Caffe Genius Impressarios

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: This has been on the wish list for too long, the time has come to cast aside the pile that is LinkedIn and commence the journey out into the world wide internets, where the algorithms are different, the velvet rope not present. Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo Deprecation...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Somewhere between what is objectively true and what we seem to want to believe is subjectively true is sometimes called hype. This by way of a first pass at Transforming Las Vegas Into A Financial Center by Dr Daniel Chi and Amin Asadi of UNLV… Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/da...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: If we were to name three most-definitely-not-blind mice, these in the title could work. Or we could simply examine these three ways of looking at, well, anything, but especially our Entrepreneurial Innovation Ecosystem and its surroundings… Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhug...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: A somewhat sensational title, this is not really proof so much as a few examples, but of what Motivated Reasoning is and how it can be used effectively… in Greater Vegas. (Correction: Las Vegas population is closer to 680K not 580K -dh) Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo La...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Difficult to locate just yet, but the LVGEA has published some plans that seem to match the Key Industries we have mentioned previously (the associated web page on the LVGEA website no longer there), as a way forward for continuing Economic Diversity efforts. But where will the water come from? Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Technically this is a plural wrong numbers scenario, but that doesn’t sound as good for a title. If you have not consumed Episode 0166 of this program, “Show Me Data,” the links from that episode might come in handy, though today is not so much about the published numbers, only that they are the wrong numbers to wait on. Got it? Links Caffe Genius Homepage https:...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: The to-do list continues to grow, attempts to reach out are diversifying, and being Entrepreneurial and Innovative still take a lot of work, will this all be worthwhile? Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: A few observations about some things that appear to be missing in action, either not to be found, or not easy to discover. Both are problematic in different ways, and both can be solved, or addressed, with a modicum of effort from a small, interested crowd. Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymea...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Content creators in and around Greater Vegas are getting a real workout, declaring Vegas Dead, Vegas Not Dead, and anywhere in between, based on anecdotal in-person crowd size assessments, person-on-the-street commentary, and various reports on visitor statistics, revenue and loss numbers, and a variety of statements made by a variety of people. We need to break...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Not a pivot, more a pre-production observation and integration into the other thing I need to launch, to make it all make sense. Be the impressario! Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: A Global Hub of Innovation surely must run on data, data analysis, and data-driven decisions, yes? So where is the data? Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo LVCVA Tourism Tracker (Research) https://www.lvcva.com/research/ Eater Las Vegas https://vegas.eater.com/ StartupNV De...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: One of the topic areas we really should talk about is entrepreneurial innovative pursuits, like startup ideas and projects, so let us do just that today! Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo The very early days https://web.archive.org/web/19961226174430/http://www.reallycool....

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Start with Why as Simon Sinek might suggest, always ask Why, and always be able to respond to Why if asked. Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo Simon Sinek TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: There are a few things entering the interconnected net here in Nevada that are worth a mention now and continued attention paid through the year and beyond, definitely on the agenda if we can get Initiative 2026 moving. Hint. Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo LV Global Eco...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: We exist in interesting times, to be sure. Here in Vegas, a sign of the economic times, those with more money are finding their entertainment value while the rest of us normal folks may not be finding the Vegas we once made a frequent destination. Is it Us and Them? Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://w...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: There is usually a severe bias toward success, discussing success, and emulating success, especially when people speak of economic development, so-called community building, and so on. Does anything ever not go to plan? Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo Barry’s Economics h...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: I have said it before, I’m saying it again, Communities and Ecosystems are emergent, they can not be “Built” in the sense this term is often used. They are also not the same thing… Let’s talk about it. Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: How many different things can go on in the space of a week or two, and what are the chances things only get more weird and less predictable this year? Well, how about some blue sky thinking just in case? Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: January 2026 tourism and visitor numbers show a decline from January 2025 tourism and visitor numbers which had shown a decline already from January 2024, so you are going to have to come on down to Vegas as soon as possible, and bring all of your friends. And their friends. Pause if you are thinking about bringing your startup idea. Links Caffe Genius Homepage h...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: One of the early focal areas of Caffe Genius in 2022 or so, was the pursuit of better, more valuable meetups in our Entrepreneurial Innovation Ecosystem here in Greater Vegas. Now is a good time to re-visit some of the take-home lessons and some things to ponder now and in the near term. Links Caffe Genius Homepage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linkin...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Chaos is Opportunity, we have gone over this before, but what about Means and Motive, the other two components of the Entrepreneurial Innovator driving function? Links Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo Danger and Turning Point https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_word_for_crisis

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Getting the Genius Roundtable up and running for a second cohort as part of Initiative 2026 has taken a temporary back seat to the Smarter Smart City Challenge over at the Innovate for Vegas Foundation, but the Roundtable can overlap The Challenge, so let’s throw out some topics to ponder ahead of a virtual meetup… Links Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.o...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: I have been looking in the direction of the upcoming year-long Smarter Smart City Challenge so forgive my distraction, here are a couple of things on deck. Links Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Greater Vegas certainly could be if we made the most of so many people visiting this little oasis, not to extract so much but to engage. I may be biased, though, let’s talk about it. Links Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo Innovate for Vegas Foundation https://innovateforvegas.or...

Show Notes Host: Dan Hugo Summary: Goodhart’s Law states that “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” So about those tourism stats… Links Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo Goodhart’s Law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law LVCVA Research https://www.lvcva.com/research/ LVCVA F...