Podcasts about viawest

Nancy is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner atRallyday Partners, a private equity firm built byfounders for founders, focused on lower middlemarket growth companies.Nancy's experience as an entrepreneur informs her role as an investor at Rallyday Partners. Nancy and thefounding team at Rallyday wanted to build the private equity firm that they would have wanted to partnerwith on their own entrepreneurial journeys. In practice, this involves a multi-stakeholder approach and anintense focus on purpose, culture, leadership development alongside the typical focus on growth and financialreturns. Rallyday's purpose statement is to Empower leaders to go even bigger, create the most value for themost people, and share in the experience of a lifetime. As Managing Partner, Nancy leads efforts to identifynew investment opportunities and guides value creation efforts in partnership with portfolio companyleadership teams. Nancy leads Rallyday's investments in Highbar Health, Livefront, Nimble Gravity, andKicksaw and supported Pyx Health to a successful exit in 2023.Nancy is a 35 year + veteran of the telecommunications and IT infrastructure industry. She has spent herentire career building and growing service-focused organizations demonstrating the power of people in atechnical world. A longtime leader in Denver's tech industry, she co-founded ViaWest in 1999 and served as itsPresident & CEO, successfully scaling the company to become one of the largest colocation and cloudproviders in the industry. In 2017, the company was acquired by GI Partners for $1.675 billion and combinedwith Peak10, another IT infrastructure powerhouse. Now called Flexential, the company is a leading providerof data center solutions spanning colocation, connectivity, cloud, managed solutions and security services.Nancy served as chair of the board until the end of 2024.Previously, Nancy served as president of Shaw Business Infrastructure Services, a division of ShawCommunications (NYSE:SJR). Nancy held founder and executive leadership positions with numeroustechnology companies, including TSC, ConferTech International, ITC, RMI.net and Intrepid Communications,where she enabled significant growth while maintaining a deep customer-centric focus. She has raised over$1.1B in equity during her career and consistently provided strong returns to her shareholders.Nancy is a passionate supporter of the Colorado entrepreneurial community as well as furthering theparticipation and advancement of women in computer science. She serves on the boards of the NationalCenter for Women and Information Technology, where she is chair; Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network; EspireDental; Highbar Health; Livefront; Nimble Gravity; and Kicksaw and formerly served on the NationalCybersecurity Center as well as the University of Denver Board of Trustees.Nancy has received numerous accolades for her visionary leadership and, in 2016, was honored with theinaugural Colorado Governor's Citizenship medal for Growth and Innovation, which recognized her as anentrepreneur with exceptional ingenuity who seeks to inspire and create new possibilities for others. She alsowas selected as the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Technology Services for the Mountain Desert Region.Nancy has also been recognized in the global technology community when she received the CanadianGovernor General's Medallion in recognition of her distinguished track record building technology businesses.Nancy embraces the best of Colorado by spending time with family including her beloved black lab, Brooklyn,in the mountains skiing, cycling and hiking. A native of Toronto, Nancy received a Bachelor of Arts degree fromQueens University in Canada. Michelle Collie is a Physical Therapist and business owner who grew her company from one location to 35 and has now partnered with RallyDay to continue growth in the the Northeast United States.  She has been a Board Member of the American Physical Therapy Private Practice Association and has received numerous awards as a Best Employer!  Her company is now Highball Health.

  Today we welcome David Jones to the podcast. David founded Peak 10 (now known as Flexential), a hybrid IT infrastructure provider focused on colocation, connectivity, cloud, and managed solutions. David started Peak 10 in 1999 after being fired from a previous job. In 2010, he sold Peak 10 to a private equity group.  In 2014, they sold again to another private equity group (who is still the majority owner of the company).  David stayed on as Chairman until Peak 10 completed its acquisition of ViaWest in 2018, giving the newly formed combined company - Flexential - a national reach.  Today Flexential is a multi-billion-dollar company.   We cover many topics during our conversation with David, including… Surviving a recent critical health event & how it altered his sense of purpose The importance of recognizing and playing to teammates' strengths Raising $1.5 million in 4 weeks for the original Peak 10 business plan Why expecting success can be a mistake The power of resilience in health, business, and life … as well as some of David's accumulated wisdom from speaking with countless executives, founders, and investors. Please enjoy this conversation with David Jones.   William Bissett is the owner of and an Investment Advisor Representative of Portus Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Portus Wealth Advisors. The topics discussed and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener.    Portus Wealth Advisors does not offer legal or tax advice, listeners are encouraged to discuss their financial needs with the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance.   Investments described herein may be speculative and may involve a substantial risk of loss. Interests may be offered only to persons who qualify as accredited investors under applicable state and federal regulation or an eligible employee of the management company. There generally is no public market for the Interests. Prospective investors should particularly note that many factors affect performance, including changes in market conditions and interest rates, and other economic, political or financial developments. Past performance is not, and should not be construed as, indicative of future results. 

In a thick, well-loved, black sketchbook, Kirsten Benefiel keeps the lessons she's learned over her career as an executive. Benefiel's resume includes stops at Accenture, Newmont Mining, ViaWest and HSS, where she recently served as CEO. On this episode of the Voices of Experience podcast, Benefiel cracks open her notebook and shares her advice for stepping off the corporate ladder, communicating and selling a vision, navigating an unfamiliar industry, and the importance of the word "and" in leadership. Table of contents • 1:14 Using PR in a non-PR career • 3:02 Selling your ideas to your employees • 5:24 Becoming CEO in an unfamiliar industry • 9:05 It's lonely at the top • 11:14 The future of manned security • 12:26 Creating equity through Colorado Inclusive Economy • 14:49 Stepping off the corporate ladder • The power of "and" • 18:09 The entrepreneurial mindset—and what people forget about it • 23:08 Inside Kirsten's notebook • 26:13 "You can choose your own career" • 27:40 Show notes and credits

July was Disability Awareness Month. Today's guest is a member of that community who speaks about his experiences.Joseph Ellison tells us his courageous story that includes the early death of his mother, being adopted by his parents, and his diagnosis of slight “mental retardation” as a child along with ADHD in the early 90s (now changed to intellectual disability) along with the challenges and triumphs he has faced in an unforgiving world. He also tells us his involvement in the Black Lives Matter rallies. He can be found on Instagram @jojoellison99 Being mixed race and having a disability can be twice as hard for these members in our community. What can we do to give them more of a voice and be inclusive so we can address their rights? Are there any heroes and sheores in these communities we should know?Bringing stories on what it means to be multiracial in America, one story at a time, from the studio to the streets.DOWNLOAD and SUBSCRIBE to Generation Mixed Podcast.FOLLOW me on:TikTok: | https://www.tiktok.com/@genmixedpodcast?lang=enInstagram: | https://www.instagram.com/generationmixedpodcast/Twitter: | https://twitter.com/GenMixedPodcastSubscribe to our newsletter at www.Justjmarc.comPlease email us here with any suggestions, comments, and questions for future episodes” generationmixedpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode, Hall welcomes Bob Morse, Founding Managing Partner at Strattam Capital. Strattam Capital invests in founder-led independent B2B software and technology companies outside of Silicon Valley. They believe in aligning with founders and CEOs before signing, via their 5-Point Plan process to allow execution with purpose, excitement, and efficiency. Headquartered in Austin, TX, with roots in Silicon Valley, they connect companies with the people, process, and scale needed to reach their potential. Bob founded Strattam Capital in 2013 along with Adrian Polak. Previously, Bob was a Partner at Oak Hill Capital Partners, where he led the Technology Vertical and was a member of the Investment Committee. From 1995 to 1999, he worked at GCC Investments, a growth private equity firm based in Boston. Before GCC, he worked at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. He has served on numerous private and public boards over time and is currently a director of Acendre, Contegix, Rock Solid Technologies, SSB Data, and Trax Group. His former directorships include Doxim, Intermedia, MHC Software, Telecity Group, and ViaWest. Bob is also a member of the Advisory Board of the HMTF Center for Private Equity at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Board Member at Austin PBS, producer of Austin City Limits. Bob attended Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S.E., and Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he earned his M.B.A. and was an Arjay Miller Scholar. Bob discusses with Hall how he sees the industry evolving and some of the challenges companies face. He speaks about the investment thesis of the company and advises both entrepreneurs and investors. You can visit Strattam Capital at , via LinkedIn at , and via Twitter at .   Bob can be contacted via email at .  

Patricia Elias has a unique title at ServiceSource: Chief Legal and People Officer. She joins the show today to talk about how she came to take on the HR role, the unique event that brought her to ServiceSource, and a key realization about this very moment in her career. ABOUT OUR GUEST Patricia Elias started as an SVP, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for ServiceSource in 2016. Within two years, she was asked to assume the global HR role and title of Chief Legal and People Officer for a global company of over 3,000 employees.   Her prior roles include serving as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at ViaWest, Senior Corporate Counsel at Flextronics, and Lecturer for the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.   GET IN TOUCH WITH PATRICIA ELIAS ON LINKEDIN   THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [2:02] Michael introduces Patricia and asks her to share an interesting fact about herself as well as a little bit on what ServiceSource is, and does — Patricia is an inline skating evangelist!   SHOOTING SPORTING CLAYS [4:49] Patricia talks about what brought her to ServiceSource and it all began with shooting sporting clays!   CORPORATE SECRETARY [6:38] What does a corporate secretary do? Patricia shares what her first few years were like. She shares the story of how she was approached to take on the role of head of HR.   PREPARATION? HARDLY [11:06] Patricia touches on how little preparation she got before taking on the role. It was on-the-job training; she shares the two things that helped her most at the time. Patricia shares why she chose the CPO title instead of CHRO.   WHY LAW? WHY IT? [14:33] Patricia shares how she made her way to law, and eventually Counsel; the choice of working in tech and IT probably reflects her strong interest in science.   HR/LEGAL [16:53] 80% of her time is spent on HR matters, 10% on legal, and the remaining would be a space where she needs to wear both hats. Because of this experience, as well as some personal choices, Patricia will probably never go for a General Counsel role that has no extended responsibilities again.   PIVOT [20:05] Patricia and Michael agree that she is currently in the middle of a pivot! Patricia explains that the breadth of the impact she has on the organization could never be equaled by a legal-only position.   PRIDE AND LEGACY [21:51] Patricia shares how proud she is about having instituted parental leave at ServiceSource as well as the broader diversity impact this measure has had on the business. She shares another pride point.   EXPECTATIONS [24:35] Patricia talks about the things she has found to be interesting discoveries about her new role, but she didn't have expectations, per se. She touches on how to handle working in multiple time zones and shares some personal tips on how to manage a team with empathy while working crazy hours.   HUMANS VS TECHNOLOGY [26:52] The modern technological paradigm has built a world where work hours have grown to the point of encroaching on personal life; Patricia shares her take on how to maintain healthy work habits. She also touches on the effects of COVID-19 on work environments and her predictions for the future of work.   ADVICE [29:32] Patricia offers advice to future CXOs and prepares for C-suite interviews. Know your business, and just don't be a jerk. She also shares her insight for people who hold dual roles as she does — especially when one of those roles involves legal.   BEST WORST JOB PATRICIA EVER HAD [34:14] A temp job answering the constantly ringing corded phone while welcoming and being polite to customers who appeared at the window. It was so stressful it led her to realize she needed a college degree.   FINAL THOUGHTS [36:45] An attitude of gratitude, empathy, and outward mindset are key to success, and happiness.   [37:17] Michael thanks Patricia for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear.   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly

Patricia Elias has a unique title at ServiceSource: Chief Legal and People Officer. She joins the show today to talk about how she came to take on the HR role, the unique event that brought her to ServiceSource and a key realization about this very moment in her career.   ABOUT OUR GUEST Patricia Elias started as an SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for ServiceSource in 2016. Within 2 years, she was asked to assume the global HR role and title of Chief Legal and People Officer for a global company of over 3 000 employees.   Her prior roles include serving as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at ViaWest, Senior Corporate Counsel at Flextronics and Lecturer for the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business.   GET IN TOUCH WITH PATRICIA ELIAS ON LINKEDIN THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com   KEY TAKEAWAYS [2:02] Michael introduces Patricia and asks her to share an interesting fact about herself as well as a little bit on what ServiceSource is, and does — Patricia is an inline skating evangelist! SHOOTING SPORTING CLAYS [4:49] Patricia talks about what brought her to ServiceSource and it all began with shooting sporting clays! CORPORATE SECRETARY [6:38] What does a corporate secretary do? Patricia shares what her first few years were like. She shares the story of how she was approached to take on the role of head of HR. PREPARATION? HARDLY [11:06] Patricia touches on how little preparation she got before taking on the role. It was on the job training, she shares the 2 things that helped her most at the time. Patricia shares why she chose the CPO title instead of CHRO. WHY LAW? WHY IT? [14:33] Patricia shares how she made her way to law, and eventually Counsel, the choice of working in tech and IT probably reflects her strong interest in science. HR/LEGAL [16:53] 80% of her time is spent on HR matters, 10% on legal and the remaining would be a space where she needs to wear both hats. Because of this experience, as well as some personal choices, Patricia will probably never go for a General Counsel role that has no extended responsibilities again. PIVOT [20:05] Patricia and Michael agree that she is currently in the middle of a pivot! Patricia explains that the breadth of the impact she has on the organization could never be equalled by a legal only position. PRIDE AND LEGACY [21:51] Patricia shares how proud she is about having instituted parental leave at ServiceSource as well as the broader diversity impact this measure has had on the business. She shares another pride point. EXPECTATIONS [24:35] Patricia talks about the things she has found to be interesting discoveries about her new role, but she didn’t have expectations per se. She touches on how to handle working in multiple time zones and shares some personal tips on how to manage a team with empathy while working crazy hours. HUMANS VS TECHNOLOGY [26:52] The modern technological paradigm has built a world where work hours have grown to the point of encroaching on personal life, Patricia shares her take on how to maintain healthy work habits. She also touches on the effects of COVID on work environments and her predictions for the future of work. ADVICE [29:32] Patricia offers advice to future CXOs and prepares for C-suite interviews. Know your business, and just don’t be a jerk. She also shares her insight for people who hold dual roles as she does — especially when one of those roles involves legal. BEST WORST JOB PATRICIA EVER HAD [34:14] A temp job answering the constantly ringing corded phone while welcoming and being polite to customers who appeared at the window. It was so stressful it led her to realize she needed a college degree. FINAL THOUGHTS [36:45] An attitude of gratitude, empathy and outward mindset are key to success, and happiness. [37:17] Michael thanks Patricia for coming on the podcast to share her insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways.   We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)   SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly   ABOUT YOUR HOST For the past 20 years, Michael Mitchel, B.A., has been interviewing leaders in their fields. He started his career recruiting for United Parcel Service in Seattle, where he implemented the company's Welfare to Work program for the Washington State District. He has recruited for Federal agencies and U.S. Department of Defense contractors for classified programs internationally. He Founded OC Executive Search in 2001 to serve companies ranging from startups to Global F10. Michael is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Navy and enjoys skiing, cycling, traveling, photography as well as hiking in the Colorado Rockies with his cattle dog, Kala the Wunderdawg.   FIND MICHAEL MITCHEL ON LINKEDIN AND ON TWITTER

Excited to share with you a few stories from Chris Downie on his professional experience growing into the data center industry. His unique perspective as the CEO of both Telx during the acquisition by Digital Realty Trust in 2015 and Peak10 during their acquisition of Viawest in 2017 (now Flexential) makes this interview extremely powerful. We also touch on what steps Flexential has taken to address concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, what a day in the life of a CEO of a data center company looks like and some important lessons he's learned over the years.

In this episode of Lindzanity, Howard sits down with friend and founding partner at ViaWest Group that specializes in commercial real estate investments, development, and property management. They talk about where commercial real estate is going globally, within Phoenix, and how Wework has changed the business.  We hope you enjoy this episode of Lindzanity! If you would like to be notified when new episodes are released go hit the subscribe button and leave us a review. Thank you for listening! Show Notes: - How did Steven Schwarz start ViaWest Group? - Why did Steven Schwarz move to Phoenix? - What is "Sexy Money" - How is the Phoenix real estate market? - What is Howards take on the Phoenix real estate market? - What is "absorption"? - Pace at which Phoenix is "absorbing" - What Steven is worried about in the market - What other cities does Steven like working in? - How did 2008 effect ViaWest? - How did ViaWest get out of bank trouble? - How did they start raising capital? - What is Wework? - What are problems with owning office space? - How has Wework improved the business office model? - How does Wework push innovation? - What is an "Opportunity Zone"? - Who does Steven trust to learn info from? - How do people invest with ViaWest? - How does Steven invest personally Connect with ViaWest Group and Howard: http://www.viawestgroup.com/ Howard Twitter: @howardlindzon Instagram: @howardlindzon Follow along on Howard's Blog: http://howardlindzon.com/  

It's that time of the year again. As the kids and college students go back to school, so do Craig and Kevin. The guys welcome Melissa McCoy, vice president of channel sales at Flexential, to the show. She talks about her new position and the combination of the former ViaWest and Peak 10 channel programs into one. Also on this week is Ben Edmond, founder and CEO of Connected2Fiber. While fiber is a hot topic, Edmond explains why you should also consider getting "SaaS-y" with his company and what you can expect from his team at Channel Partners Evolution. Oh, and we mentioned "back to school," right? We have fun with all of the education you'll be able to get in Philadelphia in October.

In this episode: Bret Fund, CEO & Founder of SecureSet Academy is our guest this week. News from: Amazon, Red Robin, ViaWest, SendGrid, Fast Enterprises, Red Canary, Webroot and a lot more! HQ2 - So you're saying there's a chance! Denver made the final 20 cities for Amazon's HQ2. Will they pick us? Do we want them to? Even if Amazon doesn't pick us, more and more retirees are. And Red Robin's going to stick around. ViaWest is now Flexential. SendGrid and Fast Enterprises are still great places to work. Plus we've got research from Red Canary and Webroot. Come join us on the new Colorado = Security Slack channel to meet old and new friends. Did you catch our trivia question? Be the first to reply to info@colorado-security.com with the right answer and get any $25 item from the Colorado = Security store. Sign up for our mailing list on the main site to receive weekly updates - https://www.colorado-security.com/. If you have any questions or comments, or any organizations or events we should highlight, contact Alex and Robb at info@colorado-security.com Local security news: Join the Colorado = Security Slack channel Denver makes the final 20 for Amazon HQ2 For Amazon's HQ2, here's how Denver stacks up against the 19 other finalists vying for Amazon's second headquarters Denver says no thanks to Apple's proposed second campus Colorado moves up on 'best states to retire' list Red Robin recommits to Denver for its headquarters ViaWest, now part of Peak 10, is no more as combined company changes name to Flexential Two Colorado tech companies on Fortune's 'great place to work' list - Denver Business Journal National Cybersecurity Center opens for business in Colorado Springs Credential Harvesting on the Rise How to Keep Your Cryptocurrency Secure Job Openings: Woodward (Ft Collins) - MANAGER OF INFORMATION SECURITY OppenheimerFunds - Sr. Network Engineer Arrow - Senior Security Infrastructure Engineer Vail Health - IT Security Analyst MITRE (Colorado Springs) - Lead Cyber Operations Engineer Flatiron - Cybersecurity Policy & Compliance Analyst BSI - Auditor - Information Security (ISO 27001) Black Knight - Senior Penetration Testing Analyst IV LeaderQuest HQ - Cyber Security Curriculum Designer Upcoming Events: This Week and Next: Lady Coders – Workplace Sexual Harrassment: It happens. What do you do next? - 1/23 Red Canary - Micro brew tour - 1/26 SecureSet - Capture the flag - 1/26 SecureSet - Hacking 101 Workshop: Intro to Social Engineering - 1/30 Other Notable Upcoming Events: CTA - Day at the Capital - 2/21 SnowFROC - 3/8 C-Level @ Mile High - 3/15 Rocky Mountain Information Security Confernce - 5/8-10 View our events page for a full list of upcoming events * Thanks to CJ Adams for our intro and exit! If you need any voiceover work, you can contact him here at carrrladams@gmail.com. Check out his other voice work here. * Intro and exit song: "The Language of Blame" by The Agrarians is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Presenters: John Heiderscheidt (Host, Chicago AFCOM Board Member), Bhu Virdi (Peak 10 + ViaWest) Episode 5: John Heiderscheidt (Host, AFCOM Chicago Chapter) talks with Bhu Virdi – (Peak 10 + ViaWest, Director Technical Solutions) discuss strategies to prevent against heightened cyber security threats, including awareness programs and internal training.

In this episode: Alex interviews infosec lawyer Dave Navetta. News from Amazon, ViaWest, Notion, Ping Identity, ProtectWise, Webroot, LogRhythm, and Optiv. Full show notes here: https://www.colorado-security.com/news/2017/6/16/20-619-show-notes Ping is a leader (but we knew that already, right?) Need that Amazon order this afternoon? Well I have good news for you. Amazon is rolling out 2 hour deliver to Denver. Denver is the #8 tech city in the country, and our workers are crazy well-educated. It's a good week for Ping Identity, as it is recognized on Gartner's Access Management Magic Quadrant, and is rated the #1 large tech company to work for in Denver. LogRhythm also had a great week, winning gold in Gartner Peer Insights. Woman leaders at both ProtectWise and Webroot are recognized by Built in Colorado. And Optiv, Colorado's biggest security company, makes some big industry hires. Sign up for our mailing list on the main site to receive weekly updates - https://www.colorado-security.com/. We're continually working to improve the show, and appreciate the feedback we get from our listeners. If you discover any audio issues, or have suggestions for our format, let us know. This week's episode is available on Soundcloud, iTunes and the Google Play store. Reach out with any questions or comments to info@colorado-security.com Feature interview: Alex sat with Denver's own Dave Navetta, security lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright. Dave was one of the creators of the cyber security insurance, and offers some great insight from his years in large firms, his own firm, and the insurance industry. Local security news: Denver is the #8 tech city in the US Amazon Prime Now delivers within 2 hours Colorado info tech and data-center company ViaWest sold for $1.675 billion Notion, Denver based Smart Home company, raises 10m Ping named leader in 2017 Gartner Access Management Magic Quadrant Ping is #1 Tech company and #4 overall on DBJ's best places to work, XL Women leaders at ProtectWise and Webroot recognized LogRhythm wins Gold on Gartner Peer Insights Optiv Security Hires Industry Veterans LogRhythm Blog: Reactions to Trump's Executive Order on Cybersecurity Job Openings: Ping Identity - GRC Analyst Denver Health - IS Analyst Security III Johns Manville - Cyber Security Analyst - Entry Level Alchemy Security - Multiple security operations roles Red Canary - Security Operations Center Analyst ProtectWise - DevOps engineer Swimlane - Integrated Marketing Intern LogRhythm - Sr Security Analyst Upcoming Events: This Week and Next Week: Optiv - Denver Enterprise Security Summit - 6/20 ISSA Denver - Healthcare SIG - 6/22 CTA - Meet the Board with Suma Nallapati - 6/22 SecureSet - Capture the lag events - 6/23 COS ISSA - Mini seminar - 6/24 ISSA Denver WIS - 6/27 (new location - Denver Field House) Cyber Security World - 6/28-29 Evanta - 2017 CISO Executive Summit - 6/29 SecureSet - Cybersecurity Career Trends - 6/29 SecureSet - Open House at new location - 6/29 Notable Upcoming Events: COS ISSA - CISSP Exam Prep - 7/29 7th Annual Cyber Security Training & Technology Forum - 8/30-31 View our events page for a full list of upcoming events If you have any questions or comments, or any organizations or events we should highlight, contact Alex and Robb at info@colorado-security.com * Thanks to CJ Adams for our intro and exit! If you need any voiceover work, you can contact him here at carrrladams@gmail.com. Check out his other voice work here. * Intro and exit song: "The Language of Blame" by The Agrarians is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Today’s Best Ever guest shares with us, just how profitable office space is, even though it seems incredibly difficult. We discuss how to build long lasting relationships, and how to be the FIRST and last person to receive a phone call about a potential deal.   Best Ever Tweet:   When you’re looking for deals, spend a lot of time an energy understanding people’s incentives.   Gary Linhart’s real estate background: -          Managing director of ViaWest, co-manages the investment strategy and finance activity and leads the public markets activity for the company that is based in Phoenix, Arizona  -          He has managed the company’s multifamily portfolio and oversee the acquisition, conversation and disposition of over 2,000 apartment units to condominiums -          Fluent in Japanese and proficient in Spanish -          Say hi to him at   Subscribe in   and    so you don't miss an episode!   Made Possible Because of Our Best Ever Sponsors:    – Having a hard time finding great investment properties?  Unfortunately, the best deals are rarely found locally. Norada Real Estate’s simple proven system provides you with the best deals across the U.S. to create wealth and cash-flow.  Get your FREE copy of    - Want to learn more about crowdfunding? Let the leading expert in the crowdfunding space, Patch of Land, give you all the info you need to get started. Grab your FREE copy of Top Ten Answers to the Top Ten Crowdfunding Questions at                                  – Do you need an equity partner or know about a great deal and want to get paid for finding it? Mascia Development can help you make that retail or medical office deal happen. Email them at

Audio File:  Download MP3Transcript: Larry Nelson:  This is Larry Nelson, with w3w3.com. We connect people and organizations to unique and valuable resources. And we are lucky today to be continuing this series, sponsored by NCWIT. In fact, it's really promoted by NCWIT. And that's the National Center for Women and Information Technology. And we have the CEO and founder here with us. Lucy Sanders, welcome to the show. Lucy Sanders:  Hi, Larry. I'm glad to be here. And this is an amazing series.  We love this series. And we're very fortunate to have another great interview. Larry:  That's a fact. Lucy, I see you corralled one of your board members. Who did you bring with you? Lucy:  Well, we have Lee Kennedy here today, who is the co‑founder of Tricalyx. And also, as you mentioned, she's a director of NCWIT. Welcome, Lee. Lee Kennedy:  Hi, Lucy. Thanks for having me. Larry:  All right. So let's get right into it. Lucy, why don't you introduce your guest? Lucy:  Well, today, we're very fortunate to have Nancy Phillips here, who is the co‑founder, director, and COO of ViaWest. Welcome. Nancy Phillips:  Thank you. Lucy:  We're very happy to have you here. You provide some awesome services and infrastructure here, regionally, in the west, and why don't you give us a bit of information about that? Nancy:  Sure. Thanks. Very nice to be here. And welcome to one of our facilities. ViaWest is kind of known as a super‑regional now. We started the company in 1999. And we are basically offering IT infrastructure and managed‑hosting services, primarily to the small, mid‑size enterprise base. I have to say, that's a wonderful group of customers to serve. They have been a group that has allowed us to grow very effectively over the last several years, whereas you might have heard in our industry, there's been a real downturn, certainly in the early 2000s. ViaWest is currently primarily in three states, here headquartered in Colorado, Utah, and Oregon, and we have a small office in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well. Today, we service companies that range from the frontier lines to some hometown favorites, like the Broncos - wide and varied applications, but certainly in a very fast‑growing industry today, both on more the IT infrastructure side, but today we see tremendous growth in the managed‑services area. And so we're very pleased to be one of the survivors in the industry and growing at a tremendous rate today, and looking at expansion beyond the current regions that we represent. So it's been an exciting year for us, and looking forward to some exciting new opportunities in 2008. Larry:  Nancy, I just have to bring in one thing here. You pointed out about being a survivor, but you really helped a number of other high‑tech organizations survive through the tough times during the downturn of the early 2000s. And I want to thank you for that, because we deal with a lot of those people today. Nancy:  Yeah. I mean, I think we believe strongly in the community of technologists, and we really want to take a look at all cases, including, we run an incubator program today. We think it's a very innovative program that allows for early‑stage companies to come into a more mature infrastructure and allow them to, we hope, grow more effectively. And so programs like that, along with being able to provide a very broad suite of services to our existing base, I think, have been very opportunistic. Lucy:  Well, in reading about your company, it very strongly came across, your emphasis on great customer service. Nancy:  Mm‑hmm. Lucy:  I'm sure that that helped you get through that downtime, just excellent customer service and attention to the community. Nancy:  Yeah. It really is kind of the backbone of the company. Everybody always wants to talk about the technology, and certainly the sexiness of some of those pieces... Lucy:  Well, they are pretty cool. They are kind of cool. The reality is they just need to continue to operate at a very high level. But I think, really, it's the combination of technology and people that have made the difference. And I think that's really a testament, that the people that we have been fortunate enough to attract come with a wonderful focus and attention to detail in terms of how we service the customer. We look at it in terms of developing very long‑term relationships, not, "Gee, let's go sign a one‑year contract and hope things work out." We look at forging very long‑term relationships with our customers and aiding them through all stages of their business, whether it's moving along at a very positive rate, or, at times, they may be struggling and need some help in handling those type of issues. So we are very embedded in the community, love the markets that we serve, and have a tremendous customer base that have served us well over the last several years. Lucy:  And we were just talking about customer service and technology. This kind of gets us into our first question around technology and how you first got into technology. And there's a follow‑up question, which I'll just tell you now, which is: what technologies do you see today that you think are particularly relevant, especially to your customers? Nancy:  How did I get into technology? You're asking me to really search the cobwebs here to remember that. But honestly, I just really felt like there was an opportunity, when I was starting out, to get into technology and telecommunications. I just thought that that was an area that was growing, and one that I felt strongly that I could hopefully play a role in. You're talking to an economics major, and so how I made the leap is kind of an interesting one. But I just really felt like it was an area that would allow growth and certainly one that could spawn a lot of entrepreneurial organizations. And so I think I just sort of came to terms with "I want to be in this field, " and I was very fortunate to find an organization in my early stages of development that allowed me to kind of combine my entrepreneurial spirit along with being in technology. It's interesting. I've always been involved in service‑based industries ‑ so, whether it was in a technology area, it's really the basis of it has always been service and a monthly, recurring strategy. And I lived through the era where the Internet was considered a fad. In my view, it just seemed like the next opportunity to apply good, strong service. And so, in the early '90s, we heard an awful lot about how this was all going to fade away. And to be honest with you, we lived through the real boom periods of early acceptance. I remember, back when I was with Rocky Mountain Internet, the phones would ring off the hook. I'm not even sure we were in the yellow pages at that point, but the phones would ring off the hook with people trying to get access to the Internet. That was a lot of fun. Larry:  Yeah. Nancy:  And so, what I've seen over the last several years is sort of the ups and downs as this medium has really matured. It's kind of laughable to think that people thought the Internet wasn't enduring. And, in my view, when we started this particular business, it was kind of laughable, when we clearly went through some downturns in terms of IT infrastructure, because it was considered something that wasn't going to succeed. An awful lot of companies didn't. But I think we really believed in the plan, we really believed in the opportunity, and we saw the need in the market. We just needed to sort of ride through what was a difficult phase. And so, from my perspective, looking globally, what's really kind of interesting about technology is it just kind of goes through transitionary maturity phases that are interesting. And what I've seen is, today, there isn't a business or a consumer that isn't touched by technology and the Internet medium and so some of the things that we're doing today to support small, mid‑size businesses are really a very strong focus in the managed‑services area. It's not good enough to just simply provide infrastructure for companies. They really are looking for additional professional services, both in terms of managing their systems and their network components, to storage and backup, all the way into some of the newer technologies like virtualization, which is really just a big word for ease of operation and speed to delivery. Clearly, that's an area that we are transitioning into and adapting, so that we can service our customers at a higher level, provide them additional redundancy, at an affordable price. So I think those fields and those areas are fascinating and ones that we see ability to deploy more quickly and to provide for higher levels of redundancy in companies' applications. We think that's some of the most exciting things that are going on today. Lucy:  And redundancy is important. Nancy:  It is. Lucy:  I forgot to mention, in my last role as CIO of Webroot, we worked with ViaWest. You were our main data center. And redundancy was just the most important thing in my job. Nancy:  It is. It really is taking a lot of the technology and just trying to make sense of it. And I think we do a good job of that. We sit at the table with our customers and prospects and say, "Where do you want to go? And let's try and road‑map this together and find ways that, today may be applicable. And with our knowledge of what's on the horizon, from a technology perspective, I think we can help with that planning as well." Lucy:  Great. I wanted to go back to what you said earlier about your entrepreneurial spirit. What interests you about being an entrepreneur? What is it that you love? Nancy:  My husband would say it's because I'm a control freak. Lucy:  That's a nice, honest answer. Nancy:  I know. It's a very honest answer. I think, early on, I just really wanted to control my own destiny, and I felt like being an entrepreneur was the best way to do that. I think that that was really always my driving motivation. I had a lot of confidence early on. I don't know whether it was well‑placed, but I had a lot of confidence that I could, with the right drive, do just about anything. I've certainly learned a lot of things along the way that would say confidence is great, but I think that there are a lot of other factors. I mean, certainly, a combination of very hard work and a little bit of luck here and there, a lot of perseverance. And growing companies, I think the key is really surrounding yourself with phenomenal people. It brings energy. It certainly brings a lot of skill to the table. But it's so much easier doing it together than it is doing it on your own. So I've been really fortunate to always have great people around, been able to attract them and keep them. So we've been really fortunate in that factor. I think entrepreneurship, for me, is just kind of a way of life now. I don't think I know any different. Larry:  That's a fact. I know, over the years, since we've known you‑‑and I must say, one of the disclaimers, as Lucy does, both Webroot and ViaWest are also sponsors of ours, so we do know a little bit more than normal, I guess. But one of the things I noticed is that you have helped so many people along in their career path, maybe whether or not there was any "official mentoring." You've meant a lot to a lot of other people. Let's flip the tables on that. Who, in your life, would be somebody that you'd mark down as a great mentor to you? Nancy:  That's a great question. I'd have to say my family, in many ways. My father and mother, early on, were very instrumental in telling me that I really had a lot of choices, that I could really kind of forge my own direction. They didn't try and push me one direction or another; they really allowed me a lot of latitude and creativity in terms of what I wanted to do. Early on, when I left University, I traveled the world for two years. It would probably be one of the things I would advise anybody to do, because it really helped me, as a person, understand what it meant to survive, and to live and adapt in a lot of different places. And so, that was really key to me. I think my parents really allowed me a lot of latitude to do things like that. I really look at them as mentors that were key in really formulating my next steps. Since then, I think I've used sort of a best practice approach. Which is along the way, both from my customer relationships to various business people that I've met along the way, I think I've tried to pick the best pieces of those relationships to formulate, hopefully, better practices for myself. And I'd be remiss if I didn't certainly mention my long‑standing business partner, Roy Dimoff, who I hate to say how many years we've known each other and been in business. But I think it is rare today to find someone who you can actually have a very longstanding business relationship. It's one of the hardest things I hear entrepreneurs talk about, is finding a good balance in a partnership. One where you know what you know and you know what you don't know. You once again try to surround yourself with people that can help bring balance to that. And so I think Roy, I think, is very loyal and very predictable. I think he has been a very kind and generous individual. And I think someone that I've learned an awful lot of over the years. So, I think that he has been sort of a key influence in my life. Lucy:  Well, we just did some panel a couple weeks ago at a conference in Orlando on entrepreneurship. Picking that partner, or having that right partner, came up over and over again. These were young women in computing and in IT that were thinking about starting companies, and they were quite concerned with how you find the right people to go into business with. Nancy:  We're kind of an anomaly, I think. I don't think you find too many business partnerships that have lasted as long. I'm not sure what the secret is, other than a lot of thick skin and a good sense of humor and very similar values. I think those are kind of critical areas. Lucy:  That's a really important thing. We want to switch gears a little bit now, into the toughest time you've had in your career. What was the toughest thing you've ever had to do? Nancy:  I think there have been various stages in the company's growth that I think are really difficult. I think it's been very difficult some days to get the right balance in my life, between starting a company and raising a family. I think that's an ongoing struggle. If I were to reflect over the last eight years, we started the company in '99, I would say that is a very difficult period in our industry. Between 2000 and 2003, we kind of liken it to the nuclear winter. Larry:  Yeah. Nancy:  It was really difficult. I think we've learned a tremendous amount and I think we're a much stronger company, and stronger individuals for surviving it. But I think during those times, it was difficult to persevere. We had more customers going out of business than coming in. And it was out of your control. It wasn't anything in terms of your execution or the services you were offering. It was really completely out of your control. And so, I think that was a tough time. But I think any entrepreneur or business leader will tell you that the tough times are the ones that really kind of strengthen your metal. I actually kind of look at it as potentially more character building than I needed, but really a great opportunity to learn a lot of things. Lucy:  It looks better looking back. Nancy:  Yes, it does. In the rearview mirror is a much better perspective. It's nice to be here now, but that we're past all those times. And clearly our business plan did make sense. Clearly our instincts about the industry potential have come to fruition. There were a lot of naysayers during that time. But we persevered. I liken it actually to the best of times and the worst of times. Lucy:  It's really good advice, because being an entrepreneur is not easy. And if you can't survive the tough times, chances are, you're not going to make it. Larry:  That's right. Lucy:  And speaking of advice, we have a lot of young people that are listening to our podcasts, and we'd love for you to give them just some of your advice. If they're wanting to be an entrepreneur, what would you tell them? Nancy:  I'd kind of go back to what I think I mentioned earlier. If you're coming fresh out of school and wanting to leap right into your first business ‑ and I would encourage my daughter to do this at some point ‑ I think it's a great idea to go take some time off and see the world and really get an experience that you haven't had. Most of your formative years are in an institutional education system. And I think that's great, but I think sort of bringing a practical balance, I think, ultimately, will give you a different perspective when you go to actually engage in a business and start it. And I think that's one piece of advice I would give. The other is I think there's an awful lot of people along the way that are going to try and deter you from your convictions. And I've been in business for too many years, and even in some of my more recent ventures, we've had venture capitalists say, "Boy, what a great management team. We'd love to back this. But gee, we'd really like you to kind of run this type of business versus that." And so, all along the way, people are going to try and divert you, and for you to really be passionate and to really stay focused on what you believe you can execute on, I think, is a very key thing. Once again, I think the other is sort of really have a good sense of humor, balanced with the seriousness of what you're doing. But it's kind of a work hard, play hard. Don't lose sight. If you've really kind of buried yourself in your business and you've forgotten the rest of your life, that's probably not a very good balance and one that you're not going to succeed in, business or personally. So I think those things are areas that I think young people should really think about, because time does go very quickly. Lee:  Yes it does. Way too quickly. Lucy:  And you've mentioned balance in your life a couple times. How do you find this balance between personal life...? Nancy:  Today's not a good day to ask me about that...as I was late in getting home for trick‑or‑treat night with my daughter. But one thing we did, when we started the business: Roy and I sat down and said, because we knew we were going to do a regional company, that we weren't going to either build or buy anything that was more than a two to two‑and‑a‑half hour flight away. And the reasons for that were to always be in the regions working with the people, but we wanted to be able to get home and spend time with our families. So I think that's been a very important thing in the formulation of the company and one, as an entrepreneur, you get to decide how you want to start it. Balance is a tough thing. I struggle with it constantly. And I think your family brings you back in line. And I am a big family person. I mean, we spend time. Being a Canadian, we spend time up in Canada every year, undisturbed two weeks that we spend together with family. We ski and scuba dive and do a lot of sports together. We're big on that, as a family. So you do your best. I guess that's all you can. And if you're worrying about it, it means that it's top of mind, and you're always thinking about how to continue to keep balance. So I've got to make up for last night. I've got to think about that. Larry:  I have a feeling you will. I think only a Canadian can go scuba diving and skiing on the same day. Nancy:  Yeah, exactly. Lucy:  One of things I noticed, from looking at your website, too, is that the company tries hard to put balance into the way you run the company for your people ‑ a large number of awards for "best place to work" or "family‑friendly." And maybe you can say a word or two about those policies too, because that would probably interest some of our listeners as well. Nancy:  It's a good point. We really are family business. I mean we really know the people. I don't think I'll be here if I can't remember or know who all the employees in this company are. It's important that we have that connection and we know what's going on in their lives. We understand the ups and downs. So we are a community here, really. It's important to keep the community healthy. As a new company, each year we've tried to do a lot of activities towards improving the benefits program, 401(k) matching, and activities that are typical of smaller companies. It's important that we're investing. And the other is that our employees are shareholders in the company. So that they really have an opportunity as the company continues to grow. But some of the more innovative things we've done is give them an allowance towards any type of education or any type of sports‑type activities. We've had people take motorcycle lessons, guitar lessons, to taking more formal training in different activities. We provide that allowance for them to use at a flexible level. I think it's all about being creative and intuitive about what is important to your employees, because they really are the heartbeat of the organization. It's key to be in synch with them. Larry:  That's super. One of the things, of course, you got your degree in economics and then you took two years in real world economics. Another thing I can associate with, my wife and I, Pat, we've been business partners for 38 years now. Nancy:  There you go. Larry:  So that's a long... Nancy:  Congratulations. Larry:  Thank you. I know you have done so many different things. You've been in business for quite some time, and you're still a young person. How do you want to be remembered? How do you want to be thought of? Nancy:  Well, thank you for saying I'm a young person, Larry, first and foremost. That's a good question and I don't think about it too much, to be honest with you. But I think probably, that I've lived up to what I said I was going to do. I think my word is very important. So I am always struck by fair and balanced, in terms of our approach, whether it be employees or customers. I think I really strive to be very fair and open to making sure that we're doing the right thing. Not because it's a policy or it's this, but that we're interpreting that we're doing the right things for people. I hope I lead by that example and provide that type of motivation for my people as well. I hope I am recognized as a good mother and wife someday. That I actually brought somebody up who, in whatever they end up doing, is a good person. I think those are key things for me, in terms of looking at what I want to be remembered for. I hope someday, people look back at ViaWest and say, "Boy, what a great company". It really is an example for other companies to follow, in terms of not only execution, but really being a good partner with their customers. I am really proud of what we have created. I really want to see it live up to its true potential. Larry:  Lucy, is this another NCWIT hero? Lucy:  I would say so. I think it's just really energizing to hear. And you can feel the tie that goes through your personal values, and those of your co‑founder, into the way you treat the employees and how they like to work here, and into the customer service that is so important, and then into the community as well. It's really a nice little ecosystem. It feels really wonderful. So we're really happy you took your time today, even though you're out of balance with Halloween or Trick‑or‑Treat, that you took the time today to sit down with us. We really appreciate it. We would like to remind listeners where they can find this podcast. They are housed at www.NCWIT.org and w3w3.com. So pass this along to a friend. And Nancy, thanks again. ViaWest is a lucky place to have you here. Nancy:  Well, thank you very much. Larry:  Thank you. Nancy:  We appreciate it. Lucy:  Thank you. Series: Entrepreneurial HeroesInterview Summary: An economics major, Nancy Phillips saw teleconferencing as a great field of opportunity - a great field for entrepreneurs. Release Date: December 1, 2008Interview Subject: Nancy PhillipsInterviewer(s): Lucy Sanders, Larry Nelson, Lee KennedyDuration: 25:03