Innovators Peak
Month
When you think of a library what comes up?
“It’s quiet, smells kinda funny, the librarian keeps shushing us, Dewey Decimal is confusing me to no end, I’m not allowed to eat in there, yada yada yada.”
Well, it’s time to rethink those old library clichés and introduce yourself to Anythink (5877 E 120th Ave, Thornton, CO 80602), the innovative system that’s encouraging tech entrepreneurs to work with your local library and changing the whole library experience.
I, for one, could not be more excited to see the end of winter. I love skiing and building a snowman as much as the next guy – but we need some sunshine out here, amirite? I know I’m not the only one who’s thinking it. In fact – I can prove it. We know kids love winter. We know they love building snow forts and splashing around in the fresh powder making snow angels – but only to an extent.
Our time at South By was full of collaboration, innovation, celebrations, and libations, but by far the most memorable moment of our trip was the chance to meet the magnetic personalities of husband-and-wife country duo Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis. During a time when most musical collaborations feel like both artists ticking off a checkbox, it’s mesmerizing to meet a duo who have a true love and appreciation for their own solo music, as well as they’re collaborations together. We got a chance to sit down with the couple before we left Austin to record a short, exclusive podcast for Innovators Peak. Enjoy! And keep collaborating!
Many big companies and mighty brands come to SXSW to engage with their customers. Innovators Peak was invited to the Comcast Stubb’s Bar-B-Q on Sunday, March 15 where we enjoyed the LEGENDARY Stubb’s Bar-B-Q and the incredible music of Kelly Willis and Bruce Robinson.
This party brought together people from all over the country, as well as from Comcast’s many divisions: Comcast Ventures, Comcast Spotlight, Comcast Spectacor, and Comcast Business. Check out our pics below and stay tuned for our exclusive interview with Kelly and Bruce.
During a time where humanity seems to be more creative than ever – making viral vines, videos, and memes almost daily – you’d probably be surprised to hear that art audiences are shrinking. And quickly.
Why exactly? Well, as you probably saw from my examples above, art has exploded outside of the museum and into the palm of our hands. Audiences no longer have to come to your museum to see a show. Now art installations can be anywhere, and they’re everywhere. They can exist online as a landing page, a standalone iPhone app, or a mural that springs to life through augmented reality. And almost predictably art organizations have been – for the most part – slow to react.
When you hang around as many entrepreneurs and innovative people as we do, you sometimes hear an idea so brilliantly simple the only thing left to say is, “Why didn’t I think of that!?”
One of those ideas, #AskMeWhatIDo, is currently causing quite a stir at #SXSW2015. It seems like a simple hashtag on the surface, but there’s a much powerful message behind it. Here’s how it started.
In the 21st century, technology is at the center of our culture. It shapes the way we interact, improve and generally live as a society. We know that new technologies have a profound effect on the education of our youth and provides endless opportunities for businesses, but what about for government?
The Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI) had a big and noteworthy presence at #SXSW, with its two panels and a student pitchoff. The presentations featured new technology and digital creativity, with some real geek drama coming from a “shark tank” style forum. 5 innovative companies: Wellinks, Trinity Mobile Networks, Rally Bus, HotSpot and PatientBank competing for $100K in seed cash from their alma matter.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase successful entrepreneurs that have come through YEI programs as well as leading investors who contribute to their success and up-and-coming Yale student tech entrepreneurs,” says Jim Boyle, managing director of YEI.
This blog headline contains a typo. Did you spot it? No?! Well one very creative brand at SXSW has an eagle eye for anyone tweeting misplaced characters in Austin, and rewarding them for it.
How we interact within the digital space is becoming more and more central to not only our culture as American citizens, but how we learn to fit in as such. The growing importance of how we understand and make use of new technologies is in turn working to define our places in society.
Quentin Tarantino, of Quentin Tarantino-fame, is currently filming his next movie “The Hateful Eight” in Telluride, bringing up the idea of Colorado as an alternative to Los Angeles, where, like, almost all the movies are made. For many years, Canada was the favorite location choice for filmmakers looking to save on production costs. But lately, many states have been offering new incentives for filmmakers to film. Colorado is one of those states.
Austin is 775 miles from Denver, but we have a hunch we’ll feel right at home – if not at home, then in heaven. March 13th kicks off the highly anticipated, 22nd annual South by Southwest Interactive Festival in the Texas capital, and Innovators Peak will attend for our first time ever.
“MergeLane discovers, accelerates, and invests in exceptional women and the companies they run.” Created by Co-Founder Sue Heilbronner, MergeLane was built and fostered after “Heilbronner was attending a conference with a panel discussion on the strategic partnership between startups and large companies,” – a topic very privy to the current startup climate, especially in Denver and Boulder. The panel was comprised of six men, but considered a topic that tens of thousands of women could speak on.
This March 27th through the 28th, high school students from all over will be taking part in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) at University of Denver’s Ritchie Center (2240 Buchtel Blvd, Denver, CO 80210). No, I’m not being dramatic, FIRST is an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. This exciting, multinational competition teams students with professionals in order to solve an engineering design problem in a competitive manner.
In case you haven’t heard yet — there’s a public park for entrepreneurs coming to downtown Denver. Still with no official name, the building at 1245 Champa is in the process of being converted behind the efforts of the Downtown Denver Partnership and The Colorado Technology Association.
300 person area for events, conference rooms with cutting edge technology (provided by private partner Comcast), coffee shop, huddle, booths, Wi-Fi, large TV monitors, modular furniture in a collaborative space — you name a resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs, they’ll have it.
We’ve covered all of this, we’re excited about all of this, and we just wanted to remind you that you should be excited too. Furthermore — we wanted to find out as much as we can. We were recently lucky enough to have an exclusive conversation with Kate Barton who left Vibrant Media in New York City last April for Denver, where she joined the Partnership.
Here, she serves as the Manger of the DDP’s executive office — a liaison to board members and key stakeholders, responsible for managing the administrative functions of the President’s Office and overseeing an array of organizational special projects and programs.
We wanted to learn, from her, everything going on at 1245 Champa.
Hundreds of art and fashion lovers came together for Westword’s Artopia festival held at City Hall Venue on Saturday February, 21. The annual event featured installations, live art and DJs curated by graffiti artists turned arts professional Jolt from Guerilla Garden.
Pack your bags, strap on your boots, and saddle up because Innovators Peak is headed to Austin, Texas next week for SXSW 2015!
We’re ecstatic to announce that we’ll be going to our first ever SXSW in its 28th year running. As of now, things are getting pretty hectic at IP headquarters — we’re franticly trying to figure which must-attend shows, conferences, conversations, and film viewings need to add to our planners over the course of our six day stay.
“A custom-created pendant of a local business logo created using the Library 21c laser cutter. Photo courtesy Alyssa Rose.”
New library programs, services, and machines are drawing a different crowd of library members.
Several Colorado library districts are looking beyond digitizing their content to help them target new potential library members. Often places for community gatherings and engagement, some technology-focused libraries are naturally shifting to offer fully-equipped makerspaces. Technologies such as 3D printing, laser and vinyl cutting, design software, audio and video editing and others are drawing self-motivated individuals looking to learn and create.
