Teamwork Makes the Dream Work - if the Beer Tastes Great!  Josh & Angie Grenz, Owners of Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project in Loveland, and Verboten North Brewpub in Fort Collins.  

I met Josh and Angie Grenz in the early months of their opening their first Verboten location in a quiet industrial park in Loveland, and Angie actually came to the very first organizational meeting for the first LoCo Think Tank chapter - before I had come up with the name!  She didn’t join, and hasn’t yet - but I remain hopeful.  We’ve stayed in touch over the years, and reconnected more properly last year when they opened their second location in what had been Black Bottle Brewery in Fort Collins - which closed the fall before.  

Verboten means forbidden in German, and their selection of beers mostly has one thing in common - they use ingredients that would have been forbidden under historic German purity laws - which basically means you can have lager and you will love it!  Sours and Porters and Wine-Barrel aged Stouts and you name it - they’ve done it - and probably won a prestigious medal for it!  Josh and Angie eventually moved to a great downtown location in Loveland, and the Verboten North is at the corner of Prospect and College in Fort Collins.  

This is a journey of starting small, focusing on the product and the people, and growing into a regional brand.  In an industry that has experienced decline in recent years, Verboten continues to grow - and it’s due to hard work and smart decisions by Josh and Angie and their dedicated teams.  So please enjoy, as I did - my conversation with Josh and Angie Grenz.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

I met Josh and Angie Grenz in the early months of their opening their first Verboten location in a quiet industrial park in Loveland, and Angie actually came to the very first organizational meeting for the first LoCo Think Tank chapter - before I had come up with the name!  She didn’t join, and hasn’t yet - but I remain hopeful.  We’ve stayed in touch over the years, and reconnected more properly last year when they opened their second location in what had been Black Bottle Brewery in Fort Collins - which closed the fall before.  

Verboten means forbidden in German, and their selection of beers mostly has one thing in common - they use ingredients that would have been forbidden under historic German purity laws - which basically means you can have lager and you will love it!  Sours and Porters and Wine-Barrel aged Stouts and you name it - they’ve done it - and probably won a prestigious medal for it!  Josh and Angie eventually moved to a great downtown location in Loveland, and the Verboten North is at the corner of Prospect and College in Fort Collins.  

This is a journey of starting small, focusing on the product and the people, and growing into a regional brand.  In an industry that has experienced decline in recent years, Verboten continues to grow - and it’s due to hard work and smart decisions by Josh and Angie and their dedicated teams.  So please enjoy, as I did - my conversation with Josh and Angie Grenz. 

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

I met Edward Rinehart at my Rotary Club, where he was sharing his journey with DECA - Distributive Education Clubs of America - an organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management through educational programs and competitions.  Colorado had 9,000 participants in DECA programs in 2024, with the top competitors advancing through District Competitions to State and International.  

Edward has been involved in DECA all four years of his high school journey, made it all the way to International his Freshman year, and has served on the Leadership Team ever since.  He won the State Competition in Entrepreneurship this February - and we’re wishing him luck at Internationals in May!  

This is a different journey than most of our LoCo Experience episodes - just getting started.  But I learned a lot, and enjoyed a wonderful conversation - and you will too!  So especially if you’ve got kiddos still in school, or grandkids going to high school soon - or if you might want to be a volunteer judge for the District or State competitions - I hope you’ll tune in and enjoy my conversation with Edward Rinehart.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

This week, I was pleased to be joined by Jessica Dizmang, the Owner/Operator of the ONLY three franchised Ben & Jerry’s locations in Colorado, with scoop shops located in Fort Collins, Denver, and Boulder.  Her father had a career in corporate franchising, with a stop at Ben & Jerry’s, and made her aware of an opportunity in Boulder.  She was a fresh college graduate, and very not inclined to work at an ice cream shop - but a couple months later, in March of 2002, she became part-owner and operator of the Pearl Street Ben & Jerry’s location.

23 years later, Jessica has developed a three-piece set of thriving locations on the Colorado Front Range, each with an empowered team.  In 2024 she was named the Operator of the Year, and we explore her many lessons and learnings from along the journey.  And - she’s a LoCo Think Tank member!  

Don’t miss Free Cone Day, April 8 at Ben & Jerry’s locations around the nation, and please enjoy, as I did, my conversation with Jessica Dizmang.  

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My guest today was Zak George, Founder and Owner and Head Coach at Zak George Landscaping, LLC.  ZGL - as the trucks around town say on the side - is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!  Zak has a strong history of growth in the Residential and Commercial Construction and Commercial Maintenance segment, plus a substantial snow removal operation to keep some of the guys busy in the winter.  

Zak has an interesting business model in that he relies heavily on long term HB2 Visa employees, who return seasonally - mostly from Mexico and Guatemala - and we discuss his concerns about labor force in 2025, and how ZGL was almost taken down by an HB2 shortage in 2017, amid over-reliance on seasonal workers.  Zak has a big beard and a big heart, is a fellow Rotarian, and is a joy to have a conversation with - so I hope you enjoy, as I did - my conversation with Zak George.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

Ginger Graham returns to The LoCo Experience studio, and this time brings her hunky husband, Jack!  

Jack Graham came to Fort Collins to play quarterback for CSU, and was drafted into the NFL for the Miami Dolphins.  In his post-football career, Jack quickly became an innovative disrupter in the reinsurance industry, and he founded International Catastrophe Insurance Managers, distributing risks from natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes - and was recognized as the Earnst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003.  He returned to Fort Collins and led the charge to build a new football stadium, and went on to the role of Athletic Director at CSU.

Ginger Graham is a country gal from Arkansas, who earned a Harvard MBA and went on to become CEO of several companies, including a Fortune 500 and a Nasdaq 100 firm - and she makes the best pies west of the Mississippi!  And she’s on my short list of favorite people.  

Since Ginger had shared previously (Episode 73), we focus in on Jack’s journey in this one, including his journey in football and reinsurance - and the challenges around the stadium project and tour of duty with CSU Athletics.  The Grahams share the short story of their romance and their why in Ginger and Baker, and Ginger settles my fears about Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs - which I didn’t recall she’d been involved in developing!  And - we talk about all the great things going on in Northern Colorado now - and the even better times ahead! 

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I met Pete Gazlay late in my banking career, as one of my colleagues was pursuing a banking relationship with the owner of a young but rapidly growing janitorial company - Total Facility Care.  Pete founded the business in 2010, after departure from a fast-growing middle-market company in the same industry.  

At the start, Pete was a one-man team, selling janitorial services during the day - and executing the cleanings at night!  They grew steadily throughout though, and sold in April of 2023 with a team size of around 150 and a significant market share in both the general janitorial space as well as specialized tech and medical clean room janitorial.  

We spend a good amount of time talking about business principles in this episode - relationship selling, margins and bidding, account management, hiring entry-level workers during a labor shortage - and finding the right time and manner of exit.  And, we talked about life after exit - community engagements, a recent mission trip to Tanzania, and Pete’s why in joining the team as a LoCo Facilitator.  We’re so glad to have him on the team, and I know you’ll enjoy - as I did - my conversation with Pete Gazlay.

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Alex Raymond is a 3x tech startup founder and entrepreneur who made the journey up from Boulder to The LoCo Experience studio to share his journey and some wisdom he’s learned along the way.  He was an early client of TechStars, and has been a long-term mentor in the program.  And - he share how listeners can expand their business brains and mindfulness at the Conscious Entrepreneur Summit - upcoming May 28 and 29 in Boulder.  

Alex is also the Host of the Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast, which has hosted many dozens of conscious leaders on topics as diverse as building teams for scaling, developing a personal brand, or redefining happiness in your life.  He’s also a generous guy, and gave our listeners the opportunity to save $100 off your Summit tickets by March 31 - use code LOCO - and one lucky listener will win 50% off tickets - but you’ll have to listen to win!  

As always, Alex and I enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation, dialing in on crucial business and life principals - and chasing lots of squirrels.  So please enjoy - as I did, my conversation with Alex Raymond.  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain

This week, I was pleased to spend time with Scott Kissel, Executive Director of Sky Corral Ranch - located near the top of the full-year drivable portion of Old Flowers Road in Bellvue, Colorado.  LoCo Think Tank has held its annual Next Level Summit at Sky Corral the past two years, and we’re pleased to return this August for another amazing dose of mountain hospitality!  

Scott has lived quite an interesting journey, growing up in a retail grocery family in South Fork, Colorado as a hard-working multi-sport athlete, finding faith and then drawing his family to it - and then attending Colorado Christian University in Denver.  After college he soon found himself as a leader in Sales and Operations at Gibb’s Bagels and then Yancey’s Food Service - and then finding his way back to ministry as a Senior Executive with Timberline Church.  

Scott shares many amazing business and faith stories in this episode, and also gives us a behind the scenes on the renovation, operation, and future plans at Sky Corral Ranch - so tune in and enjoy my conversation with Scott Kissel.  

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Ann Baron is the Founder and CEO of Northern Colorado Community - an events and networking and business support organization with members across Northern Colorado - as the name would imply!  

Ann has lived an extraordinary journey, in some ways starting when was adopted from a South Korean orphanage at 4 years old, and raised by a family in Oregon.  She became a teacher fresh out of college - didn’t like it - and went into her father’s industry of Insurance.  She moved to Colorado with State Farm and did everything from Claims to Sales Training, and later worked in Payroll, Business Development for the Loveland Chamber, and did freelance event planning and more before launching NOCO Community.  

Ann is wise beyond her substantial years :o) - and shares abundantly from her practical toolkit on networking and sales.  Tune in and sharpen up your skills, and enjoy, as I did, my conversation with Ann Baron.

Also - congrats to Ann for winning Best of NOCO for 2024 Networking Organization!  

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Music By: A Brother's Fountain