PROCO360 | Best Podcast for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners

HE SAID HE WOULD NOT LEAVE HIS CITY – HE WOULD FIGHT BACK. Yulia, resident of Kharkiv, Ukraine I’ve gotten to know a freelancer in the Ukraine who sent me heart wrenching messages about his and his wife’s life. His home is in Kharkiv, just 20 miles from the Russian border and under heavy attack.  I went “off topic” and did an interview with his English-speaking wife last night.  Their story is compelling and they want it shared as their way of combating propaganda.

"It was rough… 3 months we were closed - $15M in earned revenue – GONE." Bert Vescolani, President & CEO, Denver Zoo Since I was a young boy I’ve loved the Zoo.  In 5th grade after school I’d sneak into the Buffalo Zoo by hopping a hidden fence, and I’d just watch the monkeys.  Interviewing Bert Vescolani was a thrill for me – so many questions… about managing the financial challenges during a 3-month Covid total CLOSURE, about keeping animals, about the business model. 

"You would hope that businesses aren't thinking about this over the long run... they're not thinking about should I buy equipment now because I think it's going to be more expensive later."  Nick Sly, Denver Branch Executive, Kansas City Federal Reserve With all that’s going on in the economy, some key economic issues are top of mind, even in the entrepreneurial community where macroeconomics are usually farther down the list of things to focus on.  But issues like inflation, workforce, supply chain ARE top of mind – and they’re impacted by monetary policy, so I asked Nick Sly to join me to explain how monetary policy works and how it is impacting decisions that business leaders are making. Nick is a high-energy economist who was really fun to talk to.  

“I am a disciple of Patagonia… Can we build a lifestyle-driven fast food restaurant?  If we can, it’s not going to be overnight – it will be by constantly going back to the mission.” Pete Newlin, CEO, Birdcall I was intrigued going into this episode with Pete Newlin of Birdcall.  I knew that Pete was (and is) involved in Park Burger – he started as an hourly employee and worked his way to becoming a Partner of Gastamo – the ownership group for Park Burger, Birdcall and others.  Pete was part of the concepting team for Birdcall, and as its CEO has great ambitions to see if he can pattern a fast food brand after Patagonia and create a “lifestyle-driven fast food restaurant.”

“Overall what really struck me most is that during all the challenges being faced in 2021, Colorado business leaders stayed KIND.”  Dave Tabor, Host, PROCO360 In this brief episode I’m not having a guest.  I’ll reflect on what I’ve learned from my guests, and from conversations with HUNDREDS of Colorado business leaders in 2021. It’s those in-depth interviews and conversations that have shaped my views, and my perspectives for 2022. I’ve been writing about these in recent blog posts so I encourage you to visit www.PROCO360.com.

“There are only so many A-players out there and we’re doing what we feel is right for the people we work with… the more of those you have around you, the more successful you will be.”  Frank Bonanno, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, Bonanno Concepts   I reached out to Frank Bonanno after I read that his Bonanno Concepts restaurants and bars (10 in total) had instituted a policy which requires all employees to be vaccinated and all guests to prove their positive vaccination status before being able to enter a Bonanno Concepts business.  Frank graciously agreed to talk about that – and as you’ll hear in this longer than usual episode, the conversation went much deeper about creating a work environment that has led to 100% employment in a hospitality arena where others are struggling to maintain staffing levels.  Fascinating insights.  They can easily be mimicked – are they?  Not by many.  Will they?  You decide how likely that is. 

“You may have 10 jobs and only 5 trucks… what are you going to do?”  Jimmy Eberhard, founder and CEO, Fluid Truck Jimmy Eberhard founded Fluid Truck as just “Fluid” – an app enabled way to rent all kinds of things on a peer-to-peer platform.  After discovering that the vast majority of demand was for trucks, Jimmy pivoted and focused the company to become what is now a business turning the truck rental market on its head across the country!  How many entrepreneurs say, “This (whatever) will become the Uber of the (blank) industry!?  Well, Fluid Truck has, and how Fluid Truck acquires vehicles for its fleet is part of its secret sauce that I found fascinating!

“I’ve learned the value of culture – if we don’t create a culture, the culture will be created whether you like it or not.” Phil Dumontet, CEO and Co-founder, Whole Sol Phil discovered that healthy options for fast casual food that he found in NYC were not available in Colorado – a place with an active and healthy population.  That seems odd to Phil and his wife Alexa so they decided to fix that by using profits from a delivery company Phil bootstrapped then sold to GrubHub, move to Denver, and create Whole Sol – now five locations and growing fast.

“Making things is not for the faint of heart – everything takes so much longer and costs so much more than anybody expects.” Andrew Coors, Steelhead Composites Andrew Coors is a member of the famous Coors family of brewing fame.  But he wanted to do something different – take new advanced materials like carbon fiber used for sporting goods and adapt them to a commercial environment.  You’ll enjoy hearing Andrew talk about using discipline to resist “fun” projects and stick to the mission – but he didn’t always succeed – listen for a great story about Champagne bottles!

“It (electric chair prop) was so violent we had to replace 100 bodies the first year because the heads flew off!” Ed Edmunds, Founder & CEO, Distortions Unlimited I heard about Distortions Unlimited, based in Greeley, and decided to bring this bonus episode to you just in time for Halloween!  The conversation is an entertaining conversation about the creation of very advanced monster props, masks and animatronics!  If you like Halloween, you’ll LOVE this episode!