Panelists, Keynotes Set for Startup Summit March 29, “The Road from Idea to Revenue”; Event is Designed to Empower Entrepreneurs Through Knowledge and Networks
The Colorado State Entrepreneurship Center and the Northern Colorado Idea Lab (NCIL) have finalized the slate of speakers for the 2005 Northern Colorado Startup Summit, to be held from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. March 29 at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St. The day-long series of events, organized around the theme, “The Road from Idea to Revenue,” will provide northern Colorado entrepreneurs with an opportunity to learn from and network with successful entrepreneurs and business experts.
(PRWEB) March 26, 2005
The Colorado State Entrepreneurship Center and the Northern Colorado Idea Lab (NCIL) have finalized the slate of speakers for the 2005 Northern Colorado Startup Summit, to be held from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. March 29 at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St. The day-long series of events, organized around the theme, “The Road from Idea to Revenue,” will provide northern Colorado entrepreneurs with an opportunity to learn from and network with successful entrepreneurs and business experts.
Brian Vogt, acting Secretary of Technology and Director of the GovernorÂ’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, will keynote the event, speaking on "How the State of Colorado Promotes and Supports Entrepreneurship." Dr. Larry Penley of Colorado State University had to bow out of his Startup Summit keynote scheduled for next Tuesday, 3/29.
However, we are excited to announce that Magda King has been able to change her schedule and join us a keynote speaker at Startup Summit. In addition to a chance to spend a day learning from and networking with the front ranges leading authorities on entrepreneurial and startup issues, attendees will hear Magdas amazing stories comparing climbing the highest mountains of the world to starting a business. Her talk will be on "The High Road from Vision to Reality.
Ms. King is known as one of the world's premier climbers. She is the first woman from Spain to reach the summit of an 8,000 m. peak (Cho-Oyu, 26,907 ft.). Her adventures have taken her to five continents and she has climbed on seven of the fourteen peaks in the world that exceed 26,000 feet. The mountains are the metaphor and her awe-inspiring stories captivate audiences and inspire us all to take action to move from dreams to reality. Sharing the principles that have ruled her life and taken her far beyond personal success, she challenges us to take control of our lives and to write our own scripts. Her presentations also show us with wit, wisdom and beauty how contributing towards other people's lives can lead us to incredible new heights and to fuller, richer lives.
Magda's commitment to making a difference led her to create The Namlo Foundation (www. namlo. org), a non-profit organization that helps people of developing countries help themselves through education and grassroot programs. She claims that this is her highest summit --so far.
Panel topics, moderators and participants include:
"Real World Startup Funding: the 99.99% who won't get VC funding"
Moderator:
Garry Krum, Instructor, CSU and CEO, Krum & Co.
Panelists:
Chris Christofferson, Partner, Morgenthaler Ventures
Greg Metzo, Sr. VP, First Community Bank
Larry Fenster, Angel Investor
Lewis Hagler, Director of Operations, Colorado Enterprise Fund
Mike Weiner, Partner, Holland & Hart
"Organizational Form: how to choose, what does it mean?"
Moderator:
G. James Williams, Partner, Faegre & Benson
Panelists:
Evan Husney, Associate, Holland & Hart LLP
Steven van den Heever, Managing Member, SB Corporate Advisors, LLC
Bob Hottman, Partner, Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman, P. C.
"Realizing your success: planning your exit strategy"
Moderator:
Jeff Johnson, Partner, Myatt, Brandes & Gast, P. C.
Panelists:
Kent McSparran, Principal Consultant, Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman, P. C.
Jim Carroll, Partner, Faegre & Benson
Bob Walker, Founder, Walker Manufacturing
Randy Willer, CEO, Action Strategies
"Recent Success Stories"
Moderator:
Paul Hudnut, Director, Venture Development, CSU and Board Member, EnviroFit International, Ltd., also participating as a panelist
Mark Swanson, Executive Vice President of Operations, OptiBrand
Rayno Seaser, Founder/CEO, The Egg & I restaurants
The summit focuses on educating participants on many common issues encountered with a startup, and connecting entrepreneurs with northern Colorado resources. ItÂ’s open to people who have or plan to start their own businesses; Colorado State faculty, researchers, staff and students interested in technology commercialization; service providers to start-ups and entrepreneurs; and small companies thinking about growth.
The event will include interactive panels addressing topics including real-world start-up funding, organizational form, realizing your success and recent success stories. Panel moderators will include Garry Krum, CEO of Krum and Company, a former investment banker and entrepreneurship instructor at Colorado State; Karen Barsch, a partner at Faegre & Benson, LLC; Jeff Johnson, a partner at Myatt, Brandes & Gast, PC; and Paul Hudnut, director of Venture Development at Colorado State and president of EnviroFit.
The summit will also feature a resource fair with displays by entrepreneurs and service providers. Exhibit space is available for $250, which includes an event pass.
Visit www. ncidealab. com/summit (http://www. ncidealab. com/summit) or http://www. biz. colostate. edu/ecenter/ (http://www. biz. colostate. edu/ecenter/) to register by March 25. Registration costs $100 and includes morning break refreshments and lunch. Colorado State faculty, researchers and staff may attend for $50, and students pay $25 with a Colorado State ID.
Event Sponsors
The eventÂ’s sponsors include Holland and Hart; Sequel Venture Partners; Faegre and Benson; Ehrhardt, Keefe, Steiner & Hottman; SB Corporate Advisors; the City of Fort Collins; Northern Colorado Economic Development Council; Greeley/Weld Economic Development Action Partnership, Inc/Revolving Loan Fund. In-kind sponsors include Shannon Marketing Communications, MIT Alumni Club of Colorado and the Northern Colorado Business Report. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.
About the Colorado State University Center for Entrepreneurship
The Center operates out of the College of Business and has a three-part mission: Creating great learning opportunities for entrepreneurs, promoting new ventures development from CSU and building bridges between CSU and the community. The Center provides support to students, faculty and alumni who aspire to be successful entrepreneurs.
About Northern Colorado Idea Lab
NCIL is a non-profit organization that works with start ups and new businesses to help them accelerate their success by matching its clients with specific business experts, funding providers, and highly-skilled employees. NCIL works with businesses that have an abstract, a business plan or a marketing plan, and performs a panel assessment that creates a “success roadmap,” which is a list of high-priority recommendations that can quickly take a business to the next level. For more information, call (970) 219.1952, email business@ncidealab. com, or visit www. ncidealab. com.
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