PROCO360 | Best Podcast for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners

Starting from Skratch, Maturing as CEO

“There’s more value in learning and team development than in avoiding a mistake.”

Ian MacGregor, CEO, Skratch Labs

Ian was also my guest for Episode 75 about 2 years ago.  At that time, Ian explained that he’d been an “accidental” CEO.  I wanted to catch up with Ian and see how he was maturing as a leader, as a CEO.  I almost chose this quote to lead with,

“We got OBSESSED with the customer experience – being more than just a product,”

and instead chose the quote above it because it’s more aligned with the theme of “maturing as a CEO.”  Ian is such a great guy – you’ll enjoy his candor and the journey of Skratch Labs.

Talent Propels Rocket Engines

“Engineers joined us because they saw the people already here whom they’d admired, and now could work with and learn from.”

Joe Laurienti, CEO, Ursa Major

I wanted to learn about rocket engines from a rocket scientist, so of course I was excited to interview Joe Laurienti, founder and CEO of Ursa Major, based in Berthoud, Colorado.  Joe and I had a good time methodically understanding (me asking, Joe explaining) the key features of their rocket engines.  We also explored the relationship between price, reliability, risk and reusability.  Aerospace is a huge and growing industry sector in Colorado and you’ll want to listen to this episode of ProCO360!

Disrupting the Ticketing Industry for Good

”Our first few people who joined us, joined as full-time volunteers.” 

Josh Ross, Humanitix

Global disruption of the entrenched oligopoly of ticketing – and doing it as a “for purpose” business with no equity investors and volunteers as its first “employees.”  Humanitix did that.  Starting in Australia and becoming a dominant player there emboldened Humanitix to expand its services to the U.S. with a Colorado HQ, saving ticket buyers massive amounts in fees, and contributing millions to children’s causes along the way. Their story is a fascinating one.

$300,000 on credit cards to reach $1 Billion in Revenue

We’ve gone from $300,000 on credit cards to over $1Billion in three year revenue with no debt. 

Dan Dietrich, CEO, Jogan Health

I was introduced to Dan Dietrich of Jogan Health by my friend David Pritchard of Denver Angels.  David told me, “You need to know Dan – his company growth has been explosive!”  When I learned that in three years, the company had had a total of a BILLION in revenue, I was sold.  But then, when interviewing Dan, I was FLOORED to learn that he’d financed the company with over $300,000 of credit card debt.  I asked him if he’d discussed that with is wife beforehand…

Digital Marketing - Through the Noise

”It’s not only SEO.  It’s not just Pay Per Click (or the tactic one knows)… it’s a FUNNEL – there are so many different pieces.” 

Jerid Schumacher with Clint Macklin, VEA Technologies

I’m proud to know Clint Macklin and Jerid of VEA Technologies.  They’ve been sponsors of ProCO360 for quite a while, helping me manage the website.  While VEA is a full-service web firm, I didn’t want to talk with them about everything they do – I wanted their take on trends around digital marketing – from campaign elements to search changes driven by Chat GBT.  For those not that in the weeds, this episode is a great way to catch up on digital marketing strategy and tactics!

Driving Profits to Local Business

The aha moment was when I saw the ability for local businesses to better reach those in their community. 

Josh Ritzer, founder and CEO, Nigh Technologies

After 134 episodes of ProCO360, I tried something new: an early-stage startup introduced to me by its PR firm.  I intrigued with the mission of Nigh to support local business, and checked out the technology they’ve created, and decided, “why not?” As it turns out, Josh Ritzer is a dynamic founder who has invested $700,000 of his own money to get Nigh from concept to Alpha, and now what looks like a highly functional Beta.  Nigh is achieving tremendous results in driving profitable incremental sales to local businesses in an energizing, community building way.  I’ve become a fan!  I think you’ll enjoy this episode – and watching the progress Nigh makes.

Teenager’s Detailing Biz Now a National Brand

I was hiring kids older than me so they could drive me around to do detailing.

Adam Pitale, Founder & Chief Detailer

You’ll love this episode. It’s a fun story of Adam Pitale, a teenager who grew up in Southern California and built a little car detailing service business for spending money.  As Adam strived to do more cars, he grew determined to figure out how to do the tedious tasks better and faster. He turned what he learned into how-to videos which became the gateway for a line of specialty products… now over 350 SKUs and tens of millions in revenue, all within a great niche built for hobbyists and enthusiasts. It’s a fun story told by a passionate accidental entrepreneur.

 

Small Satellites Take York Space Into Orbit

“A 10-year cycle on billion-dollar projects wasn’t going to be sustainable… particularly given the threats we were seeing from our adversaries.”

Dirk Wallinger, CEO, York Space Systems

I went into my podcast recording with Dirk Wallinger hungry to learn about the business of designing, manufacturing, launching and managing small satellites.  In fact, in a pre-interview with Dirk, I asked for his permission to talk about the basics, transparently showing how little I know – he readily agreed and we had a longer than planned conversation about the industry, the evolving role of satellites in our lives, some curiosity-addressing aspects of satellite orbits and maintenance, and trends to watch for.  York is a 500 person Colorado company that’s growing fast in its niche. 

 

I Drink Water That Makes Me Sick

“I have friends at large companies trying to solve this problem sending me 200-page engineering drawings… We have an idea and we build it.”

Jack Barker, Founder and President, Innovative Water Technologies

I first heard of Innovative Water Technologies’ SunSpring water purification product when it was up for the People’s Choice for the Colorado Chamber of Commerce’s Coolest Thing Made in Colorado awards.  It’s hard to imagine a more impactful product. With low price and extraordinary reliability, SunSpring is providing remote villages, disaster areas and the military with trustworthy drinking water.  All made in Rocky Ford, Colorado.  The origin story is fantastic, as is the mouth dropping sound byte I caught when I thought we were done.

Reporter’s Take on Colorado Tech & Innovation

“A few food-tech startups reached out about their companies… when I started digging into it I was like, this is a STORY.”

Nikki Wentling, Technology and Innovation Reporter, Denver Business Journal

Despite having so many amazing tech sector CEOs on ProCO360, it’s really hard to stay caught up with Colorado’s tech sector.  One of my favorite tools is the Technology page of the Denver Business Journal so I decided to get to know Nikki Wentling, the Technology and Innovation beat reporter of the DBJ.  It was enlightening to learn about how she finds stories and keeps up with the sector - and what she sees for emerging growth in Colorado.