Rick Benson is currently an industrial electrician, installing well pad automation systems for the oil and gas industry.  He has spent the last decade in the oil field, mainly in management and trouble-shooting positions. Prior to that he had owned or co-owned construction companies since graduating from high-school.

In the course of his work, Benson saw a need for a device that provided on-site static discharge safety, and could prevent costly damage to the pad sites. So he sat down and designed, then built, a device which fulfilled those needs.

Rick's wife, Terri, investigated the Leading Edge program. She said, "After reading the syllabus on the class, and realizing the timing was great, we enrolled to prevent making costly mistakes when starting our new business." By the time the Bensons completed the course, they had produced a business plan which won first place in the Mesa County competition. "Without the Leading Edge Program and coaching from the Incubator and SBDC staff, we never would have gotten our business off the ground, let alone started making money right off the bat," Benson commented.

Since completing the program, RPMS has received purchase orders for more than 75 units. Following suggestions from the Leading Edge class textbook, the company purchased used equipment which eliminated steps and time, thereby driving down costs and increasing profits. "We'll continue to utilize lessons learned in the program and from Incubator and SBDC staff for years to come."

The Colorado Innovation Network (COIN) today released the first-ever state report detailing innovation activity in Colorado. The Colorado Innovation Index will be an annual report that takes a comprehensive look at how Colorado is creating an environment in which innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation can thrive.

"Innovation and entrepreneurship are critical to sustainable economic growth," said Gov. John Hickenlooper. "This index will give Colorado a true measure of the state's industry-driven and overall innovation progress. Moving forward, the Colorado Innovation Index will help us continue to educate businesses, investors, researchers, policymakers and others about the state's innovation activity."

The Index evaluated innovation in Colorado across four categories - ideas, talent, capital, and entrepreneurship. Across all four, Colorado performed strongly, with key assets including its high per capita rates of workers with science and technology degrees, relatively low living costs, high quality of life, and a desirable location in which to recruit and retain the most talented workers. 

Highlights from the 2012 Colorado Innovation Index:

• Colorado performs particularly well in terms of small business measures, scoring high relative to the nation and the peer group with respect to births and returns to labor, although net job creation has slowed significantly.

• Colorado has historically done better than its peers at creating new small business
  establishments. In 2010, Colorado was
  second among this group, generating 1.5
  more small business establishments per
  hundred than the national average.

• Colorado offers a high level of private capital funding in the form of venture capital investments, small business loans and access to bank branches.

• Colorado receives a relatively large amount of public funding from Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Grants, while slightly below the national average in terms of National Institutes of Health funding.

• Colorado outperforms many benchmark states in patents, issuing over 450 patents per million residents in 2011.

Recognizing the need to identify metrics to study innovation performance and activities in Colorado, COIN worked in partnership with a research team at Colorado State University (CSU), sponsored by Chief Innovation Officer and Dean of CSU's College of Business Ajay Menon and advised by Dr. Stephan Weiler, to build the first ever Colorado Innovation Index.  

The Index is the first publication released by COIN, which was created in November 2011 to connect and convene innovation leaders across Colorado's public, private, and academic sectors.  The Index will be released annually in conjunction with the Colorado Innovation Network Summit, the first of which begins today.  For information about the Summit, please visit www.coloradoinnovationnetwork.com.

Something Independent Entrepreneur Award

It's official. The 2012 Something Independent Entrepreneur Award is open for business and we've launched a 60-second video, courtesy 2011 Award Winner Dan Abrams of Flylow Gear, to announce the scope of this year's Award. Application process is a 90-second video. Deadline for submission is September 17, 2012. Winner will be determined by the selection committee on October 2, at the annual S|I Entrepreneur Award Event. 

Across Colorado there exists a distinct independent spirit that is nowhere more evident than in those Colorado entrepreneurs living at the intersection of business and lifestyle. In recognition of their commitment, their accomplishments and their passion, we are honored to announce the 2012 Something Independent Entrepreneur Award.  This is not a business plan competition. This is 90 seconds to make our judges believe in you.

In the second-year of this award, S|I looks to tap the Colorado spirit of independence, all that it represents and all that it inspires, in showcasing those that will lead the next great wave of Colorado businesses. Having recently set out On the Road alongside the 2012 USA Pro Challenge, we were introduced to the stories of many amazing businesses across the state and the people behind them. Their passion, rather than their industry, was the common thread. With this in mind, the 2012 S|I Entrepreneur Award moves beyond the realm of snowsports to include all those that embrace that certain something that is associated with being a Colorado company.

Award Details and How to Submit

As a start-up gets off the ground, it has a short-lived opportunity to decide how it wants to do business. With each new hire company culture becomes more entrenched and somewhere after two dozen employees, it tends to cement. Establish a set of genuine values before your start-up gets too complex. Articulate a coherent philosophy about who you are and how you will work. Also be clear about who you aren't and what you won't do. This will make decisions easier and ultimately improve results. Rather than analyzing each new decision afresh, you'll have a common foundation from which to make them. If you don't do this deliberately when your organization is young, the culture will (often rigidly) form itself.  

Most VCs and entrepreneurs believe start-ups are inherently iterative, that a string of mistakes doesn't prevent success, but may even be the path to it. Generally, that view is correct, but there are a few choices made early on that have implications so deep as to be functionally irreversible, with profound implications for outcomes. Product and business models are evolutionary by nature, but we see four things a young company must get right:

• The founding team
• The core values
• Where the company is located
• The initial investors (and their terms)

Brought to you by the Harvard Business Review.  Read the full post here.

APPLICATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR EXPORT-PROMOTION GRANT

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) is now accepting applications for the Colorado Export Development Grant (CEDG). 

The grant was created four years ago to help qualified Colorado small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) export their products and services to new global markets.  Grantees receive up to $4,500 per company on a reimbursement basis to offset the costs of such activities as business-to-business matchmaking services; translation of business-specific conversations, marketing materials and/or website; travel expenses (airfare/hotel) incurred to meet with potential buyers/distributors; and trade show exhibition and/or attendance. 

To qualify for the CEDG, applicants are required to demonstrate their readiness to export, present a clear and attainable project aimed at achieving sales in a new market and show how use of the program funds would ultimately lead to the retention and/or creation of jobs in Colorado.  Award amounts are at the discretion of OEDIT and selection of grantees will be made through a competitive process based on the quality of proposals and export potential of applicants. 

The CEDG is open to qualified small business from all industries.  The program is jointly funded by the OEDIT and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Last year, CEDG funds were awarded to 23 small and medium-sized enterprises located in 13 different Colorado counties and from a variety of industries such as agriculture, automotive, bioscience and cleantech. 

For more information about the CEDG and to apply, please contact Stephanie Dybsky at stephanie.dybsky@state.co.us or 303.892.3840.  The 2012 CEDG application cycle will close on September 14, 2012.

 MORE INFORMATION

Wednesday, September 19th

Start-Up Essentials

Boulder SBDC, 2440 Pearl St. Boulder, Co

1:00pm - 4:30pm

Cost: $35

Register here

FastTrac GrowthVenture Series for Established Businesses

5 full day sessions- Tuesdays in October

Boulder SBDC, 2440 Pearl St. Boulder, Co

8:30am - 4:30pm

Cost: $495; additional $125/attendee from same business

Register here

Colorado Springs

Wednesday, September 12th

Social Media for Businesses

SBDC Building, UCCS Campus, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway

2:30pm - 5:00pm

Cost:$30

Register here

Thursday, September 20th

Basics of Bookkeeping

SBDC Building, UCCS Campus, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway

9:00am - 12:30pm

Cost: $40

Register here