PROCO360 | Best Podcast for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners

Xero Shoes – giving a tribe of customers “superpower” through their feet ProCO360

The biggest problem we have is that the day we launch a new product we get emails saying, “that’s great, now I want this!”

Steven Sashen, CEO, Xero Shoes

You’ll enjoy this high energy interview with the very successful wife and husband team who started and run Xero Shoes.  Their startup experience, including purchasing initial product raw materials at Home Depot, and turning down an offer on Shark Tank, offers entertaining lessons of entrepreneurship. 

 

Growing Awesome COLORADO Brands - Denver Flea ProCO360

People are looking for brands that reinforce who they think they are... or want to become.

Blake Adams, Founder, Denver Flea

Denver Flea is a platform on which Colorado brands are built.  You know Icelantic Skis and Voormi clothing as great brands growing up in Colorado.  Blake Adams of Denver Flea brought Andy Fleckenstein of Mountain Standard for “show and tell,” and a great conversation about building a brand based in Colorado.  If you haven’t been to a Denver Flea – GO!  And if you want a free ticket and haven’t yet subscribed to this newsletter - do it now and get a free ticket to the next Denver Flea!

Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It - FBI techniques in business! ProCO360

"Some people are horrified by new information during negotiations… they’re cutting themselves off from better deals."

Chris Voss, former Lead FBI Hostage Negotiator, CEO of Black Swan Group

You’re hiding stuff, and if you think they’re not, you’re kidding yourself! “Compromise” and “win-win” are NOT the approaches taught by Chris Voss. Before you squirm and choose not to listen, know this: I’ve put Chris Voss’s book in my virtual “CORE STACK” – these are the books that I rely on in my career. Chris was Lead International Kidnapping Negotiator for the FBI. Listen to get a taste of tactics that work in business: why “No” is better than “Yes,” how entrepreneurs should think in a negotiation with venture funders, and more. This is a fantastic taste of how to act differently in negotiations. I am honored to have had Chris on the podcast! 

PopSockets - a Colorado Story of Innovation and Scrappy Execution! ProCO360

Even a PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR can be an entrepreneur, with enough determination and effort!

My biggest mistake was doing it myself… I lost a year in the process… a PAINFUL year. - David Barnett, Founder and CEO

What a Cinderella entrepreneurial story David Barnett tells in this interview.  Listen to hear how he turned a minor aggravation he had with storing his earbuds, from a clunky and embarrassing product hack into a multimillion dollar enterprise.  You’ll enjoy hearing how YouTube celebrities have embraced and propelled the business!  This interview was repurposed from a live radio show I did on KDMT – you may notice a few edits. 

 

Opioids and Business - Serving Customers Before Profits ProCO360

If the BUSINESS does well, we can treat more clients.

Cortland Mathers-Suter, Founder and COOI took a different approach to this interview which really is as much about a societal problem as it is about business.  I entered this interview just plain curious – curious about the “OPOID CRISIS” and why it is so different from other drug abuse scenarios of the past, and frankly, what someone like me, a business executive from the suburbs, needs to better appreciate.  Cortland’s first-hand experiences give an insider’s look at opioid abuse in Colorado.  Plus, because the show is a business show, we talked about the BUSINESS of treatment, even the SALES of treatment (at my insistence).

Fresca Foods - the Epicenter of the Natural Foods World! ProCO360

"…Religious studies and philosophy is a battle between logic and faith – and isn’t that what any good entrepreneur needs?”  

Todd Dutkin, CEO

 

A great conversation with Todd Dutkin, CEO of Fresca Foods, a Boulder company that has transformed from a small foodservice manufacturer into a paradigm-shifting natural foods company, operating its own natural food brands and serving as supply chain and innovation partner to category leaders.  Todd is leading Fresca Foods to 40% year over year growth, and you’ll want to listen to Todd’s take on his business and Colorado’s emerging role as the EPICENTER of the natural foods industry. 

ProCO360 - GoSpotCheck CEO Matt Talbot

"…founders have to sit down across the table, look them in the eye and say hell or high water, I'm gonna make this work!”  

Matt Talbot, CEO

Some amazing insights from Matt in this DON'T MISS interview with one of Colorado’s most successful entrepreneurs:

1. Willingness to pivot “from suck to success.”
2. The best feedback feels like a punch to the stomach.
3. The paradox of attracting venture capital.
4. Strategies and tactics for getting marquee clients.

ProCO360 - Jake Jabs: Legendary Lessons from the Furniture Business

"The secret to advertising is that you have to be 100% truthful.”

Jake Jabs, American Furniture Warehouse

Jake is an entrepreneurial legend in Colorado.  Jake’s story is of a self-made entrepreneur.  Starting with a heifer cow given to him by his father, Jake built a furniture retail empire.  He’s known for his home-made TV commercials, expansive stores, and for his generous philanthropy. In this interview, which I feel so privileged to have had, Jake weaves stories and lessons into how he started and built American Furniture Warehouse.  You’ll love it.

ProCO360 - Eldorado Climbing Walls - Sales Guy to Owner

“It used to be just a bunch of dirtbag climbing bums starting companies and trying to make a living.”  

 

Kevin Volz, Eldorado Climbing Walls

 

This episode demonstrates how an ambitious sales guy can become the owner of a business he’s passionate about by being committed, successful, and visionary… and by nurturing a constructive personal relationship with owners who want what’s best for all.  It’s also about the fast-growing business of indoor climbing!

ProCO360 – Havenly Designs Its Own Space – Live | Work | Love Colorado

Havenly Designs Its Own Space in Online Interior Design

  

 

“There’s such an alignment between doing the right thing for your customer and growing the business, and that feels really good to me.”  

Lee Mayer, Havenly

 

There was no shortage of energy in the studio when Lee Mayer joined me.  I had trouble choosing a quote to feature above.  Other options include:

To team members, “I almost always have opinions.  How closely I hold them is up to you.”

Or on leadership, “…I’m constantly trying to make shapes out of darkness.”

Listen to my interview with Lee in which we discuss startup entrepreneurship, women as entrepreneurs, and Colorado as a home for entrepreneurism.