, but a real savvy amigo   Welcome to episode 4 of Colorado TechCast.   Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state.   We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved.   Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state.   I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions.     My email address is trapper@coloradoTechCast.com.  You can also hit me up on twitter @CoTechCast.  I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think.   In this episode I interview Paul Kurkulis, Founder and CEO of Savvy Amigo.  Based in the scenic mountain resort town of  Aspen, Colorado, Savvy Amigo is disrupting traditional travel advice sites by connecting travelers with on the ground experts.  We talk about his inspiration, pain points, and lessons learned along the way.    On the Internet there is no shortage of travel information or review sites. The problem is always with accuracy and relevancy. Sifting through countless pages just to find that one snippet and or cross-referencing random reviews is a taxing process. there has to be a better travel advice solution.   Savvy Amigo introduces a new and efficient way to connect those who are seeking travel advice with those who are best qualified to give the advice, ie Real Locals.   In addition, Savvy Amigo reaches below the surface and addresses a basic human need sometimes missed in today’s macro environment—the ability to give individuals a voice, feel good about themselves, and make a difference.   Links to things we talk about: Learn more about Savvy Amigo [Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! I am always on the look out for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer in from Colorado!

Episode #3 – Michael Simpson, Co-Founder and CEO of Pairin was founded on the belief that all people have amazing value, but most of us never realize our potential. Welcome to episode 3 of Colorado TechCast. Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the  exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. In this episode I interview Michael Simpson, CoFounder and CEO of Pairin.  Based in the RiNo district in Denver, Pairin’s mission is to make education relevant and hiring equitable. Pairin’s Behavioral Testing is based on Dr. Harrison Gough’s Adjective Check List (ACL). The ACL is a norm-referenced standardized test consisting of 300 adjectives and adjectival phrases commonly used to describe a person’s behavioral attributes. Awarded Startup of the year by the Denver Chamber of Commerce, Pairin was founded on the belief that all people have amazing value, but most of us never realize our potential. People are too often put into ill-fitting boxes, told we can’t, won’t and will never be able to attain our dreams. Many people hear this so much they never even dream big, or pursue their goals as if they are truly attainable. This is  something that Pairin wants to change. Links to things we talk about: Learn more about Pairin [Here] Check out Michael’s Linkedin profile [Here] 2017 Denver Startup of the year [Here] Who do you know at Pairin?[Here] Follow Pairin on Twitter [Here] IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think! I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is trapper@coloradoTechCast.com You can also hit me up on twitter.  The show handle is @CoTechCast I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think I am always on the look out for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer in from Colorado!

Episode #2 – Brian Pontarelli, Founder and CEO of Inversoft, shares the history of Inversoft, what’s behind the explosive growth in the Colorado tech industry, and challenges associated with bootstrapping a company In this episode, I will speak with Brian Pontarelli, founder and CEO of Inversoft a startup software company specializing in systematic language censoring and highly scalable identity and access management software, based right in the heart of Denver.  Born and raised in Colorado, Brian has entrepreneurship in his blood – having come from a family of entrepreneurs and business owners. Brian’s passion for technology drove him to researching and developing a product called CleanSpeak that would block and filter profanity for chat rooms.  Brian’s hard work paid off, as the automated, scalable solution was very attractive to Nintendo – in a deal that enabled Brian to fully invest his time at Inversoft. Brian has some great advise and interesting stories to share with us about the challenges and opportunities associated with entrepreneurship, building a team, and technology – thanks for listening! Links to things we talk about: Check out Brian’s Linkedin profile [Here] Learn more about Inversoft [Here] Denver Startup Week [Here] Brian’s presentation on Productivity at Denver Startup Week [Here] Avery Rumkin Beer [Here] In this episode, we discuss: How Inversoft got started [1:12] On finding an overlooked niche [01:50] Biography [3:51] Brief history of the Denver’s startup frenzy [4:08] How the tech community helped establish the scene [6:42] How customers can help in defining your product [9:45] How success with one product lead to discovering the need for another product [11:20] About Inversoft and the explosive growth [14:30] Maturing the company and adding leadership [15:27] Challenges associated with finding software developers in Colorado [17:05] Constraints and rewards of being bootstrapped [19:25] Culture of Inversoft and best part about being CEO [21:05] Never shipping crappy code, ever [22:26] Productivity Hacks [26:24] Who and what Brian reads [28:11] Using Google Alerts to stay attuned to the market[29:36] Best beers in Colorado and drinks at WeWork [30:14] How it feels to have to fire someone off [32:42] What is Clean Speak and Passport and what it can do for you [34:03] We want to hear from you! Please post whatever comments or questions you have from this episode below. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on twitter Email us and tell us what you think!