“If you don’t have the right people, you don’t get it right... The human spirit wants something bigger than itself.”

John Hayes, Chairman, President & CEO, Ball Corporation

Ball Corporation is a tremendous role model for our state – extremely successful, people focused, culture and values driven.  While you and I may not see ourselves as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, we CAN learn from John Hayes’s passionate style of leadership and the examples he shares.  Some great lessons and stories that will make you proud that Ball calls Colorado home!

“The challenge before us is to build an essential tool for biologists… where they can ask questions they wanted to but never could before.”

Kevin Ness, CEO, Inscripta

Did you ever want to download a DNA sequence just to see what it looks like? Inscripta lets you do that, FREE from its website.  The company believes that researchers all over the world deserve to have tools that unlock the world of gene-editing for R&D and clinical advancements.  And they’ve received $85 million in venture funding to support that business model – amazing.  Listen to my interview with Kevin Ness, CEO, to learn how this business model works, and to learn more about how and why gene editing is so important to human advancement.  

“The challenge before us is to build an essential tool for biologists… where they can ask questions they wanted to but never could before.”

Kevin Ness, CEO, Inscripta

Did you ever want to download a DNA sequence just to see what it looks like? Inscripta lets you do that, FREE from its website.  The company believes that researchers all over the world deserve to have tools that unlock the world of gene-editing for R&D and clinical advancements.  And they’ve received $85 million in venture funding to support that business model – amazing.  Listen to my interview with Kevin Ness, CEO, to learn how this business model works, and to learn more about how and why gene editing is so important to human advancement.  

The biggest problem we have is that the day we launch a new product we get emails saying, “that’s great, now I want this!”

Steven Sashen, CEO, Xero Shoes

You’ll enjoy this high energy interview with the very successful wife and husband team who started and run Xero Shoes.  Their startup experience, including purchasing initial product raw materials at Home Depot, and turning down an offer on Shark Tank, offers entertaining lessons of entrepreneurship. 

The biggest problem we have is that the day we launch a new product we get emails saying, “that’s great, now I want this!”

Steven Sashen, CEO, Xero Shoes

You’ll enjoy this high energy interview with the very successful wife and husband team who started and run Xero Shoes.  Their startup experience, including purchasing initial product raw materials at Home Depot, and turning down an offer on Shark Tank, offers entertaining lessons of entrepreneurship. 

People are looking for brands that reinforce who they think they are... or want to become.

Blake Adams, Founder, Denver Flea

Denver Flea is a platform on which Colorado brands are built.  You know Icelantic Skis and Voormi clothing as great brands growing up in Colorado.  Blake Adams of Denver Flea brought Andy Fleckenstein of Mountain Standard for “show and tell,” and a great conversation about building a brand based in Colorado.  If you haven’t been to a Denver Flea – GO!  And if you want a free ticket and haven’t yet subscribed to this newsletter - do it now and get a free ticket to the next Denver Flea!

People are looking for brands that reinforce who they think they are... or want to become.

Blake Adams, Founder, Denver Flea

Denver Flea is a platform on which Colorado brands are built.  You know Icelantic Skis and Voormi clothing as great brands growing up in Colorado.  Blake Adams of Denver Flea brought Andy Fleckenstein of Mountain Standard for “show and tell,” and a great conversation about building a brand based in Colorado.  If you haven’t been to a Denver Flea – GO!  And if you want a free ticket and haven’t yet subscribed to this newsletter - do it now and get a free ticket to the next Denver Flea!

"Some people are horrified by new information during negotiations… they’re cutting themselves off from better deals."

Chris Voss, former Lead FBI Hostage Negotiator, CEO of Black Swan Group

You’re hiding stuff, and if you think they’re not, you’re kidding yourself! “Compromise” and “win-win” are NOT the approaches taught by Chris Voss. Before you squirm and choose not to listen, know this: I’ve put Chris Voss’s book in my virtual “CORE STACK” – these are the books that I rely on in my career. Chris was Lead International Kidnapping Negotiator for the FBI. Listen to get a taste of tactics that work in business: why “No” is better than “Yes,” how entrepreneurs should think in a negotiation with venture funders, and more. This is a fantastic taste of how to act differently in negotiations. I am honored to have had Chris on the podcast! 

"Some people are horrified by new information during negotiations… they’re cutting themselves off from better deals."

Chris Voss, former Lead FBI Hostage Negotiator, CEO of Black Swan Group

You’re hiding stuff, and if you think they’re not, you’re kidding yourself! “Compromise” and “win-win” are NOT the approaches taught by Chris Voss. Before you squirm and choose not to listen, know this: I’ve put Chris Voss’s book in my virtual “CORE STACK” – these are the books that I rely on in my career. Chris was Lead International Kidnapping Negotiator for the FBI. Listen to get a taste of tactics that work in business: why “No” is better than “Yes,” how entrepreneurs should think in a negotiation with venture funders, and more. This is a fantastic taste of how to act differently in negotiations. I am honored to have had Chris on the podcast! 

Even a PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR can be an entrepreneur, with enough determination and effort!

My biggest mistake was doing it myself… I lost a year in the process… a PAINFUL year. - David Barnett, Founder and CEO

What a Cinderella entrepreneurial story David Barnett tells in this interview.  Listen to hear how he turned a minor aggravation he had with storing his earbuds, from a clunky and embarrassing product hack into a multimillion dollar enterprise.  You’ll enjoy hearing how YouTube celebrities have embraced and propelled the business!  This interview was repurposed from a live radio show I did on KDMT – you may notice a few edits.