SPEAKER: Ari Newman

Founder and President of Filtrbox

Ari is an accomplished entrepreneur, start-up advisor, and founder and president of Filtrbox, Inc. He made the move from the SF bay area to Boulder in 2002 and hasn’t looked back. Ari’s mantra is “work-hard / play-hard”, and he thinks Boulder is the ideal place to live the dream. When he’s not at the Filtrbox office or hanging with the family, you’ll find him on his road or mountain bike somewhere in the front range.

As an experienced entrepreneur, he thrives on the challenges and opportunities that define early stage companies. He has been involved in numerous technology companies in various roles and stages of evolution. 

Prior to Filtrbox, Ari held various senior management positions at CreekPath Systems in the areas of client services and product management and strategy. Additionally he has held senior management positions in network operations, professional services, and sales engineering at Novell and Volera (a Novell spin-out). He was also a founder of JustOn, a successful ASP sold to Novell in 2000. He received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the Leeds School of Business at University of Colorado.

MODERATOR: Joy Milkowski

Founder of Access Marketing Company

Joy Milkowski is the Founder of Access Marketing Company where she specializes in bringing search engine marketing and web marketing intelligence to her clients in a way they can understand and measure. She has over a decade of marketing, sales and professional copywriting experience in a variety of areas including tech, industrial, direct to consumer sales, commercial real estate ventures, professional and collegiate athletics and Internet-based marketing. In addition, Joy trains small businesses and entrepreneurs who want to leverage the power of search engines as an advertising tool to reach their audiences.

PANELIST: Austin Veith

Co-founder of TravelFli

Austin Veith is a co-founder of Travelfli. Austin has an extensive entrepreneurial background; he has started and operated a number businesses in a variety of industries. He has previously taken a company from the conceptual stage to a point where he was responsible for employing a staff of 30+ individuals. He has experienced every aspect of starting a business from scratch, including: raising capital, establishing operations, forming a legal structure, hiring, personnel administration, payroll, tax/regulatory compliance, accounting, and growth management.

Austin previously founded and operated a local transportation company that grew into national charter operations. Those experiences have greatly influenced TravelFli's development to this point.

Austin studied Finance, Marketing, and Political Science at Leed's School of Business at The University of Colorado.

PANELIST: Brad Bernthal

Associate Professor at Colorado Law School and Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives for Silicon Flatirons Center

Brad Bernthal is an Associate Professor of Law at Colorado Law School where he also serves as the Director of the Silicon Flatirons Center's Entrepreneurship Initiative.  Brad teaches the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic, the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic, and doctrinal courses in the areas of venture capital and telecom policy.  Under Brad's direction, Silicon Flatirons’ Entrepreneurship Initiative has become a nerve center for Colorado's startup community, hosting over 40 entrepreneurial events per year with 6,000 - 7,000 total attendees.  In addition to his academic work, Brad is a TechStars mentor and, additionally, has worked as an analyst for angel investment opportunities in the Boulder and Denver area.  His current research involves telecommunications policy, with a focus on technology advocacy at the FCC, and entrepreneurship issues, with a focus upon angel investments in emerging companies.

PANELIST: Sam Rediess

Futurist and Change Management Expert

Sam Rediess is currently working on a startup venture with Construction Change Partners.  Sam has over 20 years of technology change management and in depth knowledge of organizational leadership.  His experience ranges from startup environments to executive management in Fortune 1000 organizations.  

The Construction Change Partners help companies envision and embrace future trends in technology and organizational design to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

HOST: Steve Baker

Senior Fellow, Business Advisor and Author

Steve Baker is a small business advocate with a passion for business and a drive for success. As a founder of successful companies, a corporate executive and business advisor, he has over 25 years of experience developing and launching new businesses. He has led companies in every phase of business cycle from startup to exit in both private and public sectors. He guided one of his startup companies through a successful public offering of stock (IPO) and achieved revenues of $500 million.

Steve directs business development and strategic marketing, and has taken companies from startup to millions of dollars in revenues in such diverse industries as international travel, financial software, franchising, manufacturing, ergonomics, medical devices, migraine headache treatment, and an international medical wellness resort.

As a small business advocate, Steve thrives on the challenge of solving problems that impede business growth and success. As a Senior Fellow at the DaVinci Institute, a futurist think-tank, he enjoys helping entrepreneurs succeed. He is the author of the award winning book Pushing Water Uphill With A Rake and is a frequent public speaker to business groups and university students, discussing entrepreneurship and ethics.