PROCO360 | Best Podcast for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners

Dual pane glass, triple pane glass, four panes of glass… is this like razor blades? The more you can put on a device the better? That’s what I wondered as I began my conversation with Andrew Zech, CEO of Alpen High Performance Products. I left marveling at not just the innovation, but at the math that drives the decision to use windows that cost 20% more. You’ll start this episode wondering why you’d listen to a podcast about windows, and you’ll finish it fascinated to know the impact of window innovation on energy use, comfort and design. Andrew’s story about the Empire State Building is fascinating.

When Jen Lester of Philosophy Communication asked me to create an episode celebrating the founders of the Beatty & Wozniak law firm (https://www.bwenergylaw.com) she said, ”These guys are great, they’re characters, you’ll love them.” I trust Jen so I agreed. I had no idea how much fun this interview would be, how much I would enjoy Mike and Mike, and learning about how they built the firm. This episode is more broadly instructive than about creating a thriving specialty law firm. Mike Beatty and Mike Wozniak illustrate how having the courage to go all in, 100%, with focus on a niche, can win, and win big - and how they did it. And not just any niche - it has to be the right niche - we talk about that. And we talk about how to have a successful partnership, clients as friends, partners as friends, and living ones’ values. Initially this was going to be a privately distributed episode. It was just too good not to share (with permission) with everyone. It’s one of my favorites.

Before playing a single match, the Denver Summit is already generating momentum, partnerships, and massive community buy-in. In this episode, Lead Owner Rob Cohen (IMA Financial) and GM Curt Johnson break down the strategy behind launching a women’s professional soccer franchise: competing for the expansion team, assessing and accepting huge financial risk, brand positioning, selling sponsorships at record valuations, operations, and building a winning culture. Rob Cohen asks the question highlighted above: “If you invest in women the same as in men, particularly in sports, can you get the same results on the field and for a business?” Listen – you’ll quickly believe that he and GM Curt Johnson believe they will!

A couple of times a year I feature non-profits I admire. I became aware of The Action Center at the invitation of my friend Antoinette Gawin, CEO of Terumo BCT – a company with extensive manufacturing operations in Colorado. Terumo BCT and The Action Center have a tremendous working partnership, so I invited Antoinette and Pam to join me in the studio to discuss – yes, the Action Center and its great work – AND – to explore how these two organizations work together. There’s a lot to be learned from the mutual benefit they achieve.

I was intrigued and happy to do this episode because the pizza business fascinates me in so many ways: What’s it take to make a GREAT pizza? How do local pizza joints become popular and how do they differentiate? How can big national chains can sell pizza for $4.99? Sexy Pizza has 4 locations so it isn’t yet a “chain” AND it’s successful enough that I could ask these questions and more of Kyle Peters, co-owner. If you love pizza and share my curiosities, you’ll love this episode!