Events

I love to read. I love everything about books. LLMs will not replace good writing anytime soon, although they have mastered the art of slop. Oh, and I love communities of people who love writing and reading. Authors & Innovators is a free, community-based event happening on October 30th in Newton, MA, for entrepreneurs, students, CEOs, venture and angel investors, and anyone interested in business. I attended in person a few years ago, and this year I will be there virtually with my book Give First: The Power of Mentorship (and a video). Larry Gennari created it a while ago, and if you like books, writers, readers, and entrepreneurship, it’s a blast. ...

I’m not aware if there has ever been a book launch associated with a Yom Kippur Break Fast , but we are going to have one as part of the launch of Sue Heilbronner’s excellent new book, Never Ask for the Sale: Supercharge Your Business with the Power of Passionate Ambivalence . ...

Amy and I love autumn. It’s crisp, harvest time, a shifting balance between day and night, back to school, new pencils and notebooks, and reaping what you sow. September and October will be filled with plenty of extroversion before I go back into hibernation. The feedback on Give First: The Power of Mentorship has been gratifying, and as I enter the last two months of discussing it before wrapping up this particular book project, I’ve already started a few new projects. Hint: AI is everywhere. It’s fun. It’s getting more expensive. And it’s definitely not AGI. But, AI muppets are a reminder never to take yourself too seriously. ...

On Saturday, May 31st, from 3:30 to 5:00 PM in downtown Denver , I’ll have a public conversation with Phil Weiser about various topics, including technology and innovation in Colorado. We will also talk about what (and how) we’ve learned from each other over the years and how we’ve worked constructively through disagreements, conflicts, and mistakes. ...

Now that I’m out of hibernation for a while and back in Boulder for a month, I’m doing a bunch of public events. My approach, in general, is fireside chats or AMAs, so that’ll be the rhythm rather than me getting up in front of a crowd and blathering about something for 30 to 45 minutes. While my new book, Give First: The Power of Mentorship , is part of the content (and a giveaway that I’ll be signing at some of the events), I’m planning on staying around, talking to whomever is there, and just enjoying a month of the Boulder and Denver startup communities. ...

“Startup Community Trailblazer” is a fancy title for me, but I’ll take it. I’ve decided to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2025 in Indianapolis to launch Give First: The Power of Mentorship . ...

Registration is open for the 2022 Q4 Leadership Bootcamp , which is happening in Boulder, Colorado, on Nov 10-13, 2022. Regular readers of this blog know about my long-time (back to 1996) friendship with Reboot co-founder and CEO Jerry Colonna . What you may not know is that several years ago, Jerry and his partner Ali Schultz moved exactly 0.8 miles away from me (there is one 40-acre parcel of land between us.) In the evening, when we are both in Boulder (well, Longmont), he sits under his Cottonwood Tree, I sit 0.8 miles away on my couch next to my pool, and we text and wave at each other. ...

In the last seven months, the venture / entrepreneurial world has gone from “the only thing that matters is massive growth” to “the world is going to end.” For perspective, all you need to do is look at a dozen high-flying IPOs from 2020 or 2021 to see that the peak happened just before Thanksgiving. The private markets lag the public markets. That’s not new. This time around, the lag was about a quarter, as many VCs started to talk about what was happening around the beginning of Q2. ...

CU’s Silicon Flatirons Center Startup Summer is back! Startup Summer provides a fantastic experience for college-age students and interns interested in entrepreneurship and the Front Range emerging company scene. Startup Summer is a free offering that enhances your company’s internship program. Your company hires and pays your intern(s). You can hire an intern out of your own pool of candidates or, alternatively, let us know and we will get you student resumes from individuals who have reached out to us. ...

$avvy , the latest movie that Amy and I helped underwrite, is now out. It’s another movie from Robin Hauser and Finish Line Features . $avvy investigates the historical, cultural, and societal norms around women and money. This documentary questions why women often take a backseat to their finances. Interviews with business and financial experts like Carrie Schwab, Farnoosh Torabi, Sallie Krawcheck, and Haley Sacks (aka Mrs. Dow Jones) show why it is so important—now more than ever—for women to take control of their financial futures. ...