All Episodes

In today's episode, I'm joined by Pastors Aaron Santini and Daniel Smith of The Crossing Church in Fort Collins. The Crossing was planted as a life group of Crossway Chapel in Greeley in the fall of 2009, and officially launched in March of 2010. This episode details the very entrepreneurial journey of church planting, and shares the life stories of a couple of regular guys who've responded to God's distinct call on their lives. Aaron was a multi-sport athlete throughout his high school years, ...

Jeff and Noah are "business neighbors" to LoCo Think Tank, and operate the Time Emporium Escape Rooms in Fort Collins and Loveland. Jeff acquired Loveland Laser Tag in 2011 after a pair of false starts to his entrepreneurial journey, departing a stable career with Hewlett Packard which had moved him to Northern Colorado from his native Texas. His experience with software and systems soon led to a role with their laser equipment supplier, Laserforce International, based out of Australia. Jeff no...

In this episode, Curt enjoys time with Peter Melby, CEO of Greystone Technology, only one week removed from their 20th birthday! Peter shares important lessons from Greystone's founding and first years in business, and reflects on a business journey that has seen them achieve quarterly revenue growth for 50 straight quarters! Greystone is unusual for an IT company, first for its' size (~100 total employees in 4 locations at time of press!), but also for its' commitment to team principals and ph...

Jacob Leis and his partner Brian Oaks are "a couple of farm kids from Eastern Colorado" who've been involved in political marketing almost since college. They founded Wintermind Group in January of 2019, after their employer "went a different direction" on an internal project that they'd been working on together. The partners' theory behind the project became the foundation for their new venture, and they grew Wintermind Group to a staff of 8 persons and revenues of over $6 Million in their 2nd ...

Do you know how to grow your business past yourself? Eric Coet, Owner of 44 N and Strategic Practice Leader at Peak Solutions, shares his business strategy knowledge in this LoCo Shorts episode. Sometimes YOU are the greatest block to your success, that’s why identifying ways to grow beyond yourself is critical, even if you are a solopreneur (psst–Eric is!). Eric details his professional journey and lessons learned from working at Hensel Phelps, to working in a distillery, to starting his own c...

Brandon Avery is a VP Risk Advisor for IMA Financial Group, heading the Commercial Insurance Division. Sounds pretty boring, and Brandon would tell you that insurance isn't very exciting overall. BUT - Brandon's business journey is very exciting! Brandon formed a partnership in 2013 with Josh Fyhrie and together they built Colorado Insurance Advisors into a regional brand and 10X'd their revenues in just 7 short years. We explore his life and business journey, much of which was spent as a membe...

Gavin Kaszynski (ka-shin-ski) and Todd Welter joined me on the LoCo Experience podcast to share their respective business journeys, and especially to discuss the challenges and their suggested fixes for the health insurance industry in America. Gavin has newly transitioned to the role of CFO for the Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies - at the time of recording he was CFO at Associates in Family Medicine which you'll hear referenced in the show. Todd is the Founder and CEO of RT Welter & ...

In this LoCo Shorts episode Ben West, Owner & Operator at Radial Development Group, shares his journey to creating a company he always wanted to work for. One with flexible work schedules, ample training, and great culture. Ben shares his motivation to create Radial from his own experience with burnout (and how to prevent it). He also highlights ways to create a great culture that can support the company when you’re not there. Listen to this episode with Ben to get good tips to consider, like: ...

Zach Mercurio is the author of The Invisible Leader, Founder of ZM Consulting, and Affiliate Professor for Colorado State University at the Center for Meaning and Purpose. Zach is an expert on purpose, on purpose. He's studied it, trained it, studied it more and shared what he's learned abundantly. He's a Ph.D., further informed by a lot of elbow grease, research, and intentional thought. This episode is different than most of the podcasts that feature Zach, on purpose. :) He shares his tradec...

Do you remember the moment when you made your passion your business? Ann Baron, Founder of Northern Colorado Community shares her business journey of creating a space for local business owners to convene. Ann’s passion for people, sharing of resources, professional (& personal!) support, and connectivity paved the way for this continually growing multi-city business group. She shares stories of diversity, empathy, and opportunities of coming together to build something greater for business owne...

AJ Fountain & JJ Fountain are Band Managers, Songwriters and Bandmates in A Brother's Fountain - a popular "Campfire Folk Music" band based in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as the Founders and Producer / Director / Videographers for Stoked Ember Productions, a Videography company built to stoke the embers of passion-first businesses through video and story production. The intro and outro music for the LoCo Experience Podcast is borrowed with permission from the song "Soul" from ABF's 2017 deb...

Katie Straubel is the Founder, Owner, and Queen Bee at Clean Bees, a residential and commercial cleaning service business she founded as a side-business while in college. Katie left her native Orlando and a career in fine dining to follow her partner Mike back to his native Colorado, attended CSU toward a History degree and found no fine dining jobs to be found. After subbing for her friend's cleaning business to cover for a personal medical leave, Katie went on to found Clean Bees only months l...

The City of Fort Collins Mayoral race features three candidates on the ballot, and April 6, 2021 is Election Day. LoCo Experience Episode 16 featured current City of Fort Collins Mayor Wade Troxell, and his endorsed candidate, Molly Skold. This episode features the other two candidates in the race, Jeni James Arndt and Gerry Horak. Both of these candidates have a rich history of public service, and colorful and impactful journeys that inform their perspectives. Jeni currently serves as the Stat...

Tyler Brooks founded Analytive in 2015 as a digital marketing agency focused on driving meaningful revenue growth for clients through strategic and measurable campaigns and SEO optimization. This episode takes listeners through an interesting life journey with Tyler as he departs his native Indiana and finds his career footing in video production and digital marketing before founding his own agency. With a diverse team of creatives all around the nation and the world, Tyler and his team consider...

The ideal client is one you can drink beer and eat pizza with, right? Erik Cox, Owner of Wise Ape Design Marketing, shares his business journey of moving back to Fort Collins after a decade working in creative agencies in San Francisco and Chicago. He decided to bring his years of experience to a place he grew up to help local businesses level up their creative assets and stand out in reaching their customers. Going at this alone isn't always easy and Erik shares challenges he faced as a one-man...

In this episode, Curt dialogues with City of Fort Collins Mayor Wade Troxell, and his lifelong friend Molly Skold, one of three candidates in the mayoral race to be decided on April 6, 2021. Curt digs into Wade's journey through academia and business, and more recently, government, and unfolds his underlying principals around economics and creating a great place to live and do business. A Ram through and through, Wade earned his BS, Masters, and PhD's from Colorado State, (where he was also a s...

Darren Murphy is the Founder and President of PUSH Industries, the manufacturer of the best mountain bike suspension in the world! PUSH suspension systems are 100% American made, manufactured at their Loveland, Colorado headquarters, and sold through distribution outlets throughout the US, Asia, Australia, and Europe. In this episode, Curt gets deep with Darren on his life story, digging back to his early years in Maine for the roots of his passion for bikes. Darren shares how the loss of his f...

Did you set ants on fire with a magnifying glass when you were little? In this Shorts episode with Candyce Edelen, President/CEO at Propel Growth, she shares many elements of business growth through sales and marketing, including the time she realized that finding a niche and walking away from potential clients & industries was the only way to grow her business. She says you should think of your offerings as a magnifying glass focusing on one area small enough that the magnifying glass can start...

In this special Experience episode, guest host and LoCo teammate, Rory Schaar interviews Curt Bear, LoCo Think Tank Founder. This month marks the 7th year of LoCo being in business! Curt looks back on his business journey, from working in banking to starting a food trailer, a season in financial services, and the development of LoCo Think Tank - a peer advisory group model built to help business owners learn from each other. During his banking years, he'd noticed that his most successful clients...

Rina Jean Bindi is the Founder and CEO of Tipping Point Digital - a Digital Marketing Strategy firm based in Loveland, Colorado. Tipping point helps their clients be found (and trusted) on the internet by focusing on positive reviews and SEO optimization. She also serves as a marketing strategist for her sister's company, ZuGo Pet, and hosts the Point Taken Podcast - supporting positive business mindset and educating on alternative health practices. Rina was the founder and operator of RJ's Ama...

Seth Silvers is the Founder and CEO of Story On Media & Marketing based in Fort Collins, Colorado, and also the creator of The Small Business Storytellers Podcast, and is preparing to launch a new podcast focused on Authentic Marketing. Seth and his team develop marketing campaigns and outreach built on storytelling - helping their client's customers see and hear and know the stories that reveal the value and values of the business in the community. They help business owners create and distribut...

How do you see new opportunities as an entrepreneur? Nick Armstrong, Geek in Chief at WTF Marketing (and lead organizer of Fort Collins Startup Week and Comic-Con) shares his journey of finding countless ways to create something unique to give back to the community. This includes his newest endeavor, running for City Council! In this Shorts episode, get inspired to work beyond your business and find ways to identify needs in the community–and fill them! Nick’s strong aptitude for relationship b...

Abbie Stout is the owner/proprietor of the Edwards House Inn, a boutique hotel, conference, and special event center in Old Town Fort Collins, Luz en el Cielo, an Eco-B&B / Hostel in Montezuma, Costa Rica, and Cedar & Sage Mercantile, a sustainable hone products company operated by the Edwards House staff - and she is also a LoCo Think Tank member! Abbie started her business journey as a school project the summer before her final year of college, when she wrote a business plan for an eco-lodge ...

John Shaw is the Founder and the Conductor of the Orchestra at DaVinci Sign Systems located in Windsor, Colorado. DaVinci specializes in the creation of custom sign systems for businesses, communities, schools, churches and organizations of all kinds. John founded the company in 2004 in Fort Collins, and has over 30 employees on the "E-Team" - everything about them is positive, and they work hard and always together - to make their client's custom signage dreams a reality. John's entrepreneuria...