GEA Retreat | Get Inspired and Immersed in Entrepreneurship

If you haven’t had a chance to see who’ll be coming to the annual GEA Retreat this year, check it out here. This is one event you don’t want to miss! In addition to meeting some of the most influential people in Boulder, you’ll …

• Be inspired and motivated to act and think entrepreneurially
• Get answers to any entrepreneurial questions from people who know
• Understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Boulder better
• Build your connections in and outside of CU
• See why Boulder is among the top 10 startup cities in the country
• Enjoy delicious food provided by the Red Lion Restaurant

IMPORTANT: deadline for tickets is today!

Come support the GEA, be inspired, and immerse yourself in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in and around CU.

When: Sep. 26th from 9:30am to 5:00pm
Where: The Red Lion Restaurant (link) (map)
Full agenda, tickets, and info here: http://cugea.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/gea-retreat-sep-26th-2012/

GEA Retreat | Sep 26th 2012

In a restaurant  not far up Boulder canyon, graduate students, entrepreneurs, angels, VCs, and entrepreneurial faculty will gather to be inspired and connect with the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Boulder.

When: Sep. 26th from 9:30am to 5:00pm

Where: The Red Lion Restaurant (link) (map)

Dress: Business Professional

Tickets: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4288565214

Re-tweet this: https://twitter.com/cuGEA/status/247775892850503680

Less than two weeks away, the GEA at CU-Boulder will hold a full-day retreat to promote entrepreneurship and introduce new graduate students to fellow entrepreneurial students, faculty, alumni, and the Boulder community.

This is the most anticipated GEA event of the year and will include a number of panels, lunch, breakout sessions, speakers, and even a cocktail hour to mingle with the creme dela creme! A limited number of spaces are available on a first come, first serve basis, so join us, get motivated, and start the new academic year on a high note!

Agenda

You’ll notice some pending speakers below. We’ll be updating this with more information over the next week, so stay tuned for more details.

• 9:30 am – Mingle and settle in
• 10:00 am – Intro
  • Paul Jerde (video) | Executive Director at the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at University of Colorado Boulder
  •  Ben Buie (video) | GEA President

• 10:30 am – Keynote  (video)
  • Brad Feld | Managing Director at the Foundry Group

• 11:30 am – Entrepreneurial panel (video)
  • Mark Weakly | Partner at Bryan Cave
  • Holly Hamann |Co-founder and CMO at BlogFrog
  • Pam Sheppard | Vice President at Greenmont Capital Partners
  • Brian Baker | Angel investor and Principal at Small Planet West

• 12:30 am – Lunch
• 1:30 pm – Debate about entrepreneurship in big and small companies (video)
  • Brad Bernthal | Director of the Entrepreneurship Initiative at the Silicon Flatirons Center
  • Joe Zell | General Partner at Grotech Ventures
  • Dan Caruso | CEO and co-founder of Zayo Group

• 2:30 pm – Breakout session with special guests representing 4 topics
  • Tech
    • Robert Reich | CEO/Founder of OpenSpace and Lecturer at CU (video)
    • BDW and Startup Class
    • CUSUAG
    • DCVF
  • Green Tech
    • Mike Freeman | CEO at the Rocky Mountain Innosphere
  • Outdoor Industry
    •  Nicole DeBoom | Founder and CEO of Skirt Sports
  • Organics and Naturals
    • Kate Brown | CEO at Boulder Soup Works

• 3:15 pm – Alumni panel (video)
  • Tim Falls | community guy @sendgrid
  • Carrie Gleeksman | Director of Finance and Operations at SOFT Style
  • Adam Shepler | Product Marketing Manager at LinkSmart, Inc.
  • TBD | 4th member of panel

• 4:00 pm – Cocktail hour and mingle

GEA Kickoff This Friday

The GEA (Graduate Entrepreneurs Association) is a group of entrepreneurial-minded graduate students from all over campus. Come join us for our kickoff meeting this Friday the 14th of September at 12:30 in Koelbel room S125. You’ll be inspired, meet the club leaders, meet fellow entrepreneurs from all over CU, and learn about the events and resources available to you over the next year. We’ll provide the lunch, so let us know (via RSVP) if you’re coming so we have enough for you. 

RSVP for the Kickoff: http://goo.gl/6gTzP

2012 – 2013 GEA Events

With the start of a new school year, we’ve received many questions about what we do here at the GEA. We’ve posted about this in the past, but this question is increasingly important as we expand the GEA from primarily MBA students to ALL graduate students. Below is a short description of upcoming events:

GEA Kickoff (Sep 14th @ 12:30 in Koebel room S125)

Come meet the other club members, meet the club leaders, and learn more about each of the events below. We’ll also have some killer food!

GEA Retreat (Sep. 26th at 9:30am to 5:00pm)

Shortly after the Fall semester begins, the GEA holds a retreat to inspire entrepreneurship and introduce the new graduate students to other entrepreneurial students, faculty, alumni, and community. The afternoon is filled with panels, lunch, breakout sessions, a keynote speaker, and a cocktail hour.

StartupCU (3rd Wednesday of every month)

This monthly event consists of an entrepreneurial how-to and a couple business pitch and feedback sessions. The goal is to connect student entrepreneurs to other students and the community.

Idea Workshop (see calendar)

One of the best ways to see if an idea is a good one is to share it. Think of the Idea Workshop as speed dating with your idea. We set up two big circles, on the inside we put successful entrepreneurs, VC’s, Angels, faculty, and entrepreneurial alum, on the outside we put students ready to get feedback.

Biz Plan Understand (see calendar)

We’ll start with b-plan training, which will be followed by a competition to judge two plans currently seeking angel funding. We’ll then compare our ratings to that of the experts, and the student who is closest will get to attend an investor meeting of the Rocky Mountain Venture Club.

Lunch & Learn (see calendar)

Twice a year we invite an experienced and successful entrepreneur to share their story, successes, failures, and advice. Lunch is provided.

Angel Pitch (see calendar)

What happens when you get 6 to 30 actively investing Angels in a room with students pitching their innovative business ideas? Student startups hopefully get funded. Reguardless, it will be a good experience for students, alumni, community, and Angels.

Entrepreneurial Trek (see calendar)

This annual event gives 12-14 students the opportunity to tour businesses from startup to IPO in some of the entrepreneurial hotspots of the county. The last two years, students traveled to Silicon Valley and toured big companies like Zenga and Google and startups like Scan.me and Path. This year we may try to connect to the entrepreneurial communities in New York or Boston.

Look forward to these events…

November 8, 2011: NVC Pitch Night 5:30pm Wolf Law

Interested in startups? Want to connect to top entrepreneurs in the area?

The NVC is a cross-campus business plan competition that gives students an excellent opportunity to:
· Learn about how to develop business ideas into viable plans;
· Develop meaningful connections with Boulder business leaders and mentors;
· Meet other business-minded CU students across campus (including students from Leeds, Computer Science, Engineering, Law, and Music); and
· Win prize money and other in-kind benefits (last year’s 1st place team won $7,000)
Pitch Night is not only an opportunity to form teams, but also to find mentors. There will be approximately 30 business mentors in attendance – teams can connect with mentors for guidance on their business plans.

Unlike in previous years, this year’s NVC will contain separate competitive tracks divided by industry; we will have four tracks: information technology, clean tech, music & arts, and social ventures. After Pitch Night, teams will develop their plans for a spring competition in their respective industry track; winners from each track will go onto cross-campus finals, set for March 15. WHATEVER YOUR IDEA, YOU CAN COMPETE IN ONE OF THE TRACKS.

Pitch Night Sign Up http://nvcpitchnight.eventbrite.com/
Follow us on Twitter: @cunvc
Check out our website cunvc.org

If you have more specific questions in advance of Kickoff, email Dave Mangum: dcmangum@gmail.com or Jacqui Dietrich jacquelyn.dietrich@colorado.edu

November 10, 2011: Zayo Group, 5:30p in room 235

This is a great opportunity to learn about a local company that has a strong entrepreneurial focus and is in a phase of growth. Employees from the company will be here to talk about the company’s history and how it utilizes the concept of entrepreneurship to build success. Zayo group is also a great place to look for internships and post graduation employment. Pizza will be provided so please fill out the survey at the link below if you plan on coming so we can order enough food.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KTZWSC6

Hope to see you there. Also, check them out at http://www.zayo.com.
November 15, 2011: Michael Franson – St. Charles Capital – RSVP coming soon
November 16, 2011: Intimate Lunch with Brad Feld, 11:45a – 1:30p, place TBD

How would you like to join Brad Feld for lunch? Brad has agreed to have lunch with several MBA students on Wednesday, November 16th.

In order to keep the lunch intimate, the GEA invites all first-year and second-year MBA students to write an essay on why they should be selected to have lunch with Brad.

Brad is co-founder of the VC firm, Foundry Group, He also co-founded TechStars and has been an early investor for more than 20 years. You can read more about Brad on his blog: http://www.feld.com/wp/about

Please send all submissions to david.parker@colorado.edu by November 6.

GEA Retreaters: Be very excited for our keynote speaker – Eric Marcoullier

Here is a short teaser bio of our keynote speaker:

Eric Marcoullier co-founded the pioneering games site IGN.com in 1996 (IPO in 2000, acquired by NewsCorp in 2005) and the first distributed social network MyBlogLog in 2005 (acquired by Yahoo in 2007). He moved to Boulder in 2008 and launched social data aggregator Gnip and OneTrueFan (recently acquired by BigDoor).  During his frequent trips to SF, LA and NYC, he likes to see as much live music as possible and eat street food. Eric pines for simpler times when he played video games and ultimate frisbee.

Recap: SkyFuel Talk and Tour

On 10/5, the GEA and Net Impact hosted a talk & tour at SkyFuel, Inc. in Arvada, CO. SkyFuel is a small solar thermal energy company with a unique ultra thin reflector technology that they are marketing for utility scale power generation. The students enjoyed a free lunch while listening to the CEO, Rick LeBlanc discuss his company, his industry, and his thoughts on education and entrepreneurship in general.

Also, former GEA president Matt Reisman was there to talk about CU Cleantech and student internship opportunities with CU Cleantech’s market assessment program to help commercialize new green technologies. The highlight of the day was touring SkyFuel’s demonstration unit located adjacent to their office. It’s essentially a giant parabolic mirror that is ~20 feet wide and as long as a football field and can spin nearly 180 degrees. Quite an impressive product indeed!

Interested in startups? Want to connect to top entrepreneurs in the area?

The New Venture Challenge is gearing up for another exciting year! Join us for our Kickoff night at 6:00 p.m. (networking at 5:30) on Tuesday, October 25 in the courtroom of the Wolf Law Building.  Sign up for Kickoff night here http://nvckickoff.eventbrite.com/

The NVC is a cross-campus business plan competition that gives students an excellent opportunity to:
·       Learn about how to develop business ideas into viable plans;
·       Develop meaningful connections with Boulder business leaders and mentors;
·       Meet other business-minded CU students across campus (including students from Leeds, Computer Science, Engineering, Law, and Music); and
·       Win prize money and other in-kind benefits (last year’s 1st place team won $7,000)

Whether you have a business idea that you want to put into practice, want to contribute your skills to help develop someone else’s idea, or just want an opportunity for business mentorship and networking, the NVC is a great way to get involved in the CU and greater Boulder business community.

This year’s kickoff will feature one of Boulder’s most engaging and dynamic entrepreneurs: Orbotix CEO Paul Berberian.  Pre-event networking starts at 5:30 in Wolf Law on Tuesday, October 25 with a formal start at 6:00. Stick around after the main event for networking and light refreshments.

In addition to Kickoff on October 25, we have scheduled Pitch Night for November 8, also at 5:30 in the courtroom of Wolf Law.  Have an idea but need help developing it? Pitch your idea! Don’t have an idea but want to join a team? Connect with one of the pitchers!

Pitch Night is not only an opportunity to form teams, but also to find mentors.  There will be approximately 30 business mentors in attendance – teams can connect with mentors for guidance on their business plans.

Unlike in previous years, this year’s NVC will contain separate competitive tracks divided by industry; we will have four tracks: information technology, clean tech, music & arts, and social ventures.  After Pitch Night, teams will develop their plans for a spring competition in their respective industry track; winners from each track will go onto cross-campus finals, set for March 15.  WHATEVER YOUR IDEA, YOU CAN COMPETE IN ONE OF THE TRACKS.

To learn more, come to the NVC Kickoff on October 25 at 5:30 p.m. in the Wolf Law Building and to NVC Pitch Night on November 8 (also at 5:30 p.m. in the Wolf Law Building).

Kickoff Sign Up http://nvckickoff.eventbrite.com/
Pitch Night Sign Up http://nvcpitchnight.eventbrite.com/
Follow us on Twitter: @cunvc
Check out our website cunvc.org

If you have more specific questions in advance of Kickoff, email Dave Mangum: dcmangum@gmail.com or Jacqui Dietrich jacquelyn.dietrich@colorado.edu

This just in..GEA Retreat Schedule is official!!!

GEA Retreat: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 | 10a – 8p | Greenbriar Inn

10:00a Retreat begins!!!

10:30a – 11:00a The Deming Center: An Introduction with Paul Jerde

11:00a – 12:00p Entrepreneurship Professors: What we should know to start a company with Bret Fund, George Deriso and Chris Leach

12:00p – 12:45p LUNCH

12:45p – 1:30p What it’s like to start your own company with Marley Hodgson (MAD Greens), Tom Markiewicz (StatsMix), JJ Rademaekers (JJ’s Cocomels)

1:45p – 2:30p Working at a start-up: The good, the great and the crazy with Tim Falls (SendGrid), Chuck Lepley (Orbotix/Sphero), Adam Shepler (Scriptpad)

2:45p – 3:30p Growth and Sustaining Companies: A workshop with Ross Shell (Red Idea Partners)

3:45p – 4:30p Money and other things your company needs to survive

4:30p – 5:00p BREAK

5:00p – 6:00p COCKTAIL HOUR

6:00p – 6:45p Keynote Speaker: Eric Marcoullier

6:45p – 8:00p Networking

RSVP : Closed

Schedule in some spice…

On Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 1:00-1:45p in Room S125, join us to hear David Rubin, owner of A Spice of Life catering company, speak about his experience in starting a catering and event-planning company.

 Some key points in his presentation:

• Planning an event that will be attended and remembered
• Considering the time of day and target market for the event
• Promoting the event through social media

Awesome speaker with free lunch!

Please RSVP here:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2FCMPSN

David Rubin began his career in the Food and Service industry early in life. While working with Interstate Hotels Corporation, the largest Marriott Hotel franchise at the time, Rubin had the opportunity to hone in on his appreciation for all aspects of food, beverage and business management at seven different properties around the country.

 He then took his vast and continually expanding knowledge of the industry to Boulder, Colorado, where he has succeeded as President and General Manager of A Spice of Life Catering Services and Event Centers.  Rubin has managed the growth of his company from four full-time employees to a current staff that includes 48 full-time and 90 part-time employees. Thanks to Rubin’s determination, A Spice of Life is now known as the premiere catering company in Boulder County; they serve the corporate sector as well as over 145 weddings per year for the past fifteen seasons.  In 1998, A Spice of Life established the Event Center at the Flatirons Golf Course and in 2003, it expanded into a second Boulder event facility at the East Boulder Community Center.  At these facilities and at dozens of locations across the Front Range and mountain areas, clients’ visions come to fruition through A Spice of Life’s unique talents.

 The company’s honors and accolades include winning the Boulder Daily Camera People’s Choice Gold Award annually from 2000 to 2011. The Denver Business Journal also ranked A Spice of Life Catering in the Top 10 Denver Caterers for the past twelve years.  Furthermore, Colorado Meeting & Events Magazine ranks Spice as the top catering company statewide outside the Denver Metro area in 2010 and 2011. Colorado Homes & Lifestyles Magazine picked A Spice of Life as editor’s choice in 2009, and Spice is an annual winner of The Knot’s Best of Weddings in Colorado.

In addition to the company’s awards, Rubin has garnered countless personal accomplishments in his years as a local business owner.  Rubin received the Outstanding Alumni Award by University of Delaware’s in 2002, and he currently sits on the Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional and Management Alumni Board.  He is extremely involved in the community and passionate about volunteering his time and company’s talents to organizations such as the March of Dimes, Hospice of Boulder County, American Cancer Society, Community Food Share, The Homeless Shelter, and Boulder Philharmonic.  He currently serves on the Board for the Small Business Development Center and speaks at multiple training sessions throughout the year, most notably at the National Catering Convention in Las Vegas. In addition to these positions, he helped create and chaired the March of Dimes Signature Chef Event, now in its 17th year.  Rubin has served on numerous committees and C.E.O. exchanges, including a board term on the Boulder Chamber of Commerce.  Rubin is also involved with Entrepreneur Organization and the Colorado Wedding Association, and has been instrumental in the development of a statewide coalition, the Colorado Catering Association. 

 In his occasional spare time, Rubin strives to maintain a presence in the athletic world. He continues to foster his love for lacrosse since leaving the University of Delaware by playing for Team Nike out of Denver and by participating in various other National tournaments.  His passion for skiing has continued to grow each year and David also coaches the Lafayette Bobcats football team in the fall.

 He is fortunate to have found his partner in life in his wife Amy, and enjoys spending his time with her and their three children, Athena, Quinn, and Levi.