The DaVinci Institute - DaVinci Institute - Where great ideas happen!

The DaVinci Institute produces a number of unique events ranging from the two monthly networking event - the Night with a Futurist, and the Startup Junkie Underground - to a series of Boot Camps and Crash Courses primarily designed around serving the needs of businesses and entrepreneurs. Our events feature some of the most talented thinkers and seasoned veterans who have fundamentally changed the business landscape with the sheer weight of the footprints they leave behind. Our goal for each of these events is to serve as a turning point in the lives of all people who attend.

May 17, 2008

Communication Strategy Boot Camp
Communication: it’s more than a conversation - Let your business message be heard loud and clear

Powerful communication is the key to selling ideas, controlling conversations, and moving mountains

Ever wonder why some people always seem to thrive? Even when the economy is bad and obstacles crop up at every turn, these people have a way of making even the toughest challenges seem easy. The secret to their accomplishments often lies in their ability to communicate.

Your ability to communicate is directly tied to your overall success in life, and writing good copy is at the heart of your ability to communicate.

How many times have you seen a new product that never gets off the ground because it is poorly described. Or, a new strategy that becomes meaningless because people can't understand it. All of the best ideas in the world go no where if they can’t be put into a form that the listener understands. This is the power of clear and concrete communication.

How you connect with people, whether they are close friends, associates or prospects and clients, is more important today than ever; it’s paramount.

What is your impression of a writer – or company – who sends you a document with misspellings and grammatical mistakes? Sloppy? Doesn’t care?

American businesses lose over $1 billion a year due to writings that negate contracts, confuse the reader, ignore the problems of the reader or use improper punctuation, grammar or syntax. Are you leaving money on the table?

The power of communications can produce money, understanding, influence and impact…and you are responsible. Every letter, memo, document, video, and e-mail reflects the image of your service, product, company and you.

Join us as we spend a day with two amazing communications experts as we learn the secrets behind moving mountains.

EVENT: Communication Strategy Boot Camp
DATE: May 17, 2008 - Saturday
TIMES: 8:30 am - 12:30 pm
WEBSITE: www.davinciinstitute.com/page.php?ID=206

LOCATION: DeVry University, 1870 W. 122nd Avenue, Westminster, CO 80234
CLASSROOM: 300
DIRECTIONS: Click here for map

INSTRUCTORS: Dee Dukehart and Jane Dvorak, APR

COST: $119 - ($79 for DaVinci Institute Members) - Register here.
COMBO PACKAGE: Membership combined with Communication Strategy Boot Camp: $179 - Register here. *
PHONE: 303-666-4133

* - A $298 value. More about DaVinci Institute Memberships and Combo Packages at click here.

How Will This Boot Camp Benefit You?

Participants will learn new communication skills that they can utilize immediately. We will help you develop life-long writing tools and tips that increase the bottom line, save time, therefore money, and generate better co-worker and customer allegiance as well as satisfaction. This event...

...teaches you the secrets to writing with clarity and simplicity. Efficient communications for today's time-crunched marketplace.

...guarantees that effective sentences in e-mails, memos, reports, proposals and other documents will paint a picture.

...gives you tools and tips to diminish the time to organize and write all documents.

...assures you specific and measurable results.

...breaks down writing into an easy and applicable process.

...illustrates the power of the written word.

...will be educational, enlightening, entertaining, and fun.

INSTRUCTOR: Dee Dukehart

As an executive business communications consultant and trainer Dee Dukehart combines her marketing and professional speaking background with her writing expertise to train and enhance employees’ written documents and spoken words, and to coach executives in organizing, creating and delivering impressive, memorable and powerful presentations.

She’s been a professional speaker, communication’s trainer and presentation skills coach for over 10 years. Dee’s an active member of the National Speakers Association and the Colorado Chapter – a board member in 1998-2000, 2006; a member of the American Society of Training and Development, The Alliance of Professional Women, and 24-Hour Fitness.

Her articles appear in diverse publications from “Leadership Strategies,” to “Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau,” to “Surgical Services Management.”

"Dee Dukehart is the most passionate trainer I have ever had the pleasure of learning from."
Lisa V Southworth-Milton, Inc

"I never laughed so hard and learned so much at the same time."
Anna Marie Dean - CoData Information

INSTRUCTOR: Jane Dvorak, APR

She calls herself a “Consultalancer,”© a one-stop shop for strategic planning to project implementation.

"She is 90mph fun! She is a “from the trenches” storyteller. She is the “!” in Jane!"

She is energetic, efficient and effective! It can be attributed to nearly 25 years of experience in strategic planning, media relations, crisis communications, or special events, that JKD & Company is successful, or maybe it’s just luck. But, most of Jane’s clients feel she brings the elements of resources together to meet business goals through cost-effective and results-oriented programming.

Jane’s key messaging and positioning skills are what clients seek most. Using her unique concept of “thematic planning” to boost media coverage, Jane has driven communications programs for some of the largest nonprofits and has garnered local and national awards for multiple client programs with her energy, creativity and impact.

Jane has broad experience in industries ranging from healthcare and the environment to non profit and small business that has included work with Applewood Plumbing Heating & Electric, Sales Productivity Consultants, Performance Velocity, Exempla Healthcare, DI Graphics, the American Heart Association and various municipalities in Colorado. Her skills span publication development to special events planning and crisis communications to organizational imaging.

Jane is an accredited member (APR) of the Public Relations Society of America and served as 2006 PRSA Western District Chair and 2003 PRSA Colorado Chapter president.

May 19, 2008

"Launching the #1 Most Popular Photo Site on the Internet"
The Photobucket Story

In 2003, Denver entrepreneurs Alex Welch and Darren Crystal joined forces to launch Photobucket, what would later become the Internet's most popular site for uploading, sharing, linking and finding photos, videos, and graphics.

To give you an idea of the influential position that Photobucket has carved out on the Internet, here are some of their most recent standings:

20 Million unique site visitors/month in the US, and over 39 Million unique site visitors/month worldwide
#1 most popular Photo site in the US
#3 most popular Entertainment/Multimedia site in the US
#7 most popular Entertainment/Multimedia site in the world
#29 in Top 50 Sites in the US
#45 top 100 Global Sites*
18th Largest Ad supported site in the US (comScore Media Metrix, January 2008)

Last year in July, Photobucket was acquired by Fox Interactive Media, a division of News Corp. but Alex and Darren have remained in their roles as CEO and CTO to guide the company through the years ahead. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colo. with offices in Palo Alto, Calif.

Join us we hear the inside story and some of the hair-pulling moments that were involved in launching this instant success story. The details will most certainly surprise you.

EVENT: Startup Junkie Underground
DATE: Monday, May 19, 2008
TIMES: 6:15- 9:00 pm - COME EARLY AND NETWORK!

LOCATION: MADCAP Theater, 10679 Westminster Blvd, Westminster CO 80020
DIRECTIONS: Driving Directions
WEBSITE: www.startupjunkieunderground.com

COST: Members - Free, Nonmembers - $25
REGISTER - Click Here
PHONE: 303-666-4133
TOPIC: "Launching the #1 Most Popular Photo Site on the Internet - The Photobucket Story"
SPEAKERS: Alex Welch and Darren Crystal - Co-Founders of Photobucket

SPEAKER: Alex Welch is Co-Founder and CEO of Photobucket. As CEO, he is responsible for developing the overall vision, strategy and product roadmap for the company. In 2003, Alex and his Co-Founder Darren Crystal observed that e-commerce and social networking users were in need of an easy-to-use centralized "hub" to store and publish images. Alex and Darren have spent three years building, tuning, and enhancing the application and core infrastructure of Photobucket. Prior to founding Photobucket, Alex was a software engineer at Level 3 Communications where he was responsible for developing advanced networking software and services. Alex received his BS degree from Colorado State University, with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems.

SPEAKER: Darren Crystal is Co-Founder and CTO of Photobucket. As CTO, Darren is responsible for developing and maintaining all architecture and technology infrastructure at Photobucket. Darren's work has led Photobucket to be one of the most reliable and dependable networks of its kind. Prior to co-founding Photobucket, Darren was a software architect for Level 3 Communications. Prior to that, Darren was a network engineer at Dell Corporation. Darren has been working in the IT industry for sixteen years; he has experience designing, developing, and maintaining large Unix and network infrastructures in companies like IBM Global Services, Maxserv, and Eaton Semiconductors. Darren studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

CO-HOSTS: Steve Baker and Allison Taylor are co-hosting the Startup Junkie Underground and as serial entrepreneurs, both will be on hand to help solve your startup related issues.

Allison Taylor is a Business Consultant specializing in relationship selling, referral marketing, customer and employee retention and non-traditional sales training. Through her business, Paravox, she offers innovative marketing and performance tactics to significantly improve business growth and profitability.

Steve Baker. As a founder of successful businesses and a business advisor, Steve Baker has taken companies from startup to millions of dollars in revenues in such diverse industries as international travel, financial software, casinos, manufacturing, cosmetic surgery, and ergonomics. Always the entrepreneur and Startup Junkie, Steve is now Vice President of Advanced Headache Intervention Inc., a new Colorado medical device company whose mission is to eliminate migraine headache pain for 28 million Americans. Steve is a well known speaker and author of the award winning book PUSHING WATER UPHILL With A Rake.

June 2, 2008

The Future of Energy Policy

EVENT: Night with a Futurist
DATE: June 2, 2008 - Monday
TIME: 6:30-9:00 pm
WEBSITE: www.nightwithafuturist.com

LOCATION: CB & Potts, 1257 W 120th Ave, Westminster, CO 80234
DIRECTIONS: Click here

COST: Free for Members, all others $25
REGISTER: Click here

PHONE: 303-666-4133

TOPIC: TBA
SPEAKER: Robert Zubrin

SPEAKER: Robert Zubrin