2014 Schedule

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Wednesday, Sep 17
12:00pm — 2:00pm
Denver Startup Basecamp launched by Chase
114 attending

Leadership Spotlight Series

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.

12:00pm - Rob McGowan and Ben Olson, Founders, FinArt

Fin Art Co is the result of a chance adventure between two friends. Rob McGowan and Ben Olson started Fin Art Co with a simple curiosity to see what their hands could produce by building modern furniture for themselves and their friends. When one project led to the next and the work kept coming in, Rob and Ben discovered a place for themselves as furniture designers and makers. Today, they are joined by Mason and Aaron, building custom modern furniture and environments for a variety of appreciators.

12:30pm - Samuel Schimek, Owner, I Heart Denver Store

Samuel has eight years of retail/management and visual display experience during which he has helped to transform the innovative pop-up store model into a viable prototype for activating vacant space in downtown centers, exporting local culture to tourists and business travelers, and infusing capital into local small businesses.

In 2014, Westword named Samuel one of Colorado's Top 100 Creatives and named I Heart Denver Store ""Best Colorado Everything."" In 2010, Samuel was awarded the Mayor’s Design Award for his work as the Cofounder of YesPleaseMore, an economic development platform for creative entrepreneurs. He's a Principal at 15 Min., a project that explores contemporary ideas and trends, and he works with Denver Pavilions to implement programming and events to activate the downtown creative culture.

1:00pm - #WomenCrushWednesdays Panel

Meet the women taking Colorado technology and entrepreneurship by storm. These stellar women will share their personal stories, explain their current products, share insights into their entrepreneurial motivations, and show off why women are crushing the startup scene.

Lauren Costantini, CEO, Prima-Temp

Dr. Costantini’s path has been a circuitous but adventurous one: she began life as a classically trained dancer, adding intensive programs in flute and vocal performance, culminating in a young career on the stage. She began college as a dance major, but while auditioning for Broadway shows, she was told ‘you’re a good dancer and a good singer, but you’re too short for Broadway’. So a few years (and a PhD) later, she became a neuroscientist. Focusing on treatments for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other brain diseases, her lab at Harvard Medical School discovered breakthrough treatments, but they languished on the pages of medical journals and never reached the patients that needed them most. A move from academia to industry allowed Lauren to translate these discoveries and successfully bring several products from bench to patients. But this still not fast enough: she then launched her consulting firm and worked with over 40 startup companies, moving several therapeutics in parallel into the hands of those in need. Dr. Costantini sees the advent of wearable sensors as an opportunity to improve lives even faster: she is now CEO of Prima-Temp, a company revolutionizing wireless, continuous temperature sensing. Prima-Temp’s first product, OvuRing, continuously tracks a woman’s body temperature, and sends an alert to her smartphone when she is most fertile.

Tamra Ryan, CEO, Women's Bean Project

Tamra Ryan is the CEO of Women's Bean Project, a nationally-recognized social enterprise based in Denver, CO that provides transitional employment to women attempting to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty. She is the board chair for the Colorado chapter of the Social Enterprise Alliance. In June, 2013, Ms. Ryan was a speaker at TEDxMilehigh and is the author of The Third Law, a book which highlights the societal obstacles and internal demons that must be overcome for these marginalized women to change their lives.

Annette Quintana, CEO, Istonish

Annette brings 20 years of business experience to Istonish, with 14 of those as an entrepreneur. In 1990, Annette founded an information technology services company that has grown into an international business. Annette’s leadership and vision continues to drive the evolution of new and compelling offerings. Her credibility as a business leader has been confirmed through many business recognitions and awards. Many of these acknowledge her commitment to building an innovative, successful and positive company for employees, as well as her leadership and involvement in the community. Annette holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Colorado State University.

Jessica Adams, Founder, Living Design Studios

20 years ago Jessica started Living Design Studios, an Architectural and Ornamental Metals Studio, with tools borrowed from a friend. Based on a vision of beauty, sustainability and partnership, Jessica has fostered the growth of her business into a leader in the Design and Construction Industry today.

In 2013, Chase Bank awarded Living Design Studios a Mission Main Street Grant, recognizing their positive impact in the community and strong business plan. Their metalwork can be found on the pages of magazines such as LUXE, Better Homes and Garden, Architecture and Design of the West, Colorado Homes and Lifestyles, and Professional Builders. Public projects are scattered throughout Denver, Aspen, Vail, Chicago, Houston, Miami and Beverly Hills. Discovery Channel’s Lynette Jennings Design has highlighted Jessica as their featured artist. And hidden away in private residences are their finest offerings.

Event hashtag: #LeadershipDSW