Colorado is an excellent place to build your hardware startup but navigating all the resources available can be challenging. In this session you’ll learn how a few entrepreneurs made use of local innovation labs and professional services to quickly develop their product idea. To round out perspective, you’ll hear from a panel of ecosystem members and learn how and when you should think about force multiplying your startup.

Panelists:

Rich Walsh - SolderWorks Founder

Rich Walsh is a serial entrepreneur and business ‘maker’ who has founded multiple technology organizations. From founding a technology consultancy with SmartSource Management, a software-as-a-service startup with IAMCompare.com, and an innovation and engineering lab at SolderWorks, Rich is familiar with the many facets of owning and building businesses. He has deep corporate experience with semiconductor companies and manufacturing having also served in executive management roles of IT for a mid-cap, publicly traded companies.

Brandon Vogt - SolderWorks Engineering Services

Brandon is a builder. He builds relationships, teams, companies, and solutions to solve real world problems. Technology is a tool that he has wielded throughout his career, but people and process have always been the key ingredients to any success he has achieved. He has played many roles in the solution development stack, and has the unique ability to harness the talents of others and build effectively within aggressive time frames. He is a proven leader, and has experience in making difficult and strategic decisions to best serve the enterprise.

Chris Meyer - Misty Robotics

Chris is currently the Head of Developer Experience at Misty Robotics where he focuses on creating excellent tools for programming robots. After his stint in the Bay Area consulting with of companies like Disney, Peets Coffee, and Logitech, he returned to Colorado for the 3rd time to build out his consultancy and start a Y-Combinator funded SaaS company. He then landed at Sphero where he managed the R+D group which eventually spun out to form Misty Robotics. He loves solving problems, ergometers, and exploring Colorado's excellent beer scene.

Ken Gold - Arrow

Ken Gold has been in Field Sales with Arrow for 25 years. He has handled start-ups all the way through complex engagements for accounts with multiple locations. With his clients, Ken gets involved with both design work and supply chain management. Ken has a BS in Business from the University of Colorado - Boulder.

Gina Cornelio - Dorsey and Whitney LLP

Gina counsels clients on all legal issues related to patents at Dorsey and Whitney LLP. Gina helps clients build strong patent portfolios by outlining filing strategies that consider U.S. and foreign rights, taking into account various types of protection options, such as utility and design rights, leading invention harvesting sessions, and considering creative solutions for IP protection. Gina’s practice involves a broad range of technologies including all types of consumer product devices, electrical circuits, mechanical devices, semiconductor devices, computer graphics, software applications, and electrical devices such as image sensors, haptic feedback devices, data transmission structures, displays, and batteries. Gina holds a general engineering undergraduate degree with a specialty in electrical engineering from Colorado School of Mines.

Randy Cochran – AVNET

Randy Cochran is an IoT Business Development Manager for Avnet. Randy has over 20 years experience working in the semiconductor industry holding roles ranging from RFIC design engineering and strategic marketing with companies like Qorvo and MACOM to business development with NXP and Avnet.

Ken Chez – RoGo Fire LLC

Ken is currently the Co-founder COO of RoGo Fire - developer of Satellite communication enabled devices for Wildland firefighting, first responders and the military. His favorite mantra is “Don’t tell me we can’t do it, because we’ll prove you wrong.” Prior to starting RoGo Fire, Ken spent over 30 years in working in technology sales and marketing. During this time, Ken worked with a number of computer hardware and software companies building and executing go to market solutions and sales campaigns in both private and public sectors domestically and internationally. While spending almost 20 years at Oracle and Sun Microsystems, he was primary for responsible selling and marketing hardware, software & SaaS solutions as well as manufacturing, supply chain logistics, systems operations and product management. He is a member of Rockies Venture Club, Denver Angels and TiE Rockies and mentors at a few of Colorado's accelerators.