Hey Sue

FrictionLabs’ co-founder and CEO Kevin Brown has the unique ability to get people energized about chalk, including national sports outfitters like REI and EMS, world-champion athletes, and a fanatical base of online customers. By studying the evolution of the rock-climber demographic (of which he is a passionate member), Friction Labs has found the secret to making a seemingly mundane product at a...

Twenty-four year old Devon Tivona is the Co-founder and CEO of Pana, an on-demand travel agent software service that blends technology and real humans for ultimate ease in traveling. Devon is a rare mix of tech and EQ, getting energy from making human connections as well solving complex technical problems.  These qualities have not only helped him launch a successful, well-designed and highly enga...

Mark Berey, CEO turned white-collar crime detective, talks candidly about making a contrarian decision to turn in his country club membership for a slot in the police academy after his attempt at retirement. Growing up with both parents running separate, successful businesses, he was infused at an early age with an entrepreneurial mentality and an inquisitiveness that landed him roles as CEO and C...

In 2005, Lisa Stone consummated her transition from journalism to digital entrepreneurship with the co-founding of BlogHer. This business began as a conference for female bloggers, the first of which attracted 305 women bloggers and netted $60,000 in profit. BlogHer extended its awareness that social-media-activated women were an invaluable audience into an influencer network that reached 100 mill...

Scott Phoenix founded his first startup at age 16. By age 19 or 20, he got interested in Artificial Intelligence ("AI") because, according to Scott, "of all the things a person could work on, if you actually figure out how to build the first human-level AI, then you’ve solved all the other problems. You could have the AI then help you to solve any problem that a human could solve. ”...

Phil Weiser is the outgoing Dean of the University of Colorado Law School, and there are countless reasons why he deserves a place on a podcast about early and mid-stage growth companies. Phil has created a climate at CU Law that essentially renders "town" and "gown" completely indistinguishable. He has brought together the entrepreneurial leaders, venture capitalists, large co...

Promise Phelon, CEO of TapInfluence, has built successful companies on both coasts and made her way to Boulder in 2015 to lead the leading SaaS company for influencer marketing. In this authentic and engaging conversation, Promise shares and influential stories from her early career that have shaped her approach to leadership.  She also talks about her experience of landing in a city in the middle...

Meet Scott Meyer, CEO of Ghostery, one of the most popular browser plugins in the world. According to Scott, Ghostery "makes the web not suck." Scott tells the story of taking this business and company culture from a grassroots free plugin to global Saas platform serving some of the largest brands in the world. How hard was this shift? According to Scott, it was far easier for outside us...

Susan Lyne has been on the front end of consumer trends in media since the early days of her career. From starting a magazine about movies when VCRs first hit the market, to giving Shonda Rhimes her first nod at ABC, to taking the helm at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia at the time Martha Stewart went to prison, to leading the rapid rise at Gilt, and now making investments in women-led startups wi...

John Katzman has been innovating in the educational sector since college. He founded and ran Princeton Review, 2U, and he now leads the Noodle Companies. More interesting than his resume, however, is John's determined, irreverent, and direct style. That comes through in this quick hit on John's views of startup challenges, leadership, and the role of confidence in his success path.

Serial successful Boston-based entrepreneur Dave Balter shares the real stories behind his series of winning startups, WOMMA, BzzAgent, Smarterer, and now Mylestoned. Dave also is a partner with Boston Seed, and shares the things entrepreneurs do in pitch meetings that cause a damaging gap in trust.

Listen to the story behind the story of the founding and first-year growth of the hot, irreverent clothing brand, www. Shinesty.com. CEO Chris White shares the origin story, the culture, and the opportunities to maintain an aligned brand as the company grows. Shinesty's mission is to bring you the most outlandish collection of clothing the world has ever seen. This terrific conversation is en...