On May 27, Olin’s Executive MBA program hosted the first Thought Leadership event in Colorado Springs, An Evening of Entrepreneurship: Breaking Through the Barriers. Ron King, The Myron Northrop Professor of Accounting at Olin and an angel investor, moderated the first portion of the event, a panel discussion on the community efforts of entrepreneurship in Colorado Springs.
Ron King, opening the panel discussion in Colorado Springs on May 27
Ron was joined by three expert panelists: Ben Sparks, attorney at Sparks Willson, Bill Miller, managing partner at Miller Investment Management, and Lisa Tessarowicz, owner of Epicentral Coworking. The audience was engaged in the panelists’ discussion on how Colorado Springs could benefit from a proactive and welcoming entrepreneurial community.
The panelists discussed the roadblocks that entrepreneurs face in general and how collaboration in the community would make a huge impact. There were questions from the audience on the challenges faced by new businesses starting in Colorado Springs. Ben Sparks was able to address the legal impact that the recently signed crowdfunding bill poses in Colorado. As the panel moderator, Ron King was able to share insights from the St. Louis start-up scene and his experience as an angel investor.
Following the panel discussion, an hour long pitch session was hosted by Ric Denton, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Innovation Partners. Ric saw success early in his career as CEO of TAU Corporation and then Televere Systems, before retiring to Colorado Springs in 2006. Since then, he has been active in the Colorado Springs start-up community.
The pitchers included:
Let’s Go Aero, Marty Williams
Protocol Insight, Ross Nelson
Flair, Dinah Wagner (EMBA 45 student in Denver)
Each participant had seven minutes to pitch his/her idea, whether it was a growth strategy or a brand new business. The audience was given the opportunity to ask questions of the pitchers for about 10 minutes.
Colorado Springs is a prime environment for making a splash in the entrepreneurial scene and we look forward to watching it grow!
Image: Colorado Springs, CO.
