All Episodes

Blake Craig is the Co-Founder and Chief Labor Officer at Laborjack, LLC . Probably best understood as the Uber of Labor, Laborjack matches a flexible and ambitious labor force - mostly comprised of college students - with those needing stuff done. Initially conceived to become “The world’s largest moving company! - that doesn’t own any trucks”, Laborjack clients have now found hundreds of ways to engage a flexible workforce! Laborjack offers everything from event set-up and tear-down to garage c...

In this episode Curt sits down with Cheryl Benedict - owner of MORF Consulting and the author of The Wisdom of Transition, released in January 2020 just as the nation was (unknowingly) preparing for the abrupt transition of Covid lockdowns. For this work, Cheryl received the Sound Advice Book Award as the Best New Author of 2020. Throughout her career, Cheryl has helped hundreds and now thousands of people navigate transition. We talk about the process that she followed to write her book, high...

Jim Rohrer began his career as a young man in the Sears organization, and quickly rose through the ranks as an innovative thinker, new programs leader, and turnaround specialist for underperforming divisions. Among his accomplishments were helping to turn around the auto services business for the company, and both building out and disposing of 10 regional call centers that supported the catalog. In the time since he ended his career at Sears, Jim has worked primarily in small companies, again o...

In this episode of the LoCo Experience podcast, Curt sits down with Jeff Beyle , CEO and Co-Founder of Sticker Control . Sticker Control makes Industry 4.0 tools accessible to small and medium size companies using RFID-powered analytics and optimization algorithms to drive efficiencies and system integration tools to break down data silos, all backed by AI-powered data preparation tools so our customers do not need a team of data scientists to adopt and use our systems. I don't really know what ...

What I’m thinking after interviewing Ali Davachi , is that this man needs to be a LoCo Facilitator for a future Longmont / Boulder County chapter of LoCo Think Tank. Stat. It’s the coveted win-win-win-win - 1) Ali would win because he’s working to down-size his role in his company RealWare, is a recent Colorado transplant from “back East” and would love more community connection, and has already come to be an advocate for LoCo Think Tank 2) The Longmont business community wins because they’d g...

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 n...

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 p...

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 2n...

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 ow...

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 mem...

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 tra...

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 owner...

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 month...

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 consid...

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...

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...

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 sta...

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 client...

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 A...