November 30, 2012

In the Abound losers club: CSU

It’s likely to be a while before the dust settles, but what is abundantly clear is that a lot of people lost money in the collapse of Loveland-based Abound Solar.

We can count CSU among the losers. The technology that the company was trying to commercialize came out of CSU.

CSU spokesman Mike Hooker says the university lost $55,000 in Abound’s bankruptcy.

The loss, which CSU does not expect it will recoup in bankruptcy proceedings, does not include additional spending by the university on items such as personnel, travel and materials.

CSU also had around a 1 percent equity stake in the company, which would have meant money in its pocket had the company gone public.

“It’s anybody’s guess what that could have yielded,´ said Todd Headley, president of CSU Ventures, the university’s technology-transfer arm.

An ‘American of the Year’

Gov. John Hickenlooper has been named one of Esquire magazine’s “Americans of the Year.”

The magazine’s December issue, in an article headlined “John Hickenlooper’s Long, Hot Summer,” explained its selection this way:

“A drought destroyed $100 million of revenue. Wildfires incinerated 238,000 acres of forest. And then 70 people were shot in a movie theater. It’s not easy being the governor of Colorado.”

Esquire subscribers might recall that two other Coloradans were named among the magazine’s “Americans of the Year”: Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who created the long-running series “South Park” and went on to bring the musical “The Book of Mormon” to Broadway, both made the list last year.

Kaiser now in the 10K club

The Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. gained a new top-tier investor when Kaiser Permanente entered the market.

In the NCEDC’s 2012 annual report, the organization responsible for attracting and retaining primary employers in Larimer County included a list of all of its $10,000-level sponsors.

The new kid on the block was Kaiser, which has officially made its physical presence known in Larimer County, opening clinics in both Loveland and Fort Collins.

Kaiser joins McKee Medical Center and University of Colorado Health in the realm of top-level health care investors.

In total, the NCEDC has 21 investors at the $10,000 or above level.

It’s likely to be a while before the dust settles, but what is abundantly clear is that a lot of people lost money in the collapse of Loveland-based Abound Solar.

We can count CSU among the losers. The technology that the company was trying to commercialize came out of CSU.

CSU spokesman Mike Hooker says the university lost $55,000 in Abound’s bankruptcy.

The loss, which CSU does not expect it will recoup in bankruptcy proceedings, does not include additional spending by the university on items such as personnel, travel and materials.

CSU also had around a 1 percent equity stake in the…

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