Welcome to the inaugural Bravo! Entrepreneur
Bravo! to the entrepreneurs.
That’s the whole point of Bravo! Entrepreneur, Northern Colorado’s first regional entrepreneur awards program. Bravo! honors the best in entrepreneurship, giving due credit to the risk-takers, the innovators, the dreamers who have helped build our Northern Colorado economy.
This program honors those men and women who have dared to take a chance, who have surmounted obstacles and overcome adversity.
But why honor entrepreneurs on a regional basis? Many organizations in Northern Colorado honor companies or individuals, in one way or another. The Fort Collins Economic Development Corp. presents an annual “Entrepreneur of the Year” award to a successful Fort Collins business person. The Greeley/Weld Chamber of Commerce brings companies into its “Winner’s Circle” every year, and the Loveland Chamber of Commerce annually honors a “Small Business of the Year.”
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But, while excellent programs all, they are local endeavors, not regional. And Northern Colorado is rapidly becoming a regional economy, a realization that prompted the above organizations – along with the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce and the Loveland Economic Development Council – to join with The Northern Colorado Business Report to present Bravo! Entrepreneur.
It’s not the first time that either the region’s chambers of commerce or economic-development agencies have collaborated on a program. The chambers pool resources to fund the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, a lobbying arm that represents their interests before the state Legislature, and collaborate on transportation issues. The economic-development agencies have joined forces on a work-force study.
But, prior to Bravo!, no program pooled the collective talents of both local chambers and economic-development agencies to present a truly regional program. We hope Bravo! will bring the region together even more.
Before we continue, however, let’s give credit where it’s due, namely to Clif Harald of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the highly successful Esprit Entrepreneur program in Boulder County. We thank Clif for his invaluable assistance and advice on how best to get Bravo! started.
Now for some facts about Bravo! Entrepreneur: Bravo! is overseen by a Steering Committee comprised of the presidents or executive directors of the five organizations cited above and two representatives from The Northern Colorado Business Report. The Steering Committee is responsible for the overall success of the program, its rules, format, budget and theme.
Bravo! Entrepreneur honors one individual each from Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland and outlying areas of Larimer and Weld counties. Additionally, one Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to recognize a career of entrepreneurship, and a Regional Spirit Award honors a company, individual or organization that has helped promote regional cooperation in Northern Colorado.
Nominations are sought through the Business Report, chamber of commerce newsletters and direct mail. An Awards Committee appointed by members of the Steering Committee reviews the nominations, and members of the Awards Committee also are asked to nominate individuals on their own.
Objectives of Bravo! Entrepreneur include:
” Honor companies and individuals who have displayed the core values of entrepreneurship.
” Foster the entrepreneurial spirit in Northern Colorado.
” Create greater awareness of Northern Colorado both statewide and nationally as an entrepreneurial center.
” Encourage an atmosphere that promotes new ideas and risk-taking by entrepreneurs.
Criteria for the Bravo! Entrepreneur awards include:
” At least one entrepreneur being honored from a business must be a founder.
” Company must be based in Larimer or Weld counties or have corporate offices here.
” Business’ origin should include vision, risk and creativity.
” Entrepreneur’s company should be profitable.
” Contributions to the community through charitable or leadership roles.
” Company demonstrates innovative employee programs and corporate culture.
” Company should have demonstrated ability to overcome adversity.
” Company should have demonstrated significant growth and long-term potential.
Additional considerations include:
” Entrepreneur has founded more than one startup.
” Company has received national or international recognition.
” Committee may honor a separate individual, in addition to the founder, if deemed appropriate.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual who has contributed greatly to the growth of the Northern Colorado business community for at least one decade. Additionally, the winner should “provide inspiration to younger entrepreneurs by examples of risk-taking, community mindedness and success.”
To be eligible for the Regional Spirit Award, an individual, company or organization:
” Must have a significant presence in Northern Colorado.
” Should be active in local business groups.
” Should demonstrate a commitment to regionalization of Northern Colorado’s economy through strong business activites in both Larimer and Weld counties.
” Should promote charitable and civic causes, such as commuting pools and regional transportation programs.
” Should work to build the region’s work force and enhance its quality of life.
” Should demonstrate commitment to purchase, when possible, significant amount of goods and services from local vendors, thereby contributing to a new level of entrepreneurship.
About 50 nominations were received in total for the inaugural Bravo! Entrepreneur program, encompassing every industry from agribusiness to high technology, from retail to service, from manufacturing to banking, from publishing to health care. Those individuals not honored this year will be automatically added to the pool of 1999 nominations.
Lastly, we want to offer special thanks to those companies and individuals who worked so hard to get Bravo! Entrepreneur off the ground. Jeff Williams, Mike Burns and Laurie Steele of Burns Marketing & Communications worked long hours to coordinate the Bravo! event, invitations and other aspects of the program, and Chris Bell of Advanced Media did a great job pulling the video together. The staff of the Business Report, too, went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure a successful program.
Thanks also to Balloonz & Bouquets, Advanced Digital Imaging Inc., Citizen Printing, Steele’s Markets Inc., Saturn, New Belgium Brewing Co., Shadow Mountain Cellars, Grant Farms, Color Key LLC, Signs by Tomorrow, Synergy Graphics and Gerard’s Photo Lab Inc. and for their wonderful contributions, and to Gold Sponsors Celestica Colorado, Everitt Commercial Partners and Holland & Hart for being such a vital part of this program.
And a special, heart-felt thanks to our Platinum Sponsors, Garnsey & Wheeler, Norwest Banks and Pratt Management Co. LLC for their enthusiastic support of a program that brings the region’s business community together like never before.
Bravo! to the entrepreneurs, and Encore! for 1999!
Bravo! to the entrepreneurs.
That’s the whole point of Bravo! Entrepreneur, Northern Colorado’s first regional entrepreneur awards program. Bravo! honors the best in entrepreneurship, giving due credit to the risk-takers, the innovators, the dreamers who have helped build our Northern Colorado economy.
This program honors those men and women who have dared to take a chance, who have surmounted obstacles and overcome adversity.
But why honor entrepreneurs on a regional basis? Many organizations in Northern Colorado honor companies or individuals, in one way or another. The Fort Collins Economic Development Corp. presents an annual “Entrepreneur of the Year” award to a successful Fort…
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