These come out weekly, but I’m a little slow to post them. Enjoy! As always, head to TechStars.TV to see all the other fun things going on in our office.
The Founders | TechStars Boulder | Episode 3 “A Community Party” from Andrew on Vimeo.
The Founders | TechStars Boulder | Episode 4 “Skills & Persistence” from Andrew on Vimeo.
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TechStars has launched a new video series to highlight a couple of the companies going through our program. I even have a cameo or 2 in it! Check it out!
The Founders | TechStars Boulder | Episode 1 “The Selected Few” from Andrew on Vimeo.
The Founders | TechStars Boulder | Episode 2 “Orientation” from Andrew on Vimeo.
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I was first introduced to Ignite Boulder by my friend Andrew Hyde. It’s an event where a dozen or so people stand up in front of a room of 200+ peeps and give a presentation on whatever is on their mind. The twist is that you have 5 minutes, 20 slides, and 15 seconds per slide. The slides auto advance to keep you on target. Sounds fun?
Well, I had no idea how fun until I attended Ignite Boulder 3. The creativity of some of the presenters astounded me. Somewhere between the 200 people wearing fake mustaches and drinking free beer, we learned how to cope with akward moments of passing a slightly-slower pedestrian, we learned how to survive a zombie attack, we learned how to piss off people in Boulder, and we were thoroughly entertained by a rapper.
I was hooked. I wanted to take part. A group of us stood around afterwards and brainstormed about what we might do should we muster the courage to participate.
On my way home that night I came up with my idea – dances throughout history! The funky chicken! The Moonwalk! The electric slide! It would be so fun! So when I got the email saying sign up your ideas, I submitted mine. Never did I actually expect to be selected.
Selected I was. Okay, fine, I’m not that uncomfortable in front of people. Whatever, I can do this. 
Fast forward a month. The presentations are due in on Sunday, and in true Greek style, I procrastinate until the last possible moment. Which under normal circumstances would have been okay, but Saturday I learn of the sudden and tragic death of a family friend. So scratch my dancing mood on Saturday. Sunday comes and I figure I better start preparing. I start by doing a quick You Tube search to glean some ideas, and low and behold I discover The Evolution of Dance, one of the all-time-most-popular-videos-EVER, seen by over 119 MILLION PEOPLE, is basically exactly what I want to do. So damn, I’m not as clever as I originally hoped! Now what?!?!? I’m starting to think this wasn’t such a good idea…
When I was growing up, my cousins and sister and I used to make up these hilarious dances. It was one of our favorite past times. I can only hope it will save me for Ignite Boulder 4! I throw together a presentation, I pick a song, and run through it once in front of my bathroom mirror. I quickly conclude this is a bad idea, as I’m seeing how utterly idiotic I look, I begin to lose my nerve. So I abandon looking at myself and decide to practice in front of my husband. I practice twice for him, and his looks of love confirm my original suspicion; that I DO look like a complete idiot. I resign myself to the idea of a little liquid courage before the show.
Wednesday morning starts with an investor meeting at the butt-crack of dawn, then on to a funeral, then home for a nap. I practice the preso a 4th and final time before I proceed to start doing shots of tequila in my kitchen. My nervousness is enhanced with Craig Kendall tweeting me a countdown ’till the show.
By the time we arrive at the venue, I’m a wreck. This isn’t a 200 person event, it’s swollen to 500+ people. I’ve drank an entire flask + of tequila. I lose my purse, I lose my cell phone, I can’t find my costume. My husband has no idea what to do with me, my sister Katrina is humoring me, and my friend Shannon is awesome as always in helping me track down everything. I recruit my friend Josh to wear my costume and stand on the stage with me. I continue to drink.
So, I remember seeing my name up on the screen next, I remember walking down to the front and getting the microphone. Then I remember walking back to my seat. I remember everything before and everything after the performance, but I don’t remember those 5 precious minutes AT ALL!
The congratulations I got were countless. Apparently I had the whole room on their feet dancing. It was a success! If only I knew what I did…
Thanks to everyone there for humoring me and taking part of the dance session.
—– Deee Lish
Huge shout out goes to Stepan Mazurov for the fabulous pictures!
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Mark & Nicole just outside Skinner Hut
Ahh Skinner. One of the 10th Mountain Division Huts, Skinner Hut sits atop a ridge line that mocks you mercilessly. Why we chose to do this hut every year still escapes me (oh wait, it’s because we’re too unorganized to book any other hut before they sell out).
This year was no exception. I chose to telemark this trip, even though I own no tele gear and have never made a tele turn in my whole entire life. Yet a brand new pair of boots from Larry the Boot Fitter (the BEST!) and donated fatty skis/skins later – I was tele’ing my way up that tortous route.
Our crew this year involved myself, my husband Mark Florence, Shannon Helton, Todd Duncan, Max Mackey, Daryl Braga, Eddie & Katie Konold. It’s a great group – every one of us have either guided at some time in our life or are very capable in the backcountry. And thanks to Daryl’s 200lb first aid kit (he’s a newly minted nurse, or shall I say murse), we knew we were in safe hands should something go awry.
Our trek in was spectacular, if not hot. We got up on time, ate on time, left on time. It was 50 degrees on our trek in, we were wearing nothing but long sleeve shirts and ski pants, and I honestly wish I had on shorts. It hadn’t snowed in what felt like a season, so the ground was packed ice. I’m always amazed at how well skins stick! We skied the next day briefly, but the snow sucked so we cut it short. However, never tempt grandpa winter – because it proceeded to start snowing that night and didn’t stop until we left almost 3 days later. Our 3rd day there, everyone began to go a bit stir crazy and decided to tempt fate and check out the skiing. Even though it was text book avalanche conditions, it was worth investigating. And investigate we did, over and over and over again (well, they did. I didn’t. I chickened out because was on tele skis for the first time ever and hate tree skiing). The snow was creamy and dreamy without a hint of avalanche danger. That night I rewarded everyone with freshly sauted fajitas and we spent the night laughing and drinkin and talking. We skied out on the 4th day, after having 2 nights of the hut to ourselves. The storm was fizzling but was trapped in the mountains there, so the weather would turn from sunny, to windy, to snowing, back to sunny again. We took a few more runs on our favorite spot, which was some of the most fun skiing I’ve EVER done. 3 days of snow without another soul up there made for fantastic turns! And the ski out was glorious, I might even go so far as to say relaxing.
The FSS Crew
Anyway, I write this post less because I want to share my experiences with you (no cell phones, no TV, no showers, no flush toilets) and more because I want to make sure that those who follow us know how to tackle the mount with prepared, full force.
Route
Definitely park near the damn at Turquoise Lake, and take the road that travels on the south side of the lake. Do not take the northern route around the lake. It’s farther, hillier, and less scenic. You’ll skin up right from your car about 5 miles of mild incline to the high point in the road. You’ll know it’s the high point because the road will fork – one way (not recommended unless you stupidly plan on dragging a sled) is up and to the left, and the other way is down and in front of you. In my opinion, head down and straight. Take your skins off, and ski the 2 miles down from the fork all the way to the Timberline trailhead. When you reach the trailhead, sit down, take a load off for about 15 minutes and refuel. You’re over half way, but the rest of the time is pretty grueling. When you feel sufficiently rejuvenated, put your skins on and begin the seige. The first part of the trail will switchback across the mountain through a fairly dense forest. Its the longest hill, but not the steepest. When the trail starts to mellow out, you’ll find yourself in a lovely pine glades . The terrain will slowly transform from glades to a pretty flat meadow, and eventually it will be so flat you’ll feel like you’re crossing a lake. Take in the scenery, you’re surrounded by the continental divide. At the other side of the flat meadow, you’ll start gently ascending again. You’ll climb through the trees and encounter a couple of ultra-steep sections where my skins didn’t stick. You’ll end up traversing underneath a cliff band, and here the trail will mellow out for a short period of time again. This is one of my favorite parts of the trail. You’ll cross one last meadow before heading straight up again. You know you’re getting close to the end when you see the big avalanche shoot (and ski dreaminess) off to your right. You’re protected in the trees, but still take caution as you cross. When you reach the top of this last hill (my least favorite section because it’s straight up with very tight switchbacks – you’ll get practice making kick turns here), you have about 1/4 – 1/2 mile left to the hut. Happily, its pretty much flat from here!
Checking out the cornices
The trail is perfectly marked, so follow the yellow diamonds and you’re all set. And if you find you need to bivouac, there are plenty of places to do so.
In my opinion, here are the necessities of what to bring:
fresh tracks
I’m sure I’m forgetting something but I can’t remember. The hut is well stocked with cooking and eating utensils. It has 2 wood burning stoves (one for heat, one for cooking). You can melt snow for water. As an aside, don’t turn the hut into a sauna! Every time we’re there, some yayhoo has the wood burning stove blasting heat. The wood is expensive to harvest, carry, and stock. It’s unecessary to burn it that hot! Put a sweater on for hell’s sake.
If you go, let me know how it turns out! It’s a great trip. You’ll push your limits while experiencing some of the greatest terrain that few will ever see in their lives.
Thanks Skinner!
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I’ve lived in Boulder now for nearly 10 years but prior to that, I moved here from Florida. Ahhh Florida – this brings me to the topic of my post. There recently was an article about how Florida was the Next Hotbed of Venture Capital. Other than the appropriate descriptive “hot” in the title, the author couldn’t be more wrong.
Never in Boulder will you find your VC in a jacket and tie. Well, ski jacket, maybe, but that’s only because he’s invited you up to Vail to ski for the afternoon.
In Boulder, the VC’s get their pick of the smartest people in the country. Really – Boulder has the most advanced degrees per capita. Florida has what, the most mosquitoes?
In Boulder, you get to bike to your presentation with your VC, and get brownie points for doing so. In Florida, you’d get hit by that drifting Cadillac and be so thoroughly drenched in sweat by the time you got 5 feet from your house… oh wait, both of those things happen even if you drive.
In Boulder, the VC’s love the community because entrepreneurs often help entrepreneurs. The succesful ones are frequently heavily involved in the community. They sit on advisory boards, serve as mentors, take almost any meeting – and really serve as a support group for the next generation of entrepreneurs. In Florida you’ll have to take your business advice from Mickey Mouse.
There are so many other reasons Boulder is a great town. We have the best weather on the planet. You can climb, bike, and ski all in one day if you felt so inclined. The music here is fabulous. Our winters are mild, our springs are glorious, our falls are beautiful, and winter is often the best season. There is an energy here that Florida just doesn’t have. People are actually nice to each other. Just come to Boulder for a day and talk to anyone on the street, they’ll tell you how much they love it here. Talk to anyone on the street in Florida and they’re usually running for the air conditioning.
I lived in Florida a majority of my life, and it has its pluses. I’ve also stayed extensively in many places people consider paradise – Hawaii, Greece, Thailand, Fiji – and Boulder is still better.
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So I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve accepted the role of GM for TechStars Boulder this summer! I’ve been at it for 3 weeks now and I’m having a blast. The one question I keep getting is ‘How do we beat all the competition and get into TechStars?’. While I’m truly new to the program, I think I can share a little insight about what gets everyone excited.
1. The Team: If there are 2-4 of you, and you’re all rockstars, we get excited. Rockstars know how to execute. They’re bright, driven, creative, and have accomplish tons in a short period of time on this and/or past projects.
2. Hunger: Your team has to really want this – and communicate that with us. Walk the line of annoying. Just saying you want it doesn’t count, you have to show us by working your ass off to hit your milestones.
3. Idea: You’ve come up with something innovative, new, & exciting. While a good team will always trump a good idea, the combo is thrilling.
4. You listen: TechStars is a mentor-driven program. We try to surround you by the best and brightest to help accelerate your company. You have to know how to listen to input (sometimes negative), sort through the noise, and execute quickly on the best advice.
5. You Execute: I’ve said this in almost all of the above points too, but thought it imperative to call it out on its own. Millions of people have hundreds of good ideas. It’s not the good idea – it’s the ability to execute on a good idea that makes all the difference. Hell you can execute on a bad idea and that’s better than not executing at all. Learn how to get stuff done quickly, cheaply, and effectively and you’ll not only go far at TechStars, but whatever you do in life.
If you haven’t applied yet, you better hurry! Deadline is March 21st!
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I come off as smooth and collected. Always. (lies). Mostly because I so adeptly hide my clumsiness and idiocy – like the time I was in school and I accidentally tucked my skirt into my underware (and I happened to be wearing granny panties) – I walked around like that for HOURS before someone had the courage to tell me. I made up some stupid story – like I was doing a psychological test on everyone to see who my real friends were and everyone FAILED. Right – good cover up.
Well today, I had another “incident”. I’m wearing a cute little sweater with a flimsy little knit belt. And I’m in a hurry, running out the door of my client AWhere’s office to meet Charlie Knight (love the rock star name or I wouldn’t have dropped it!). Well, I had to use the bathroom before I left, but AWhere is 99% men so the toilet seat was up, and being the lazy and late slackass that I am, I figured I’d air-pee rather than put the toilet seat down. In my haste, the end of my belt went for a dive in the toilet and basically absorbed everything before I realized it. In fact, not only did it absorb everything in the toilet, but then when I finished, it managed to rest against the back of my pants, right in the ASS part, which of course leaked toilet contents all over my butt.
So now I have a huge pee wet spot on my ass and my belt is soaked in urine and toilet water. And I’m late. I’m not even going to tell you how I dealt with it. But let’s just say you don’t want to go in my briefcase anytime soon.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Just be warned next time you try to grab my ass.
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I’m thrilled to announce Ryan May Frutman, born Friday March 6th, 2009. Welcome to the family little Ryan!
Click here to see the whole slew of photos. YAY!
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During economic times like these, I’m always amazed at the wonderful things people do to earn some $. Many of us are afraid for our financial futures, so we dig deep to figure out what else we can do to earn money.
My friend Shannon is no exception. She’s one of the most capable but underutilized people I know. And she never really knows what she wants to do with her life. Well, she’s just come out with a line of jewelry that she’s made from reclaimed skateboards. They’re cute, they’re original, and they’re green. I’m proud of her for doing this and think she can do well if she keeps pushing. Check it out!
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My Photo Albums Nicole’s posts at Pitch For Capital