Colorado Springs Startup Week

Growth Track: Managing Your Growth: September 10 at 9 a.m

Learn how to handle this tipping point in your business by tracking:

• Financial readiness
• Personnel readiness
• Inventory readiness
• Understand how to plan, meet your demand, and understand your numbers to take your business to its next level of growth.

The facilitator for this class is Robin Roberts — CEO, Pikes Peak National Bank

Growth Track: Cyber Security Update: September 10 at 1 p.m.

Learn the latest on how to protect your company against the latest hacks, how to prepare your employees to be cyber aware, and the latest cyber regulations that may affect your company.

The Facilitator for this class is Dr. Shawn Murray — President, Murray Security Services & Consulting

Building Infrastructure to Facilitate Growth: September 10 at 3 p.m.

Learn how to avoid pitfalls, anticipate challenges, and understand the complicated landscape of regulations and legislation to help grow your business.

Growth Track: Top 5 IP-Related Reasons Your Business Could Fail and What You Can Do: September 11 at 9 a.m.

When an artist or composer signs their work it’s more than vanity, it is a claim of attribution. With the recognition of talent comes demand and ultimately compensation. And with compensation comes competition from other struggling artists.

The same can be said for innovations. Reaping the benefits of innovation drives company success.  But when capital is scarce, the innovation needs to be targeted, precise and highly likely to generate a market demand.

It is important to protect a company’s intellectual property, but it also important to craft a strategy that creates intellectual property that is important enough to protect.

This seminar will introduce its participants into this mindset and help provide them with basic knowledge for incorporating IP protection into their business strategy

The facilitator for this class is Michael Martensen — Founder, Martensen IP.

Growth Track: Alphabet Soup of Certifications: Are Certs a Real Opportunity? September 11 at 1 p.m.

During this workshop we will examine:

• The fundamental differences between state, federal and corporate small business certifications.
• Certification strategies such as competitive set asides, sole source and direct award.
• Solicitations verses origination strategies utilizing certifications and which is the best for your governmental business development strategy?
• Event marketing with certifications and the strategies and the difference between procurement fairs, corporate round tables, town hall meetings and reverse trade fairs.
• How to work with Small Business Liaison Officers (SBLO) and Small Business Specialist (SBS), purchaser or buyer.
• Using Certifications Strategically to market to into other states and how to target Fortune level corporations both though subcontracting and supplier diversity.
• **Other types of contracting vehicles such as GSA schedules, IDIQ\’s and BPAs.Attendees will learn the most important aspect of marketing to State or Federal agencies and how to avoid the certification merry-go-round.

The facilitator for this class is Andra Hargrave — SBDC Consultant, Minority Business Office & Connect2DOT

Growth Track: Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Hiring Your Next Worker: September 11 at 3 p.m.

Great employees can help you propel your business forward. This session will provide you with important information as you begin to hire employees.

The facilitator for this class is Chelsea Fryman — Human Resources Consultant, Employers Council.

Growth Track: Customer Engagement Strategies for Growth: September 12 at 9 a.m.

A consistent and intentional customer engagement strategy fuels growth, increases retention and improves the customer experience. In this session we will discuss creative ways to engage customers and partners.

The facilitator for this class is Tonya Bjurstrom — Founder, Dirby.

Growth Track: CEO Mindset- Your #1 Strategy for Growth: September 12 at 2 p.m.

Success can be attributed to product innovation, customer service, and ad campaigns, but beneath these various strategies is a leader that has a single guiding force.

A Success Mindset.Owning a business can be scary and you often don’t know where to turn, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Don’t get stuck thinking like an employee working in your business rather than on your business.

Join us to learn how to cultivate your own success mindset, exercises to support it and how to create a strategic plan to grow your business to the next level.

The facilitator for this class is Carrie Clarke — Next Level Coaching & Consulting.