The DaVinci Institute - Startup Junkie Underground

Topic: "Climbing Your Way Out Of a Financial Crater"
real life "outside the box" thinking - Vignettes from a Crater Junkie

After 7 - (lucky?), startups, some now billion dollar companies, others busted; Jack Flobeck brings an intimate, behind the scenes picture of the ecstasy of success along with the agony of defeat. He will summarize the points to focus on to improve productivity and profitability while providing selected vignettes illustrating "out of the box" thinking.

The stresses of Quarterly Stock Market reports along with the need for "targets" will be discussed in light of situations that now appear to be heresy, where all departments are 'on target' but the company is losing its shirt.

With some humor and empathy, he will attack the erstwhile questions of:

We have always done it that way
We need to meet competition
We have impossible schedules

He will also examine where the rubber hits the road and offer some concrete
examples of:

'don't give up'
'don't give in'
'don't let go'
'let go'
'don't overlook'

With that to set the stage, you can count on a lively discussion.

Speaker: Jack Flobeck

Mr. Flobeck is the President of Mentor Media Services Inc. and the Chairman of Integrity Airlines. He has more than 30 years executive experience. He served as Chairman, CEO of a computer software firm, a commercial real estate firm and has been international V.P. of marketing for a high tech electronics firm. Also, he formed or assisted in the launch of 5 start up companies in computer/information technology; investments; real estate; and publishing. He has consulted for government, national firms, as well as for the smallest startup situations. He currently publishes several newsletters for private and charitable organizations, and also “Mentors” several CEO /Managers in diverse fields. Jack is a graduate of Yale University with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and has done graduate studies at Washington and Columbia Universities.

February 23, 2004

Topic: Cracking the Code to Your Company's Growth

Whether you are a start up or have been in business for several years, a six-year research study on over 500 companies in 35 different industries helps business owners 'crack the code to their company's growth'. Using this research, the Origin Institute helps business owners:

Predict how growth will affect them
Adapt their leadership style to the needs of their company
Focus on the top challenges facing their company in its current stage of
growth.

Join Laurie in a lively, interactive and worthwhile discussion about your company's stage of growth and how to identify your top 5 challenges, understand how your leadership style affects your growth and manage the two transition zones between the different stages of growth.

Speaker: Laurie Taylor

Laurie is the co-founder of the Origin Institute in Boulder, Colorado. She and her partner, James Fischer, started Origin Institute in February, 2002 with the intent to ‘be the catalyst for business revelation'. Origin offers their Seven Stages of Growth as the foundation for business owners to predict, adapt and focus on the needs of their business based on its stage of growth for accelerated profitability. Laurie is well experienced in the day-to-day challenges facing CEOs and Executive Leaders. She has 25 years of management experience and a successful track record of managing a high growth, consistently profitable local enterprise (from 250K revenue and 5 employees to 12 million revenue and 100 employees). Laurie is adept at creating a values-based enterprise culture, managing enterprise growth through effectively controlling costs and driving profits, building and improving internal communications, designing and implementing an effective customer service program, selecting and training a powerful team-based management system, reducing turnover and implementing precision hiring systems.

January 27, 2004

Topic: "Getting Back Into the Game"

Have you ever though about what it would be like to become wildly successful, and then your life gets boring, and you become the poster child for the saying, "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste"?

Speaker: Joe Campana needs your help. He started a technology business in the mid 80s called R-Squared, sold it in the mid 90s, and made enough to kick back and enjoy life. For the past few years he has been leading the good life, but has become increasingly bored. Money is not meaningful if you're not doing anything interesting. So Joe came to the DaVinci Institute and said he wants to get back into the game. He wants to put his time and money into the right business startup and make it successful.

September 23, 2003

Topic: "The Highest Leverage Points of Change - Re-Inventing Local Money Systems"

Typically local economies struggle to keep their heads above water as they get buoyed around by national forces outside of their own control. Laws and regulations imposed on local communities often have no mechanisms to fund the extra work. This is what's known as an unfunded mandate. And until now, unfunded mandates have been a source of great anxiety.

Money systems have a tremendous effect on the way we live our lives. Most often we are struggling to find the money necessary to pay for housing, food, and utilities. However it doesn't have to be that way.

Local currencies enable more efficient "workfare" type solutions, as low income earning individuals can be asked to make at least a token payment for services in local currencies that can be earned by working on community projects, rather than for a scarce national currency.

Speaker: Bernard Lietaer was one of the original architects of the Euro and will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Future of Money Summit. He is a Research Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Resources of the University of California at Berkeley. His latest book, Future of Money, was published in January 2001 and is now available online. His professional background afforded him access to five different (and usually mutually exclusive) hands-on experiences with money systems, listed here in chronological order:

For multinational corporations, he developed the first models of global currency management;
He has consulted with developing countries on four different continents about improving hard currency earnings;
His academic history includes a Professorship of International Finance at the University of Louvain in Belgium;
For five years he was head of the Organization and Planning Department at the Central Bank of Belgium, where he was President of the Electronic Payment System; and
Finally, in the speculative domain, he served as general manager and currency trader of the most successful offshore currency fund.

Topic: "Raising the Stakes - Launching Colorado's Next Big Success Story"

Two years ago Todd Seymour was one of the top casino floor managers in Blackhawk and Central City when an idea occurred to him. Many of the old mechanical slot machines were being scrapped in favor of some of the new video slot machines, so he decided to create a company around the idea of retrofitting the old machines with an upgrade kit to turn them into next generation video slot machines. And Millennium Gaming was born.

But Todd was never satisfied with being as good as the competition, he was driven to be much better. Todd will talk about the early struggles, his techniques for raising seed capital and, and their plans for turning Millenium Gaming into the next major Colorado success story.

Speaker: Todd Seymour, CEO and founder of Millennium Gaming

Mr. Seymour has over 10 years of professional experience in the gaming industry. His knowledge of slot machines gave him the ability to develop the retrofit slot machine conversion that will be used to give the casinos an inexpensive alternative. At Bullwhackers Casino, as a slot director, Todd was involved in the development of analyzing slot machine programs on the casino floor. He quickly became recognized as an expert in this area. With his services constantly in demand, Todd was brought into to troubleshoot many casino operations, each time bringing the casino floor average to over 115% of the competition.

Todd enjoyed considerable success as slot director, however, he became interested in designing his own slot machine. With this in mind, Todd conducted a feasibility study to determine the viability of a retrofit slot machine conversion. When he found that this concept was worthwhile and could be developed, he formed Millennium Gaming.

He was also instrumental in launching the slot technician program currently being taught at Red Rocks Community College.

For more information, go to www.mgislots.com.

Topic: "Getting Your Act Together so You Can Enjoy Making a Fool Out of Yourself"

Few people go to work each day with bowling pins, juggling balls, and a head full of zip codes. But David Rosdeitcher is no ordinary person. He is the world famous Zip Code Man.

There's probably no tougher business in the world than that of a street performer. Staking out the right spot on the street, waiting for the right weather, and just hoping that you get all of the questions right.

David has a unique success story. He'll talk about how he developed his zipcode act and about his latest project...a seminar on creating a new culture based on an environment that induces the kind of states of mind that little kids are in before learning to talk...states of mind that are good for transmitting and receiving information and opening up intuition and imagination.

Speaker: David Rosdeitcher is the Zip Code Man.

Started performing a juggling/unicycling show in New Orleans' French Quarter in 1985 and transitioned into fairs and festivals all over the United States. He began developing his Zip Code Act 1991 and ended up being a star attraction at Walt Disneyworld's Epcot Center 1996. He has performed at trade shows, conventions, cruise ships, colleges in the US and abroad.

In 1999 he developed his Foreign Language act, and won the "Best of Boulder Award" for best entertainer in 2000. In 2001 he set Guinness World Record for most zip codes consecutively identified at random in a performance aired on Fox TV in the summer of 2001.

For more information on David, go to www.zipcodeman.com.

Topic: How to Start a Company in Difficult Times
It always looks easy from the outside. Some guy with a great idea creates a very successful business. It happens all the time, right? Hardly!

Only the best people manage to learn all of the details necessary to succeed ... and the details keep changing.

Funding your company through strategic SBIR grants is a unique approach to launching your business. Learn how to win and make the most of the SBIR program:

Find out which technologies are most often funded by SBIR grants?

What is the competitive process for winning an SBIR?

What's involved in drafting a winning Commercialization Plan?

Do you need a business plan?

What happens when the first product fails in the marketplace?

Speaker: Dr. Misha Plam, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Boulder Quantum Ventures, is an expert on commercializing research and building high tech entrepreneurial companies. He founded Sievers Instruments, Inc., in 1984 and served as its Chairman, President, and CEO. The company received a number of SBIR awards and develops chemical analysis instruments for scientific and commercial purposes. One such instrument measured the quality of recycled water on the Russian Space Station “MIR” and is presently being used on International Space Station (ISS).

In 1997 Plam was selected as Ernst and Young Entrepreneur-of-the-Year (Rocky Mountain Region), and the same year was awarded Entrepreneur of Distinction at Esprit 97 in Boulder, Colorado. In 2000 Plam was elected as an Academician, one of only 77 foreign members in the prestigious Russian Academy of Engineering based in Moscow. He has been widely recognized for his contributions to the American-Russian Space Program and the SBIR program in the USA. In 2002 he was selected as a Fullbright Scholar to teach entrepreneurship in Russia.

Topic: Leading the Charge

The majority of wage earners have uttered the phrase "take this job and shove it!" or something similar to it, at least once in their working lives. Countless more rehearse this speech over and over in preparation for that moment when they stride into the boss’s office because they “just can’t take it anymore.” In addition, most have thought, at one time or another, that they could “run this damn company better than the boss.” This is a natural feeling. Working for other people isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

Successful entrepreneurs are not run-of-the-mill. Each of them was willing to give it their all in pursuit of their dream. Not everyone is willing to do this. Are you one of the chosen few?

Speaker: Jay Hearst. After closing an enjoyable but unprofitable trail riding business in 1980, Boulder, Colorado, resident Jay Hearst (Harvard ’53) needed to return to “the real world.” He found himself faced with a finite end to the proceeds from the sale of a previous business in Chicago and a bleak employment prospect at 49 and after 16 years as his own boss. He also had the future problem of a wife and three kids to feed and educate.

Later that year, he founded, “on his kitchen table,” Bancard, Inc., a company to provide competitive credit card processing service to businesses. Bancard was capitalized initially at $3000. “The operative word was ‘service’,” Hearst says.

Bancard was acquired, in 1997, by a larger company for stock eventually worth $60,000,000. The money was nice, Hearst feels, but so was the opportunity to provide training and jobs for over 200 people. He also feels that a real benefit of having money is being able to make a difference for worthwhile organizations, such as local and national animal welfare groups.

Wanting to reciprocate for the kindness of business people who helped him along the way, Hearst has authored a book, “LEAD The Way To Business Success,” which will shortly be published by Watchmaker Publishing, in California. (see www.jayhearst.com for more information)

Topic: Breaking the Corporate Bonds

A gold watch is a scary thing. Dane Coyer still wears his father's gold retirement watch, but the idea of having a watch symbolize a lifetime of employment has been both frightening and motivational. Frightening because he never wanted to end up as "just another employee." Motivational because it forced him to make a change.

In 1999 Dane had just been promoted to Vice President at IBM. His salary had gone up substantially. The people he had working for him were great. But there are risks associated with staying inside a corporation as well as risks associated with leaving. He had an opportunity to work with a new well-funded startup, and it gave him the opening he was looking for. Great freedom, great ability to make a difference. Everything he had longed for. So he left IBM and ventured into the startup world.

But life rarely works out the way we have it planned. Entering the bold new world as a startup entrepreneur is vastly different than living the corporate life. This is the proving ground where everything you think you know about business takes some odd twists. And the emotional turmoil of living through it is not transferable. You have to earn it on your own.

Speaker: Dane Coyer is a former Vice President of IBM and brings with him more than 22 years of high-tech engineering, sales, and executive management experience.

Coyer began his career at IBM as a Project Manager in the Federal Systems Division. He went on to hold positions of increasing responsibility at IBM including Vice President of Global Services – Federal.

Dane is now a Sr. Vice President of SRD and a leading authority in identity management. Prior to joining SRD, Coyer served as Vice President – Satellite Ground Systems at Aerojet, now a division of Northrop-Grumman Space Systems.

Coyer also co-founded eConvergent, an enterprise CRM integration firm, where he helped raise over $70 million in investment funding.

February 24, 2003

Topic: Cartooning Your Way to the Top

Cartoons have become an important centerpiece of modern culture. The best ones are passed from office to office and often emailed to millions around the world. They teach us to laugh at life's ideosyncracies, a therapy of sorts, building an image with a punchline that keeps us smiling all day.

Randy will discuss his experience as an Art Director in children's electronic entertainment and the motivation behind the creation of a studio focused on interactive entertainment. He will also introduce some of his current projects and present his view of the future of interactive entertainment, especially as it relates to children.

Guest Speaker: Randall Polliard is the President and Creative Director of TickerTape Entertainment. He has been a published cartoonist for over 15 years. As a Sports Editorial Cartoonist for the Seattle Times since 1993, his cartoon panel appears in both the weekday Wednesday and Sunday combined edition of the Seattle Times/Post Intelligencer.

A self taught cartoonist, Randy worked on a freelance animation project, where he was offered a position in 1998 as Art Director at Amaze Entertainment in Kirkland, Washington. He was responsible for artistic direction, animation and interface design of many high profile CD-ROM games, including Young Dilbert's Hi-Tech Hijinx, Magic School Bus Explores the World of Animals, Rugrats Totally Angelica, Rugrats in Paris:The Movie, and Power Rangers Time Force for electronic publishers such as Microsoft, Mattel Interactive and THQ.

Topic: The Bermuda Triangle -- the 3 Big Ms for every new Business: Management, Marketing, Money. An outsider's insider view of what it takes to start a new company.

Guest Speaker: Jack Miller has been a professional business plan writer since 1986. Over sixteen years Jack wrote over 40 business plans. He also worked in a research, communications or marketing capacity on 50 other business startups. Along with Jim Arkebauer, Jack is the author of Leading Edge Business Planning for Entrepreneurs, published by Dearborn in 1999.

On most of his business plans, Jack not only wrote the plan, but he created the business model, researched and wrote the marketing model, and developed the pro forma projections. He has sat on boards of directors, served as interim CEO, negotiated a few deals and served in other startup capacities.

As a former biologist, Jack is used to quantifying the creativity and measurements it takes to put a plan together. His many years of startup experience give him a unique, outsider-insider perspective of what it takes to start, manage and run a new company.

January 27, 2003

Dr. Theresa Szczurek helps ventures and individuals succeed by living their values and fulfilling their purposes. Working over the last 25 years with established and emerging firms in worldwide marketing, strategic planning, and organizational development, she reenergizes clients’ strategic plans, implementation programs, and workforces.

Many dream of starting their own entrepreneurial venture. Few take the plunge, and even fewer succeed. Radish Communications Systems combined a vision for a better way to communicate along with the founders' core values. The result was a thrilling roller coaster ride that produced a new industry, a company with heart, and surprising personal challenges. Theresa Szczurek, co-founder of Radish, will share how she used her head and heart to overcome these hurdles. Together we will explore lessons learned along the journey and universal principles in the pursuit of passionate purpose that can help each of us fulfill our dreams. More on Dr. Szczurek at http://www.tmsworld.com/

Selwyn Goldstein
Master Playground
Designer

Selwyn Goldstein, Master Playground Designer. Sometimes our lives take interesting twists and turns, but for Mr. Goldstein it had more than a few ups and downs (pun intended) with his inventions of the See Saw Snake. After years of manufacturing the product himself and selling it through a network of distributors, he managed to license the product to a large multinational corporate, which earned him over a half million dollars.

The best is yet to come. Selwyn has a portfolio of new playground inventions ready to leap off the drawing boards and into our city parks.

Mr. Goldstein was a student of Buckminster Fuller at Southern Illinois University where he received a B.A. in Planning and Design, and Communications. He learned the fine craft of playground design both in the classroom and from personal experience in the marketplace. He is now considered one of the nation's leading experts on playground design.

November 19, 2002

Topic: "Financing Your Ideas While Enjoying Flavorful Malted Beverages" - A discussion of options for financing your startup business while sitting in a tub of beer....

Guest Speaker: John Eckstein, Attorney, Fairfield Woods LLP. John focuses upon the representation of emerging technology-oriented companies and venture capital funds, investors, investment bankers, financial advisors, and financial institutions. He has represented state and local governmental entities in complex financing transactions. He also regularly provides counsel and advice to several large corporations.

Mr. Eckstein is a local hero within the Denver entrepreneurial community. He's a member of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology. He has been chairman of the Colorado Advanced Technology Institute, a member of advisory committees to the Colorado Securities Commissioner, chair of the Colorado Biotechnology-Medical Technology Roundtable, and president of the Colorado Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Topic: "Tales from the Coffee Shop - The Adventures of a Startup Junkie from Inside the Corporate World."

Guest Speaker: Steve Masias. Steve is a true startup junkie, but he spends his days working as the Diversity Manager at StorageTek. His latest startup is Joe Coffee, one of Colorado Spring's most popular spots to stop in and have a cup of joe. His next Joe Coffee shop is on the drawing board and will spring to life early next year.
Over the years Steve has launched several restaurants along with a few other businesses.

Steve is a master at cramming way too many things into each day. In addition to having a wife and kids and driving 82 miles each way to work, he has plans to expand. Big plans. But this is nothing new, because Steve is a Crazy Man. And he's coming to tell us his story.

September 23, 2002

Topic: "Shifting Your Mental Memory Module into High Gear" - In 4.5 minutes remember over 20 unrelated items. In one hour have the ability to astound friends and associates.

Guest Speaker: Tom Weaver - Tom's career in sales and marketing started in 1972 with Dale Carnegie Courses and later became Vice President of sales. He joined Success Motivation Institute as National Sales Director, and broke a 20 year Sales record. Mr. Weaver has been highly acclaimed as a salesman, sales manager and motivator and has spoken to many of the Fortune 500 companies and numerous civic organizations.

Topic: "Forget About Doing It Right"--an enlightening look at how you can de-rail your chances for success by worrying about doing things right (or doing the the right things)

Guest Speaker: Gordon Miller, called "America's Career Coach" by CNN, has helped hundreds of people plan and implement a winning career strategy. He has been featured in Fortune, Harvard U Publications, Kiplinger, Washington Post, INC., and numerous other publications. He is the best selling author of The Career Coach (Doubleday 2001).

The "Startup Junkie Underground" will launch officially on Monday, July 29th. The need for this type of event has come through loud and clear from the response we've gotten from our last emails.

Comments like... "Finally someone recognizes the pain we're going through" and... "I sure wish I would have met you guys earlier," clearly expresses the level of frustration resonating through the startup community.

We know what you're going through. And it is not fun.

At the "Startup Junkie Underground" we intend to help you mend past wounds and reinvigorate your passion to create something you can be proud of. Join us! You'll be in good company.