January 2018

A fun interview at Stanford

A fun interview at Stanford about some old things and new ones.

Innovators podcast @ Stanford

A fun interview at Stanford about some old things and new ones.
https://soundcloud.com/innovatorsradio/s1e5-steve-blank-lean-startup
Founders
2:15: Founders and dysfunctional families
3:55: Operating in chaos
7:18: Mentorship is a two-way street
11:50: Founders are artists
14:03: Failure=experience
17:27: Rules for raising a family if you’re a founder
Startups
19:25: Startups are not smaller versions of large companies
22:03: How I-Corps and H4X were born
26:25: Your idea is not a company
31:19: Why the old way of building startups no longer works
32:53: Origin of the Lean Startup
34:24 Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything in the Harvard Business Review
35:28: How innovation happens
Company/Government Innovation
41:37: Innovation is different in companies and gov’t agencies
42:35 The Innovation Pipeline
43:30 Deliverable products and services not activities
44:25 GE & Procter and Gamble and Lean
46:44: Startups disrupting things by breaking the law
Government Innovation
51:12: Fighting continuous disruption with continuous innovation
52:08: How governments innovate
53:58: The U.S. government goes Lean
56:00: Customer Development versus Design Thinking
57:54: Innovation from the battlefield to the boardroom

A fun interview at Stanford about some old things and new ones.

https://soundcloud.com/innovatorsradio/s1e5-steve-blank-lean-startup

Founders

2:15: Founders and dysfunctional families

3:55: Operating in chaos

7:18: Mentorship is a two-way street

11:50: Founders are artists

14:03: Failure=experience

17:27: Rules for raising a family if you’re a founder

Startups

19:25: Startups are not smaller versions of large companies

22:03: How I-Corps and H4X were born

26:25: Your idea is not a company

31:19: Why the old way of building startups no longer works

32:53: Origin of the Lean Startup

34:24 Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything in the Harvard Business Review

35:28: How innovation happens

Company/Government Innovation

41:37: Innovation is different in companies and gov’t agencies

42:35 The Innovation Pipeline

43:30 Deliverable products and services not activities

44:25 GE & Procter and Gamble and Lean

46:44: Startups disrupting things by breaking the law

Government Innovation

51:12: Fighting continuous disruption with continuous innovation

52:08: How governments innovate

53:58: The U.S. government goes Lean

56:00: Customer Development versus Design Thinking

57:54: Innovation from the battlefield to the boardroom

A fun interview at Stanford about some old things and new ones.

https://soundcloud.com/innovatorsradio/s1e5-steve-blank-lean-startup

Founders

2:15: Founders and dysfunctional families

3:55: Operating in chaos

7:18: Mentorship is a two-way street

11:50: Founders are artists

14:03: Failure=experience

17:27: Rules for raising a family if you’re a founder

Startups

19:25: Startups are not smaller versions of large companies

22:03: How I-Corps and H4X were born

26:25: Your idea is not a company

31:19: Why the old way of building startups no longer works

32:53: Origin of the Lean Startup

34:24 Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything in the Harvard Business Review

35:28: How innovation happens

Company/Government Innovation

41:37: Innovation is different in companies and gov’t agencies

42:35 The Innovation Pipeline

43:30 Deliverable products and services not activities

44:25 GE & Procter and Gamble and Lean

46:44: Startups disrupting things by breaking the law

Government Innovation

51:12: Fighting continuous disruption with continuous innovation

52:08: How governments innovate

53:58: The U.S. government goes Lean

56:00: Customer Development versus Design Thinking

57:54: Innovation from the battlefield to the boardroom

A fun interview at Stanford about some old things and new ones.

https://soundcloud.com/innovatorsradio/s1e5-steve-blank-lean-startup

Founders

2:15: Founders and dysfunctional families

3:55: Operating in chaos

7:18: Mentorship is a two-way street

11:50: Founders are artists

14:03: Failure=experience

17:27: Rules for raising a family if you’re a founder

Startups

19:25: Startups are not smaller versions of large companies

22:03: How I-Corps and H4X were born

26:25: Your idea is not a company

31:19: Why the old way of building startups no longer works

32:53: Origin of the Lean Startup

34:24 Why the Lean Startup Changes Everything in the Harvard Business Review

35:28: How innovation happens

Company/Government Innovation

41:37: Innovation is different in companies and gov’t agencies

42:35 The Innovation Pipeline

43:30 Deliverable products and services not activities

44:25 GE & Procter and Gamble and Lean

46:44: Startups disrupting things by breaking the law

Government Innovation

51:12: Fighting continuous disruption with continuous innovation

52:08: How governments innovate

53:58: The U.S. government goes Lean

56:00: Customer Development versus Design Thinking

57:54: Innovation from the battlefield to the boardroom

Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week

Finances / By saraeknudsen

Attend a free webinar —
Protecting Sensitive Business and Customer Data: Practical Identity Safety Practices for Your Business
Thursday, February 1st, 11AM MST

The webinar is part of Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week (January 29-February 2, 2018).

Presenters from the IRS and the Federal Trade Commission will talk about how businesses can protect themselves, their customers, and employees against ID theft. They will also discuss imposter scams targeting businesses, cybersecurity practices, and how to respond to a data breach.

Follow this link for more information about the webinar.
Register here…

Commercial Real Estate Growth

Business Tips / By saraeknudsen

2017 was a year of commercial real estate growth for metro Denver, says CBRE

–By Kelcey McClung – Reporter, Denver Business Journal, Jan. 9, 2018

New commercial construction was a big component of 2017 for metro Denver, with over 5 million square feet of new space delivered in just the industrial sector alone, the highest amount since 2001. That’s according to a new report from CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBG). According to the fourth quarter report for CBRE, most of the new commercial construction in metro Denver is taking place in the Airport and North submarkets.

The year 2017 also saw a lot of high-profile sales of newly constructed office space, said Jenny Knowlton, CBRE’s vice president with capital markets, institutional properties in Denver.

“From 1401 Lawrence to the Triangle Building, Granite Place, the Arrow Building, INOVA and more, we’ve never seen this many new-construction deals sell, which in turn set several records for the city on a price-per-square-foot basis,” Knowlton said. “These sales also attracted significant new capital to Denver that have never owned property in our market before.”

The research showed that of the 4.5 million square feet of office space under construction in Denver last year, 51.6 percent of it is pre-leased, indicating tenant demand. Some other metro-Denver highlights from the report:

• Over 1.6 million sq ft of retail space was under construction in the 4th Qtr — the highest since 2009.
• 4 million sq ft of new industrial projects remain under construction.
• Direct asking lease rates increased to a record high of $26.54 per sq ft.
• Total office investment sales for 2017 hit $2 billion, a 7.1 percent increase from last year.
• Lease rates in retail space were up 4.4 percent year-over-year.

Read the full article here…

2018 Employee Handbook Updates

Business Tips / By saraeknudsen

6 Critical Employee Policy Updates for 2018

Article by: Reagan Freed, Solvere HR Consulting

The employment landscape changes frequently, as such employers are encouraged to review and update their Employee Handbook every year. Below are six critical policies employers should review and update in their Employee Handbook:

1. Sexual Harassment Policies
2. Employment Opportunity Policies
3. Review Reasonable Accommodation Policies
4. Comply with New and Updated Leave Laws
5. Safe Driving Policies
6. Amend Smoke-Free Workplace Policies

Don’t have a handbook? It may be time for your organization to build one. Ask the SBDC for some HR referrals. Also, did you know that the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has an Employers Handbook (download the guide at this link) and an Employer Toolkit (click here)?

Retail Stores — A 2017 Prediction

Business Tips / By saraeknudsen

Why the Wave of U.S. Store Closings Isn’t Over Yet

Sales-per-square-foot data tells sobering story
Author: Andria Cheng (October 1, 2017)

Fung Global Retail & Technology calculated that the major department stores it looked at—Sears, JC Penney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Nordstrom—collectively would need to shut more than 600 stores to return to their respective performance in 2011.
Read the eMarketer Retail article here…