Dan sits down with Steve Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Professor Kaplan co-founded the entrepreneurship program at Booth, including the Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge, which has launched companies like GrubHub and Braintree/Venmo and created over $8 billion in market value. A leading scholar in private equity and venture capital, Steve shares insights on his work at Chicago Booth, his research on private equity and corporate finance, and what makes a successful CEO.

Click here to learn more about Steve Kaplan: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/k/steven-neil-kaplan

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Dr. Scott Davis, CEO and co-founder of Vescent, a developer and manufacturer of novel electro-optic and precision laser technologies. Vescent, which applies Nobel Prize Winning Frequency Combs technology, is a great example of a “pick-and-shovels” play in Quantum Technology.

Scott is a physics trained entrepreneur with an emphasis on new technology transition from the laboratory to manufacturing. He has spent his career inventing, developing, and commercializing a wide variety of technologies. He has over 50 papers published, has co-authored two book chapters, and has twenty-seven patents pending and/or issued.

Prior to starting Vescent Photonics, Scott worked in the industry as an optical engineer, served as an NRC postdoc in the laboratories of David Plusquellic at NIST in Gaithersburg MD, and obtained his Ph.D. from JILA under the tutelage of David Nesbitt.

In this episode, Scott shares more about his entrepreneurial journey, practical applications of quantum technology, and his passion for the quantum ecosystem.

Click here to learn more about Vescent: https://vescent.com/

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.

Dan sits down with former pro cyclist and Colorado native Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside, the world’s leading active lifestyle content and experiences platform.

Before Outside, Robin co-founded MapMyFitness, later acquired by Under Armour, and led Helix, a consumer genomics company. In this episode, Robin shares his journey from racing bikes to building industry-shaping companies, and discusses how enjoying the outdoors is connected to your well-being.

Click here to learn more about Outside, Inc.: https://www.outsideinc.com/

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.

Dan sits down with Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, who is designing a supersonic airliner. Blake founded Boom Supersonic in September 2014 with the goal of making high-speed travel mainstream and enabling a new world of human connection.

Prior to founding Boom, Blake held leadership roles at Amazon and Groupon and co-founded mobile technology startup Kima Labs. At Groupon, Blake held multiple executive roles, culminating in responsibility for relevance, email, and search.

In this episode, learn about the history of commercial flight, Blake’s experiences with Groupon and AWS, his past work with Boom Supersonic and the vision for the company's future. Find out when you can travel supersonic.

Click here to learn more about Boom Supersonic: https://boomsupersonic.com/.

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.

Dan has a chat with Josh and Jason Chapman, co-founders and managing partners of Konvoy Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests exclusively in the on-line video gaming industry. With deep expertise in gaming, technology, and entrepreneurship, they have built Konvoy into a leading investor in early-stage gaming startups worldwide. Konvoy is known for its strategic insights, hands-on approach, and commitment to fostering innovation in the gaming ecosystem.

Prior to Konvoy, Josh worked at BlackRock and Morgan Stanley in New York City and Jason worked in the artificial intelligence division of IBM, focusing on natural language process, machine learning, and computer vision solutions.

Josh and Jason recount their journeys to Boulder, dive into their experiences with video games, and share their insights on the future direction of the gaming industry, including how AI, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and Blockchain intersect with gaming.

Click here to learn more about Konvoy: https://www.konvoy.vc/

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.

Dan chats with Mayor Mike Johnston, the 46th mayor of Denver, Colorado. Elected in 2023, he brings a background in education, law, entrepreneurship, and public service to the role. A former Colorado state senator, Johnston is known for his work on education reform and for applying an entrepreneurial approach to tackling our most vexing public sector challenges.

Before his political career, he was an educator and school principal, and he later led Gary Ventures, a nonprofit focused on social impact. As mayor, Johnston is focused on affordable housing, public safety, and economic development to build a more inclusive and sustainable Denver.

In this episode, Mayor Mike shares his vision for Denver, how AI can solve city problems, his role in ending homeless encampments and why you should bring your innovation to the city.

Click here to learn more about the Mayor and his priorities: https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Mayors-Office

To nominate a founder or to nominate yourself as a future guest speaker on our podcast, please send an email to contact@loudbearproductions.com.