Techstars Startup Week and Artup Week Fort Collins 2020

Your business has decided that crowdfunding is one of your strategies for financing. Did you know that the Small Business Administration found 43% of crowdfunding businesses were as young as one-year-old. Eighty-eight percent were five years old or younger. These statistics go to show that crowdfunding is a strategy used by new and more established companies alike.

Having a crowd is one of the most important things in order for this strategy to work. It is also where many businesses miss the mark.

In this presentation, we will talk about:
* An overview of crowdfunding and it’s benefits
* The importance of growing the crowd
* Ideas on how to grow the crowd HINT- it’s not all just via social media
* Ways to stay engaged before, during and after your funding campaign to create raving fans of your business

** Could also be a panel with others like Matt Faye, Nick Armstrong, others who do this?

Most speakers don't have a degree in fine arts design. They often don't have the money to hire out for help. And many slide decks I see look similar to those coming from college classrooms (and frankly, college students keep getting better with their tech savvy).

How can you create slides that sing? What if you have almost no experience with deck design? Learn a few simple tricks and take Pride in your Slides.

People will learn:
1) The psychology of slides. What are they for? What do audiences do with them as soon as they go up?
2) The audience experience. How building/animating slides dramatically improves your credibility and your audience's experience
3)Why cutting and pasting content from the web or documents isn't enough
4) Why you need images
5) How and why to animate
6) How to deliver the slide with finesse

Video example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nf5ryggL98&t=7s

I started my business with $15k and nothing else and now we’re 3 years old and have been profitable for the whole time that we have been open.

We have leveraged bartering and personal relationships to grow and make things happen.

Many of us who work for ourselves as solopreneurs, artists, or as part of teams remotely spend a lot of time with ourselves. It's easy to hole up in our homes talking to ourselves, wearing the same fleece pajama bottoms, and eating cereal and pizza, only braving the outside world when we run out of milk.
For real, this isolation can and often does lead to depression, anxiety, or other mental health challenges. Humans need connection (yes, even you introverts) and we become unhealthy without it.
Join Sierra Frost for this workshop to learn how to maintain your independent creative workspace, as well as your mental health. Expect part lecture, part experiential (hands-on) learning, and many parts fun during this session.

Remember, if your skin is as white as a vampire's, this workshop is for you. No garlic allowed.

We have an opioid epidemic in our society. According to the CDC, over 70,000 overdose deaths per year, and climbing. Can 'music as medicine' be part of the solution? What does it take to build a Music Tech startup to learn the answer? Lend me your ears, I’ll tell you. 

By the end of this session you will have learned how to build an idea to a scalable PaaS MVP with a clincical trial in the healthcare world - plus lessons learned along the way.. Oh, and some cool music. 

Avoid the pitfalls and penalties of Misclassification by learning more about what makes a worker an employee or an independent contractor. A hint is that it's more than just their title and what you've agreed upon. This session will take you through rules and examples that you can apply to your business. With misclassification penalties ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 per worker, this is one you don't want to miss.

Too many great businesses are held back by humdrum marketing. In fact, most businesses struggle to clearly communicate what differentiates them, define the problems they help solve, and connect with customers through stories. Those things are challenging, and the stakes are high.
The StoryBrand 7-Part Framework incorporates the elements of storytelling to help businesses achieve greater clarity, win high-value customers/clients, and create websites that convert. When I spoke last year I discussed how businesses can make their work more tangible and memorable by using storytelling in their marketing. This year I'll be giving the StoryBrand Keynote address, explaining the methodology and providing real-life examples.
The SB7 Framework is fun, practical, and saves businesses lots of time and money on marketing that doesn't work. 

A recent study published in Small Business Economics suggests that 72% of entrepreneurs are directly or indirectly affected by mental illness. Additionally, the US has seen a 30% rise in suicides since 1999. This panel features health and wellness experts, along with entrepreneurs who experience depression, anxiety, and other mental illness for an open and honest discussion about the impact of mental illness on entrepreneurs.