Boulder Startup Week May 13 - 17, 2019

May 13 - 17, 2019

  • About
  • Volunteer
  • Sponsors
  • Blog
  • Team
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

April 26, 2018 By Suzanne McKee Leave a Comment

Jack Stands for Entrepreneurship

Startups aren’t just for grown-ups.  

You may remember ten-year old Jack Bonneau from ABC’s Shark Tank a few years ago.  At the time the Broomfield fifth-grader was pitching his lemonade stand and marketplace startups (JacksStands.com).  He invited the Sharks to invest $50K for a minority stake in his burgeoning company. Though Jack did accept an offer from Shark Chris Sacca, the deal didn’t close before Sacca retired from investing.  Rather than dwell in disappointment, Jack just moved on to create the next opportunity to grow his business. “You know,” He says, reflectively, “Failure is feedback.” Now that’s what we call a serious entrepreneur.

Fast forward 18 months and Jack (now 12) has expanded his enterprise to include (in addition to his marketplace locations), a series of Jack-branded products (including his own lemonade, slated for distribution throughout Good Times restaurants), a host of national speaking engagements, including to the board of directors for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a podcast/video series.  Did we mention that he will be appearing on Harry Connick Jr.’s TV talk show, “Harry,” on May 14?

Jack will tell you that sharing his experiences and inspiring others has always been part of the vision.  He makes sure his businesses not only provide opportunities for kids to make money, but to learn about decision making, problem solving, and social skills, as well.   Jack has already taken his message on the road – speaking at several middle schools in Florida after Hurricane Irma and donating thousands to hurricane clean-up efforts.

More recently, Jack has been developing his entrepreneurial leadership program in collaboration with BSW.  During Boulder Startup Week, Jack will be sharing his insights and inspirations with a series of speaking engagements at local area schools.  The program aims to ignite student interest in entrepreneurship with an emphasis on broader experiential benefits, life lessons learned, and the fun sides of starting a business.  

Jack thinks it’s important to talk to kids about entrepreneurship because it gives them an opportunity to follow a passion and learn valuable life skills at the same time.  “Just do it!” He cheers. His enthusiasm is infectious as he makes a point about taking calculated risks. “What’s the worst that can happen?” “So what if they say ‘No!’” This is, of course, what Boulder Startup Week is all about and we are thrilled to support Jack’s mission and help him grow the program.  

Jack is scheduled to speak at Coal Creek Elementary School, Monarch Middle School, Louisville Middle School, and Summit Middle School, all on Wednesday May 16.  Additional engagements will be added when confirmed. For more information, or to schedule a talk at your school, please contact Steve Bonneau (Jack’s dad) at BonneauJack@gmail.com.  

Jack Banneau

Post event update: 

We received many great reviews from Jack’s presentations inspiring students to become young entrepreneurs:

“He spoke to roughly 100 6th-8th graders and was just remarkable. We know, as parents, that hearing things from adults sometimes goes in one ear and out the other–Jack’s message was awesome and the kids listened and were engaged and excited. His message of resiliency, grit, and perseverance is spot on”
— Jen Ryan, Counselor, Louisville Middle School

“Jack spoke to our kids as no adult really could – they connected with him. He was able to talk business and entrepreneurship at the pre-teen level.”
— Tanner Dayhoff, Assistant Principal, Monarch PK-8 School

“Jack’s presentation was such an amazing and meaningful experience for our students! He talked about the journey that came along with starting his own business, being on Shark Tank and how he’s tried to create a platform for other kids to pursue their business goals. I even had a chance to ask Jack about the fun stuff he had planned and how he balanced a business and being a kid.”
—
Steph Lubitsky, Administrative Assistant, Summit Middle School

Jack's Stands Logo

Filed Under: 2018, Community Events Tagged With: community

April 6, 2018 By Suzanne McKee Leave a Comment

What Caught Our Eye This Week—Week of April 2nd

What Caught Our Eye

Being mired in the world of startups is tough business. It’s easy just to bury your head and work all hours, but sometimes it helps to take a look up and see what’s going on around you.

Here are a few announcements/events/interesting tidbits that caught our eye in the community this week.

Women and Impact

Women and Impact: Boulder
Tuesday, April 10, 2018; 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Private Home in Boulder (register for exact location)
In April we will have Lizelle van Vuuren from the Women Who Startup Foundation, Arieann DeFazio from Kitables, and Hannah Davis from Techstars Sustainability Accelerator in Partnership with the Nature Conservancy (and previously MergeLane), who will share some of the opportunities for engaging with their work. There will be plenty of time for networking and learning about other opportunities from the broader network as well. (And delicious food and wine, of course!)

Boulder Open Coffee Club

Boulder Open Coffee Club
Tuesday, April 17, 2018; 8:00am – 9:00am
Galvanize Boulder
Boulder Open Coffee Club is an informal meetup that serves as a great way to take the pulse of the startup community. BOCC begins with newcomer introductions followed by job and event announcements. The balance of the hour is a group discussion about startups, with topics including new products, industry trends, and other current events.

 

Kim Jordan

Founder Hour with Kim Jordan: New Belgium Brewing
Thursday, May 10, 2018; 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Galvanize BoulderColorado founders and the movements they have built. Join the Boulder community for the fourth Galvanize Founder Hour, featuring Kim Jordan. We’ll dive into the hidden details that have shaped Kim’s narrative; getting no-holds-barred glimpses into her journey.

Essential of Sustainable Packaging Course

Essentials of Sustainable Packaging Training Course
Wednesday, May 16, 2018; 8:30am – 5:00pm ($125)
The Essentials of Sustainable Packaging is a one day training course designed to give you the knowledge and resources you need to help your company take meaningful action toward packaging sustainability. The course offers a comprehensive introduction to sustainability considerations that apply to the entire packaging life cycle: sourcing, design, recovery, and beyond.

Filed Under: 2018, Community Events Tagged With: boulder community

March 23, 2018 By Suzanne McKee Leave a Comment

What Caught Our Eye This Week – Week of March 19th

What Caught Our Eye

Being mired in the world of startups is tough business. It’s easy just to bury your head and work all hours, but sometimes it helps to take a look up and see what’s going on around you.

Here are a few announcements/events/interesting tidbits that caught our eye in the community this week.

 Dr. Evil’s Guide to Marketing and Selling
March 28, 2018; 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Galvanize Boulder
This is a tongue-and-cheek look at the art of persuasion & highly effective marketing content. Because it is possible to sell without manipulating our audience and distorting the truth. Persuasion is a powerful tool and in the right hands it can help you do a lot of good and build serious engagement with your brand.

CU Boulder New Venture Challenge 10 Championships
April 4, 2018; 5:30pm – 7:30pm
The Boulder Theater

The finals of CU’s NVC 10 pitch challenge – come for the fun, to learn something, and network with Boulder’s amazing innovation and startup communities!
IT’S FREE

Boulder FoodTech: Networking and Happy Hour
April 19, 2018; 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Sanitas Brewing Co.
Come out, grab a beer and get to know your fellow Boulder FoodTech members. Let’s get people in Boulder’s Food community to start collaborating with people in its Tech community! Our very own co-lead for the food track for BSW18 is organizer of this meetup. A great lead-in for the upcoming events during BSW!

Jumpstart Conference—For Cannabis Startups and Entrepreneurs
April 26, 2018; 1:00pm – 4:30pm
Cultivated Synergy
Interested in starting a cannabis business? Or want some tips on how to take your exiting business to the next level? Join CanopyBoulder, a business accelerator for ancillary cannabis businesses, for a free conference where we’ll talk to industry pros about the state of the market, opportunities for entrepreneurs and best practices. Stick around after for happy hour, networking and a demo day style presentation of our current cohort. Request an invite today!
Happy Friday!

Filed Under: 2018, Community Events Tagged With: boulder community

March 19, 2018 By Suzanne McKee Leave a Comment

What Caught Our Eye This Week – Week of March 12th

Being mired in the world of startups is tough business. It’s easy just to bury your head and work all hours, but sometimes it helps to take a look up and see what’s going on around you.

Here are a few announcements/events/interesting tidbits that caught our eye in the community this week.

Startup Weekend Boulder—Space

The sky is the limit…actually not in this event! Join us to lean how to launch a space startup over a weekend.

Pitch Lab: How To Tell a Captivating Story Like a Stand-Up Comedian!

Learn to be a more engaging storyteller using proven techniques from your favorite comedians like Patton Oswalt, Tig Notaro and Dave Chappelle.

Introducing New Products in Competitive Industries

By Kevin Lamar

“Starting small lets you quickly shift time and spend toward dominating the niches where sales are actually occurring. You can identify and win over their influencers. You can offer opportunities to experience the product first-hand, as well as robust return policies to reduce friction of buying a new product. And you can invest time and effort in having meaningful conversations with your customers, to strengthen relationships and improve your product.”

There is so much packed into this one powerful paragraph. He’s defining how to create a sales focus in your startup, deliver revenue, prove customer interest, define your go-to-market strategy, and gain the feedback to grow.

Innovation Ecosystem – CU Leeds School of Business

CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business offers students, staff, faculty, and the community at large an ‘ecosystem’ of innovation resources – the two-page piece includes loads of local resources including meet-ups, accelerators, competitions, co-working spaces, and more.

CU Boulder New Venture Challenge 10 Championships

Come to the culmination of the New Venture Challenge 10 season at the NVC Championships! Winners from the NVC tracks will pitch to win the prizes available to finalists, totaling of $100k. Come to hear the teams’ amazing ideas, connect with the amazing Boulder and CU Boulder innovative and entrepreneurial communities, and find out who wins NVC 10!

Filed Under: 2018, Community Events Tagged With: boulder community

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

© 2010-2019 Boulder Startup Week & Glider.com (We are a 501c3 non profit)