It’s hard to believe that 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of moving to Idaho for my wife Pam and I, as well as the 10th anniversary of starting Highway 12 Ventures. Looking at our children though, it’s clear that time has indeed marched on. Our ten year-old son was only a couple of months old [...]
Group Blog
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Mar
10
Mar
08
Leadership, Idaho and Breaking Down Barriers
My wife Tina and I had the pleasure of honoring Sharon Allen, Chairman of the Board of Deloitte, as she received the Legacy of Leading award from her alma mater, the University of Idaho. Sharon’s accolades are numerous and well deserved, but I wanted to touch on some highlights so more people can understand her remarkable [...]
Mar
04
Five Reasons To Support Startup Visa
The Startup Visa movement showed a lot of momentum yesterday, actually trending into the top 5 on Twitter. As an entrepreneur who is working on my own startup, I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of other entrepreneurs, and I am happy with the vast support in the entrepreneur community for the Startup Visa.
Recently, [...]
Mar
02
Disruptive Technology is $#!%
One of the most exciting things in business is to create or ride the wave of a disruptive technology or business. It is exhilarating, incredibly fast paced and has a growth rate that can create stretch marks bigger than delivering octuplets (I think, I don’t actually have direct experience with carrying/delivering, or even doing [...]
Feb
28
The Paradigm Shift Continues…
Last year, my partner Phil wrote a post about how Derek (our college-aged summer intern) used his iPhone in a creative way when injured in a mountain bike accident. Last week, we once again witnessed Derek demonstrating how today’s younger generation turns to technology first when confronted with everyday challenges.
We arrived at Denver airport after [...]
Feb
22
So What Is Your Start-Up Worth?
As venture capitalists, one question we get asked all the time is “How do you value a seed or early-stage company?” The truth is that there really aren’t many tools. Later-stage companies are often valued based upon metrics such as discounted cash flows and revenue or earnings multiples. The challenge is that many of the [...]
Feb
18
My New Role as Entrepreneur-In-Residence
I’m thrilled to be taking on the role of Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Highway 12 Ventures. I’ve learned a lot from Phil, George, Glenn & Mark over the last couple of years, and am looking forward to learning a lot more as I embark on this new role. It’s a terrific group that I’m proud to [...]
Feb
12
Our New Entrenpreneur-In-Residence (2.0)
As many of you know, last year we enjoyed a terrific experience and built a sure-to-be lifelong friendship with Tac Anderson, our first-ever Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR). Tac was a real visionary in the area of social media whose inspiring leadership galvanized the members of Boise’s innovative community like no one before him.
Over the last several months, [...]
Feb
10
5 Minutes With Jerry Ropelato & Stan Bassett
Two years ago the folks at the Utah Fund of Funds introduced us to Jerry and Stan (CEO & President respectively) from TopTenReviews in Salt Lake City and were completely impressed with the amazing business they had built without raising any capital. They were looking to take the company to the next level and having [...]
Feb
08
The Open Angel Forum & The Changing Face Of The Venture Industry
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the first Colorado Open Angel Forum (OAF). The OAF was born out of the frustration of some well-known investors including Brad Feld (An Angel Investor Group That Makes Me Vomit), David Cohen (An Offer To Funding Universe) and then inculcated and formed by Jason Calcanis (Why Startups [...]