Current Issue
February 2010 Issue
Cover Story
The Rocky Road to Recovery
By GRANT RUESCH
As we look forward to the 2010 Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference in March, the famous phrase coined by Clinton campaign strategist James Carville, - “It’s the economy, stupid” - seems more apropos than ever.
Over the past two years, the global economy has experienced the most vexing confluence of economic problems at any time since the end of World War II. The U.S. economy - both Main Street and the financial system - remain under severe stress, as does most of the world. The long-term impact on U.S. households…
Articles
Succession in a Recession
By Mike Taylor
Competition Headwear clan: owner Larry Polner and wife June, along with children Michael and Rachel
Editor’s note: see the complete list of Top 50 Family-Owned Businesses here.
On April 25, 2006, Michael Van Gilder took over as CEO of Van…
Eco-Products Corn-fed for Success
By David Lewis
Eco-Products Inc. won the 2009 ACG Emerging Company Growth Award by emerging from its roots, then quickly rocketing toward the heights.
The company got its start as recently as 1990 yet already seems to have collected its share of historic highs. In 1990,…
Baxa Sees Boom Times Ahead for Medical Device and Software Business
By David Lewis
Greg Baldwin, CEO and chairman of Baxa Corp., doesn’t shy from a challenge.
“We’re probably going to try to raise our profitability, our EBITDA, about 50 percent (this) year,“ he says without the trace of a boast.
Baxa is a Douglas County-based medical…
Tough Times Help Us Succeed in the Long Term: A Conversation with Keith McFarland
Keith McFarland
BY JENNIFER SHERMER
I recently had the opportunity to have a conversation with New York Times bestselling author and business strategist Keith McFarland, one of three keynote speakers slated for ACG’s March conference.
I wanted to tap into his…
No Clouds in his Coffee: an Interview with Howard Behar
BY GRANT RUESCH
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks and keynote speaker at the 2010 Rocky Mountain Corporate Growth Conference. I had been told by those who know him that Howard is an interesting, engaging and…
Fair and Balanced Leadership: StarTek’s Larry Jones
BY DOROTHY DONNELLY
I tried to get Larry Jones to talk about himself, to brag a little. After all, he has every right to pat himself on the back. In a brutal economy when most businesses are feeling bruised and battered, StarTek posted third-quarter profits of $3.5 million. What does…
Smallbiz: Forecast from the trenches—slight uptick in 2010
By Mike TaylorTerry Drahota saw revenues at his Fort Collins general contracting firm drop 50 percent in 2009, but he hasn’t lasted 37 years in commercial development without a sense of optimism - or at least an ability to project it.
“The good news for us is we’re a little versatile, in…
The Economist
By Tucker Hart AdamsThere are a lot of confusing, indeed conflicting, economic data released by various organizations and reported with breathless headlines in the popular press. One of the most confusing, even to economists, is the monthly data on housing prices.
Pick a month - say September, when we read that prices fell…
State of the state: Government
By Mike CoteOn the eve of Colorado’s legislative session in January, George Clooney got a couple of free plugs for his latest movie from both sides of the political aisle. If there’s one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree upon it’s the pain that comes from losing your job.
In “Up in…
Higher ed: Cash course
By Nora Caley
The cuts in state funding for Colorado’s colleges and universities present the schools with an opportunity, not just a temporary setback. At least that’s how the leaders of these public institutions of higher education are trying to view the cuts.
These decision makers…
Sports Biz: Aspen’s better man
By Stewart SchleyKlaus Obermeyer, who lives, works and skis in Aspen, wasn’t supposed to end up in Colorado, making clothes for a living. Educated in pre-war Germany as an aeronautical engineer, Obermeyer was supposed to spend his professional life huddling over drafting tables as he puzzled over propulsion theories and celestial mechanics.
…State of the state: Networking
Is there a science to schmoozing? Adrienne Zoble must think so. The Schmoozing Calendar by the Fort Collins marketing executive is now in its fourth year.
Designed as an aid for cultivating new clients and retaining old ones, the 2010 version includes a…
Finding my Dream Team: An Interview with Zach Neumeyer
BY GRANT RUESCH
When you are tasked with finding dynamic and compelling panelists for a conference, it’s helpful to have contacts such as Martin Dubin from RHR International to point you in the right direction. That direction led me to lunch with Zachary Neumeyer, who, at the time of our…
Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight—A Motto for Life
By Sherry LawOnce told by her boss that she was going nowhere, best-selling author and international speaker Fawn Germer knows how to pick herself up, brush off her self-esteem and never look back. Since getting up that first time, Fawn has earned four Pulitzer nominations for journalism, interviewed hundreds of America’s most…
Executive Edge: Sue Allon
By Lynn Bronikowski
Sue Allon sympathizes with people stung by foreclosure and the mortgage industry meltdown.
“If you grew up the way I did, you’d be motivated to not be poor, so I can sympathize with people who lose their homes,“ says Allon, 51, who last…
Clean-Tech Entrepreneurs: It takes green to make green
By Martha Young
The NREL Industry Growth Forum is about connecting the billions of dollars available in the capital markets with business talent worthy of investment. It is about connecting that business talent with the legal expertise needed to tap into federal and state incentive funds.…
State of the state: Technology
For Colorado’s clean-tech sector, life is good but could be better. A report called the Colorado Cleantech Cluster Analysis found that even in a recessionary economy, 70 percent of the companies participating in the analysis added employees.
“I see real opportunity here,“ said report author Jane Evenson.
The Cleantech Cluster…
Who Owns Colorado: ‘Double’ Eagle takes a breather
By David Lewis
To understand the recent history of the town of Eagle, Colo., most of what you need to know is contained in two sets of two numbers.
The first is that, in the year 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau counted 3,032 Eagle residents. In mid-2008…
On Management: Job interviews picking up? Part II
By Pat WiesnerWhat makes a boss say, “I really like this person, I want him/her working here,“ after just 20 minutes or so? What makes an interviewer who has prepared a list of 15 questions for you forget those questions and begin to tell you how much you are going to like…
Cote’s Colorado: Going nuclear for clean water
By Mike CoteA couple of years ago, the ultra-liberal magazine Mother Jones made local headlines when publisher Jay Harris endorsed nuclear power during a panel talk at the World Affairs Conference in Boulder. Lucifer wrapped a scarf around his freezing neck, and a pig flapped its wings.
The “poison power” that inspired…
Guest Column: Expanding into China in 2010
By Jill Brehm and Tina ChengAs the Chinese economy develops, more Colorado businesses are looking to China’s large population and friendly business environment as a market to grow their sales. In fact, China is currently Colorado’s third-largest export market, with Colorado businesses exporting $508 million of products to China in 2008.
While a large portion…
Rundles Wrap-Up: Pinheads
By Jeff RundlesJu
st about everyone I know these days, when asked how work is going, shrugs that they are “hanging in there” or simply says, “It’s a job.“
I know a broad range of people - professionals, executives, trades people, salespeople and…
Taxed By Confusion
By David Lewis
CPAs and financial advisers have these three words of wisdom for taxpayers this year: Duck and cover.
Seldom if ever has U.S. tax policy, present and future, seemed more confusing and burdensome to the average taxpayer - and the exceptional taxpayer, as well.
…Tech Startup: Gevo Inc.
By Eric Peterson
INITIAL LIGHT BULB: A professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Frances Arnold gave a presentation about her work with the biofuel butanol in 2005. Afterward, Vinod Khosla, honcho of Menlo Park, Calif.-based green energy fund Khosla Ventures, approached her about…
State of the state: Awards
Twenty-eight finalists have been selected by the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance for its annual awards. CEBA honors ethical role models in business and nonprofit organizations.
The finalists, which include 13 companies, eight nonprofits and seven individuals, represent a wide range of industries…
State of the state: Labor
By Mike Cote
While promoting her book, “Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America,“ Denver journalist Helen Thorpe says businesspeople have shared their thoughts on illegal immigration and the conflicting ideals of compassion and compliance they’ve struggled with…
Colorado coolstuff
By Eric Peterson
TIM’S CUSTOM POKER TABLES
Aircraft mechanic and pilot Tim Hebert found himself behind a desk too often, but still “liked using his hands,“ so he made a poker table a couple of years ago and sold it right away. He’s since made 20…
