BluFlux is one of Colorado’s most promising tech companies that’s taking a major initiative in creating, promoting, and advancing some of the most technically innovative products in the current marketplace. Take a look below at just how BluFlux earned its title as Colorado’s Startup of the Year at the 2015 APEX Awards in Denver.
Founder and Director of the Blind Institute of Technology Mike Hess’ efforts are making a very real impact on building and strengthening the technology talent pipeline in Colorado. BIT actively leads and supports initiatives that are helping build and ensure a strong local pipeline of qualified workers that promote excellence through positive communication between persons of diverse backgrounds.
By Addie Levinsky
On November 10, over 300 Coloradan cycling enthusiasts gathered at Galvanize for “a fast-paced hour of ideas, entrepreneurs and bikes, capturing some of the exciting things happening for people that love to ride around the Front Range.”
Cycling has been on the upswing in Colorado, and in a big way. At Interbike this year (North America’s largest bicycle event and trade show), Governor John Hickenlooper made a lofty promise. In hopes of making Colorado the best state for cycling, he pledged to spend more than $100 million over the next four years to enhance the state’s already bike-friendly environment.
By Addie Levinsky
Follow your dreams — this is the advice every driven individual craves, even with the apprehension that comes with building a career from the ground up.
Endeavors of this magnitude take time, and people who enter the world of startups tend to fail more often than not (no matter the demographic). This is just the reality of starting your own business. The majority of success stories are from those who succumbed to the 9-5 grind, working under someone else, before embarking on a journey to start their own business. Experience, capital, and maturity — do the success of startups depend on age?
The excitement of this past Halloweekend may be over, but in Denver there’s always something going on to help us look beyond the leftover candy and old jack-o-lanterns. Case in point: the Colorado Technology Association’s APEX Awards presented by Comcast.
In recognition of Colorado’s technology excellence, this prestigious event highlights remarkable leaders and innovators. Hosted by the Colorado Technology Association, the event not only brings together the state’s tech community, but also celebrates the exceptional people, companies and accomplishments of the past year.
The awards dinner will take place on Thursday, November 5, at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel where a total of nine awards will be given: six for individuals, three for companies. Individual award categories include CEO of the Year and Educator of the Year while company award categories include Project of the Year for a project implemented by an innovative IT department that achieved successful, measurable results.
The majority of the awards are exclusive to Colorado-based companies and individuals and the panels of judges are comprised of professional leaders within the Colorado technology community. This coupled with the fact that this will be the 15th year of the awards is a testament to Denver’s status as a hub of innovation and technology.
And the awards are not just a popularity contest: individuals will be judged based on achievement, leadership, perseverance, integrity and community and global influence while companies will be assessed on innovation and vision, financial performance, leadership, and culture and corporate responsibility.
So who are the nominees? Since nominations are received online and all nominees are judged for all categories, there’s a list of all the 2015 nominees here. Considering the fact that there’s currently 30 individual nominees and 42 company nominees, here’s a selection of some of the nominees we’re excited about and that should be on your radar.
“Network with us. Please.”
This November, be thankful for networking.
We’ve all heard the saying that the key to success is about who you know. Well, successful business professionals can tell you that it’s not actually about who you know, but rather who knows you. While a great business, work ethic, and passion all play an important role as well, being surrounded by the right people can take you a long way. So get yourself out there and have a good time meeting the hard-working and passionate people you may one day get the chance to work with.
Here are the highlights of upcoming, can’t-miss networking events in Denver, November. (Nice rhyme.)
There’s a sport that’s not very well known to the masses. A sport that is fiercely empowering. A sport that leaves you with bruises and smiles. A sport where you have to be as hard, as tough, and as fast as you can be. A sport that spawns names like “The Alexorcist,” “Sandra Day O’Clobber,” and “Ho J Simpson.” That sport is roller derby.
At some level, roller derby is at least vaguely known. Its origins can be traced back to the 1930s, when it was basically a banked-track roller skating marathon. It has since evolved into an international woman-dominated, full-contact sport that’s even under consideration for the 2020 Olympics. It’s a wonderfully competitive, highly engaging, immensely empowering sport that is only growing in popularity.
Here in Denver, we have the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, an all-women’s, flat-track roller derby league with three travel teams and four home teams that sport names like Dooms Daisies, Red Ridin’ Hoods, and United States Pummeling Service. Founded in 2004, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls are a group of fiery, fearless athletes who truly kick ass.
Meghan Dougherty, also known as Undertaker’s Daughter, a team member of the Sugar Kill Gang, is one such badass. And we were just lucky enough to speak with her about this ridiculously awesome sport.
By Glenn Krieger
Climate change is a tricky issue. I mean, it’s a very serious issue, no doubt, but when it comes to figuring out how to deal with climate change (much less convince people), it can be very, very tricky. There is a lot that needs to be done in order to better enhance our environment and rethink the way we consume energy. But before we can actually do anything that so desperately needs to be done, we need a plan.
Gov. John Hickenlooper is receiving criticism from environmental activists for his recently released Climate Action Plan, stating that it lacks a sense of urgency and fails to offer any real kind of solution, leaving a lot of responsibility in the hands of Colorado citizens.
In actuality, Hickenlooper’s Climate Action Plan is planting some very important seeds that, to continue the metaphor, will blossom into a strong coalition of innovative Coloradans who will lead the country in climate reform.
The plan looks at seven main areas affected by climate change, and offers solutions or recommendations for each.
Let’s take a look.
