Last year’s Leadership Spotlight Series energized the lunch crowd at Basecamp. The series continues this year with sessions starting every day at noon, providing provide an intimate look at high-profile leaders in the startup community. Featuring interviews, group discussions and audience Q&A with founders and community leaders, these sessions will shed light on successes, failures and lessons learned.

12:30pm - Nicole DeBoom, Skirt Sports

When you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you perform event better. This principle has guided Nicole DeBoom since she was on a training run in 2003 and decided that women shouldn't have to sacrifice femininity for performance. Nicole rolled up her sleeves to create the world's first-ever women's fitness skirt, turning heads as she raced to victory in the 2004 Ironman Wisconsin in her hand-sewn prototype. That win was bigger than just a race, though. Nicole had pioneered an entirely new product category, and Skirt Sports was on its way.

Since those early years, Nicole's leadership has grown Skirt Sports into one of the leading women's fitness apparel brands with a full collection of styles, from the market's first running skirts and dresses to performance tops, bottoms, outerwear, and accessories sold in more than 500 specialty retail stores throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia. Her innovations didn't stop there. In 2007, she launched the fun, flirty Skirt Chaser 5k race series (going international in 2013), and in 2011 created Kick Start, the first-of-its-kind online running mentorship program that empowers seasoned runners with the tools to help other women who want to become healthier through running.

12:00 - Mike Biselli

Mike Biselli, an 8-year resident of Colorado, is a serial digital health entrepreneur. Currently, Mike is Partner at INDUSTRY (www.industrydenver.com) and is responsible for the vision behind and execution of a 12.5 acre campus in downtown Denver, 100% dedicated to health tech innovation. Additionally, Mike is engaged in helping lead the state-wide expansion of the PrIME Health Collaborative (www.primehealthco.com). Previously, Mike was the Co-Founder and CMO of MedPassage, the Amazon for the generic implant market.

1:00pm - Colorado Cravings Panel

Rayme Rossello, Comida

Raised mostly in New York City by eclectic food loving parents, Rayme’s love of street food started early. Stopping at hot dog and pretzel carts on the way home from school were some of her first culinary obsessions. Couple that with a deep affection for good tacos and endearing hospitality, one can see how Comida was born.

Rayme began working in restaurants at 16. She has been a part of the Boulder restaurant community since 1990, both in the employment of others and for herself. In 1999 she partnered with Pam Proto and formed Proto’s Pizza. After 8 years and 5 successful store openings she took some time and experimented with what was next. After graduating from Pastry School she learned quickly that a career in Pastry Arts was not her path.
Comida comes out of her passion for killer Mexican food and her love for travel. Both are things she and her team create on a daily basis at her 2 Comida Cantina brick and mortar locations and the taco truck that roams the front range by the same name. '

Pete Turner, Illegal Pete's

Turner opened Illegal Pete’s University Hill location in August 1995. The 600-sqaure-foot space was small, but it allowed for a fun, intimate atmosphere where customers and employees could interact. That atmosphere became one of the restaurant’s defining features, and Turner has been careful to maintain it in all his restaurants.

In the early years, 100-hour work weeks were the norm. And while someone else may be rolling the burritos these days, Turner has never lost sight of the vision that brought him to this point. Good food, good service and goodwill were the original ingredients in a business that has not only grown and improved under Turner’s guidance, but also become an integral part of each community it serves. Illegal Pete’s has since grown to 6 locations in Denver and Boulder and will be adding locations locations in Ft Collins, Colorado, Denver and Tucson, Arizona in the next 12 months.

Kyle Zeppelin, The Source

Kyle Zeppelin is recognized as an innovative developer of mixed use communities in underused former industrial areas in Denver. Kyle is committed to promoting social change through catalytic projects that address unmet needs in the market. He has received recognition and multiple awards for his work at TAXI—the re-purposed 20 acre former Yellow Cab terminal in Denver's River North District (RiNo). Among recent projects is The Source, a new generation urban market. Set in an 25,000 sf 1880s former iron foundry, it includes a community of some of the most accomplished independent artisan culinary producers in the region. Also under development is a new model for urban family housing. Kyle currently serves on the Colorado Creative Industries Council. Broader social efforts are focused on improved bikeability and walkability throughout the city.

Event hashtag: #LeadershipDSW